Tag Archives: carbon fiber

Stetson Carbon Fiber Fedora: Nice Weave

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Not everyone can wear a fedora. Most people try to look like Indiana Jones, but just look silly instead. So just go straight to Stetson’s Carbon Fiber Fedora. You are going to look dorky anyway. Yes, this exists, although I have no idea why.

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Stetson makes this unique fedora cut from the lightweight and super strong woven material. If you’re a fan of the stuff, this is the hat you want. It is made using a carbon fiber strand that’s been uniquely processed to be flexible while holding together.

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Want one? You can get it for $199(USD) from Carbon Fiber Gear.

[via The Awesomer]

DIY Half-Life 2 City Scanner Drone: Crowbar Not Included

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I am a big fan of the Half-Life franchise and like most fans, I am still pissed that we haven’t seen a new Half-Life game in years. I have lots of memories of playing that game and smashing stuff with my crowbar. I’d wager most all players of the game recall those annoying city scanner drones that would fly up and get in your face in Half-Life 2.

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They were easy enough to smash with a crowbar though. A Russian fan named Valplushka has taken it on himself to build a flying city scanner drone and it looks fantastic. Its little front plates even flap and it hovers in the air just like in the game, and even makes all those ominous sounds.

The creepy little drone was built from scratch with a custom carbon fiber frame. Many body components were made from polystyrene foam. This thing is awesome, so don’t beat it with a crowbar.

A greener bicycle!

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Think about it, Bamboo is probably the most perfect material for making a bicycle. It’s light, it has a high strength-to-weight ratio, it’s abundant, and most importantly, it’s eco-friendly! Couple this with carbon fiber, and you have one hella strong bicycle! Plus, it gives the bike a really unusually rustic yet beautifully contemporary aesthetic! That, my friend, is a win right there!

Designer: Antonio Campos

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Put Some Carbon Fiber In Your LEGO Creations

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LEGO stuff is pretty darn popular amongst our audience; you can get a sense of just how true this is by looking at our coverage of LEGO material over the years. So we think you might like the above Carbon Fiber Tiles. They’re just 1X2 tiles that are covered in a glossy carbon fiber layer. You can use these to augment your regular creations, and give them a little flair. It’s purely aesthetic, and like anything made just for looks, costs a pretty penny. A 10-pack of 1X2 tiles will set you back a $14 pledge, while two of those packs costs $25, a $3 savings. Delivery, if the campaign fully funds, would be slated for January 2015.

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[ Project Page ]

The post Put Some Carbon Fiber In Your LEGO Creations appeared first on OhGizmo!.

Carbon Fiber LEGO Tiles: Aftermarket Mod

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After proving its worth in industrial applications, carbon fiber is increasingly being incorporated in consumer products. Mark Carpenter and his kids add the miracle material to toys with their LEGO-compatible 1×2 carbon fiber tile.

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Despite being made purely out of aerospace grade carbon fiber, the glossy black tile is mainly meant as a unique decorative accent for LEGO creations. Here are a couple of showcases from Mark and his kids:

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Pledge at least $14 (USD) on Kickstarter to get a pack of 10 tiles as a reward. A few years from now we’ll probably have a graphene LEGO tile.

[via Albotas]

 

Programmable Materials Move without Electronic or Mechanical Parts

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A few years ago we saw a custom fabricated material with embedded actuators and magnets, which enable it to autonomously fold into a predetermined shape when subjected to electricity. MIT’s Self-Assembly Lab is working on creating carbon fiber, wood, textiles and other materials that can also change their shape on their own, but without any electromechanical parts involved.

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These so-called programmable materials change their structure in reaction to various stimuli. In the case of programmable carbon fiber, the lab prints other materials into it that enable it to curve when exposed to heat, moisture or light.

The video below shows a potential application for programmable carbon fiber – a car airfoil.

Programmable wood on the other hand can be made to react to moisture through “[d]ifferent patterns of grain direction, thickness and material combinations.”

These prototypes remind me of the touch-me-not plant. The Self-Assembly Lab is also developing programmable textiles, rubbers and plastics. The goal with “material robotics or “robots without robots”” is to have parts that are cheaper and simpler to manufacture, less error-prone and more compact compared to electromechanical parts or devices.

[via MIT Self-Assembly Lab via Emergent Futures]

Common Fibers Carbon Fiber Wallets & Cases: Making Them Oh So Light!

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Carbon fiber is a wondrous material, and I’d love to have it all over my tech, but it can get expensive quickly. That’s one of the reasons why a new company has decided to make this durable material available in cases and wallets.

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Common Fibers‘ mission is to make carbon fiber more easily accessible thanks through a variety of new products. This includes cases and wallets which combine the durability and light weight of carbon fiber with flexibility.

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If you missed their products through their Kickstarter launch, which blew through its funding goal in a short time, you can still pre-order their wallets on their website. The wallets will cost you between $40 and $55. For now, the iPhone 5S case isn’t available anymore, but I’m sure that it will be soon.

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Make Taser-proof Clothing with Carbon Fiber Tape: Defense Against Self-defense

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Aside from being very strong and rigid, carbon fiber is also a very good conductor of electricity. Hack A Day Projects member Shenzhen took advantage of the wonder material’s property to make an electroshock-proof coat.

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Shenzhen simply stuck strips of carbon fiber tape under the lining of his coat using iron-on hem tape.

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Because carbon fiber is more conductive than human skin, the current from the taser will flow through the tape.

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Because it’s just a matter of sticking carbon fiber strips, you can actually do this to practically any piece of clothing. Shenzhen also used carbon fiber tape to make heated clothing, although that mod is a bit trickier and requires a power source to work.

[Hack A Day Projects via Hack A Day]

Mark One 3D Printer Can Print with Carbon Fiber: Pencil 2.0

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We know that 3D printers can print objects out of plastic, food, animal tissue and metal. Now a company called Mark Forged claims that its upcoming Mark One 3D printer can print using carbon fiber, the wonder material known for its high strength-to-weight ratio and cool looks. Something tells me this printer will hit a high money-to-ink ratio as well.

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The Mark One can print objects with carbon fiber at up to 200 microns thick. It can also print using PLA, fiberglass and nylon at up to 100 microns, so you can make objects mainly out of those cheaper materials then reinforce or decorate them a bit with carbon fiber. You can check out the printer’s other specifications on Mark Forged’s website.

The Mark One will be available this March for $5,000 (USD). Some of Gizmag’s commenters have two major criticisms about the Mark One though. First is that you can already buy carbon fiber-reinforced PLA filament. Which means you can start printing carbon fiber objects now and with your existing 3D printer.

The second criticism is that although carbon fiber is strong in itself, in high-end applications the material is molded – i.e. the fibers are aligned and woven – in ways that maximize certain properties, one of which is strength. In other words, a 3D printed carbon fiber object may not turn out to be as strong or durable as other carbon fiber products.

For my part, I’m worried that future customers will be able to buy the Mark One’s carbon fiber filament only from Mark Forged. And also that folks are more excited about this than the one that prints pizza. Folks. THIS ONE PRINTS PIZZA. Why is that not receiving funding from all living organisms in the universe?

[via Gizmag]

New 3D Printer Prints Using Carbon Fiber

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There is no shortage of 3D printers on the market today. There are printers that use all sorts of materials from plastics and other things to paper. One medium that there wasn't a 3D printer out...