Japan-based Toho Tenax Co. Ltd., a manufacturer of carbon fibers and a Teijin Group company, has
developed a thinner, lighter-weight carbon fabric suitable for forming prepregs for composite use.
A thinner prepreg fabric allows a thicker prepreg layer to be used for the composite, which can
increase the rigidity of the composite while lowering the overall weight.
The fabric features a newly-developed carbon fiber yarn engineered specifically for
ultra-thin fabrics. At 60 grams per square meter, the fabric weighs less than half as much as a
conventional light carbon fiber fabric, according to Toho Tenax.
The fabric also owes its thin 0.6-millimeter profile to yarn-spreading technology provided by
Toho Tenax’s development partner Japan-based Sakai Ovex Co. Ltd.
The product is suitable for such high-strength, low-weight end-use applications as personal
computer casings as well as golf club and tennis racquet shafts, according to the company.
Toho Tenax plans to expand its carbon fiber business in the prepreg area, with the goal of
selling more than 300,000 square meters of fabric valued at more than $1.8 billion by March 2013.
March 17, 2010