5 Uses for Carbon Fiber When Manufacturing Luxury Goods

Luxury Goods

Manufacturers could soon use carbon fiber composite to improve vehicle fuel efficiency by 35%. That percentage equals about $5,000 per year in fuel savings

Yet, fuel savings aren’t the only use case for carbon fiber composites. Companies also use it to make lightweight, durable luxury goods.

Continue reading to learn more about five uses for carbon fiber when manufacturing luxury composite goods.

1. Automotive

You can use carbon fiber for many parts to save weight and not compromise strength. Still, people often seek composite fiber items because they’re considered luxury items. They’ve become a familiar sight in high-end cars like the BMW, Mercedes-Benz, or Ferrari.

With replacement components, for example, you have more choices when it comes to visual customization. There’s no limit to the potential uniqueness of your designs. You could customize:

• Dashboards
• Door panels
• Gas caps
• Gearshifts
• Instrument panels
• Mudflaps
• Pillars
• Speaker grills
• Vents

You could even replace all metals with plastic. In this case, however, you must work closely with engineers to properly design any critical components, such as engine bay heat shields. These items will need specific material properties.

2. Interior Design and Decor

Companies have used carbon fiber to create everything from clocks to kitchen wares. You could use it to design flat decorative trim or form it into complex designs. With carbon fiber, you have an extra level of design that hasn’t been available using other materials.

3. Personal Accessories

Today’s carbon fiber material is one of the most versatile and appealing design materials in recent years. Its unique patterns create visually-stunning jewelry, watches, and wallets. However, these items are also lightweight, durable, and hypoallergenic.

As a result, carbon fiber is gaining traction among consumers and design professionals alike. Thanks largely due to its versatility, which allows designers of all sorts to use their creative abilities without limitation.

4. Sports Gear

The last decade of the 20th century saw many innovations. Since then, the use of carbon fiber manufacturing to produce lightweight sporting goods hasn’t slowed down.

Instead, carbon fiber composite has helped manufacturers deliver more value. For example, it’s allowed them to provide an upgrade to snowboard design that had been needlessly brittle. In recent times, this same technology has found its way into other areas like golf clubs and other sports equipment, all with great success.

5. Watches

Luxury watch brands offer many options when it comes to providing customers with something special. Some companies work in a unique space designing bespoke items for a single person. Alternatively, they might craft similar items in small batches.

One manufacturing method is creating carbon fiber goods is by using layers of sheets placed at different angles. This construction improves robustness. Moreover, it offers flexibility in which carbon manufacturers can use, layer arrangement, and polymers or resin binding selection.

Finding a Capable Composite Manufacturer

At SMI Composites, we specialize in the production of autoclave cured components, which are vital to many industries. However, our expertise extends beyond basic knowledge about various composite materials like carbon fiber.

We also have experience working with other material types used for manufacturing luxury goods. We have an extensive understanding of how these various materials behave under different conditions, thanks largely due to their specific cure cycles specified by the production process.

Luxury Goods Experience You Can Trust

Using state-of-the-art production equipment and curing methods, we can produce parts for both large projects with high demand as well as those for smaller volumes. Also, by using an alternative to traditional autoclaves, we can reduce production costs and tooling expenses.

We’ll Bring Your Luxury Goods to Life

We hope our brief guide has helped you realize the benefits of using carbon fiber for the manufacture of luxury goods. If you’re planning a luxury good project launch, SMI Composites can help.

Please feel free to contact us today to request a quote.

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