Carbon fiber in Inoxstyle showers
Inoxstyle’s continuous investments in Research & Development have led to the use of carbon fiber for the construction of its garden and yacht showers. This material has given our showers new properties that we will see in detail in this article.
History and characteristics of carbon fiber
Carbon fiber appeared on the market starting from 1963, after in 1958 in a laboratory in Cleveland, Ohio some researchers investigated Edison’s discovery dated as far back as 1879.
The first prototype of this material created in America represented such an important discovery as to convince scientists and industrialists to further their studies on the subject to find a more efficient and less expensive production method.
Carbon fibers, together with glass fibers, started the era of advanced composite materials. Initially for military or aeronautical use and later also for products in the automotive and leisure industry.
Carbon Fiber Trivia
Graphic Configuration: this is the secret of the high mechanical properties of Carbon Fiber. In fact, the carbon atoms arrange themselves in this configuration thanks to particular thermal treatments to which the precursor material is subjected.
Very thin: carbon fibers are 10 times thinner than a human hair. To increase resistance, they are then joined into filaments which are usually woven into a real fabric.
High-Tech Fabrics: The carbon fiber products are the combination of a carbon fabric and a particular resin that distributes the tensions to the fiber and gives the geometry of the piece.
Layer upon layer: you wouldn’t think so given the incredible thinness but the manufacturing of carbon consists precisely in pressing several layers of carbon fabric soaked in resin inside heated molds in order to obtain a compact and light laminate.
Carbon fiber, why did we choose it for our showers?
This fiber is a mixture of materials of different chemical compositions which combine in synergy to obtain certain chemical, physical and mechanical properties, thus creating an ultra-light, rigid and extremely strong material.
Each tangle of carbon filaments forms a whole formed by the union of many thousands of filaments. Each individual filament has a cylindrical shape with a diameter of 5-8 μm and consists of 92% carbon.
With carbon you can do practically everything, depending on the type of processing to which it is subjected, all very complex: the current methods for the production of carbon fiber in fact tend to be slow and energy consuming.
The production of carbon fibers, starting from polyacrylonitrile, is carried out through an industrial process which involves three stages:
- Heating
- Oxidation
- Carbonization
The production of carbon fiber requires very high quality standards to ensure strength and durability; many manufacturers test each product made by passing it to X-rays to highlight the presence of imperfections that cannot be deciphered with the naked eye.
Inoxstyle already uses this material in its products, creating showers in stainless steel and carbon fiber such as the Carbon & Steel line. Why? Because carbon fiber is a material that guarantees us high resistance, low weight, particular and elegant textures and designs for a unique piece of furniture.
