Carbon fiber is a very unique material with special properties that often go unnoticed and under appreciated. We're here to share all of the awesome details that go into different types of carbon fiber weaves. In each section we'll cover a different type of carbon fiber weave and what rings we make using that weave.
The Twill Weave (Racer and more...)
When people think of carbon fiber, this is most likely what they are picturing. Although the bulk of the worlds carbon fiber is not in woven form such as this, it is the most recognizable. This popular twill weave provides great durability while reducing the frequency of chipping and or splintering otherwise possible with other types of carbon fiber. In other words, if one damages their twill woven ring, the fiber will most likely only chip a millimeter or two to the next weave.
Race cars are often seen covered in this particular woven style for this reason. You can imagine the number of rocks and rock chips a race car sustains while zipping around a track at breakneck speeds. This carbon fiber polishes up nicely and can easily be refinished using a little water and a scotch brite pad.
Unidirectional (Bullet and more...)
Unidirectional carbon fiber is often referred to as the true carbon fiber workhorse. "Uni" carbon fiber makes up the majority of almost every single composite aircraft, spacecraft or marine craft built these days. The reason for this has little to do with cost and almost everything to do with the fact that uni carbon fiber can be oriented in 3 dimensional space to yield properties that exceed those of some of the most exotic metals, all while being significantly lighter weight too.
Although our unidirectional rings may not be the most durable of the bunch, they still offer great strength and can most easily be sanded smooth if damaged. Unlike our twill woven ring styles like the Racer, you run little to no risk of distorting the pattern of these ring styles. No worries if you happen to chip it and need to sand the chip smooth.
Filament Wound (Ranger and more...)
Filament wound carbon fiber is both strong and lightweight. The name comes from the process by which these rings are made. We take a raw spool of dry carbon fiber (generally about 10 lb spools) and pull these carbon fiber "tows" or bands through a bath of wet resin. This gooey fibrous strand is subsequently wound around a rotating mandrel or tool that then forms the shape of the ring in tubular form.
Due to the fiber being wound back and forth and up to 50 times in some cases a very unique aesthetic is realized. This appearance is sometimes referred to as "black camo" due to its discontinuous yet nicely fading patchwork of fiber orientations.
Twill Sidecut (Wave ring styles)
This unique style of carbon fiber is simply a twill weave turned 90 degrees. Imagine a thick plate of carbon fiber, roughly as thick as a ring's width (say 8mm), and comprised of up to 12 individual stacked woven carbon fiber layers. The blanks for our rings are then precision machined out of these carbon fiber sheets using special CNC equipment. After shaping and polishing by one of our builders, the ring is left with its unique waves.
Forged (Shogun and more...)
Forged carbon fiber is very unique both in its appearance and its build process. Unlike other patterns, this carbon fiber is not so much woven together as it is layered. Many many strips of carbon fiber tow are combined with a resin binder in a mold and put under extreme pressure and heat. This literally "Forges" the carbon into a block that we work into a ring.
This specific type of carbon fiber is very popular in industrial applications thanks to it's versatility in shape and it's strength which can even outperform metals. However, Its unique aesthetic still ensures its use in more decorative applications as well.
Press formed quasi-isotropic unidirectional laminate sequence. (Daimyo and more...)
Yes. Actually. But despite its very complicated name its actually a very simple material.
Press formed linear (Lets just call it "Press formed", yeah?) carbon fiber is very similar to the Unidirectional carbon fiber used in The Bullet. The key difference is how the layers are individually oriented. Each of the 100 distinct layers in this carbon fiber are alternated which creates its unique patterning in the cross section. This pattern appears as vertical or diagonal lines, depending on how the sheets are cut. You'll find us using both these vertical and diagonal patterns in a variety of rings.
Ultimately, carbon fiber is a very versatile and interesting material
Which is why we love it. Despite only being a single color, the amount of patterns you can achieve just by alternating strands and getting creative is staggering. Not to mention its strength. You can see how we leverage that versatility in our carbon fiber rings available here.
