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We use BASF and other quality products for both our carbon molding and carbon lamination to create our custom carbon fiber interior parts. There are some less expensive options out there for sure…other methods we could otherwise employ. We could source our parts from other companies who would not be able to deliver the quality we're used to, but who might charge us less. Or we could shorten the carbon lamination process (see About Us to watch how we tend to "overdo it" when we laminate parts). But, honestly, we just don't have it in us to cut corners. It would be below our standards, it would nag at our perfectionism, and it certainly wouldn't provide the results in custom carbon fiber interior parts our return customers are expecting. We might not find the recognition we've been receiving either in luxury and sports car journals.

Read on to see how the look of carbon fiber got its start and found a following among car lovers everywhere.

Carbon Fiber Car Interior, CFRP Details

CFRP, carbon fiber reinforced polymer, has found its way into numerous applications in industries from aerospace to military to motorsports (as with racecars built of carbon fiber). Car interior trim laminate in sports and luxury automobiles today is a natural offshoot of this material with the impressive strength to weight ratio.

About CFRP: Carbon atoms are bonded along the length of their axes with an alignment of crystals in low-density carbon fibers. These fibers (thousands of them) are wound together into yarns, which can then be woven in a number of patterns. When the carbon fibers are combined with a resin, the result is a very strong, very light, and rather costly CFRP.

Variations of this polymer and laminates that mirror its best qualities can be found in customized carbon fiber interior accessories and in more utilitarian applications in the automotive racing world. Because carbon fibers can be woven in many ways, strength can be maximized in one direction over another or a weave can be manufactured to provide strength in all directions, as is the case with the structural skin used on high performing racecars.

Carbon Fiber, Interior Accessories, Short History

The consoles, knobs, steering wheels, door sills and other popular carbon fiber car interior items created here for our customers pay homage to CFRP that has its beginnings in the mid-20th century.

In 1958, it was first discovered that graphite fibers offered a tensile strength that was much greater than that of steel. Experiments were performed, creating carbon fibers from rayon that was stretched and heated to about 3,000 Celsius. The minimal heat conduction and expansion of these first carbon fibers was recognized and then developed and used by many in aerospace and military applications.

Rayon as a source of carbon was soon replaced with polyacrylonitrile, as its resulting carbon fiber produced a higher percentage of carbon in the 1960s. In 1969, Carr Reinforcements of England manufactured the first ever carbon fiber woven fabric. The 1970s saw another advancement when it was found that carbon fibers could be produced from petroleum pitch (a by-product of oil processing).

Today, carbon fiber polymer is found in many applications, from guitar strings to race cars. Its appearance is appreciated by many who add MAcarbon carbon fiber interior accessories created with carbon laminate to their sports and luxury cars.

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