My business just got wings

dkemppai said:
Isn't carbon fiber dust dangerous to the lungs? Not saying ceramic, or any other material is good.
Just seem to remember that carbon fiber itself is particularly small, or something, that makes it really not good. Anyone else know about this?
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They are used in F1 rotors.
 
Janderso said:
After a year of retirement, I decided it was time to look into starting a business.
Heck, I’m retired, I have time and I’m getting bored.
My wife helped me to set up a Facebook business page. She made up flyers and ordered business cards.
In other words, the lights are on, the door is open and I’m just waiting for the business to just start rolling in.
I went out this morning with one thing in mind, find a customer.
I did. An equipment rental place near me was my first stop. I went in and said, I’m retired, I’m bored, I’m a hobby machinist looking to help you out.
All of a sudden the questions started flying. Can you do this?, do you have a surface grinder?
I think I have some work coming my way.

They send out their tooling that needs to be sharpened. The carbide cutters go in a stump grinder. I was told, if you can sharpen these every rental place in three counties will be calling you.
The jack hammer tool needs to be reground, then heat treated.

I have some fixturing to do but I know I can perform what is required.

Sorry for the long thread. I’m pretty jazzed!

I’m on my way :)
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That is awesome because it gives me hope, I have 7 years till I intend to retire and move back to the farm and what you are doing is my dream also.
 
woodchucker said:
They are used in F1 rotors.
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That doesn't mean it's healthy. They used to use beryllium pistons in an F1 car also, banned due to toxicity IIRC.
We also used to use asbestos for brakes. We were taught in auto mech to wash brake dust off with water, not blow it off as back then asbestos was used. Just say'n. :)

Seriously though, I'm wondering if anyone here knows of carbon fiber brakes and health concerns.
 
I have written at least a book's worth of organizational level exposure management plans about carbon fiber dust and other respirable fibers, and can take it way down into the weeds. That kind of work comes with a billable hourly rate, so I'm not going to do that here. Maybe after I retire.

Carbon fiber dust is dangerous. Carbon fiber dust can easily meet the dimensional criteria of NIOSH fibers. Carbon nanomaterials can behave like crystalline materials, but the extent is not fully known, it's an emerging technology. If asbestosis has a 40-year latency, it's going to be a while before OSHA has enough data to set exposure limits for the substance specifically. Typical fibers in the NIOSH range that are neutral in tissue are assigned a 1/2 OEL value vs. asbestos. If fibers like heat-cycled refractory fiber meet the NIOSH fiber size and are crystalline, they are considered to have health effects indistinguishable from asbestos. Carbon fiber/carbon nanotech is too new to clamp down with regulations, any mistake on the regulator's part would be costly. But the hazard exists, they know it's bad. Regs will come in time.

As for me, I grind and cut carbon fiber with wet methods, respiratory protection, and a HEPA vacuum clean-up after so it doesn't follow me in the house. It's several times more toxic than modern brake dust, which isn't the worst of the evils, and I use precautions (wet wash) with it, too.
 
dkemppai said:
That doesn't mean it's healthy. They used to use beryllium pistons in an F1 car also, banned due to toxicity IIRC.
We also used to use asbestos for brakes. We were taught in auto mech to wash brake dust off with water, not blow it off as back then asbestos was used. Just say'n. :)

Seriously though, I'm wondering if anyone here knows of carbon fiber brakes and health concerns.
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Don't forget PCB's
 
dkemppai said:
Maybe, I'm dense. Might need to clarify for me...
PanCake Brake system...
Post Crash Brake system
Poly Chlorinated Biphenyl...
Printed Circuit Boards...
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Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) At one point it was used in oil....
 
PCB is more of an environmental hazard than a human health hazard. It won't permeate skin and it's not inhalable unless it's on fire, so don't freebase it and it won't hurt you. Your liver metabolizes it if it needs to, like if you mistake a ball of PCB for chewing gum.

If anything's gonna get you in this hobby, it's lead...
 
pontiac428 said:
PCB is more of an environmental hazard than a human health hazard. It won't permeate skin and it's not inhalable unless it's on fire, so don't freebase it and it won't hurt you. Your liver metabolizes it if it needs to, like if you mistake a ball of PCB for chewing gum.

If anything's gonna get you in this hobby, it's lead...
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I have worked in Oil and gas, refining and chemical plants through out my career and just knowing what is in the stuff causes me to wear Nitrile gloves when dealing with oils, metals and chemicals.... Most folk do not understand that a lot of that stuff will enter the blood stream through the shin, they are solvents....

I worked for a transmission (pipeline) company years ago that had used PCBs in there compressor lubricants and we went in hand replaced all of the compressors and destroyed the contaminated because they had gone through several lawsuits where the PCB's were noted to have caused folk to die with cancer... PCB's are considered to be carcinogens.
 
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