Can carbon fiber composites be injection molded? 

Carbon fiber composite materials are composed of two parts: a reinforcement phase and a matrix phase. The matrix phase plays a role in transferring stress, which is generally metal, ceramic, resin polymer, etc. In most cases, carbon fiber composite materials mainly use thermosetting epoxy resin as the Matrix. The reinforcing phase has the form of continuous fiber, long fiber (<30mm), short fiber (<6mm), whisker (micro-nano level), etc. Its main function is to bear the load. In most cases, it is the continuous fiber used. It is in the form of a whole fiber. Among all carbon fiber composite materials, the mechanical properties of composite materials reinforced with continuous fiber epoxy resin are the highest. For example, the unidirectional tensile strength of ordinary grade T300 carbon fiber composite materials is about 1700MPa, which is widely used Load-bearing structural parts in military, aerospace and other fields.

The carbon fiber composite materials currently on the market are mainly made of carbon fiber prepreg. The prepreg is made by arranging the carbon fibers in the same direction, and then using the resin impregnation method to convert the carbon fibers into sheets. The long fiber or short fiber refers to the continuous carbon fiber is chopped into short filaments of a certain length, and then the short fiber is mixed into the resin or thermoplastic (CFRTP) according to a certain ratio. The interface forms an effective bond, thus synthesizing a thermoplastic carbon fiber composite material.

According to the different forms of carbon fiber and the difference in the properties of the matrix material, the performance of carbon fiber composite materials is also worlds apart. The production process is determined according to the fiber shape and resin type. It can be synthesized by different methods such as hand lay-up method, winding method, vacuum bag autoclave method, reaction injection molding method, resin transfer molding molding, CFRTP pellet injection molding, etc. Carbon fiber composite products.

Continuous carbon fiber reinforced epoxy resin composite materials are mainly produced by molding method, hand lay-up method, winding method, vacuum bag autoclave method, such as: the general operation process of hand lay-up method is to put it on the mold first Releasing paper, coating gel coat, cutting the reinforcing material into the shape required by the design requirements, laying it neatly, and then coating the prepared resin; manual pressing rollers drive away the bubbles, and finally solidify and shape, and the hand lay-up method is Manual operation method developed on the basis of glass fiber reinforced plastic molding technology.

The winding method is widely used in the manufacture of high-quality pipe pressure vessels and various types of shells. The continuous carbon fiber is mainly operated on the core mold through the numerical control winding machine. The winding method can be divided into wet winding and dry winding. In general, wet winding is to impregnate the fiber with a resin solution at the production site, and then winding, while dry winding is to wind with B-stage prepreg yarn. Generally, the winding pattern is designed according to the requirements of the product performance, and the winding is formed. It is a widely used molding method, and it is also only suitable for composite materials with thermosetting resin as the matrix.

The CFRTP pellet injection molding method generally belongs to the plastic modification industry, which is to disperse carbon fiber powder into thermoplastic plastics, such as PP, PC, PA, PEEK, etc. The proportion of carbon fiber powder is about 5%-30%, which can improve the mechanical properties of the plastic. Because of its simple process, convenient production and low cost, its strength is generally not more than 150MPa depending on the plastic, and it has been widely used in various industrial instruments and electrical enclosures.

Therefore, the shape of the carbon fiber is different, the production process is different, and the final mechanical properties are also quite different. The strength of the continuous carbon fiber composite material produced by the molding method is about ten times that of injection molding. Jiangsu Boshi Carbon Fiber Composite Material Co., Ltd. mainly adopts molding, autoclave and other processes to produce high-performance continuous carbon fiber composite products. At present, it has successfully developed carbon fiber industrial robot arms, carbon fiber pressure vessels, satellite lens barrels, satellite hoods, and satellite suns. Wing windsurfing, drones, etc.