Forged composite, commonly referred to as forged carbon, is a type of carbon fiber SMC material composed of small pieces of carbon fiber composite material that are pressed into shape as the resin sets. This is in contrast to most carbon fiber composites, which are made of larger continuous layers that are 'laid up' one at a time, often manually. Forged composite allows for a higher range of shapes to be formed with precision, relative to traditional carbon fiber. It was originally developed jointly between

Lamborghini Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. ( , ), usually referred to as Lamborghini or colloquially Lambo, is an Italian manufacturer of luxury sports cars and SUVs based in Sant'Agata Bolognese. The company is owned by the Volkswagen Group through its su ...

Callaway Golf Company Callaway, legally Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp., is an American global sports equipment manufacturing company that designs, manufactures, markets and sells golf equipment, more specifically clubs and balls, also including accessories such as ba ...

, and the Lamborghini Lab. It was unveiled at the 2010

Paris Motor Show The Paris Motor Show () is a biennial auto show in Paris. Held during October, it is one of the most important auto shows, often with many new production automobile and concept car debuts. The show presently takes place in Paris expo Porte de V ...

in a Lamborghini concept car, the Sesto Elemento. The United States

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...

for forged composite was filed on July 13, 2010, in the category Toys and Sporting Goods Products by Callaway Golf, while the trademark for Forged Composites was registered in 2018 in the automotive category by Lamborghini. Forged composite contains higher fiber volume content, which combined with higher variation in strand orientation, increases the average strength and reduce variability over standard carbon fiber. The material is claimed to have one-third the density of

titanium Titanium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion in ...

and equal or greater strength, it is made from chopped

carbon fiber Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers ( Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon comp ...

tows immersed in a

resin A resin is a solid or highly viscous liquid that can be converted into a polymer. Resins may be biological or synthetic in origin, but are typically harvested from plants. Resins are mixtures of organic compounds, predominantly terpenes. Commo ...

film which is then formed and cured. It uses about 500,000 intertwined fibers per square inch. 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. Lamborghini uses forged composite for structural components, and interior trim and seats of its cars, the latter contributing to its winning of the JEC Composites Innovation Award for Automotive Interiors in 2016, due to the material's unique appearance
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.

References

{{Lamborghini, state=collapsed Composite materials Lamborghini