Dutch sports car maker Donkervoort has developed an environmentally friendly carbon-fiber manufacturing process in which complex shapes can be made from a single piece.
Under development since 2007, the process, named Ex-Core, involves a lightweight expanding foam at a certain temperature, pushing from the inside of a sheet of carbon-fiber to force fibers into complex shapes. The internal pressure ensures that all fibers are accurately and evenly pushed into corners and edges. This means reinforcement materials are no longer needed to rectify assumed defects post-forming, thus creating lighter components that still retain all the strength properties of traditionally made carbon-fiber pieces.
Due to the innovative nature of the production process, the car maker has received interest and demand from multiple different sectors including marine, motorsport, bicycle, specialist sport and drone companies, and is even offering a better understanding of the technology to other world-famous car manufacturers.
