Other Applications
CFRP has also found application in the construction of high-end audio components such as turntables and loudspeakers, again due to its stiffness.
It is used for parts in a variety of musical instruments, including violin bows, guitar pick-guards, and a durable ebony replacement for bagpipe chanters. It is also used to create entire musical instruments such as Viktorian Guitars carbon fiber rider models, Luis and Clark carbon fiber cellos, and Mix carbon fiber mandolins.
In firearms it can substitute for metal, wood, and fiberglass in many areas of a firearm in order to reduce overall weight. However, while it is possible to make the receiver out of synthetic material such as carbon fiber, many of the internal parts are still limited to metal alloys as current reinforced plastics are unsuitable replacements.
CFRP is used, either as standard equipment or in aftermarket parts, in high-performance radio-controlled vehicles and aircraft, e.g. for the main rotor blades of radio controlled helicopters—which should be light and stiff to perform fast aerobatic maneuvers.
Fire resistance of polymers or thermoset composites is significantly improved if a thin layer of carbon fibers is molded near the surface—dense, compact layer of carbon fibers efficiently reflects heat.
IBM/Lenovo's ThinkPad laptops, Dell's XPS13 and several Sony laptop models use this technology.
Carbon fiber is a popular material to form the handles of high-end knives.
Read more about this topic: Carbon-fiber-reinforced Polymer