Materials - Kevlar

General

One of the strongest materials available today, kevlar is normally combined with other materials (eg carbon) to provide a tough, durable and flexible material. Its uses stretch from strengthening the jenoah sails on yachts to forming bullet proof vests. Kevlar is extremely expensive and has special handling requirements.

Properties

Forming

Cutting
Resistant to cutting. More information required.

Bending
Can easily be formed into virtally any shape. Can be left as a flexible material or hardened by combining with different other materials. Carbon Kevlar is one of the most common, with cotton or nylon kevlar used as well. To fix shapes, kevlar needs to be heated to 50 degrees celsius in a pressurised environment. This may be a vaccum bag or pressurised autoclave oven.

Casting
Not applicable.

Welding
Not applicable.

Grinding/Filing
Not really applicable. Can be ground, but this will cause damage to the structure of the material.

Joining
Information not available.

Handling and Storage

Kevlar must be kept in a freezer prior to use to prevent any curing taking place. As with all man-made substances, care should be taken in the form of gloves, masks etc.

Links

rswww.com	Supplier, look under Mechanics/Engineering Materials

If you have further information on this area, please email it to us at robotwars101@lineone.net