Conclusion Always First
Dry carbon is produced with prepreg cured in high-temperature, high-pressure conditions for superior strength and lightweight properties.
Wet carbon fiber is made by hand lay-up carbon fiber cloth with resin then curing in vacuum bag without high temperatures, which is more simpler and more cost-effective process.
If you are in the carbon fiber industry or you are interested in carbon fiber products, you must be hear about the “dry carbon fiber” and “wet carbon fiber”, and people always say dry carbon is good, and wet carbon is not very good. Today, I would like to introduce what is the difference between “dry” and “wet” carbon fiber. And why people think that dry carbon is better than wet.
The terms “dry” and “wet” in carbon fiber are 2 different lamination processes used to encase the carbon fiber material within the polymer when produce the carbon fiber products.
Each type has its own set of advantages and disadvantages, but understanding the differences will help you towards making a good decision about which method is more suitable for your application.
Actually “Dry carbon fiber” is wet, and “Wet carbon fiber” is dried, I know you are confuse with this sentence, please check the method of these 2 lamination process below:
What is Dry Carbon Fiber
Dry carbon refers to carbon fiber products laminated using a prepreg (pre-impregnated) process. The prepreg has impregnated with precise resin from our prepreg production line, we don’t need to spray or brush the epoxy resin manually because it’s already “wet”, that’s why we said dry carbon is “wet”. After laminated, it will be put in the vacuum bag and curing in the high-temperature and high-pressure composite autoclave machine, which ensure the epoxy resin is distributed uniformly to the products to avoid defects like air pockets, pinholes etc.
Advantage:
High quality finish: With this method, the carbon fiber texture details is very neat and 3D effect is relatively strong even in the corner place.
Lighter and thinner: Because of the precise controlled resin content in the prepreg, and curing in the high-pressure autoclave, to result the final product both thinner and lighter.
Superior quality: Due to high-pressure and high-temperature in the composite autoclave, the pinholes and air pockets have been removed, to make the structure of carbon fiber composite more dense and uniform, thus improving its strength and rigidity.
Disadvantage:
Higher cost: This method only can be processed in the factory because the autoclaves are required, and the prepreg is much more expensive than the carbon fiber cloth, which make the price higher.
Raw material: The prepreg must be stored at -20°C to not cure by themselves at room temperature, so it’s hard to ship and storage.
What is Wet Carbon Fiber
Wet carbon fiber is applied with resin manually when process the carbon fiber products. You need to lay up the fabric and brush or spray the epoxy resin for each layer by hand: One layer of fabric, one layer of epoxy resin…, until to the actual thickness that you need. Then put the completed sheets in the vacuum bag to cure in the oven or room temperature, the vacuum’s pressure forces the resin into the fabric and covers it entirely. Which is also called Vacuum Bagging Only (VBO).
Advantage：
Lower cost: Because the carbon fiber fabric is much cheaper than prepreg and easy to ship, so make the wet carbon fiber products are more affordable than dry carbon fiber.
Simpler production process: Easier to get the raw material, and the process is faster, making is suitable for small scale production.
Disadvantage:
Heavier and thicker: The resin cannot uniformly distributed cross the sheets, and the excess resin will be in the final products, to cause it heavier and thicker, and uneven thickness.
Not good surface: It doesn’t look smooth, and the texture details are not uniform. Especially in the corner position, it appears chaotic.
Potential for defects: Because without high pressure and high temperature, it may subject to having more pinholes and air pocket , which is lower strength and stiffness compared to dry carbon.
Differences Between Dry Carbon and Wet Carbon
Manufacturing Process
Dry carbon uses carbon fiber prepreg and high-pressure curing. Wet carbon is produced manually by applying resin to carbon fiber fabric and curing under vacuum pressure.
Weight
Wet carbon fiber is around 3 times heavier than dry carbon fiber.
Thickness
Wet carbon fiber is around 2 times thicker than dry carbon fiber.
Appearance
Dry carbon fiber has very neat texture and clear 3D effect even in the corner position. But the surface is wet carbon fiber looks not very smooth.
To Summarize
The dry carbon fiber is better than wet carbon fiber, no matter on the appearance or the physical properties, while the wet carbon fiber is cheaper and easy to fabricate, just choose the right one that meet your budget.
Sinofibre provides 2 methods dry carbon fiber products: Composite autoclave and Compression moulding machine, both methods have similar output capacity and physical properties. Let us know if you have further questions, welcome to contact Sinofibre.
