Micarta

Micarta is a brand name for composites of linen, canvas, paper, fiberglass, carbon fiber or other fabric in a thermosetting plastic. It was originally used in electrical and decorative applications. Micarta was developed by George Westinghouse at least as early as 1910 using phenolic resins invented by Leo Baekeland. These resins were used to impregnate paper and cotton fabric which were cured under pressure and high temperature to produce laminates. In later years this manufacturing method included the use of fiberglass fabric and other resin types were also used. Today Micarta high pressure industrial laminates are produced with a wide variety of resins and fibers. The term has been used generically for most resin impregnated fibre compounds. Common uses of modern high pressure laminates are as electrical insulators, printed circuit board substrates, and knife handles.

The Micarta trademark is a registered trademark of Industrial Laminates / Norplex, Inc. (dba Norplex-Micarta).

Micarta industrial laminates are normally phenolic, epoxy, silicone, or melamine resin based thermoset materials reinforced with fiberglass, cork, cotton cloth, paper, carbon fiber or other substrates. Micarta industrial laminate sheet is a hard, dense material made by applying heat and pressure to layers of prepreg. These layers of laminations are usually of cellulose paper, cotton fabrics, synthetic yarn fabrics, glass fabrics, or unwoven fabrics. When heat and pressure are applied to the layers, a chemical reaction (polymerization) transforms the layers into a high-pressure thermosetting industrial laminated plastic.

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