Turning carbon fibres into connectors
13 Jun 2002
Xerox Corporation has developed a way to make carbon fibre into connectors that can conduct electricity just like a traditional metal connector.
CarbonConX itself uses a process called 'pultrusion' to bundle thousands of thin carbon fibres into one coated, rigid element - like packing thousands of straws together into a solid block or rod. It takes about 1,000 fibres to make a rod 0.3 millimetres in diameter.
When the rod is cut, each end therefore is densely packed with thousands of points available to make electrical contacts. That means, says Xerox, that the carbon connector is more reliable than metal - and, at the same time, structurally stronger and more resistant to breakage because of the characteristics of the polymer and carbon bundle.
In addition, compared to metal, carbon connectors are far less susceptible to corrosion and contamination with elements such as saltwater, heat and dust. What's more, they can be produced with around 90% fewer manufacturing steps than metal connectors, saving manufacturing time and money. And, CarbonConX can be made into various shapes, configurations and sizes.
Xerox originally invented CarbonConX to efficiently bleed static electricity away from electrical components inside printers and copiers, as fast-moving paper generates static charges that need to be channelled to the ground. CarbonConX has since proven to be the preferred technology to improve contact reliability in a printer's internal 'dirty' environment.
CarbonConX technology, also known as 'distributed filament contacts,' is protected by a portfolio of more than 30 patents. Today, about 75% of high-end Xerox printers use CarbonConX technology. Xerox has now made the technology available for licensing.
