Does anyone know what “soft carbon fiber” is?
I’ve seen some layups that are “rubbery” and flexible. I don’t think it is laminated with epoxy (at least not regular epoxy) Maybe it is polyurethane or a modified epoxy???
Anyone have any ideas?
yeah, polyurethane, polyurea, or vinyl, or maybe a thermoplastic like polyethylene, TPU, or an ionomer…many different flexible things.
or it’s just an imprint of a soft plastic…i’ve seen that…SUPPOSED to look like CF, but it’s just solid plastic molded.
This is the most common stuff… still don’t know why they call it dry carbon: http://www.drycarbonwrap.com/gallery.html
One of my friends had some of his interior wrapped in the stuff. It looks pretty good, and is soft to the touch. Basically you’re just wrapping whatever part in a fabric.
This stuff is definately not a wrap or printed vinyl. At least I don’t think it is…
See photo of a bicycle saddle. The inner carbon/kevlar is “rubbery” The outer shell (dark carbon fiber part) is rigid).
So where you sit is flexes and where it needs to be stiff it is stiff.
I have a wallet made of the flexible carbon. It’s definatly a flexible resin system but I also would like to know what it is.
Are those carbon rails? niiiice.
Anyway, I still stand behind my PU/TPU resin idea. Any clear thermoplastic elastomer will behave like that, and still be a strong material. It would use the carbon/kevlar as a reinforcement so the soft part won’t rip or break.
Yes they are Carbon rails. Anyone on here want to help me make some?
what is/is there core? What is the layup?
It’ll be EAAASY!
No there is no core. I think it is all uni with a braided sleeve or two on the outside for cosmetics and to hold the whole thing together.
I have the rail drawing. Solidwords, etc.
send me a message
didn’t say I would want to do it 
That’s interesting…
I had 3 Chinese/Taiwanese companies write me back within hours giving prices…
On the other hand, several American companies saying “sorry can not quote”.
Nobody wants to work in America anymore?
We get it all the time;
Asian company: Reply in hours, can do, $X, have it next week.
Local company: May reply in a week, don’t know if they can do it, $XXXXXXXX, maybe next month or year. (funnest thing is when you know that they are going to get if from China anyway)
That is my problem…I work my arse off…just today, I have to trim a panel, bond and speedcure tension tabs, slice them, gage them, wire them, test them, run the numbers…and go to a separate meeting. I would love to make something easy like that!
I’ve been a product manager/designer for over 15 years. It is an alarming trend to find companies that don’t want to quote. No one seems hungry.
I’ve resisted going overseas at every turn. Even if it means Canada or Mexico. I don’t see a reason to use someone in a different country if something is available here.
The problem/frustration is (as I said in my earlier post) that no one wants to do anything here (for my product).
When I said I contacted a few companies to make saddle rails…….the actual total is 6. Six companies here in the USA and none were interested.
Quotes that took months not days. Multiple follow ups and visits by myself until “sorry can not quote”. No mention of price, long term quantities, etc, etc. Just not interested.
A couple of managers I did talk to said they don’t do any sporting goods anymore. They concentrate on aerospace, defense and medical, where the margins are better. I guess that is their choice, it is their business after all.
The frustrating thing is that it pushes people like me to go overseas…
same experience here. Sometimes makes you feel like you’re doing something wrong.
check with Durham boat company in New Hampshire. They do really amazing carbon tubes on mandarels and pressed carbon parts. They normally make oars, riggers and seats for rowing shells but they may be able to help. http://www.durhamboat.com/ . worth a shot
The crew who make West System epoxies have something called “G/Flex” which might achieve that sort of effect. That, and orientation of the weaves could get you a flexible result.
those rails have some sort of core… trust me they ain’t hollow.
you need to be able to clamp down tight on the seat post clamp point so the saddle won’t move.
I’m trying to think what type of core would work for the rails. I would probably use some thin titanium rod stock like 1/8" round…form it to the shape, then keep wrapping it with carbon fiber to build up the right thickness. Titanium will allow some flex, minimal so your epoxy resin should be stiff but allow some flex.
LOL… i just remembered… if you want a nice flexible epoxy for the bottom of the seat… use Jgreer.com resin #300-21 it is clear epoxy but it has a lot of flex once cured. It will saturate kevlar and carbon. It’s cheaply priced too. I use to buy a lot of epoxy from him.
If you want a nice stiff epoxy for the top layers of the seat…try WestSystems or if infusing… Hunstsman 8604 epoxy system. Both of those are very stiff resins once cured. West Systems will be able to recomend a hardener.
Find a metal shop that has a cnc tube/rod bending machines such as ( Cling Machine in Tempe Arizona). You should be able to get a bunch of titanium or aluminum rod bent to specs for a good price.
Cling Machine has some awesome cnc benders for small tubing and rod.
The carbon rails are solid.
I’m not sure I want to use a flexible epoxy, but I was curious to try it and experiment. I wondered if anyone knew what it could be. I’ll look up Jgreer.
Thanks for the recommendation for Cling Manufacturing. Maybe they will be willing to help me with my tube bending. Up to this point I have had about 10 US manufacturers say no to bending saddle rails for me.
At this point I only do metal rails, but I’d like to be able to offer carbon fiber too.