Carbon fiber gurus:
If two types of carbon fiber cloth are the same weight but one is 2x2 twill weave and the other is plain weave, is there any real difference other than cosmetics?
Not really. There might be a slight strength difference, because the twill has less curves in the fiber, but it won’t be noticeable.
Most of my customers prefer the “Look”. It’s done with the twill weave. I also prefer a twill weave over plain weave in a mold that has several contours. It seems to conform easier.
Twill weave has a greater drapability, as in ability to conform to more complex shapes. Its also a bit more difficult to handle w/o distorting the weave, although not nearly as difficult to handle as some other weave types.
Technically, twill also has less overlaps so it lends itself to a stronger piece, like rope dynamics where the more overlaps in your knots make for knot with more pinch/friction points. Personally, I prefer the twill look over plain weave. It just looks a bit more sophisticated?
Yes everyone seems to prefer the twill look. Thanks for the replies.
Twill all the way!
Well I’m in the minority, I hate the way ‘twill’ looks, biased in one direction and prefer the more uniform look of ‘plain weave’.
Balancing the part by splitting the laying of the twill down the middle is not so easy but when I have seen that it looks great!