Carbon fiber hood number of layers. Robust and effective carbon fiber hood

Those who have cars or deal with them have heard more than once about “carbon tuning”. Carbon or carbon film, vinyl film is a fabric that is made from carbon filaments. This fabric is filled with epoxy resin, resulting in a material ready for use. There are three colors of carbon - transparent, opaque and black. Other colors, almost all possible, are achieved by adding a dye. In the application to the car, it is used for the manufacture of various parts - from the hood to the exhaust pipe.

Carbon properties

The properties of the carbon coating are attractive to almost any car enthusiast.

The carbon fiber hood is light, durable, spectacular, not afraid of corrosion, resistant to any kind of influence, both physical and chemical, its service life is much longer than that of steel. The color scheme of such a carbon fiber product depends only on the wishes of the motorist.

The ease of fabrication of carbon makes the process of creating a cover for a car rather short. Therefore, hoods are the most popular carbon fiber product. They are made according to individual drawings, thanks to which they have an original, unique design.

In addition, it is possible even to install a carbon upgrade yourself. Carbon panels are very light in weight, so working with them is easier than with metal plates. On new car models, installation is easier due to more precisely calibrated parts. But on older models, this process is a bit more complicated.

In general, the instruction for such a process would look like this:
- Disconnect the windshield washer nozzles;
- unscrew the four bolts, the task of which is to fasten the hood to the body;
- lift the old hood, then unscrew the bolts from the hinges;
- together (an assistant is needed here), from different sides, remove the front cover from the car and put it on something soft (suddenly it will come in handy someday);
- unpack the new carbon fiber hood, pick it up (here an assistant is desirable, but not necessary), carefully insert the edges of the corners onto the body hinges;
- lift it up and put a spacer;
- put the unscrewed bolts in their places.

If for some reason the bolts from your car do not suit you, then bolts are included with the product, you can use them. We lower the new hood into place, thereby completing the operation of replacing the old one.

Car enthusiasts order carbon parts for their own cars with great pleasure. This material is easy to use and, in addition, has a good strength index. The hood, the material for which is carbon film, vinyl film, is sure to be stylish, eye-catching with its spectacular look.

One of our customers had such a project: to make a line of vehicles with carbon fiber cases. Lightweight, durable, beautiful - solid pluses. Only the price bites. So they sent me to reconnaissance: to find out how to do the same thing, but cheaper.

To be honest, I had never seen how such things were made before, and I did not even imagine the whole technology. Therefore, he took up the task immediately and with pleasure.

But it turned out that getting to the factory is not so easy. Two manufacturers, under various pretexts, refused to meet at the production site and persistently called to their office. The third office and production were in the same building, and without thinking twice I went to him.

The plant looks pretty decent, I was taken to the negotiation-showroom.

From the variety of samples, eyes run wide: a carbon bike, parts for auto and motorcycle tuning, all sorts of gizmos for an incomprehensible purpose.

One-piece hood for BMW - the dream of the boys from the district.

Sometimes colored threads are woven into the carbon fabric: red or blue, it looks very unusual.

Details, painted entirely, immediately and can not be distinguished from the usual. Usually athletes do this: they need low weight, not show-off :)

Helmet.

And something, it is not known for what it is necessary.

But the main purpose of my visit was this:

Case for iPad. I was not interested in the case itself, of course, but in things similar to it: parts for phone cases, laptops, tablets. It was important to understand the technology of production, to understand how to design them correctly so that it was as cheap and technologically advanced as possible. Therefore, after long negotiations and persuasion, I still asked for a tour of the workshop.

The production occupies one floor of the building, it is clean, but rather deserted.

The carbon cloth with the applied adhesive layer comes in rolls. It comes in different thicknesses, with different patterns of weaving. Stored in special refrigerators.

The fabric is cut into pieces according to the pattern, and pasted in several layers on the matrix. Matrices are light, made of some type of plastic and with an increased resource, made of aluminum.

Matrices going to work are laid out right on the floor, each in its own sector.

The carbon sticker process itself was located behind glass doors, but they flatly refused to show it to me, saying that it was a terrible trade secret. But I don't think there's anything secret there, just cut out with scissors and put the pieces into a mold.

After that, each part is packed in vacuum bags.

Air is pumped out of the bags and loaded into one of two ovens, larger or smaller.

Finished parts are removed from the matrices. If the part has a complex shape, then the matrix for it will be complex, consisting of several parts.

Quality control before delivery to the warehouse.

As you can imagine, this is not the whole process. Now the parts need to cut the edges and paint them with varnish. But this is done at another site, by a subcontractor. They offered to go see it, but I refused - there is certainly nothing new there.

Oh, vom same probably interestingly to know pro prices? So, a carbon case for an iPad costs $25 from the factory. A bicycle - several thousand. Stop smiling, as one of my friends says. And there are no particular options for reducing, too small-scale production, too much manual labor.

The carbon fiber hood has gained popularity due to its lightweight and high strength construction. This element fits perfectly into the exterior of Toyota cars, emphasizing their belonging to the prestige class.

To improve the design of a car, first of all, you need to choose it correctly. Since it is this detail, in combination with the optics and the radiator grille, that is the “face” of the vehicle and carries with it a certain attitude of the owner towards his car.

Material selection

For cars of this brand can be made from:

• aluminum,
• become,
• fiberglass,
• carbon fiber.

The latter material is actively used in the production of tuning components.

Carbon fiber is a composite material made up of intertwined carbon strands bonded with epoxy resin. A positive property of such threads is high tear resistance. However, under the influence of compressive force, they become very brittle. To eliminate brittleness, carbon fibers are mixed with rubber threads at a certain angle during weaving.

Advantages

The carbon fiber bodywork is high strength and light in weight. Compared to aluminum and steel counterparts, its weight is 40 and 20 percent less, respectively. At the same time, the strength is comparable to metal structures. Due to their external qualities, such elements are in great demand among connoisseurs of automotive style and beauty.

Also, the advantage of installing this part on Toyota from the manufacturer KHANN is ease of installation.

Why install a carbon fiber hood on a Toyota?

For example, when creating an image of a sports car, it will not be enough to confine yourself to installing spectacular body kits and a spoiler. Initially, such a car should demonstrate an advantage while driving. To achieve maximum dynamics without changing the engine and transmission, it is necessary to reduce the weight of the machine. This can be achieved by installing a lightweight carbon fiber hood. It has a unique relief, as well as additional holes (gills, grilles, etc.), which contribute to a better flow of air mass into the engine compartment.

KHANN has been successfully manufacturing parts for many years. Highly qualified specialists, the availability of modern equipment and accumulated experience allow us to guarantee the high quality of our products. We design composite material parts for various Toyota models.

Carbon fiber car parts are becoming fashionable due to their beauty, strength, lightness and resistance to corrosion. The main disadvantage of carbon is, perhaps, its cost. But often this is not an obstacle for car enthusiasts who want to purchase or make a carbon fiber hood for a car.

The easiest way to install a carbon fiber hood on a car is to buy a ready-made hood or have a custom hood from the appropriate car repair shop. The fact is that the manufacture of carbon parts is quite laborious, laborious and requires considerable skills. Therefore, it is quite difficult to make it at home and garage conditions. In addition, sometimes carbon parts are made using high temperatures, so it is unrealistic to carry out a similar procedure with improvised means. If you are still confident in your own abilities, then you can try to make a carbon fiber hood yourself - without the use of high temperatures. First you need to make a matrix - it is better to practice not small details in order to take into account the mistakes that accompany beginners in the future. Purchase a matrix making kit. Carefully process the bottom of the part with plasticine and cut off its excess on the sides. Treat the surface of the part with special compounds based on wax and alcohol to easily separate the matrix from the part. Fill the part and the surface around it with a special gel mixed with a hardener. Let dry. At this time, prepare the reinforcing composition, also mixing it with the hardener, and apply to the hardened gel surface. Give it a day to polymerize. After the matrix is ​​ready, remove it from the part.

When your matrix is ​​ready, process it with products that facilitate the separation of the finished product, and you can start gluing the carbon hood itself. To do this, cut the fiberglass, carefully lay it out in the matrix and cover with epoxy with a brush. Heat the resin with a hair dryer and let it saturate the fabric. This procedure must be repeated 5-6 times. That is, the hood must consist of at least five layers of epoxy impregnated fabric. Leave the hood to dry completely and cure - this process can take several weeks. After you make sure that the product is completely dry, carefully separate it from the matrix. All excess edges, rags, hardened resin must be removed, the hood itself must be sanded with sandpaper. Then apply putty with fiberglass, allow to dry and sand again. Finish the hood to perfection and cover with normal putty and sand for the last time. Be sure to wear protective clothing and gloves to protect your skin from glass dust. Upon completion of grinding, you can paint the hood, and after it is completely dry, install it on the car. You can use an easier way to get a carbon hood. This is the gluing of one layer of fiberglass with further processing. Of course, in this case, you will not get the advantages of carbon in the form of lightness, but outwardly your hood will not differ from the full carbon ones, and you will spend much less effort. Sand the entire part with sandpaper of the largest grit. Thoroughly mix the black resin with the hardener, apply the resin to the part with a brush and leave for 2-3 hours. When the resin is tacky to the touch, but does not leave marks on the fingers, proceed to pasting with fiberglass. Treat the edges of the fabric with adhesive tape - so that it does not “spread”. Carefully glue all the bends of the part - do not press hard so that the main layer does not pass through the fabric. Trim off excess and leave to dry. The next day, mix the clear resin with the hardener and brush onto the part. If air bubbles form in the resin while working, heat the resin with a hair dryer, this way you will remove them. The higher the air temperature, the faster the complete polymerization of the resin. After a day, you can process the part with a sandpaper to remove all unnecessary and errors in applying the resin. To avoid the effect of leakage, build up the top layer gradually - during the day. Apply transparent resin to the treated part, repeat the procedure after three to four hours, a total of 3-4 applications are needed. After giving it a day to dry completely, go over the part with sandpaper several more times, gradually moving to the smallest grain size, then either polish the part or varnish it.

There are a lot of films imitating carbon coating - their cost is much lower than carbon fiber, and it will take much less effort spent on pasting. But this will be a purely cosmetic effect, not as beautiful as real carbon, and certainly not having any of the advantages of real material. But car repair shops offer applying all kinds of patterns using a film on a car, and it costs much less than airbrushing.

When choosing which carbon fiber hood you need, you should understand its purpose - if you are into motorsport, then the weight of the hood will be decisive. If you want to protect parts from corrosion, then the method of pasting the hood with fiberglass may be suitable for you. If you are only interested in the appearance, then perhaps you will be satisfied with just a carbon-look film.

A carbon fiber hood is the dream of many car enthusiasts. It remains an expensive purchase, but such a body element has unsurpassed features. Due to them, he manages to continue to gain popularity, remaining an indispensable solution.

Why do you need carbon?

Traditional metal is gradually losing popularity. Carbon is a unique carbon compound with unmatched benefits. Previously, it was used only to replace obsolete alloys in small areas, but now proper design allows you to get complex body elements.

The durable carbon fiber hood will appeal to every driver. It is categorically different from the factory element, while remaining a great addition to the car. Just buying a finished part will not work. To achieve a perfect match and fulfill all wishes, you will have to order the development of a personal project.

Benefits of a carbon fiber hood

It is no coincidence that the new carbon composition quickly became popular. After getting acquainted with its advantages, you can make sure that the choice of drivers is correct. What features should be noted?

• Strength;
• Ease;
• The complexity of the design;
• Aesthetic design.

Durability is the main reason of choice for many drivers. After replacing the standard hood, you can not worry about dents and scratches.

To damage the material, a serious mechanical impact is required, which will not have to be encountered along the way.

Lightness is another plus, interested in car owners. When tuning, the total weight of the car becomes a fundamental issue. For this reason, even alloys have to be changed to ensure a reduction in acceleration time and an increase in maximum speed.

The complexity of the design implies a fantastic development of designers. They manage to take into account air circulation for additional cooling and the rules of aerodynamics for a streamlined shape. The material allows you to create any elements, so there are no difficulties in this matter.

Aesthetic design attracts young people the most. An absolutely black surface of a complex design turns into a wonderful element of the car body. After that, you will never want to replace it.

Step-by-step production of the hood

If you need to design a unique carbon fiber hood, you should contact a large design studio. Tuning a car can take time if you try to do it yourself, but in this case you will have to use the services of professionals. How do they get things done step by step?

• First, design is carried out using computer technology. They allow you to prepare in advance a detailed scheme that accurately conveys both the external design and the complexity of the structure.
• Based on the finished project, the milling machine is programmed. This is a difficult stage, since in this case even minor errors in the calculations are unacceptable. Otherwise, the rules of aerodynamics will be violated or the hood will not fit the specified car model.
• Technological equipment is applied to the finished base. It becomes the main elements that will subsequently improve the driving characteristics of the machine.
• The hood is installed on the car.

The apparent simplicity of the work performed is a mistake. Professional designers do not just draw a picture, they carefully think through the scheme to the smallest detail. This eliminates errors, and also allows you to work towards improving certain indicators.

Car owners are tired of traditional bodies. Let the latest models gradually change, becoming different from each other, but you still want to see some original elements. One of these options is the hood, which used to be repainted, but now it is better for him to choose carbon, whose beauty remains irreplaceable.