Molds/Tools

Aerospace 17 Feb 2021

Invar, wire additive manufacturing expand aerocomposite tooling options

Invar facesheets and backing structures are candidates for large-format 3D printing to more quickly and efficiently produce aerostructures tooling.

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Biomaterials 4 Feb 2021

UMaine awarded $2.8 million to accelerate AM wind blade development

Additive manufacturing with bio-based, 100% recyclable feedstocks reinforced with wood can reduce construction time by six months and cut costs by 25-50%

Automation 30 Nov 2020

Composites mold manufacturer, BBG, is finalist for Germany’s best toolmaker 2020

Smart molds for Industry 4.0 applications key to its recognition in “Excellence in Production” competition.

Workforce Development 30 Nov 2020

University of Stuttgart, Institute of Aircraft Design uses adaptive mold technology from Adapa

Reconfigurable mold aids development of digitally-manufactured composite parts for reduced-emissions transport vehicles.

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Molds/Tools 20 Nov 2020

Trelleborg launches high-temperature tooling material for direct-to-part manufacture

The tooling material has operating temperature of up to +180ºC, low CTE, offers an alternative to aluminum, prepreg and steel for high-volume part production.

Fabrics/Preforms 29 Oct 2020

Braided preforms meet phase-change tooling

A program from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory adopts automated braiding and phase-change tooling for a complex geometry unmanned aircraft part.

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Carbon Fibers 28 Oct 2020

Thermwood demonstrates novel 3D printing approach for large vessel molds

Thermwood 3D-printed and trimmed five-foot-tall sections that were then bound together and bolted to form a complete female mold. The entire mold section, made of four printed pieces, weighs 4,012 pounds and required 65.5 hours to print.

Carbon Fibers 10 Sep 2020

3D printing CFRP molds for RTM flaperon, exoskeletons and more

The Chair of Carbon Composites at TU Munich is advancing composite additive manufacturing via large-scale extrusion, continuous fiber printing, integrating heating into tools and more.

Thermoplastics 25 Aug 2020

National Composites Week: Thermoplastics, recycling, tooling

As we celebrate National Composites Week, we’ve collected some of our top content on recent developments in thermoplastic composites, recycling and tooling.