FIBERGLASS CLOTH offers very good tensile strength, chemical resistance, flexibility, heat resistance, and it can be applied into complex mold shapes without much difficulty. It is also a very cost effective reinforcement fabric, with a wide range of weaves and directional cloths available. It is also available in narrow rolls of fiberglass tape. Fiberglass cloth offers better strength while saving weight when compared to fiberglass Matte.
FIBERGLASS MAT is a very inexpensive form of fiberglass consisting of short strands of fiberglass stuck together with a binder. Fiberglass mat offers lower stiffness and strength when compared with fiberglass cloth, however it is great for bulking a laminate, and preventing print through when used with other cloths in a laminate. When using fiberglass mat, always check that the adhesive resin system being used will break down the mat’s binder for proper saturation.
CARBON FIBER CLOTH provides the highest strength and stiffness among these cloth materials. It is generally the most expensive of these materials. Carbon fiber is relatively easy to cut and machine despite its strengths. It is available in a range of directional cloths, twill, and plain weave.
KEVLAR® CLOTH offers toughness. It has the highest abrasion resistance and tolerates the widest temperature range of these cloth materials. It has very high strength, excellent impact resistance, great stiffness, and low stretch. Kevlar® cloth is much more difficult to apply neatly in curved or complex molds. It is more challenging to cut, it does not sand cleanly, and requires specialized bits and tools to machine cleanly. Jamestown Distributors offers Kevlar® in plain weave and rolls of different tape widths.