CW Blog

Carbon Fibers

Composites enable innovative prototype for snow mountain bike

A group of engineering students from the University of Sherbrooke (Québec, Canada) believe mountain biking should be enjoyed year-round.

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Out of Autoclave

Engel: Full speed ahead on composites R&D

CW attended the Engel Symposium 2015 and visited its Technology Center for Lightweight Composites in St. Valentin, Austria.

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Aerospace

Summer...time for an air show

Highlights from the 2015 edition of the Paris Air Show, and what to look for at the upcoming EAA AirVenture air show in Oshkosh next month.

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Aerospace

3D Printing Moves Into Tooling Components

Some pundits predict that 3D printing, or additive manufacturing (AM), will change our world forever. While that may yet be, one thing is clear: The growth of 3D printing over the past two decades has wrought significant change in composites tooling. Although AM’s most obvious advantage is direct part production without tooling, the growing trend in the aerospace and automotive sectors at present is its use for fast, on-demand builds of mold tools to keep pace with accelerating composite part design cycles and demand for faster overall part processing speeds.

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Wind/Energy

Wind energy: No blades needed?

A startup seeks to take the blades out of wind generators.

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Glass Fibers

Tires that never go flat

SciTech Industries and Rapid Composites develop high-volume production tires that use glass fiber/PET composite springs instead of innertubes and compressed air.

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Marine

Hydrofoil technology meets the luxury yacht market?

If Zephyous Charters gets its way, hydrofoil technology made famous by the 2013 America's Cup race will soon be available on a luxury yacht near you. All that's needed is a little money.

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Biomaterials

Opportunities for composites at AIA 2015

Key trends and new products on the floor at this year's American Institute of Architects show.

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Wind/Energy

Thermoplastic composites technology: A view from Europe

For this Dutch consortium, bringing the manufacturability of thermoplastic materials to maturity is the goal in concert with OEMs, materials and equipment supplier members.

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Thermoplastics

In-orbit-deployable radar dish

Aramid/PEI delivers flexibility, strength and precision for space-based reflector

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First all-carbon yacht a winner

Vacuum infusion with customized fabrics enables demanding yacht build

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Understanding the influence of fiber orientation on structural analysis of fiber-filled parts

The effect of fiber orientation on material properties is a key way the injection molding process impacts mechanical performance. Doug Kenik and Angie Schrader of the Design, Lifecycle & Simulation product group at Autodesk (Waltham, MA, US) illustrates two ways fiber orientation influences the structural behavior of fiber-filled parts and discuss the need for a bi-directional approach to design and analysis.

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