When buying carbon fiber sheets, you may see technical terms about K such as 1k, 2k, 3k, 6k, 12k, 24k... If you don’t delve into it, 90% of buyers may not know what they mean and what is the difference between them. Now, let's Dronecarbon tell you.
Carbon fiber filaments are very thin, a continuous cylinder of carbon fiber filaments 5-8 microns in diameter is roughly 1/20 the size of a human hair, usually not used alone, it needs to combine thousands of filaments into a bundle(These fibers are woven into fabric with various weave patterns), and then weave it into a carbon fiber sheet, tubular products or other artifacts. The specifications of carbon fiber can be divided into 1K, 2K, 3K, 6K, 12k, 24K and so on.
K represents the number of a bundle of carbon fiber filaments. How many K represents how many carbon fiber filaments there are in a bundle. For example, 1K means a bundle of 1000 carbon fiber filaments, 3K means a bundle of 3000 carbon fiber filaments, 6K means a bundle of 6000 carbon fiber filaments, and so on. In the market of carbon fiber products, the most common is 3k. And 3K have a wide range of application. Such as drone fields, RC fields, car accessories, components of high-speed railways, and so on.
Seeing this, many people may mistakenly think that the amount of K will affect the quality of carbon fiber plates. In fact, this is not the case, the amount of K will only affect the appearance and texture of the carbon fiber board. You can see the image below, the texture on the left is 3k and the texture on the right is 12k. You will find that the grid of the 3k texture is smaller than the 12k. The difference between them is mainly that the linear density is different and the weaving process requirements are different. Generally, 1k, 2k, and 3k prices are higher than 6K, 12K, 24K
Compared with 1k, 6k, 12k, 24k, 3K carbon fiber is the most common and popular carbon fiber. Widely used in aviation, industrial fields, construction, sports, leisure products and other fields. Usually, 3k is thinner than 12k because 3k has a bundle of fibers that is much smaller than 12k. 3K is the workhorse of carbon fiber. Not only is it lightweight, but it's relatively stiff and easy to obtain and manufacture. Although it is not as hard as 1k, it is sufficient in many fields.
1K and 2k Carbon Fiber is very rare in the market. So the price also is very expensive.
Both are lighter than other fibers. 1k carbon fiber is low-modulus fiber and is more used for finishing surfaces. Using 2k carbon fiber can make the plate perfect stiffness, low weight, and great vertical compliance.
6K Carbon Fiber is very easy to wet out and smoother. Normally use in aerospace, car tuning, building reinforcement, etc
Due to 12K carbon fiber having higher tensile strength, it is used in military and industrial robotics.
12K carbon fiber is very easy to produce and cheap this is because it only takes 1 layer instead of 3 layers. Some customers will use it to reduce their budget. The premise is that there is no requirement for weight. As we all know, the larger the weave, the heavier it is.
Dronecarbon is a manufacturer of carbon fiber sheets and tubes in China. We use imported Toray carbon fiber filaments to produce carbon fiber plates tubes and can supply various sizes and thicknesses. All our carbon fiber sheets and tubes have high performance like high tensile strength, waterproof, corrosion resistant, and lightweight. Test reports and different specifications are available.