Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Second-Generation iPad to Gain Carbon Fiber Body?

I would love it, but it is doubtful. The CF would act as an insulator and everyone would be bitching and moaning about their hands and laps being burned or how their shiny CF got scratched or why the exhaust fans now run at such a high RPM. Lastly, producing CF is much more expensive then milling a solid aluminum block. Just my 2 cents :) For lols, check this link out. It appears you can even pamper your behind with CF: http://store.carbonfibergear.com/carbon-fiber-toilet-seat?___store=default
 
BobbyCarbn said:
I would love it, but it is doubtful. The CF would act as an insulator and everyone would be bitching and moaning about their hands and laps being burned.
Click to expand...

An insulating material would keep the heat in and insulate you from the heat while possibly degrading performance. A conductive material like aluminum allows the heat to escape into your lap. If anything, the aluminum back would burn you...
 
I call BS...

DukeOfHunslet said:
Even if there's some truth in it I think it's a bad move.

Carbon Fibre/Fiber while being very light and strong is usually made to work under given conditions. One of those conditions is temperature.

One of the reasons Mercedes Benz are hanging back from using Carbon parts on production cars is the problem of keeping up the warranty when it's new owner subjects it to heat or cold - the parts begin to rapidly fail.

A carbon case on a mac is likely to be coated with something to insulate it - not good when it's casing is meant to be a heat sink to start with.

Carbon parts in motorsport have a user life of a fraction of the production parts they replace and are nearly always made to work in a set temperature range.
Click to expand...

Carbon Fiber has no issues to temperature - Maybe in extremes like +500 or -500 degrees.

Want proof? Ferrari, McLaren, Lotus, Tesla all build cars with Carbon Fiber bodies and in McLarens case, even the chassis is a Carbon Fiber monocoque piece. I have never seen a warning that says the owner of any of the said cars cannot use their car in Germany in the middle of winter, or they cannot use their car in Nevada during the summer.

Do you want even more proof? Boeing have built the new 787 largely out of Carbon Fiber components. Last time I checked commercial air-liners cruise at 35,000 feet. The outside air temperature at 35,000 feet is about -67 degrees fahrenheit.

So I believe that if Apple were to use Carbon Fiber in it's products, I'm pretty sure temperature won't be an issue. :eek:
 
BobbyCarbn said:
...why the exhaust fans now run at such a high RPM.
Click to expand...

iPads don't (currently) have exhaust fans. There is an advantage to having a CF body notebook though because it would insulate (not transfer heat as well) better than an aluminum body. PLUS the CF does break down over time under intense heat, especially repeated cycles of hot/cold.

The early MBP I had should have come with a teflon coating on the back to either be used as a fry pan, or to keep my skin from sticking to it... :eek:
 
FIJIGabe said:
(3) carbon fiber has to be one of the least environmentally unfriendly materials out there. figure that right now, many companies are trying to figure out HOW to recycle the material. aluminum is easily recyclable. Apple is trying to be as "green" as possible. i don't think a CF body for the next iPad will help advance that in any way.
Click to expand...

Agreed... Apple strive to build more eco friendly items where possible. Aluminum and glass are infinitely recyclable. Carbon Fiber = Not so much.
 
People keep mentioning Boeing (and I have too) and the Dreamliner.

I remain skeptical about their choice of carbon fiber for that plane. Sure, Airbus has used Carbon Fiber tails for many years but anyone remember that crash shortly after 9/11 when the tail broke off that Airbus in New York of all places?

Carbon fiber does not act like aluminum or steel. There is a whole new learning curve that is necessary when you change to something like that. For one thing, aluminum bends and flexes where fiber will snap and delaminate.

It remains to be seen if the use of something that is still somewhat exotic is a good choice for a large commercial airliner. A small single/double seater is a whole different aardvark...
 
There may be an element of truth to this thread. A number of replies talk about heat dissipation. Has anyone thought that the supposed new speaker grill might actually be for air ventilation. Just a thought.
 
r2fa3l said:
SMH... those suck. werent the "carbon" cases enough. Anyway I doubt it. Steve would never allow that shady texture on his iDevices
Click to expand...
All bow to the mighty dictator.

Shut up & open your wallets it's time to give all you've got.

Feel better now ?
 
Going with Carbon fiber makes a lot of sense, it is very strong and very light. I know a lot of people don't like the look of the weave but Carbon Fiber can be painted over, this is the route I would expect apple to take.
 
ArtOfWarfare said:
What do carbon fiber bodies feel / look like?
Click to expand...

The carbonfiber bodies are great. My old PowerBook Pismo has that and I love it. It feels very nice in my hand, better than the aluminum shell of my newer PowerBook aluminum or MacBook aluminum case. It has a better touch sensation. Never any problems with breaking, scratching, dents, bending, etc.
 
Great, so not only do I have to worry about the fact that my phone has a glass front AND back, but the carbon fiber will also probably shatter on side impact as well!

:D
 
RawBert said:
No more dents. :)[/IMG]
Click to expand...

IIRC, carbon fiber will crack/shatter instead. (Correct me if I'm wrong.)
Given I have a few dents on my iPad, I'd rather it have done so than rendered the shell unusable.

It would solve the weight issue, however. Crazy lightweight stuff.
 
How much weight savings would it mean? I don't even know how much the current aluminum shell weighs. Moving to something like Gorilla Glass instead of actual glass over the screen would probably save quite a bit.
 
Even if Apple haven't got Liquid Metal up and running yet, they might prefer not to have a carbon fibre look, as it might break up the family look.
 
I seem to remember seeing an iPad2 release invite and the corner of the ipad was revealed and was still made from aluminum. I may be mistaken though.
 
Carbon fiber, how clever. Looking like cheap auto parts, CF is more over exposed than Paris Hiltons ....

,Scary Apple's running on empty.
 
emwgradstudent said:
I would welcome carbon fiber! I really like how it looks on cars and how the exposed fibers are kind of like wood grain!

Benefits: light weight, VERY strong unibody material, looks great
Weakness: carbon fiber more expensive than aluminum

Aluminum is currently about $1 per pound whereas carbon fiber is around $10. Not too long ago though it was over $100, so it is becoming more affordable!

We will see.
Click to expand...

Please define "strong". I seem to recall that carbon fiber has better tensile strength, but worse compressive strength and puncture resistance than the same thickness of aluminum (even when talking about pressure formed aluminum rather than machined).
 
It's highly unlikely that they'll go to Carbon Fibre for several reasons

1) Recyclability: While the fibres themselves can be reused, they have to be taken from their bonding compound (which is usually burnt off) and then can only be used at the same lengths, or lesser lengths.

2) Strength: Although Carbon Fibre is stronger than aluminium, when it is woven, and bonded, it's overall strength drops dramatically, it's still a little bit lighter, but it's thicker, and the strength gains are nothing to be excited about.

3) Heat: Because it doesn't conduct the heat away from the components, they'd have to either install fans or some other heat dissipating component to make sure the components don't fry themselves in their own heat.

4) Cost: Carbon fibre is not only a whole lot more expensive than aluminium, but the setup costs for apple to manufacture carbon fibre would be enormous, especially since it was only around three years ago that they invested a whole lot of money into the unibody aluminium designs.

*edit*
5) Impact resistance: Aluminium will dent, however Carbon fibre is absolutely terrible in shear. They fibres would snap very easily, leaving only the glue to hold the new iPad together. I'd rather have my tablet dent when I drop it, than have the back crack and break.
*/edit*

Carbon fibre has been presented as a miracle material, but also remember that aluminium is constantly being improved upon.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back