CW Blog
SMC is on the upswing (and check out this design competition)
There’s a lot going on with sheet molding compound (SMC) right now, including a design competition for best SMC design, with the winner announced at Composites Europe.
Read More
CW Plant Tour: Aeris Energy, Caucaia, Brazil
This young, up-and-coming wind blade manufacturer was founded to serve the Brazilian wind energy market, but it’s poised to do much more.
Read More
Automating NDT for CFRP aerostructures
Robotic laser shearography enables 100% inspection of complex, flight-critical composite structures.
Read More
OOA composites in next-generation launch systems
As United Launch Alliance ULA replaces Atlas and Delta with next-generation launch rockets under the Vulcan name, supplier Ruag Space has been selected to provide lower cost/improved quality out-of-autoclave fabrication of Vulcan’s composite primary structures. Ruag will manufacture 5.4m payload fairings and 400-series interstage adapters for ULA’s Atlas V rocket.
Read More
Composites in Class A body panels: Evolution continues
Low-density SMCs lead the way as fiber-reinforced polymers make headway in auto components that must please the eye.
Read More
Carbon composite driveshaft: Tailorable performance
This racing and aftermarket specialist designs and produces custom driveshafts for multiple markets.
Read More
Reading the Trump tea leaves
The art and science of determining what the President-elect and the new US Congress might or might not do, and when they might or might not do it, and how it might or might not affect the composites industry.
Read More
Overmolding for automotive
Surface Generation (Rutland, UK) has started work on an 18-month research and development project to produce affordable, lightweight carbon fiber components for the automotive industry.
Read More
New technology boosts electrical and thermal conductivity of composites
Researchers believe that the technology will have wide-reaching benefits in the aerospace industry.
Read More
A better method of structural health monitoring?
Fibersail, a 2014 startup firm with offices in Rotterdam, The Netherlands and Leça de Palmeira, Portugal, aims to change the current state of real-time structural health/shape monitoring for composite structures — initially, for wind farm operators.
Watch
SpaceX announces COPV’s role in September rocket explosion
Buckles (voids) between carbon composite overwrap and aluminum liner in cryotank led to ignition of super chilled oxygen — will be fixed long-term via COPV design change.
Read More
Hybrid steel/composite transmission gears
Scalable gear design trims heavy-truck weight, preserves wear life, controls cost.
Read More
