http://www.thecarbonfiberjournal.com/?p=770
How expensive are these going to be?
yamaha wrote: How expensive are these going to be?
I have heard about that company before. Supposedly the molding method they have come up with is significantly cheaper then normal carbon fiber methods. Carbon fiber much like any material will come down in price as the technology and manufacturing process improves.
$TEXAS
Interesting.. That mold is eerily similar to the molds used for today's current plastic intakes....
And I thought I was going to make a fortune making generic intake tubing bends from composites...DIY carbon fiber intakes...tooners would buy em by the dozens. I never think big enough....
Either way, Im assuming these "blocks" are CF bodies cast around steel bores. Will glycol/motor oil degrade the epoxy? Whats the water jacket made of? Still pretty badass, but not really a "block".
In reply to 4cylndrfury:
I don't believe glycol/ motor oil will effect most epoxies
4cylndrfury wrote: Either way, Im assuming these "blocks" are CF bodies cast around steel bores. Will glycol/motor oil degrade the epoxy? Whats the water jacket made of? Still pretty badass, but not really a "block".
I would think a replaceable steel sleeve with either a steel or aluminum deck of great thickness. Given what the block looks like that the guy is holding, I see a cast nylon with CF filler. So it is really a CF block, but not really.
I'll GLADLY do some product testing.... Wonder if it could hold 35psi of boost? 
An AMC CF V8 block would weigh something on the order of 100-150 pounds less.
Article said: The first block that CC is casting for the performance engine market is an after-market specialty engine, which can be an alternate to the popular Ford Duratec/Mazda MZR inline 4. The carbon fiber composite block weighs 20lbs (9.1 kilos) LESS than the stock alloy block.
Annnndddd...... i no longer care.
make a carbon fiber BBF for that mid engined celica. Maybe a CF roots blower and intake for it as well.
also a carbon fiber GTR emblem for the back. preferably yellow carbon fiber. its a bit faster.
An MZR is a pretty small light engine to start with. Saving 20 lbs is worthwhile. That's probably about the same difference as a "boat anchor" iron block and alloy on an engine that size - I calculated it one time.
How about rotary components? I would gladly volunteer to do long term, real world testing on such products.
They might as well add a turbo, ya know, for extra heat/pressure. It's gotta be tested to the extremes, right?
How will the CF blocks be at shedding heat?
The carbo axe, created from direct input from the military EOD community, this lightweight tool is made of a hardened titanium core with a carbide-tungsten edge, sandwiched between two layers of carbon fiber and fastened via titanium hardware. The handle is turned from a solid bar of carbon fiber. Super light and ultra fast… ready for your next zombie attack.
After reading the title, I was imaging kids toys or lowering blocks and getting a bit confused....
Now it makes more sense, though I wonder about the thermal efficiencies of a CF block. I know that ceramic blocks were all the rage (never really worked, too fragile and heavy) for a while there due to their greater thermal stability allowing higher combustion chamber temperatures, etc.
AKA, a Titanium axe with a useless carbon overlay?
vwcorvette wrote:
Wouldn't you want your axe to have a bit of heft for some extra momentum?
carguy123 wrote: How will the CF blocks be at shedding heat?
and how well will it stand up to the heat? Are the cylinders sleeved? How well would it handle the friction? I should probobly read the article before asking these questions...
Anybody remember the Polimotor? (sp)
carbon fiber is usually pretty excellent at shedding heat so I wouldn't think it would be a problem. blocks are sleeved. No idea about expansion issues, though. I would think a CF/nylon/resin block would also have the potential to be quieter than a metallic block as its less resonant. also could be less prone to stress cracking as those materials, generally speaking, are more resiliant than steel.
Keith Tanner wrote:vwcorvette wrote:Wouldn't you want your axe to have a bit of heft for some extra momentum?
Of course. Novelty product, only the biggest geardo "EOD" guy would have one of these.
I seem to remember one brit company making a CF transmission for their F1 car. It removed so much weight they needed to add some to get it back up to the minium.. they did it with a sheet of lead on the bottom of the car.
They were not competitive due to spending too much money on the transmission and not enough on the rest of the car.. but I think the trans was pretty bulletproof.
Sleeved, I do not see why this wouldn't work and work well.
Some LMP teams are using carbon fiber transmission cases. F1 as well. These are usually hand-laid pre-preg, which is strong but takes FOREVER in a production environment.
From what I read, the block is cast in a "finish machined" state. The big advantage to the OEMs is not the weight reduction so much as it is the reduced machine time, tooling cost, and improved tooling life cycle. It also looks like the mold was just the normal aluminum block mold, not yet optimized for the composite application. When they start designing the molds to use the composites to their advantage...that's where the weight savings will start to show bigtime.
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