CW Blog

Autoclave

Additive manufacturing: Big and going commercial

A demonstration of large-format 3D printing delivers parts for an excavator cab, from CAD data to ready for assembly, in only five hours.

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SPONSORED

Surfacing Films Improve Safety, Appearance and Processing Time

Surfacing films are evolving to meet challenging demands for lightweight solutions to protect composite structures and enable high-quality surface finishes with reduced preparation times.

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Glass Fibers

Big composite container protects vital satellite

Before they experience the vibrations of launch and the rigors of the space environment, satellites first have to make it to the launch pad. Pagnotta Engineering Inc. (PEI, Exton, PA, US) was called upon by Orbital ATK (Dulles, VA, US) to design a shipping box to protect Orbital ATK’s GEOStar-3 geosynchronous satellite bus structure, during shipment.

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Carbon Fibers

Solar-powered vehicle from Cal Poly PROVE Lab to challenge world record

The PROVE Lab car is made of carbon fiber composites and features more than 100 ft2 of solar panels.

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Wind/Energy

The spread of spread tow

Advancing from “lighter and thinner” to boosting strength, stiffness, impact resistance and productivity, spread tow unlocks new applications and markets.

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Adhesives

New Products: April 2018

CW’s monthly roundup of new products for the composites industry.

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Out of Autoclave

Titan prepares for Titanic expedition

The composites-intensive, five-person, deep-sea submersible Titan is undergoing testing ahead of a planned trip to 4,000m re-examine the RMS Titanic in June.

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Epoxies

Flexible cure prepreg finds use in marine and wind

It’s almost time for the 2018 Tour de France — no, not that one with the bicycles, but the Tour de France à la Voile. Hexcel (Stamford, CT, US) composite materials have been used for the race’s trimaran the DIAM 24’s mast construction from the outset.

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Carbon Fibers

New 3D-printed prosthetic leg features carbon fiber definitive socket

Additive manufactured thermoplastic carbon fiber definitive prosthetic socket allows for life cycle adjustments without weakening its structure

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Weaving

Multi-material shipping container for pharmaceuticals

This past week, CW was made aware of a new, high-tech and multi-material unit load device (ULD) shipping container solution from an innovative container company called Smart Containers Group (Zurich, Switzerland).

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CW Talks: Highly automated thermoplastic laminate production

The latest episode of CW Talks: The Composites Podcast, explores the collaborative development of a new thermoplastic laminate by SABIC, Airborne and Siemens.

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Wind/Energy

So, you want to overmold

If so, CompositesWorld is hosting, June 13-14, the Composites Overmolding conference, to explore the software, materials and processes being used to combine continuous fiber composites with overmolded thermoplastics.

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Composite raw materials
Alpha’s Premier ESR®
Quickly Make Molds, Tools and Fixtures
prepeg and slit tape products