I was checking a website that I found offers competetive prices on fiberglass materials (www.shopmaninc.com) and noticed all their carbon fiber was out of stock and they said something about a worldwide shortage of carbon fiber. Anyone know anything about this? It will rock the world of high end boatbuilding and at least a few surfboard manufacturers.
Boeing and Airbus
seems pretty serious…from www.fiberglast.com
Last Update: 2/8/06
Carbon Fiber Shortage Update
The Problem
The severe carbon fiber shortage which hit hard in 2005 seems to keep getting worse. Unlike the shortages of 1989 and 1997 which were brief interruptions, this shortage is a result of both increased demand and inadequate supply.
The carbon fiber industry was seemingly unprepared for the demand spike caused by both the Pentagon and the commercial aircraft industries. The Pentagon is blamed for more than 350 carbon-epoxy parts on the F-22 Raptor and the developmental Joint Strike Fighter is projected to be between 25 and 30 percent composite by weight. The F22 Stealth fighter, the Blackhawk helicopter, the unmanned predator drone as well as body armor, helmets, holsters and a variety of other military applications are gobbling up carbon fiber as fast as it can be produced.
Additionally, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner is scheduled to start operating in 2008. The enormous commercial jet is half carbon fiber. This direct competitor to Airbus’ dominance in the market is only the beginning of the fight. The Airbus Superjumbo A380 and A350 are also extensively carbon fiber and are expected to fly in 2006 and 2010, respectively.
One would think that this kind of manufacturing boom was predictable but the fiber producers seem to have been caught off guard. Torary and Hexcel, two of the largest fiber producers, are both adding production but these plants are not scheduled to be operational until 2007 at the earliest.
Alternative Materials
Although the preference for carbon fiber is based on both strength and cosmetics, the reality is that many applications are going to have to be redesigned if smaller companies are going to stay in business. There is simply no reason to believe that the shortage is going to be over any time soon.
The best alternative to carbon is still fiberglass. Kevlar R is an excellent material but for most applications, its lower compressive properties are simply not a substitution for carbon applications.
S2 Fiberglass is aerospace grade with a fine finish suitable for strength requirements of most applications. Fibre Glast Developments #1543, Style 6781 S2 Glass is first quality and is suitable for military certification. We recommend #1543 as the best alternative to carbon fiber.
What if I Wait?
Fibre Glast Developments is still getting shipments but we are not getting them reliably. We are not learning of incoming shipments until a day or two before they arrive. Although we pride ourselves on being able to make promises of accurate Expected Dates of backordered items, we can not make promises about carbon availability.
The best way for a customer to obtain supply is to place an order and wait for supply. The next best way is to get on our quote list. If you get on our quote list, we will contact you if we have excess material. We will contact customers on a first come-first served basis, and you will have the option to purchase the material at that time.
To Our Customers:
We apologize to our many customers who have built successful businesses fabricating carbon fiber and hybrid materials in a variety of industries. This shortage is threatening the very existence of many of you. We are honoring our long term customers as best we can.
This has been very harmful to our business as well. We wish each of you success and sincerely hope we are able to earn your business through this difficult time.
howbout a Sways CF manufacturing plant…name your price!
dreamy
Maybe the few metres of various weaves of cf I’ve got will be worth the same as a clarke blank soon.
The US taxpayers are paying for the cf war effort.
No I’m not using it at the moment, but no it’s not for sale. I may want to make myself some stiff fins one day.
The bottom line is Peak Oil and the expectation of rising fuel costs.
http://www.princeton.edu/hubbert/current-events.html
Aircraft don’t have to be made of the lightest composites.
The Russian MIGs were proof of that. They were made of steel. But with the expectation of rising fuel costs engineers are designing aircraft as light as possible using coal tar pitch and oil. Carbon fiber and epoxy is the embodiment and currently the composite of choice.
For our surfboards we still have Syntex polyester cloth, fiberglass, and RR2020.
That is currently state of the art.
What is RR2020??
RR 2020 is a flexible epoxy. High impact strength. Graphite Master in LA has carbon, 6 oz in stock now.
Howzit llilibel, Try Fiberglass Hi, I was able to get some a couple of months back from them but their stock was limited. When I asked why they had so little they told me the military was buying all they could.Aloha,Kokua
Just to add a bit of (ir)relevant info.
Even if you can get hold of CF the price for the raw CF tows has gone up 550% in the last few years!
Recently i looked at buying some more CF cloth and was shocked to find the price had gone from £15/sqm ($30), to over £50/sqm ($100). And thats trade price!
Looks like were all going to be having to use something else in the near future!
James
200Gr carbon fiber is about 65 Euro /m2 here. Aramide multiaxial is about 26 Euro.
I remember when aramide was more expensive than carbon… but even then we used sing a song about sailboards purporting to contain carbon…
to the tune of paint it black
I paid for carbon but it’s fiber painted black…
no carbon anywhere I want my money back…
High “c” ratio fiber is all used up in boats…
I can press down on the deck and hear a crunchy noise…
I see a line of fibers and they’re all painted black
With resin and my sander both can’t make fiber black
I see people turn their heads and quickly look away
Like a new born baby it just happens evry day
I paid for carbon but it’s fiber painted black
No carbon anywhere I want my money back
Maybe then Ill fade away and not have to face the facts
Its not easy facin up when your board is phoney black…
Have you tried Matrix mouldings in Bristol? They often have good rates.
I generally buy from Marineware in southampton as their the main importer/dealer for SP (now GURIT). (and they also give me trade even though i only buy 4sqm at a time!)
The price was for 1k fiber which is pretty high end stuff. I generally use 3k or 6k, probably £40/sqm now!
I never buy from shops/chandlers, its usually not that good CF and its 2-3x the price!
James
Carbon Fiber has been like an international currency. When economical things are good, it is high. Blaming the air industry is pushing it. All the carbon fiber used in board building is not of air craft building quality. Board builders could not have afforded Aircarft quality in the past, they sure are not going to afford it now. Thus we have got all of the lower quality carbon for years. I wish I had bought a few rolls of Russian carbon for cheap a while back when they were flooding the market. At least my Hexcel stock is doing fine!
Anthony
I know SP well, great technical department. Check out Wiz Deas at Matrix they deal in very good stuff and some superb Sicomen epoxy resins.
Quote: Blaming the air industry is pushing it. All the carbon fiber used in board building is not of air craft building quality.
Quite true about the quality, but all the big CF plants are now producing less lower grade CF and more aircraft grade CF to meet demand. Have a look at the figures for the 787 alone! The Boeing 787 weighs in at 240000 kg, so with 50% CFRP structure that means ~120000kg CFRP. Boeing has taken 144 orders this year alone, so thats 17280000kg CFRP, or 17,000 tons! To anyone thats a staggering amount of carbon, and thats only one aircraft. Think of the all the other aircraft aswell! James