Articles

Mass Transit

Composites give shape to new passenger bus

The VDL Bus & Coach Citea bus features composite structures fabricated using a vacuum expansion process (VEX) with specially formulated foaming resin compounds supplied by BÜFA Composite Systems.

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Out of Autoclave

So, you want to make automotive composites . . .

Materials and manufacturing processes for autocomposites are evolving rapidly, and ÂÌñÏ×ÆÞ wants to help you sort it out. A free, March 29 webinar is designed to help bring you up to speed on the manufacturing technologies best suited for autocomposites.

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Weaving

Carbon fiber has designs on production wheels

A high-performance CFRP wheel manufacturer for nearly 20 years, Dymag is now part of a broader effort to reduce their cost and migrate them into volume vehicles.

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Aerospace

Airborne, Siemens and SABIC partner to mass produce thermoplastic composites

Flexible, automated production lines, featuring radically low conversion costs, aimed at millions of parts/yr — CW’s interview with all three companies.

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Autoclave

Composites-intensive folding bike: Simplifying multi-modal transportation

The world’s lightest folding bike relies on CFRP for high stiffness and strength at low weight.

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Out of Autoclave

Carbon Fibre Preforms for low-cost and zero waste

Chopped fiber preforms in seconds, 1200°C burn resistance for hours, low-cost CFRP to replace metals

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Carbon Fibers

Fiber Patch Placement at scale

SAMBA automated cells now offered in Step, Pro and Scale models, for 3D preforming dry fiber and prepreg at rates up to 15-100 kg/hr.

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Space

Falcon Heavy is just the beginning

The successful launch of the Falcon Heavy rocket by SpaceX marks a new milestone in the private space race — the ability to take larger payloads further. 

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General aviation: Reconceiving the personal plane

Enabled by FAA rule changes, small plane manufacturers today are moving beyond the private “pleasure” craft to cutting-edge technologies engineered to offer an affordable means to avoid urban gridlock.

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Space

McNair Aerospace Center: Closing the composites education gap

As the composites industry in South Carolina continues to expand through Boeing and its tier suppliers, composites education follows suit through the McNair Center.

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3D printing for a Bonneville run

As a former (amateur vintage) racer myself, I appreciate all things motorsports. CRP USA LLC (Mooresville, NC, US), the maker of Windform SLS 3D printing materials as well as provider of custom additive manufacturing and machining services, sent me a case study of a motorsports team that recently set a new class record at the Bonneville Salt Flats, thanks to the fast part production possible with 3D printing. 

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SGL Group optimizes supply chain for composites

SGL’s takeover of former BENTELER and BMW JVs, plus sale of Kumpers JV, consolidates  the company’s CF activities while it broadens its composites technology portfolio.

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