SGL Group (Wiesbaden, Germany) has started production of stretch-broken carbon fiber yarn at its facility in Muir of Ord, Scotland.

Marketed under the brand name Sigrafil C SBY, this high-performance, very fine stretch-broken carbon fiber yarn is a proprietary development of SGL Group. It was first presented to the general public at this year's JEC Composites Show in Paris, France.

Andreas Wöginger, Product and Technology Management SGL Group, said: "We are expanding our existing value chain by developing new textile procedures and refining our Sigrafil  C carbon fiber into a fine yarn.  We are now positioned to offer our customers new and innovative material concepts that meet the growing market requirements."

Sigrafil C SBY offers a broad range of applications. It is reportedly well suited for applications where carbon fiber composite parts are exposed to very high service stresses, such as in the automotive applications. The yarn can be used as a heat conductor due to its electrical resistance and can also be used as sewing yarn or knitting yarn..

In addition to the characteristic properties of carbon fiber such as high strength, light weight and temperature resistance, the yarn provides excellent knot and loop strength. The optimized yarn properties allows for new opportunities in textile processing, such as sewing and knitting processes where regular multifilament carbon fiber has reached its limits.