Teijin introduces prototype electric vehicle with light-carbon fiber frame

Carbon fiber is a lightweight product that has had limited application in the automotive industry due to its high cost. It is primarily used in aircraft due to its ability to improve fuel efficiency. Japan’s Teijin Ltd. has come up with a way to produce an electric vehicle with a carbon fiber frame that could be produced commercially. The prototype vehicle has a weight of only 47 kg which is only one fifth as much as conventional automotive steel frame. The key to lowering production costs in the use of carbon fiber is shortening the molding time. The standard procedure has been to use a resin that hardens when it is heated. Teijin reportedly uses a resin that softens when heated and hardens when cooled which shortens the molding time by five to nine minutes. (March 10, 2011)