200g 2/2 Twill 3k Carbon Fibre Fabric

FAQs

Answers to some of the most commony asked questions are provided here. These answers are in the context of the 200g 2/2 Twill 3k carbon fibre fabric sold here.

Q. What type of resin is compatible with this carbon fibre fabric?

A. This carbon fibre fabric is compatible with most epoxy resins, such as our epoxy laminating resin. It is not compatible with polyester, vinyl ester or polyurethane resin. 

Note: if this carbon fibre is being used with another type of epoxy resin, please contact us to confirm its suitability first. 

Q. How much resin is required to wet-out this carbon fabric?

A. Wet lay-up methods require a near equal weight to that of the fabric. This means that for 1 m2 of the 200 gram/m2 fabric, 200 grams of epoxy resin is needed with around 10% extra to account for losses.

Q. What does 3k mean in terms of the twill?

A. The ‘3k’ term refers to the tow size (filament count) of the carbon fabric. It is the number of individual carbon fibres in the fabric – in this case being 3,000. So, to get the number of fibres, multiple the number in front of the ‘k’ by 1,000.

Q. What is the thickness of a cured layer of 2/2 twill carbon fibre?

A. The precise thickness is dependent on the type of laminating procedure used.

Hand lay-up methods can vary due to the quality and extent of the laminating procedure more than prepreg, vacuum bagging and other automated methods. Indeed, hand-laid carbon fibre laminate is marginally thicker with a slightly higher variation. This is because hand laminating requires manual input through the use of brushes and rollers, which whilst effective, do not apply consistent, uniform pressure in the way that closed moulding practices do.

Q. How much resin is required per square meter of this carbon fabric?

A. We have already alluded to the amount of epoxy resin required per square meter, equating to a 1:1 mass ratio for epoxy resin to carbon fabric, so 200-gram epoxy resin per 200-gram fabric  Therefore, if the total area of the laminate is 1 square meter, the amount of epoxy resin would be 200 gram.

Moreover, the following equation can be used to calculate a 5-layer laminate of 1 m2:

Amount of  resin required (g) = Amount of resin per square meter of dry carbon fabric (g/m2) x Surface area of dry carbon fabric (m2) x Number of layers (-)

So, the amount of resin required (g) = 200 (g/m2) x 1 (m2) x 5 = 1,000 g

It is advisable to create an excess amount of resin, particularly for hand lay-up. Therefore, the above quantity can be multiplied by 1.1, giving a total mass of 1,100 g and an excess of 10 %.

Note: this is an approximation and precise values may vary depending on a number of factors. It is wise to determine the precise amounts via trial and error.

Q. What are the mechanical properties of this fabric?

A. Please refer to the Downloads and Specification tabs for technical information.