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Originally Posted by Perfectlap
Why is it so expensive? the build process doesn't strike me as very scientific and the materials are hardly exotic.
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Hi,
There are a number of reasons and it's getting even more expensive.
First, it is very Labor Instensive, not an easily automated process.
Second, the cost of producing Molds for limited production runs equates to a high cost/unit.
Third, and increasingly so, while the demand for Carbon Fiber increases, the Supply of Carbon Fiber is decreasing due to the high demand from Contract Consumers causing the price of the Raw CF Fabric and yarns to shyrocket. The market price of Carbon Fiber reinforced plastic saw a 150% increase during 2005, primarily due to increased use in the Civil Aerospace industry.
Allocation and contracts to Boeing Commercial Airplanes' 787 and Airbus' A350 XWB and A380 caused supply constraints, and suppliers raised prices to suit. As the aerospace companies were locked-in with long-term contracts, users of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic in other applications have suffered the brunt of this price hike. In fact, 6 of the 9 top producers of Carbon Fiber are now dedicating 100% of their output to fulfilling these aviation contracts, and will for the next 4-5 yrs. This essentially reduces the availability of supply of Carbon Fiber to the rest of Industry by 2/3.
There are a number of Companies working to make Carbon Fiber less expensive through newer Oxidation processes. Carbon Fiber is generally created from plastics such as Polyacrylonitrile (PAN), a polymer based on acrylonitrile, Rayon and Pitch. These are all derived from Petroleum, and so the price of Oil is another factor in the final price of CF.
These materials are then oxidized through
Pyrolysis - the chemical decomposition of organic materials by heating in the absence of oxygen or any other reagents, except possibly steam (think pure, complete Burning). This process leaves only the Carbon as a residue, and is essentially the same process used to make Charcoal and Coke. These materials are used because they generally yield about 98% of their initial weight/mass as pure Carbon. This requires large, specialized, machinery such as very large Autoclaves, as well as large amounts of expensive Energy.
But, Research Labs, specifically Oak Ridge National Laboratories, are working on making the molding process more efficient and cost effective by introducing methods which can be done robotically see -
http://www.ornl.gov/info/press_releases/get_press_release.cfm?ReleaseNumber=mr20060306-00
Happy Motoring!... Jim'99