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Filed under: Gadgets There are lots of watchmakers that cultivate relationships with automakers and Formula One teams, but few have managed to establish themselves quite like TAG Heuer, whose sponsorship of F1, among other motorsport disciplines, has made their products synonymous with racing. Now TAG is hoping to carry its status into the optics industry, and this is their latest effort: the TAG Heuer C-Flex. If you were wondering why more eyeglass companies haven't made frames out of carbon fiber, this is the answer. The C-Flex is made of the lightweight, high-strength (and high-cost) wonder-material, with fixtures from titanium in a flexible design said to be inspired by the suspension on an F1 car that, along with the patented nose pads, instantly adjusts to your face. The TAG Heuer C-Flex was unveiled at the recent Silmo optical show in Paris, where it won the Golden Award for its innovative design, and will become available (for an assuredly princely sum) in Spring 2009. [Source...
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Filed under: Trends , Plants/Manufacturing , Earnings/Financials If you were looking at carbon fiber as the magical lightweight solution to the parallel automotive woes of low power-to-weight ratios and high fuel consumption, we have some potentially disappointing news for you. Two of the world's largest suppliers of carbon fiber have announced that they are raising their prices. And not by a little, either, with the going rate for the high-tech material rising by 10 to 30 percent in one shot. The simultaneous announcement from Toray Industries Inc. (the #1 supplier of carbon fiber) and Mitsubishi Rayon Co. (the third largest) marks the first time both companies have universally raised their prices at the same time. The development would border on price-fixing if not for the fact that the second biggest carbon fiber manufacturer, Teijin Ltd., didn't participate. However Teijin is expected to announce its own price hike sometime this week, as well. We all expected prices to drop...
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Filed under: Green , Japan , Tech On the surface, carbon fiber sounds like a wonder-product which can replace much of the heavy metal, especially steel, that makes up the vast majority of nearly every automobile's structure. Dig a bit deeper, however, and there are a few flies in CF's ointment that make it very difficult to use in vehicles: price, supply and the time it takes to mold a the weaved material. Japan's big three carbon fiber producers are tackling each of these issues in a number of ways. First, the price of CF is expected to become more competitive as both carbon cloth goes down and rolled sheet steel goes up. What's more, as additional CF producing plants come online in the coming years, both the price and availability should improve. Third, new molding processes are being developed which could reduce the time it takes to produce a CF part from hours to minutes. Carbon fiber is expected to ease the transition to more fuel efficient vehicles as it weights a...
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