CW Talks catches up with Chuck Miller
The founder of tooling board manufacturer Coastal Enterprises explains how he went from engineering solutions for the the Saturn V rocket launch vehicle in the mid-1960s to making polyurethane boards for tool proofing.

Coastal Enterprises’ Chuck Miller.
One of the newest episodes of CW Talks: The Composites Podcast, catches up with Chuck Miller, founder and president of California-based polyurethane tooling board manufacturer Coastal Enterprises.
Miller explains how he started as an engineer in the mid-1960s, working on development of the Saturn V launch vehicle, which would eventually take astronauts to the moon. When that program ended, and still with a family to support, Miller took polyurethane foam technology he worked with on the Saturn program and turned it into a business opportunity — one that is still thriving today.
Catch CW Talks: The Composites Podcast at any of these locations:
- ÂÌñÏׯÞ: CW Talks

Workers spray polyurethane foam onto the Saturn V S-2 section.
Related Content
-
Optimized approach to predict delamination failure in CFRTP structures
ARRK Engineering and Mitsui Chemicals improved delamination prediction accuracy to help optimize absorbed energy/failure load for an overmolded TAFNEX CF/PP UD tape bumper beam.
-
Damage tolerance testing of sandwich composites: The sandwich CAI test
A new ASTM-standardized test method established in 2022 assesses the compression-loaded damage tolerance of sandwich composites.
-
Optimized rib-reinforced hollow composites via printed molds
Addyx topology optimization and water-soluble mandrel enables simultaneous rib and skin layup for one-shot, high-strength, lightweight structures.