SAMPE Wrap Up And Product Showcase
Exhibitions on both sides of the Atlantic spur optimism and spotlight innovative technology.
By Staff | July 2003
The 48th Annual International Symposium and Exhibition of the Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE) emphasized the international dimensions of the composites industry. Exemplifying the show theme, "Advancing Materials in the Global Economy — Applications, Emerging Markets and Evolving Technologies," SAMPE's Los Angeles and Taiwan chapters co-hosted this year's program, May 11-15, at the Long Beach Convention Center (Long Beach, Calif., U.S.A.).
Source: SAMPE
SAMPE president Tom Haulick MC's the proceedings at the Keynote session, during SAMPE's annual symposium and exhibition in Long Beach.
Stand-in keynote speaker Bob Griffiths (Airbus Industrie's Jens Henrichsen had to bow out) examined the practical outworkings of the show's theme in current supplier selection for large-scale aerospace projects. As president of SAMPE Europe, Griffiths offered his observation that OEMs are, to a greater extent than ever before, looking for the best technology possible, and are finding it in a greater array of unusual global locales. (For more observations about the show and the industry's international trajectories, see Griffith's "Market Trends" column, in this issue, p. 6.)
Technical sessions make impressions
SAMPE conferred its "Outstanding Technical Paper Award" on authors representing the University of Dayton Research Institute (Dayton, Ohio, U.S.A.) and 3TEX Inc. (Cary, N.C., U.S.A.), for their technical article detailing "Fabrication of 3-D Woven Preforms and Composites with Integrated Fiber Optic Sensors."
Easily the most popular of the 237 papers presented at the conference, however, was "Materials Technology for the Boeing 7E7," presented by Mark Jenks, The Boeing Co.'s director of technology integration for the aircraft giant's recently announced 7E7 program. Several hundred attendees listened to Jenks' view of the factors driving Boeing's decision to pursue a composites-intensive 250- to 275-seat commercial jetliner that is expected to lower operating costs for the airlines. (See related "News" story in this issue, p. 7.)
More than 100 attendees were on hand to hear a panel of experts discuss "Technology and Market Trends in Advanced M&P," a new feature at the Symposium this year, which resulted from SAMPE's reorganization of its Technical Committees. The session, put together by SAMPE's international senior VP Anthony Falcone and international technical director Dr. Scott Beckwith, was so well-received that the organization plans to make it a permanent feature at future conferences.
SAMPE also reports that, despite travel concerns related to the economic downturn, the SARS virus and the recent Iraq conflict, paid conference registrations were up about 9 percent over last year and the organization's educational tutorials showed a greater than 15 percent increase in attendance.
Technology review
Suppliers to advanced composites markets buoyed optimism at the SAMPE Europe/JEC Conference (April 1-3, in Paris) and at SAMPE's Long Beach event by weighing in this year with a wide array of new materials and technologies for the high-performance composites manufacturer. The HPC staff was on hand at both events to walk the aisles and take special note of a number of new developments and notable exhibits:
2Phase Technologies (Dayton, Nev., U.S.A.) demonstrated its unique reformable tooling system (RTS) for casting or fabrication of composite parts. Comprised of ceramic microspheres, plasticizers and water, the material can be molded around a model or an actual part while soft and formable. When the water is drained from the tool base, the material becomes extremely hard and dimensionally stable over a period of 1 to 2 hours. Parts up to 1,100 mm/42 inches by 1,500 mm/60 inches by 460 mm/18 inches deep can be processed at temperatures up to 177°C/350°F. The hardened tool can be maintained permanently, or changed at will to produce a different part. Select 236
Source: SAMPE
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) had a strong presence on the SAMPE U.S. show floor this year, in search of composites industry partners for its technology transfer programs.
A&P Technology (Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.A.) discussed the largest structural braid it has ever produced, as part of the NASA Advanced Inflatable Airlock program. The airlock, which can be collapsed and folded flat to make it a more manageable payload, permits astronauts to exit from orbiting craft or structures into space. Current designs are unwieldy "hard wall" metallic structures. The 2.2m/7-ft diameter, 3m/10-ft long, single-layer triaxial braid was made on an 800-carrier Megabraider braiding machine, using Vectran liquid crystal polymer fiber from Celanese Advanced Materials. The braid forms the "restraint layer" of the airlock, and was recently tested to 4 atmospheres of pressure without failing. Select 237
Composites fabricator AAR Composites (Clearwater, Fla., U.S.A.) announced that the company's manufacturing unit has received AS9100:2001, Section 1 and ISO 9001:2000 certification by the accreditation firm Det Norske Veritas. AS9100 is the Aerospace Model for Quality Assurance in Design, Development, Production, Installation and Servicing, and was developed using the ISO 9001, AS9000 and EN9000-1 models. AS9000-1 addresses the manufacture of both civil and military aircraft and aerospace launch vehicles. Select 238
AB Ph. Nederman & Co. (Eskilstuna, Sweden) displayed a broad line of tools for cutting, drilling, machining, sanding and grinding of composite parts, each with vacuum extraction hoses to collect airborne dust. The company also provides extraction systems for removing VOCs during layup. All equipment can be connected to a central vacuum collection system to improve worker hygiene and maintain cleaner shop conditions. Select 239
Advanced Composites Group Ltd. (ACG, Heanor Derbyshire, U.K. and Tulsa, Okla., U.S.A.) and Scott Bader Co. Ltd. (Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, U.K.) announced its co-branded epoxy prepreg-compatible gel coat, Crystic GC260. The pre-accelerated, brush-on gel coat is fully compatible with ACG's VTM260-series epoxy prepregs and associated ZPREG formats, without the use of a tie coat. Tests have demonstrated reliable gel-coat-to-epoxy-resin bonds at cure cycle temperatures ranging from 65°C to as much as 120°C (140°F to 248°F), says the company. Select 240
Source: Dale Brosius
At the SAMPE Europe/JEC event in Paris, Prins Dokkum (Dokkum, The Netherlands) exhibited its innovative Dynawheel, an all-carbon-fiber truck wheel for "big rigs."
Aero Consultants Ltd. AG (Nänikon, Switzerland) announced at the SAMPE Europe/JEC Conference that it has entered into an agreement with FiberCote Industries Inc. (Waterbury, Conn., U.S.A.) to be the exclusive distributor in Europe of FiberCote's line of aerospace and industrial prepregs. Included in the agreement is the portfolio of AGATE/FAA-approved prepregs for general aviation aircraft. Select 241
Airtech Advanced Materials Group (Huntington Beach, Calif., U.S.A.) announced that Saint-Gobain has appointed Airtech to sell MR-1 premium surface PTFE release films worldwide, and displayed new and inexpensive Econo Peel Plies, made of polyester or nylon, available plain, coated with release agent or with a red tracer. Select 242
Albany International Techniweave (Rochester, N.H., U.S.A.) introduced a new carbon fiber-reinforced acrylic composite material with 45 percent fiber volume and a flexural modulus of 4.06 Msi/28 Gpa. The thermoplastic composite, which can be compression molded or thermoformed, is being used in orthopedic applications, such as custom knee braces. Select 243
