CW Blog

Automotive

Automotive CFRP: The shape of things to come

CAFE and CO2 emission standards will drive auto OEMs to fully examine the physics of fuel economy, but will that, at last, steer them toward extensive use of carbon fiber composites?

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Automotive

Composites for every powertrain

CT columnist Dale Brosius, the head of his own consulting company and the president of Dayton, Ohio-based Quickstep Composites, the U.S. subsidiary of Australia-based Quickstep Technologies (Bankstown Airport, New South Wales), comments on the role composites have played as the automotive powertrain has evolved.

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Marine

IBEX 2013 Show Review

Evidence of a marine industry rebound and a trend toward supplier M&A as the world’s largest boatbuilding trade show looks ahead to smoother sailing … and Tampa.

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Carbon Fibers

Automotive, going forward?

CT editor-in-chief Jeff Sloan asks when, if and how composites professionals will be ready to meet the challenges of significant use of carbon fiber composites in automobiles.

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Fabrics/Preforms

Fabric core: Reinforced marble façades for significantly lighter weight

Natural stone specialist Kunovar & Kamini (Ljubljana, Slovenia), recently adopted trademarked Parabeam 3-D glass fabric (Parabeam BV, Helmond, The Netherlands), to reinforce flat marble façades and curved column cladding.

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Wind/Energy

Third wind blade break for GE

NA Windpower reports a third 48.7m blade has broken off a GE 1.6-100 turbine.

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Adhesives

Mechanized arm speeds sanding while reducing injuries

EMMA being used by Boeing, Airbus and now a large wind blade manufacturer.

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Aerospace

Bombardier sheds light on Learjet 85 composites manufacturing

Bombardier composites expert Pierre Harter talked in detail at SAMPE Tech about where and how composites were used on the forthcoming Learjet 85.

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SciGrip MMA to replace epoxy adhesive in wind blades

Methyl Methacrylate to offer up to 40 percent reduction in blade assembly cycle time plus address current maintenance issues due to variable bondline thickness.

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Aerospace

A350 & A400M wing spars: A study in contrasts

In three short years, GKN Aerospace has taken its wing spar manufacturing strategies to new heights by dramatically reducing part weight, process complexity and production-cycle duration.

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Space

Nondestructive inspection: Better, faster and cheaper

Faced with new time and cost pressures, NDI system suppliers are integrating inspection with manufacturing to reduce its share in part cost and cycle time.

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Aerospace

Ceramic-matrix composites heat up

Lightweight, hard and stable at high temperatures, CMCs are emerging from two decades of study and development into commercial applications.

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