CW Blog

Automotive

Hexcel core factory to augment growing Moroccan aerospace community

The new facility is part of Hexcel’s ongoing effort to diversify its global aerospace supply chain to support customers’ growing demand for engineered honeycomb core used in composite sandwich constructions for lightweight aircraft secondary structures, nacelles and helicopter blades.

Read More
Weaving

What the Detroit Auto Show does and does not show

There's carbon fiber in cars, not all of which is visible.

Read More
Infrastructure

Damage-propagation-resistant FRP: From bridge deck to canal lock

New work in application of composites in bridges and bridge decks.

Read More
Out of Autoclave

Molding with compression? Choose wisely you must

For those in the market for a compression molding machine — either to replace an aging machine or to add new capability — must be prepared to answer serious questions about the material and application for which it will be molded.

Read More
Wind/Energy

What do PU/carbon spars and the Valencia lighthouse have in common?

Saertex reinforcements, infusion, speed of fabrication and long life.

Watch
Consumer

The Flexible Flyer: How composites made velomobile history

Separating frame and spring functions makes them easier to design but then those separate parts are heavier. Columnist Bob Stuart's updated velomobile suspension illustrates a way to combine those functions in a lighter, more responsive construction.

Read More

The dawn of low-cost carbon fiber?

After several years of research and development work on its pilot scale carbon fiber manufacturing line, ORNL signaled that its efforts are ready to be paid off when it announced it is seeking licensees for its process.

Read More
Carbon Fibers

Materials & Processes: Composites for repair

Composites offer cost-effective means to repair, protect and/or strengthen structures made of steel, concrete or other materials.

Read More
Automotive

Materials & Processes: Composites part design

Designers of composite parts can choose from a huge variety of fiber reinforcements and resin systems. That makes knowledge of how those materials work together a critically important aspect of part development. Here's a short description of what that knowledge entails.

Read More
Prepregs

Materials & Processes: Fiber formats for composites

Fibers used to reinforce composites are supplied directly by fiber manufacturers and indirectly by converters in a number of different forms, which vary depending on the application. Here's a guide to what's available.

Read More
Marine

Supply and demand: Advanced fibers

Demand for advanced fiber, virgin and reclaimed, is on an upswing after a dip during the recent recession. Fiber suppliers are gearing up to meet an expected increase in demand as manufacturers in a number of composites end-markets scale up or start up part development and production programs

Read More
Construction

Materials & Processes: Introduction

High strength at low weight remain the winning combination that propels composite materials into new arenas, but other properties are equally important. This article outlines the case for composites and introduces SourceBook's overview of the materials and processes used to make them.

Read More