Should You Switch to Carbon?
Exhibitor Profile: Sigmatex High Technology Fabrics
Just a few years ago, price and availability were two factors that prevented carbon fiber from being adopted more readily as a reinforcement. Tom Haulik, sales manager at carbon converter Sigmatex, says that has changed. “We’ve emerged from the worldwide shortage of carbon fiber. It has gone the other way. Companies have added capacity,” he says. “Now is the right time to be looking the widest range fo fiber types and performance. Now would be the right time to look at carbon as a possible material for end use applications.”
Sigmatex converts carbon fiber reinforcements in a variety of different weaves. “We don’t offer just one solution. We bring this array of technologies forward,” Haulik says. “We talk to people about what they’re trying to achieve and offer a variety of approaches on how to get there.”
Among the uses for carbon reinforcements are applications in the aerospace, automotive and infrastructure markets. Haulik notes that the aerospace industry took to composites after it designed applications with the material’s advantages in mind instead of simply trying to replace parts made of traditional materials. The same is happening in other industries, he says.
“The aerospace industry finally has enough trained and experienced people and history behind them that they have confidence in how to design with the material. The automotive industry has seen it at high end. They’re still struggling with the economics of it. Infrastructure is struggling because the codes haven’t been written around composites. Now finally those codes are being written.”
Sigmatex is exhibiting at Booth #763
COMPOSITES 2010: Discover the Future of Composites Today. February 9-11. Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas.www.acmashow.org
