CW Blog

Pultrusion

Ushering in a new era for windows … and more

Superlative stiffness and thermal efficiency could make this highly glass-filled pultruded polyurethane insert a construction industry go-to material of choice.

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Hi-Temp Resins

Polybenzoxazine on the horizon?

Benzoxazine veteran Dr. Hatsuro Ishida at Case Western Reserve University has developed what he calls the fourth generation of this versatile high-heat, high-strength matrix resin.

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Consumer

Gardner Business Index at 50.0 in March

New orders and production are up. Capital spending plans foreshadow equipment investments.

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Testing is inefficient: Material simulation’s advantage over the status quo

Although simulation cannot replace validation and certification testing, it can offer a path to greater testing efficiency.

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Marine

In defense of glass fiber

Given the hype around carbon fiber, CW columnist Dale Brosius says it's easy to overlook the importance and future of glass fiber.

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Carbon fiber-based BMC wears well

Carbon fiber and ceramic are combined with a proprietary resin system to create a novel, extremely high-wear bulk molding compound (BMC) for centrifugal pump application.

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Pressure Vessels

Digital twin, digital thread and composites

How the integration of machines, sensors and software is beginning to impact composites manufacturing.

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Resins

Ashland unveils low-density, high-performance SMC

Ashland's new Arotran 771 sheet molding compound (SMC) offers a specific gravity of 1.2, with good mechanical and physical properties. The company is targeting 1.0 specific gravity, which would put SMC on par with aluminum in automotive applications.

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NDI

Fastener-free, composite aircraft door and control surfaces

All-composite, integrated structures using RTM cut weight and cost by more than 30%.

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CFRP: Opportunities in orthopedics

Carbon fiber has a niche, but can it secure a larger piece of a high-growth pie?

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Aerospace

Thermoplastics riding into automotive, aerospace

The legacy of composite parts and structures is built on a family of thermosets — including epoxy, vinyl ester, polyester and phenolic — that have helped tremendously to make the industry what it is today. Not to be forgotten are thermoplastics, which have played a serious role as well, and offer advantages that promise to make this material type one of the fastest growing over the next decade.

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Pressure Vessels

More on Spanish composites: Solution providers

My pre-JEC Europe 2016 trip through Spain yielded much fodder for future editorial content, and proved to me that the country’s composites sector is brimming with innovation.

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Composites One - distributor
prepeg and slit tape products