High-Performance Composites + Composites Technology = CompositesWorld
Starting January 2015, High-Performance Composites (HPC) and Composites Technology (CT) magazines will be merged to create one new monthly publication, called CompositesWorld (CW).
You are reading the very last editorial I'll ever write for High-Performance Composites magazine. That, however, is not bad news. It’s good news. Let me explain.
HPC, as you may know, is one of two magazines we have published over more than 20 years for designers, fabricators and other professionals in the composites industry. HPC has focused primarily on the use of continuous carbon fiber and other advanced fiber-reinforced polymers in the aerospace industry and other high-performance applications. Sister publication, Composites Technology (CT), has focused primarily on the use of polymers reinforced with more economical fibers — mostly glass and plant-derived — in continuous and discontinuous forms in automotive, marine, industrial, consumer and similar applications. Each magazine has been published bi-monthly in alternating months, and editorial offering from those magainzes have also been preseted and preserved here online at the CompositesWorld Web site.
I noted here a few months ago that for most of their history, publishing two magazines, one for the “advanced” composites professional and the other for those involved in “industrial” composites, made sense and was very manageable. Over the past few years, however, as the composites industry has evolved to expand fiber and resin integration across multiple and diverse end-markets and applications, the line that separated HPC and CT has gotten increasingly fuzzy. Finally, that fuzziness has forced us into a new business and editor-ial paradigm.
And that’s the good news: Starting January 2015, HPC and CT will be merged to create one new monthly publication, called CompositesWorld (CW). As the merger implies, CW’s editorial content will focus on use of all fibers and resins in all end-markets and applications throughout the world. In short, we are growing and changing with the industry we serve.
What does this mean to you, the reader? On that subject, the news is even better. The same great content you’ve come to know and trust remains, but now it will come to you every month. In addition, familiar features — Inside Manufacturing, Focus on Design, Work in Progress, Plant Tours and Market Outlooks — remain as well. And CW will continue to focus on aerospace and other high-performance applications that have always been the hallmark of HPC. But in addition, you will now enjoy our coverage of composite materials and processes employed in end-markets for which there seldom was room in HPC, including the wind energy, marine, automotive, architecture, corrosion, sporting goods and consumer sectors.
The new magazine and its online counterpart have acquired a new name because we want to emphasize its role as your window into the whole world of composites innovation. And that gave us just the excuse we needed to design a new logo (see the image at upper left) and a new look — for that, you will have to wait until the inaugural issue of CW arrives in your mailbox in January.
It is not without a tinge of regret that we say good-bye to a 20-year friend with the discontinuation of HPC, but we are excited about the launch of CompositesWorld, and we’re confident that you will find its expanded focus and global perspective a key component of your continuing education program in the ever-expanding and ever-evolving composites industry.
Thanks for loyally reading HPC, enjoy reading CW and, as always, let me know how we’re doing and how we can serve your composites information needs most effectively.
Related Content
JEC World 2023 highlights: Recyclable resins, renewable energy solutions, award-winning automotive
CW technical editor Hannah Mason recaps some of the technology on display at JEC World, including natural, bio-based or recyclable materials solutions, innovative automotive and renewable energy components and more.
Read MoreRecycling end-of-life composite parts: New methods, markets
From infrastructure solutions to consumer products, Polish recycler Anmet and Netherlands-based researchers are developing new methods for repurposing wind turbine blades and other composite parts.
Read MoreCollins Aerospace to lead COCOLIH2T project
Project for thermoplastic composite liquid hydrogen tanks aims for two demonstrators and TRL 4 by 2025.
Read MoreComposites end markets: Batteries and fuel cells (2024)
As the number of battery and fuel cell electric vehicles (EVs) grows, so do the opportunities for composites in battery enclosures and components for fuel cells.
Read MoreRead Next
Modeling and characterization of crushable composite structures
How the predictive tool “CZone” is applied to simulate the axial crushing response of composites, providing valuable insights into their use for motorsport applications.
Read MoreCFRP planing head: 50% less mass, 1.5 times faster rotation
Novel, modular design minimizes weight for high-precision cutting tools with faster production speeds.
Read MoreVIDEO: High-rate composites production for aerospace
Westlake Epoxy’s process on display at CAMX 2024 reduces cycle time from hours to just 15 minutes.
Read More