Solid Carbon Fiber Composites

In standard carbon fiber composite parts, such as sheets, tubes, angle bars, ribs, and even complex molded shapes, the thickness includes many thin material layers or layers.
Depending on the application, a single carbon fiber laminate can be unidirectional (that is, all fibers are aligned in a single direction) or multidirectional (for example, stitched single or woven fibers).
The most common multidirectional cord layer is woven, with 50% of the fibers arranged longitudinally and the remaining 50% horizontally.
In this way, the layers are stacked on top of each other to build the final carbon fiber components using fibers in both directions.
This type of composite, called orthotropy, will have maximum strength in the fiber direction (in this case, 0o and 90o directions, known as 0max 90 laminates) and in any off-axis direction (for example, 45o axis).
For a given application, if the composite part is expected to have an off-axis bending or torsional load, the fiber should be placed in the off-axis direction.

Such laminated materials are called quasi-isotropic because they begin to approach the homogeneous (or isotropic) properties of homogeneous materials, such as non-fiber reinforced plastics or metals.

At half the weight of aluminum, carbon fiber parts provide a great alternate to metal in many instances where portability, low thermal expansion, and resistance to yielding are major design drivers. For example, a carbon fiber part can typically bend almost up to the point of fracture without any yielding (i.e. permanent deformation). In applications where large elastic deflections with minimal energy loss is important, carbon fiber is often the best option.