Design & Tooling
Self-deployable, composite satellite boom
Researchers design and validate a boom made of ultrathin carbon-fiber/epoxy laminate, using a novel, highly accurate analysis method.
Read MorePLM software streamlines robotic cell development
FASTCURVE and FASTTIP, part of FASTSUITE from CENIT (Stuttgart, Germany), have been used successfully by Hyde Group Holdings Ltd. (Cheshire, U.K.) to optimize composite wing manufacturing.
Read MoreConcert hall composites: Acoustic alchemy
Massive composite acoustic structures will reflect and diffuse sound to heighten audio quality in a new high-profile performance space.
Read MoreTopology optimization
For Airbus (Toulouse, France), topology optimization is just one of many computer-aided optimization techniques that have been employed in the aircraft design process — and employed ever earlier — to reduce time and cost.
Read MoreComposite propeller for Royal Navy minehunter
Composite-for-metal replacement brings multiple benefits.
Read MoreSoftware speeds tape layer production, optimizes precision
the Siemens Aerospace Center of Excellence's (Elk Grove Village, Ill.) developed the Siemens SINUMERIK 840D CNC system speeds production on a large ATL machine at the former Boeing Wichita plant (now Spirit AeroSystems) in Wichita, Kan.
Read MoreLaminate bearing/bypass interaction test methods
Dr. Donald F. Adams (Wyoming Test Fixtures Inc., Salt Lake City, Utah) reviews laminate bearing/bypass interaction test methods.
Read MoreImproving laminates through anisotropy and homogenization
Dr. Stephen Tsai, professor research emeritus in the Department of Aeronautics & Astronautics at Stanford University, discusses the merits of unbalanced (anisotropic) layers in composite laminates.
Read MorePurging conservatism from composite designs
Craig Collier, president of Collier Research Group (Hampton, Va.) says cross-discipline software interconnectivity will unlock the full potential of composites.
Read MoreTooling for composites: Evolutionary trajectory
New technologies and improved methods keep up as tools get bigger and more complex and toolmaking gets ever more challenging.
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