Waterjet cutting promotes the application of carbon fiber materials in Auto Industry

With the global economy speeding up to try and match the needs of a rising population, global environmental pollution is becoming a more serious problem. To try and solve the issue and protect the environment, and by extension our planet, we need to find ways to reduce emissions and save energy.

To do that, major industries such as the auto industry are looking for suitable counters to their present working conditions. With high fuel consumption and pollution output, the industry has to make some changes. What kind of countermeasures are being developed in the auto industry, though?

Two primary methods are becoming viable today. One is the development of electric vehicles, whilst the other method is to make our vehicles lighter. Lightweight automobiles might seem like a good idea, but how can they help to reduce energy usage over the long-term? How can they help to reduce emissions?

The aim is to make cars lighter without compromising their performance or their durability. This helps to make the vehicle as (or more) powerful whilst retaining the strength of the vehicle previously. All the while reducing consumption of fuel and a reduction in emissions both in creation and in usage.

Studies have shown us that success can come from this method: reducing the weight of a whole vehicle by 10% can increase fuel efficiency by as much as 8%. If we can cut down the weight of a car by around 100kg, it could see the vehicle using as much as 0.5l less fuel per 100km of distance covered. So, reducing vehicle weight is a vital part to solve the resources and emissions problem!

How can we make our vehicles lighter, though?

Today, we mostly utilise a carbon fiber composite in the development of cars. Because it has the performances of low density, high strength and highly specific modulus, add in the long-term resistance to wear and tear and corrosion, as well as excellent shock absorption, it’s an excellent material for using in the auto industry. Now carbon fiber is widely used in automobile body, interior and exterior trim, automobile chassis and wheel hub.

By using this resource, we can make cars durable yet dexterous. With carbon fiber being a non-organic, it’s made by taking organic fibers and putting them through a 90% carbon heat treatment solution. Due to the particularity of this material, it is not possible to cut with the general cutting machine. At present, the main cutting methods for carbon fiber material are high-speed milling and water jet cutting. But, milling cutting can often result in the tools being worn out quickly, and the carbon fiber becoming deformed due to the high thermal impact. Therefore, it is obviously not advisable to use the carbon fiber material cutted by milling in the automobile industry with high cutting requirements. Then how about the water jet machining?

With the use of a high pressure water cutter, you can utilise cold cutting to get the cleanest finish without any warping, without any damage to the tools, and without any slag being produced. By using the control system of water jet machine to design any pattern for cutting, the cutting resources can be utilized to the maximum extent and reduced the loss of the workpiece. So the water jet cutting process has become the ideal solution to milling, and also provides the best method for clean, professional cutting.

So, if we wish to make the auto industry less emissions heavy and environmentally impactful, getting used to using carbon fiber with a water jet cutting process is very much the right way to go.