'World's first' one-piece carbon fibre wheel unveiled
The world's first one-piece carbon fibre composite wheel has been touted by Australian firm Carbon Revolution.
The CR9 is said to demonstrate exceptional strength and stiffness characteristics, and be 40-50% lighter than premium oem equivalents made from aluminium. Constructed from continuous fibre, it is targeted at automotive and aerospace applications and optimised to offer improvements in acceleration, braking, ride and handling.
While details of the manufacturing process have not been unveiled, the wheels are said to merge "the rigour of aerospace processes with the efficiency and control of high volume automotive production."
Carbon Revolution is currently in the process of commissioning its first commercial production line and working with specialist finite element analysis partners to develop new and better approaches to accurately model the specific properties of carbon fibres.
The company has also designed and patented a bolted joint system which is said to solve the challenges of attaching composites to metals under dynamic loading conditions.
