The Carbon Fiber Phone: A Case For Rapid Prototyping

1. The Carbon Fiber Phone: A Case For Rapid Prototyping Carbon fiber has thus far not been a material that smart phone manufacturers looked to for creating new models. Why? Because it has one major flaw: it interferes with radio signals. Still, it was only a matter of time before someone came up with a carbon fiber phone. Now that a manufacturer has actually done so, we should start seeing more carbon fiber phones emerge. The new phone in question is one made by a company known as Carbon Mobile. Though we had nothing to do with designing and manufacturing of the phone, we suspect that its designers put a lot of effort into prototyping. They might have even invested in rapid prototyping to get their product to market as quickly as possible. From Design to Manufacturing Prototyping is one of the main engines that helps drive new products from the design stage to full manufacturing. It is not exclusive to the composites industry either. However, our industry does have an advantage in that we can offer rapid prototyping capabilities that can turn over new parts in a matter of hours. We have no way of knowing what type of prototyping process Carbon Mobile relied on. Still, we love to speculate. Common sense would dictate that they had to work with a company like ours to come up with a carbon fiber case that would not interfere with radio signals. Apparently, that's exactly what they did. Thin and Light Carbon Mobile's phone is made with several composite materials. Designers managed to integrate both carbon fiber and what they referred to as "radio permitting" composites to create a phone that still allows for adequate cell reception. They integrated their chosen composites to create a monocoque case – a case that combines chassis and body into a single piece. The finished product is a thin and light phone that weighs in at just 125 grams. One would expect that the monocoque is extremely durable as well. It would have to be. You need extra durability when you are building a phone of such small size. Rock West Composites

2. Why Rapid Prototyping? Again, we speculate that rapid prototyping was utilized to develop this phone. Why? Because rapid prototyping is faster, more productive and, ultimately, cost-effective. The whole concept of rapid prototyping is speed; it allows you to get products to market much faster than traditional prototyping. In the case of a carbon fiber smartphone, the physical design of a monocoque is pretty straightforward. Prototyping is required only to figure out the best integration of multiple composite materials and how to ultimately manufacture the finished product for the mass- market. This suggests that drastic design changes from one prototype to the next were unlikely. Instead, you are looking at slight tweaks here and there. Rapid prototyping makes it possible to implement those tweaks and come up with a new part in hours. It has the potential of significantly reduce the amount of time it takes to get a product to market. Your Prototyping Needs Much of what you read here regarding Carbon Mobile's new carbon fiber phone is speculation. We honestly do not know the details of what went into making this phone. However, we do know that prototyping is a good idea for any new composite product. If you are looking to get a new product to market, we can assist by meeting your prototyping needs. Our designers and engineers can work with you to perfect your designs. We can create multiple prototypes for testing purposes. We can even help devise the manufacturing processes you will eventually rely on. Whatever your prototyping needs, we are here to help. Rock West Composites