Sara Black Senior Technical Editor Emeritus

Materials Testing 1 May 2012

Tooling block makes affordable patterns for new superlight aircraft

Tooling for a new canard-winged pusher airplane, the e-Go (e-Go Airplanes of Cambridge, U.K.), was created from patterns made of EP678 epoxy tooling block, supplied by the Advanced Engineering Materials Product Group of Trelleborg Offshore UK (Skelmersdale, Lancashire, U.K.)

Wind/Energy 31 Mar 2012

Ply placement: Largest laser projection system for wind blade manufacture

Following the recent installation of a 16-projector system for an aircraft fuselage application, Assembly Guidance Systems Inc. (Chelmsford, Mass.) recently delivered what it says is the largest unified laser-projection system of its kind, for wind turbine blade fabrication.

Defense 31 Mar 2012

Handgun holsters: Thermoplastic composites target extreme performance

Safariland LLC (Ontario, Calif.), produces gun holsters, previously made of leather, from a proprietary composite that relies on a custom-formulated thermoplastic sheet product from Boltaron Performance Products LLC (Newcomerstown, Ohio)

Aerospace 31 Mar 2012

Sailing the sea with composite wings

Autonomous sailing vessel patrols with patented WingSail technology.

Pressure Vessels 29 Feb 2012

Carbon fiber market: Gathering momentum

All signs point to increasing demand from many market sectors. Will capacity keep pace?

Carbon Fibers 29 Feb 2012

CF 2011: Comment on end-markets and initiatives

Six speakers at the Carbon Fiber 2011 conference (December 2011) report on their organizations' activities in the carbon fiber market.

Marine 29 Feb 2012

Software enables submarine shipyard’s composites-for-metal effort

When Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft GmbH (Kiel, Germany) looked for a software solution to reduce the risk of using composites for a greater range of thicker parts, FiberSIM software from VISTAGY Inc. (Waltham, Mass.) enabled its engineers to develop initial designs more quickly and to better understand the impact of design changes.

Prepregs 1 Feb 2012

SMC sandwich panels: Lean process opens doors

Patented process enables compression molding at lower pressures, saving capital equipment costs for panel fabrication.

Wind/Energy 1 Feb 2012

Corrosion prevention: Glass/vinyl ester liner protects power plant pit

When PT Paiton Energy in Paiton, East Java, Indonesia, wanted to expand its existing 1,230-MW coal-fired power plant, it needed a new concrete aeration pit to hold seawater that is circulated through the plant’s cooling system.

Sustainability 31 Jan 2012

Noise enclosures: Composites damp sound on offshore rig

For offshore oil rig operations, DIAB has led a team that developed a cored sandwich composite alternative to metal sound-damping enclosures at half the weight.