Out of Autoclave

Aerospace 8 Jun 2016

MS-21 OOA wing and wing box near first flight

Irkut Corp. rolled out the MS-21 single-aisle commercial aircraft on June 8, and we were reminded of its remarkable novelty: It features the first out-of-autoclave composite wing and wing box.

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Glass Fibers 6 Jun 2016

Covestro helps produce Asia’s first rotor blade made from polyurethane

The 37.5m-long rotor blade was fabricated with a special polyurethane infusion resin from Covestro and glass fiber mats from Chongqing Polycomp International.

Carbon Fibers 2 Jun 2016

Carbon fiber Hyperloop design to transform transportation

A group of Carnegie Mellon University students will test out their carbon fiber pod design during a competition at SpaceX’s headquarters in August.

Epoxies 26 May 2016

Pixelated temperature control

Surface Generation is providing digital process control for composites molding that cuts energy use, cycle time and processing pressures while breaking boundaries in thickness, complexity and embedded elements.

Filament Winding 25 May 2016

Composites manufacturing — where the excitement lives

A regular CW columnist and the chief commercialization officer for the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI, Knoxville, TN, US), Dale Brosius points out that for today's engineering students, a Ph.D in manufacturing could open the door to an exciting, alternative career path.

Adhesives 24 May 2016

VABO Composites: Dutch innovator excels in diverse applications

From yacht masts and ship doors to front loader buckets and architectural projects, VABO uses resin infusion and ingenuity to push composites forward vs. metals.

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Carbon Fibers 19 May 2016

Carbon/epoxy Cadillac hood

Automated process for prepreg hood inner/outer cuts weight by 20% and yields Class A exterior out of the autoclave.

Glass Fibers 16 May 2016

New hybrid solar energy system uses composites to lower costs

Patent-pending 5D Watts system increases solar energy production four times vs. conventional non-composite flat panels while lowering weight and installation cost.

Aerospace 10 May 2016

Oshkosh “Fly-In” preview: Multi-day infusion demo

Visitors to the Experimental Aircraft Assn.’s (EAA) AirVenture 2016 (July 25-31) will have the opportunity to attend a reprise of last year’s multi-day infusion processing demo, again sponsored by Innegra Technologies (Greenville, SC, US).