Sara Black Senior Technical Editor Emeritus
Press-molding method emulates autoclave
Rubber tool insert avoids consolidation pressure “dead zones” and slashes cost.
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Award-winning urban bicycle frame made from toughened prepreg
Uber design house UBC GmbH (Murr, Germany) puts its accumulated Formula 1 racing and automotive expertise to good use, designing a completely new composite urban bicycle concept.
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The rise of Man Camps
Composites also are transforming the temporary, transportable housing market. A recent example is the Man Camp concept — efficient, portable, modular housing manufactured with composite walls, floors and roofs and marketed by TekModo LLC (Elkhart, Ind.) and partner firm Allied Composite Technologies (ACT, Rochester Hills, Mich.).
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“Composites and Architecture” blog
In an effort to publicize architectural composites, Kreysler and Associates Inc. (American Canyon, Calif.) has begun a blog, called “Composites and Architecture” (www.compositesandarchitecture.com).
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The building envelope: Betting on the big time
Building code changes and growing architect familiarity feed more frequent composites use in large-scale commercial construction.
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Paddleboard productivity: Adhesively bonded hull/deck is key
Dragonfly Boatworks LLC's (Vero Beach, Fla.) new standup paddleboard for fly fishing is built without fasteners, with the aid of SG200-40 methacrylate adhesive from SCIGRIP Smarter Adhesive Solutions (Durham, N.C.).
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Deep draw: Unique laminate architecture enables bus part
For a major mass-transit manufacturer, Amtech LLC (Wapato, Wash.) successfully thermoforms a luggage cover with a remarkably deep draw of 40 inches (1,016 mm), using a laminate architecture that includes a top layer of 0.180-inch/4.5-mm gauge Grade 4800 thermoplastic sheet, supplied by Boltaron (Newcomerstown, Ohio).
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Cure for cratering: Gel coat perfected with design of experiments software
Resin manufacturer Interplastic Corp. – Thermoset Resins Div. (St. Paul, Minn.), a major gel coat producer, recently developed a new gel coat with the aid of Design-Expert design of experiments software from Stat-Ease Inc. (Minneapolis, Minn.).
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Kinetic sculpture made possible with carbon fiber composites
Halo, an unusual wind-activated kinetic sculpture is realized with the help of Gurit (Newport, Isle of Wight, U.K.) and molder Innovation Composites (South Nowra, New South Wales, Australia)
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Cutting and laser layup technology supports tier fabricator in Boeing project
Prototype production for The Boeing Co.’s (Chicago. Ill.) Enhanced Medium Altitude Reconnaissance and Surveillance System (EMARSS) aircraft gets a boost from cutting and templating hardware/software supplied by Gerber Technology (Tolland, Conn.)
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Bi-angle fabrics find first commercial application
Bicycle manufacturer sees dramatic productivity gains using unbalanced fabrics conceived at Stanford University and manufactured by Chomarat.
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Cladding controversy: SMC insulation panels preserve pre-1919 building aesthetics
Acell (Milan, Italy) offers a solution for insulating older buildings that is designed to satisfy advocates of both architectural preservation and environmental conservation.
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