Description of the carbon fiber top-plate.
Posted on by Ben Lamb -
Carbon composite top-plates are hand made from eight layers of premium carbon fiber cloth. It is laid out by hand into a mold using a custom compression process. The cloth being laid out into part of a mold can be seen in one of the images in the menu on the right. It is hard to believe that the finished product comes from hundreds of thousands of tiny fibers made into rovings that are woven into a cloth. The product is infused with epoxy resin and has a protective gelcoat. The top-plates now have a reinforcing strip on the outer edge which doubles the number of layers in this area, creating extra rigidity at the plates weakest point. This is a custom made item with each plate laid out individually. The carbon construction makes it harder for motor/bearing vibration to travel through the plate as it does not ring and resonate like a steel sheet. The cross weave pattern breaks up and dissipates vibrations. You can use some clear silicon to bond the top-plate to the plinths supporting strips. This is highly recommended and some soft silicon can be used so the plate could be removed if needed.
