A stampable sheet includes a resin and carbon fiber sheet including fiber bundles of discontinuous carbon fibers, wherein the carbon fiber sheet includes fiber bundles having a bundle width of 50 m or greater and opened fibers ranging from fiber bundles having a bundle width less than 50 m to fibers obtained by opening to the single-fiber level. When the direction along which the opened fibers have been oriented most is a 0 direction and the range of from the 0 to 90 direction is divided into angular zones, the distribution curve showing the proportion of the number of fiber bundles in each angular zone to that in all angular zones and the distribution curve showing the proportion of the number of opened fibers in each angular zone to that in all angular zones are reverse to each other in terms of gradient of the 0 to 90 direction.

There is provided a random mat including carbon fibers and a matrix resin, wherein the carbon fibers in the random mat have an average fiber length in a range of 3 mm to 100 mm, a fiber areal weight of the carbon fibers is 25 to 10,000 g/m.sup.2, the carbon fibers include a specific carbon fiber bundles having a specific opening degree in a specific amount per the total carbon fibers, and the specific carbon fiber bundles with a thickness of 100 m or more are included in a ratio of less than 3% of the number of the total specific carbon fiber bundles.

There is provided a random mat including carbon fibers and a matrix resin, wherein the carbon fibers in the random mat have an average fiber length in a range of 3 mm to 100 mm, a fiber areal weight of the carbon fibers is 25 to 10,000 g/m.sup.2, the carbon fibers include a specific carbon fiber bundles having a specific opening degree in a specific amount per the total carbon fibers, and the specific carbon fiber bundles with a thickness of 100 m or more are included in a ratio of less than 3% of the number of the total specific carbon fiber bundles.

An electrically conductive sheet material having a base body with fibers, at least part of the fibers having carbon fibers, optionally having channels extending through the base body, capable of providing an electrically conductive and flexible sheet material which has a low electrical resistance and which can be produced on a large scale in the most simple, cost-effective and reproducible manner possible.

An electrically conductive sheet material having a base body with fibers, at least part of the fibers having carbon fibers, optionally having channels extending through the base body, capable of providing an electrically conductive and flexible sheet material which has a low electrical resistance and which can be produced on a large scale in the most simple, cost-effective and reproducible manner possible.

One mode of the invention relates to a producing device for chopped fiber bundles comprising: cutting means including a cutting blade for cutting long fiber bundles, guide means for restricting the travel direction of the fiber bundles to be supplied to the cutting means, and widening means provided between the cutting means and the guide means and for widening the fiber bundles; and a producing method for chopped fiber bundles comprising: widening fiber bundles by widening means provided between a cutting means and guide means while restricting the travel direction of the long fiber bundles to be supplied to the cutting means by the guide means, and obtaining chopped fiber bundles by cutting the fiber bundles with the cutting means including a cutting blade.

A system that receives nanomaterials, forms nanofibrous materials therefrom, and collects these nanofibrous materials for subsequent applications. The system include a housing coupled to a synthesis chamber within which nanotubes are produced. A spindle may extend from within the housing, across the inlet, and into the chamber for collecting nanotubes and twisting them into a yarn. A body portion may be positioned at an intake end of the spindle. The body portion may include a pathway for imparting a twisting force onto the flow of nanotubes and guide them into the spindle for collection and twisting into the nanofibrous yarn. Methods and apparatuses for forming nanofibrous are also disclosed.

A system that receives nanomaterials, forms nanofibrous materials therefrom, and collects these nanofibrous materials for subsequent applications. The system include a housing coupled to a synthesis chamber within which nanotubes are produced. A spindle may extend from within the housing, across the inlet, and into the chamber for collecting nanotubes and twisting them into a yarn. A body portion may be positioned at an intake end of the spindle. The body portion may include a pathway for imparting a twisting force onto the flow of nanotubes and guide them into the spindle for collection and twisting into the nanofibrous yarn. Methods and apparatuses for forming nanofibrous are also disclosed.

An electrospinning apparatus according to an embodiment is configured to deposit a fiber on a collector or a member. The electrospinning apparatus includes a first nozzle head provided on one side of the collector or the member, and a second nozzle head provided on the side opposite to the first nozzle head with the collector or the member interposed. The first nozzle head and the second nozzle head are at a section where the collector or the member moves in a direction tilted with respect to a horizontal direction.

An electrically anisotropic pressure sensitive assembly comprises a contained quantity of electrically conductive particles including first electrically conductive particles, which first electrically conductive particles are magnetite particles, wherein the quantity of magnetite particles includes a distribution of particle sizes between sub-micron and tens of microns. The magnetite particles have a plurality of planar faces, adjacent planar faces connected at a vertex, the particles each having a plurality of vertices wherein the magnetite particles are irregular in shape. The resistance and/or capacitance of the electrically conductive assembly changes in accordance with the pressure exerted thereon. The assembly includes at least two electrically conductive elements, the quantity of electrically conductive particles being contained in interstices between the at least two electrically conductive elements.