Australian scientists for the first time have been able to produce the nation’s first home-grown carbon fibre, paving the way for a new Australian industry to mass-produce the material which is used in everything from bicycles and tennis rackets to satellites and fighter planes.<\/p>\n
The CSIRO \u2013 Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation \u2013 says its scientists, working with Victoria’s Deakin University, have produced the fibre.<\/p>\n
Carbon fibre combines high rigidity, tensile strength and chemical resistance with low weight, and is used in everything from aviation and defence to space and car manufacturing.<\/p>\n
Until now Australia has been frozen out of this market. Carbon fibre has been made only by a handful of manufacturers around the world, each of whom hold their own secret, patented recipes, the CSIRO says.<\/p>\n
“Cracking the carbon code will allow industry to manufacture this incredibly strong and lightweight material for the first time from scratch, using Australia’s own top-secret recipe,” CSIRO CEO Larry Marshall said yesterday.<\/p>\n
The CSIRO says its first attempt has created car-quality carbon fibre, But, said research director John Tsanaktsidis: “We now expect to improve on that result and produce aerospace-standard carbon fibre.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"