Thermoplastics
Future combat helmet: Promising prototype
Tape laying, thermoforming methods hold hope for rapid coforming of thermoplastic shell and ballistic liner for U.S. Army’s future warfighter headgear.
Read More
Medical applications: A healthy market
Composites make advances in devices for medical diagnosis and treatments that promote healing and help return patients to active lives.
Read More
Structural armor or armored structures?
Either way, antiballistics engineers seek structural integrity and ballistic deterrence from a single design.
Read MoreNew MIL antiballistics standard
New military specifications for unidirectional thermoplastic laminates used in antiballistics applications are circulating in draft form for comments and should be completed by year’s end.
Read MoreHybrid Enhanced Combat Helmet enters final testing phase
The U.S. Army and Marine Corps are conducting final validation testing of the U.S. military’s next-generation — and radically new — thermoplastic composite Enhanced Combat Helmet (ECH).
Read More
Lightweighting a heavyweight
Process combination produces significantly lighter overhead storage bins for big-rig sleeper cabs.
Read More
Thermoformable thermoplastic composites
Thermoplastic composites that can be shaped into finished parts via thermoforming are proliferating as the thermoforming process gains traction, particularly in aerospace manufacturing. The following short article and chart provide some guidance in terms of sourcing.
Read More
Aerospace-grade compression molding
Continuous Compression Molding process produces structures 30 percent lighter than aluminum at costs that have both Airbus and Boeing sold.
Read More
WPC weathering: Accelerated testing confirms prediction
Aspen Research Corp. (White Bear Lake, Minn.) evaluated a Korean manufacturer’s WPC deck board with the aid of xenon arc accelerated weathering chambers supplied by ATLAS Material Testing Solutions (Chicago, Ill.).
Read MoreWind foam sources: PET, SAN & PVC
That polyethylene terephthalate (PET) foam is the core material of the future appears to be an open secret within the composites industry.
Read More
