Lighter than aluminum and stronger than steel. Impressively stiff and unyielding - even when exposed to extreme heat/cold - and at the same time friendly to any mating partners in tribological applications. Already more than 50 years old and, thanks to tailor-made compounding, always in perfect shape for innovations in terms of performance. This characterizes the carbon fiber, or rather the carbon fibers - because, after all, there is more than one.

Cycle chic, e-bike boom, bike culture, low-tech, high-tech, bike highways - the bike is in the midst of its reinvention; in the midst of a transformation from a mere means of transportation and sports equipment to an expression of a serene, sustainable, individual attitude to life. More and more people around the world are attaching the same emotional significance to the bicycle as they once did to the car. This makes the bicycle one of the main players in the mobility megatrend. In the midst of this megatrend are also the people who create one of the technological foundations for bicycle designers and their innovative design ideas for bicycle components of all kinds: the plastics compounders or application developers who ensure the composition and thus the performance of the required materials.

From a purely technological point of view, 3D printing is definitely impressive. Bit by bit - or: layer by layer - the technology is conquering and establishing its place in many industries. In the direct production of components as well as in tool making. Nowadays, an Airbus A 350 also takes off thanks to the approximately 1,000 parts that were created using 3D printing or as part of an additive manufacturing process. But does 3D printing also impress with its cost advantages or in terms of carbon footprint? Does it manage to generate added value compared to established production methods such as casting, injection molding or milling? It's all a question of detailed process consideration.

In XCF, X stands for Extra. Behind this is the extra carbon fiber technology from the LEHVOSS high-performance compounds product line. With an emphasis on extra: in terms of material properties, it stands for extra stiff, extra strong and extra tough. In terms of customer requirements, it stands for extra-flexible, extra-modifiable and extra-customizable. Provided that one has mastered the entire spectrum of development and compounding: Then nothing stands in the way of improving properties simultaneously, along the three dimensions without sacrificing performance.

Many markets and industries cannot do without the use of thermoplastic high-temperature compounds. Together with its subsidiary WMK Plastics, the LEHVOSS Group has developed strong, ecological alternatives to new goods based on material recycling.