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UNI-DIRECTIONAL CARBON
A cloth made up of parallel-oriented carbon fibers held together with some type of binding agent (e.g. epoxy) so it doesn’t fray. “Uni” is ideal when strength is primarily needed in one direction more than any other. This reduction in excess cross fibers in a woven carbon saves unnecessary weight.
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WOVEN CARBON
A woven fabric made up of carbon tows (think yarn). Tows are comprised of bundles of thousands of carbon atom crystals aligned in parallel (think thread). Woven carbon fiber is most known for it’s high strength-to-volume ratio and exceptional stiffness, but is more costly and brittle than other options.
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FIBERGLASS
A glass fiber reinforced plastic woven into a sheet. While fiberglass is a lightweight and resilient material at a fraction of the cost of carbon or Kevlar®, it is not nearly as strong or stiff.
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NOMEX® CORE
A sheet of honeycomb cells made out of a proprietary DuPont aerospace-grade synthetic fiber. The cell structures allow it to be flexible, which makes it perfect for use in tight radius curves, such as boat hulls. Nomex® is used when high strength-to-weight ratios are required.
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KEVLAR®
A proprietary DuPont synthetic fiber that can be woven into fabric. Kevlar® also has very high strength-to-weight volume ratio but is heavier and less stiff than carbon. The upside is that Kevlar® has better fatigue resistance and is less expensive.
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