Dragoplate

[icebob]

I was on the Volkplane users site(USA) and this product is being used by one of its forums members, though it may be of intrest to someone?

 

TECHNICAL

 

Carbon Fiber - A Truly Remarkable Material

 

The first time you hold a carbon fiber part, you will be amazed at how light, yet stiff, it is. It is twice as stiff as high-strength aluminum alloys with an ultimate tensile strength that exceeds that of steel, yet it is the weight of plastic.

 

Perfect for Special Applications

 

Due to its very high strength to weight ratio, carbon fiber materials are uniquely qualified for high performance structural components in R/C aircraft, robotics, and other demanding applications.

 

MaterialUlt. Tensile Strength (ksi)Tensile Modulus E (msi)4130 Steel125302024 –T 3 Aluminum6510Carbon Fiber20020

 

Sandwich Structure = Lighter & Stiffer Plate

 

DragonPlateâ„¢ carbon fiber laminate is an engineered sandwich structure. When a panel is flexed, the majority of the stresses are created at the outer surfaces of the panel. This is explained by engineering beam theory which shows the distribution of stress as a function of the distance from the center of the panel. It can be seen from the illustration that stresses drop off rapidly as one approaches the center of the beam. This is why I-beams have wide flanges and a thin center panel. It is why surf boards have a fiberglass skin and a foam core.

 

The highest strength to weight structure takes advantage of this phenomenon and places high strength carbon fiber at the outside skins of the panel and a lower density structural material internally as a core.

 

DragonPlate CF Laminate utilizes high quality birch plywood as its core material.* Birch is a fine-grained hardwood of exceptional toughness. It is the material of choice for wooden aircraft propellers. The birch plywood we use is a very special material with absolutely no knots or voids. Special waterproof glue is used and the plywood must be able to withstand a 24-hour boil test in water without delaminating.

 

Birch plywood laminate is approximately ½ the density of carbon fiber laminate, so DragonPlate is lighter weight than a 100% carbon fiber laminate of the same thickness. Because the bending strength of a plate is related to the square of its thickness, DragonPlate is stronger that a solid carbon fiber plate of the same weight. *wood fiber is used in the 1/32 and 1/16 inch thickness where the core is too thin for plywood

 

Comparison Tests

 

We performed bending deflection tests using our own Dragonplate carbon fiber laminate and solid carbon fiber. The test samples where identical in length/width and similar in weight per square inch. The test procedure consisted of hanging weights from the end of the material and measuring the amount of deflection that occured.

 

The graphs below show a significantly higher strength to weight ratio, proving that Dragonplate laminate is stronger in bending than solid carbon fiber of the same weight.

 

 

 

 

Regarding Quality

 

• We are an ISO 9001:2000 certified manufacturing facility.
   
   
  
• High quality carbon fiber laminates can be distinguished by their absolute flatness and lack of voids or surface bubbles.
   
   
  
• Dragonplate Carbon Fiber Laminates are manufactured by skilled technicians under rigid process control to exacting specifications. If you look at a piece of DragonPlate the quality is obvious.
   
   
  

 

 

 

 

[Deskpilot]

I have their site bookmarked for future reference. Worth looking at.

 

http://www.dragonplate.com/