Traditionally, it has been difficult to manufacture large quantities of carbon-fiber composites. That drawback has hindered widescale use of the lightweight material in the mainstream auto industry. However, engineers in Germany have developed a new process that makes it possible to use injection-molding technology.
Continuous fiber-reinforced composites with thermoplastic matrix resins are very well suited for use in automotive manufacturing. But, it has traditionally only been possible to use injection-molding for fiber-reinforced composites made of short fibers or long fibers.