Knowledge Base

Your source for best practices and tips for working with carbon fiber.

Waterjet cutting carbon fiber

Cutting Carbon Fiber with a Waterjet, Advantages and Disadvantages

By Ryan Olliges | October 24, 2018 |

What is a Waterjet? A waterjet uses a pump to create a high pressure (up to 90,000 psi) jet of water that can cut through anything from foam to 8+” steel plate. When cutting through metal or carbon fiber, an abrasive material, such as garnet, is used to aid in the cutting process. (See the…

Advantages and Cost Factors Of Composite Materials

By Ryan Olliges | April 11, 2018 |

Written by Cliff Lester, under the supervision of Dr. Steven R. Nutt, this white paper provides an overview of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRP, or carbon fiber) and looks at the advantages when compared to other materials, such as wood or metal, as well as cost factors associated with manufacturing carbon fiber parts. Cliff Lester…

What Is Carbon Fiber? Composites 101: Fibers and Resins

By Ryan Olliges | February 2, 2018 |

What is carbon fiber? It is praised for it strength to weight ratio, and it is used in products such as rockets, race cars, bicycles and sunglasses. But what is carbon fiber reinforced plastic? CompositesWorld.com has a great article on this exact topic (posted on 3/14/2016). The following is an excerpt, click the link at the…

Best Methods for Countersinking Holes in Carbon Fiber

By Ryan Olliges | January 25, 2018 |

Carbon fiber looks great, but it is tricky to work with. We have posted articles previously on how to drill holes and cut carbon fiber with readily available tools (here and here), and now in this post we will cover countersinking, because you don’t want ugly hardware heads ruining the look of your cool new…

The Good, Better and Best Ways to Drill Carbon Fiber

By Ryan Olliges | January 19, 2018 |

If you don’t have the right tools and knowledge, drilling carbon fiber is a difficult task that will results in bad parts and ruined tools. In this post we will go over the good, better and best ways to drill carbon fiber and not ruin your parts or tools. Safety First – Use Protection Carbon…

4 Best Methods for Cutting Carbon Fiber by Hand

By Ryan Olliges | January 18, 2018 |

Cutting carbon fiber can be a difficult task without the right equipment. This post will help you cut your carbon fiber parts with low cost tools (some that you may already have in your garage), and do it without messing up the carbon fiber sheet you just bought. Saftey First – Use Protection Carbon fiber…