Forged composite

Forged composite is a technology that uses carbon fiber composite material and was developed jointly between Lamborghini and Callaway Golf Company who introduced it in their Sesto Elemento concept car and Diablo Octane drivers, respectively. The application of this technology was originally developed at the Automobili Lamborghini Advanced Composite Structures Laboratory (ACSL) in Seattle, WA,^[1][2] where the Lamborghini-Callaway partnership was initially formed.^[3][4] This partnership, along with Forged Composite techonology, was announced at the 2010 Paris Motor Show when Lamborghini unveiled its concept car.^[5] The United States trademark for forged composite was filed on July 13, 2010, in the category Toys and Sporting Goods Products.^[6]

Forged Composite is not a specific material, but an encompassing technology which combines the material, preform definition, molding and curing processes, and specific design features to create a forged composite carbon fiber part.^[7] The material which is used in Forged Composite technology is an evolution of carbon fiber sheet molding compounds (SMC) with improved fibers, higher fiber volume content, and an improved molding process; all of which increase the average strength values and reduce variability over standard carbon fiber SMC.^[8] The material is one-third as dense as metal titanium but stronger,^[9] and consists of chopped carbon fiber tows that are sandwiched between two layers of filmed resin.^[10] It uses about 500,000 intertwined turbostratic fibers per square inch.^[5] The structure of the high strength carbon fibers is described as turbostratic, that is the fibers contain intertwined and folded sheets of carbon atoms aligned with the length of the fiber, and the intertwining improved the fiber strength. The result, which is superior to predecessor alloys used in the automotive and golf industries, is significantly improved load carrying capacity as measured in bending per unit of mass.^[11] Due to its chopped nature, it can be molded into much more complex geometries than traditional carbon fiber composites, and is suitable to make three-dimensional parts and parts which feature complex details such as thickness transitions, holes, compound curvature, etc. Chopped carbon fiber materials produced by Quantum Composites Inc. of Bay City, MI, as well as Mitsubishi Rayon of Toyohashi, Japan, can be used for Forged Composite technology.

Lamborghini originally used Forged Composite technology on both the inner monocoque and the wishbone suspension arms of the Sesto Elemento.^[8] Since then, Lamborghini has used Forged Composite for the interior trim and seats of the 2012 Aventador J, 2012 Urus concept, 2013 Veneno, and the 2014 Veneno Roadster. The 2015 Huracan features a Forged Composite engine bay cover and optional interior trim package which won the JEC Composites Innovation Award for Automotive Interiors in 2016.^[12] In June 2016, the world's first carbon fiber connecting rods, made using Forged Composite technology, were unveiled at the Lamborghini ACSL facility in Seattle.^[13] Union Binding Company entered a partnership with the Lamborghini ACSL in order to develop a snowboard binding using Forged Composite technology. In 2014, the all-Forged Composite "Union FC" snowboard binding was launched and subsequently won the 2014 ISPO Product of the Year Award.^[14]

This technology marks the first collaborative product of the ongoing Callaway and Lamborghini alliance to combine research and development efforts towards their mutual goal of power-to-weight ratio and weight reduction.^[15] The effect of the improvement is that the Callaway Diablo Octane drivers average about 8 yards (7 m) greater distance per drive than their predecessor Diablo Edge drivers and the Sesto Elemento, with its Forged Composite chassis, is one-third lighter than the Lamborghini Superleggera and goes from zero to 60 mph (97 km/h) almost a full second faster.^[9]

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