have come accross some cloth called 'basalt'

''Basalt fibre is in alot of ways a better alternative to fiberglass, made from basalt, a hard, dense, volcanic rock. It provides high temperature performance and superior strength''

 

anyone heard of this or is this called something else in europe?

or is this spiel a load of cr@p

I've heard of it here in Belgium, there is a company making it only 25km away from here... will ask some testsamples in the near future and hope to be able to make some stuff out of it...

I have heard of it but never used it

I haven't used basalt fibers in composites myself, but I know they are used in higher performance skis and snowboards to add stiffness (just like carbon is). As far as I understand, basalt's performance is in between S-glass fiberglass, and carbon fiber; it is stronger and lighter than the fiber glass but weaker and heavier than carbon fiber, and the pricing is usually in between the two as well.

If I recall correctly, basalt also has a higher compressive strength than carbon fiber. I thought I remember reading that somewhere, but maybe someone on this forum can confirm that. It would also be a good material for getting the "carbon fiber look", without the huge expense.

-Mike-

http://www.basaltex.com/en/products.aspx

there is black FG in twill weave if you need the look and not the price and performance.
just sayin

CarbonFiberCreations

i've seen black FG before, think i might try some of this basalt cloth on something

Does anyone know a good supplier of basalt fabric in the UK?