Offering lightness, structure, stiffness, ICF compounds provide a sustainable, high-performance alternative that can support a wide range of industrial applications. These compounds, which can be used as a metal replacement, contain post-industrial recycled carbon fibre, and are finished with a carbon fibre content of 10 to 40%.
As a way to repurpose carbon fibre offcuts from the automotive industry, ICF compounds offer sustainability. But beyond their green credentials, these low-density recycled carbon fibre compounds have great properties, including:
- Good tribological properties (low-wear)
- Good electrical conductivity
- Good thermal conductivity
- Excellent stiffness and flexural stiffness
- Good flexural stress
- Low linear thermal expansion
Low-density, high-stiffness compounds support weight reduction
ICF compounds display a 25% density advantage over glass fibre compounds used in the same applications. With 25% less material needed to achieve comparable tensile modulus, ICF creates the opportunity for significant weight reduction.
These low-density recycled carbon fibre compounds display greater strength than glass fibre even at high temperatures. And while the tensile modulus is highest in freshly moulded ICF compounds, it remains greater than that of glass fibre reinforced alternatives even in conditioned compounds.
Carbon Fibre compounds’ excellent stiffness and flexural stiffness provide significant opportunities to manufacturers. In the case of dynamically loaded structural components, even greater weight reduction can be achieved through part design modifications based on the gain in stiffness.
ICF compounds perform well under stress
ICF compounds display good flexural stress behavior and good tribological properties. They can withstand significant force and repetitive use and maintain their strength.
Additionally, the ICF product line has low linear thermal expansion, so these materials are well-suited to uses in which they may experience significant temperature fluctuation
ICF compounds display good thermal and electrical conductivity
The thermal conductivity of these compounds makes them well-suited to applications where heat must be dissipated quickly. Their low thermal expansion means they will not warp in situations of high heat.
ICF compounds also possess good electrical conductivity. This quality allows them to be used in electrical shielding applications and parts that need to provide grounding.
Find the right ICF compound for your product
These ICF compounds come from automotive industry carbon fibre offcuts, and do not experience any thermal treatment. Instead, the proprietary recycling technology employs only a cutting and mechanical mining process.
When designing parts with carbon fiber reinforced compounds, it's crucial to consider their specific physical properties. The range of ICF compounds from AKRO-PLASTIC, includes:
- Polyamide 6 (AKROMID® B)
- Polyamide 6.6 (AKROMID® A)
- PPA (AKROMID® T)
- PA 6.6 with a partially aromatic CoPA (AKROLOY® PA)
- PA PARA (AKROLOY® PARA)
- Aliphatic polyketone (AKROTEK® PK)
- Polyesters (PRECITE®)
Contact your local representative for compound specifications, samples, and expert advice on selecting the right material for your needs.
