Kevlar is a heat-resistant and strong synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed by Stephanie Kwolek at DuPont in 1965, this high-strength material was first used commercially in the early 1970s as a replacement for steel in racing tires. Typically it is spun into ropes or fabric sheets that can be used as such or as an ingredient in composite material components.
Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers, based on aliphatic or semi-aromatic polyamides. Nylon is a thermoplastic silky material that can be melt-processed into fibers, films, or shapes. It is made of repeating units linked by amide links similar to the peptide bonds in proteins. Nylon polymers can be mixed with a wide variety of additives to achieve many different property variations. Nylon polymers have found significant commercial applications in fabric and fibers, in shapes, and in films.
Fiber or fibre is a natural or man-made substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often incorporate fibers, for example carbon fiber and ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene.
Carbon fibers or carbon fibres are fibers about 5 to 10 micrometers (0.00020–0.00039 in) in diameter and composed mostly of carbon atoms. Carbon fibers have several advantages including high stiffness, high tensile strength, low weight, high chemical resistance, high temperature tolerance and low thermal expansion. These properties have made carbon fiber very popular in aerospace, civil engineering, military, and motorsports, along with other competition sports. However, they are relatively expensive when compared with similar fibers, such as glass fibers or plastic fibers.
E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, commonly referred to as DuPont, was an American company that was founded in July 1802 in Wilmington, Delaware, as a gunpowder mill by French-American chemist and industrialist Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours.
Synthetic fiber or synthetic fibre are fibers made by humans through chemical synthesis, as opposed to natural fibers that are directly derived from living organisms. They are the result of extensive research by scientists to improve upon naturally occurring animal and plant fibers. In general, synthetic fibers are created by extruding fiber-forming materials through spinnerets, forming a fiber. These are called synthetic or artificial fibers. Synthetic fibers are created by a process known as polymerization, which involves combining monomers to make a long chain or polymer. The word polymer comes from a Greek prefix "poly" which means "many" and suffix "mer" which means "single units".. There are two types of polymerization: linear polymerization and cross-linked polymerization.
Aramid fibers are a class of heat-resistant and strong synthetic fibers. They are used in aerospace and military applications, for ballistic-rated body armor fabric and ballistic composites, in marine cordage, marine hull reinforcement, and as an asbestos substitute. The name is a portmanteau of "aromatic polyamide".
Mitsui Group is one of the largest keiretsu in Japan and one of the largest corporate groups in the world.
Sumitomo Corporation is one of the largest worldwide Sogo shosha general trading companies, and is a diversified corporation. The company was incorporated in 1919 and is a member company of the Sumitomo Group.
Stephanie Louise Kwolek was an American chemist who is known for inventing Kevlar. She was of Polish heritage and her career at the DuPont company spanned more than 40 years. She discovered the first of a family of synthetic fibers of exceptional strength and stiffness: poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide.
Kuraray Co., Ltd is a Japanese manufacturer of chemicals, fibers and other materials. Their main manufacturing facilities are located in Kurashiki, Okayama. The company's Tokyo administrative offices are located in Otemachi, Chiyoda in the Ote Center Building and its Osaka offices are located in the Umeda Hankyu Building). As of June 2007, Kuraray was the sole worldwide producer of Vectran liquid crystal polymer (LCP) fibre.
Teijin Limited is a Japanese chemical, pharmaceutical and information technology company. Its main fields of operation are high-performance fibers such as aramid, carbon fibers & composites, healthcare, films, resin & plastic processing, polyester fibers, products converting and IT products.
Asahi Kasei Corporation is a multinational Japanese chemical company. Its main products are chemicals and materials science.
Alcantara is the brand name of a common synthetic textile material. It has a soft, suede-like microfiber pile and is noted for its durability. Alcantara is commonly seen in automotive applications, as a substitute for leather and vinyl in vehicle interior trim. It is also used in the design, fashion, consumer electronics and marine industries.
Ube Industries, Ltd. is a Japanese chemical company manufacturing chemicals, plastics, battery materials, pharmaceuticals, cement, construction materials, and machinery.
The DuPont Experimental Station is the largest research and development facility of DuPont. Located on the banks of the Brandywine Creek in Wilmington, Delaware, it is home to some of the most important discoveries of the modern chemical industry.
Mitsui & Co., Ltd. is one of the largest sogo shosha in Japan; it is part of the Mitsui Group, and Its business area covers energy, machinery, chemicals, food, textile, logistics, finance, and more.
Carbon fiber reinforced polymer, Carbon fibre reinforced polymer, or carbon fiber reinforced plastic, or carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic, is an extremely strong and light fiber-reinforced plastic which contains carbon fibers. The spelling 'fibre' is typically used outside the US. CFRPs can be expensive to produce, but are commonly used wherever high strength-to-weight ratio and stiffness (rigidity) are required, such as aerospace, superstructures of ships, automotive, civil engineering, sports equipment, and an increasing number of consumer and technical applications.
Unitika Ltd is a Japanese company based in Osaka. Primarily, the company produces various textiles, glass, plastics, and carbon fiber products. They are also known for their films, which are used in consumer products like athletic apparel and food packaging.
Toray Advanced Composites is a multi-national producer and supplier of advanced composite materials. In the twentieth century, it developed a range of high-performance thermoplastic composites and thermoset pre-preg resins that are used today in a broad spectrum of applications.
The company's plant in Saint-Maurice-de-Beynost, France
A roof assembly for the SRT Viper from Toray made carbon fiber composite material
