A composite material is a material system

composed of two or more macro constituents

that differ in shape and chemical composition
and which are insoluble in each other. The
history of composite materials dates back to
early 20th century. In 1940, fiber glass was first
used to reinforce epoxy.

Hand Laminating with prepreg

Cutting Master Patterns
Patterns prepared for Moulding
Composite curing assembly
Chasis assembly

Flow chart of the fabrication process

 Stacking of oriented layers of oriented prepreg

Parameters that need to consider ply thickness, fibre type, ply
orientation and matrix materials and plies of the F1 team

 Full needed size pattern are cut accordingly

based on setting of CAD system.
The body are cut used 5 axis CNC milling
machine.
Patterns are cut from a tooling block
material(generally contain solid epoxy resin
containing glass micro spheres)

Before Mould

After Mould

Curing using the technique of internal pressure bag

Pressure bag applying vacuum
Additional pressure applied through elastomer bag
The bag open to autoclave glass ensuring isostatic pressure applied to mould
parts
Curing take place 7 bar pressure for 1-2 hours

Manufacturing carbon fiber can have serious environmental ramifications

and pose immediate danger to humans.
HCN & NH3
Immediately
dangerous to
human health in
small quantities.

"It used to take thousands of hours to build a chassis

out of carbon fiber now it takes four and a half
hours. It is not just about the transfer of technology
but also transfer of expertise."
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Ben Heatley

MONEY

increase

TIME

save

save

Group Corporate PR Manager at McLaren Group Ltd

ECONOMIC

Demand for
carbon fiber
expand day by day

Carbon Dioxide
(CO2) and other
greenhouse gases
contribute to
global warming

Regenerative
Thermal Oxidizer
(RTO)

The energy efficient operation and high destruction efficiency

of the RTO make it a great emission control device for a wide
variety of industrial processes.

Characteristics of materials
Super light weight
Super Strong
Super Stiff
Easily moulded into different shape

Mechanical properties

Example of usage

This carbon fibre safety cell is virtually indestructible and plays a key role in
the safety of Formula 1.

The introduction of fiber reinforced

composite chassis was one of the most
significant developments in the history
of Grand Prix motor racing.

Composite materials can only be exploited

to their full potential if one understands the
complete process from raw materials until
components are withdrawn from service.

CONCLUSION

Composites materials science and

engineering has had a significant,
often pivotal, roll in the development
of Formula 1.

Technological advances gained from these

advanced materials have produced cars that
are lighter, faster and safer than ever before.

References
Lin Liao, Journal of Advanced Materials, 1998, 30(4), 3-40.
G.Pritchard, Reinforced Plastics Durability, Woodhead, 1999.
Sehanobish, K, A Vision for Carbon Fiber Composites (CFC) in
Automotive, 2009,9th Annual SPE ACCE Keynote Presentations,
(2009)
Song,Y., Youn,J., Gutowski,T., Life cycle energy analysis of fiberreinforced composites. Composites, Part A 40 (2009) p. 1257
Verpoest I, Thanh TC, Lomov S (2005) The TECABS Project:
Development of
Manufacturing, Simulation and Design
Technologies for a Carbon Fibre Composite Car. Proceedings of the
9th Japan International SAMPE Symposium, 5661.
G. Savage, Composite material technology in formula 1 racing
car(2008)
http://www.f1scarlet.com/f1_beginners.html#construction

THANK YOU