Sara Black Senior Technical Editor Emeritus
Looking to lighten up aircraft interiors? Try natural fibers!
Aircraft OEMs are striving to make their products more efficient, with improved engines and ever-increasing use of composite materials, including in aircraft interiors.
Read More
Carbon composite spring: Big performance, small package
Disc spring stack is lighter, reduces friction and can be performance-tuned.
Read More
Summer vacation and MEMS/nanotechnology
Revisiting the past, while the future is happening in my home town.
Read More
Carbon in the cloud(s)
Carbon is the norm, and even a necessity, at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb race event, held June 28.
Watch
Additive manufacturing in automotive applications
Although they have been overshadowed by aerospace applications, 3D-printed tools also are finding a place in automotive processing. Here's one example.
Read More
3D-printed fixtures & jigs
Holding fixtures, jigs, trim tools and metal-forming dies can be expensive elements of post-mold composite part processing and assembly. Additive manufacturing, therefore, is proving especially useful in reducing the design/build time/cost in this area.
Read More
A growing trend: 3D printing of aerospace tooling
Toolmakers and OEMs are embracing additive manufacturing for customized, rapid tools, masters and jigs.
Read More
Composite air brakes: Stopping the world’s fastest car
CFRP sandwich structures a key element of deceleration in the Bloodhound SSC rocket-powered racer’s two-run attempt at resetting the land speed record.
Read More
Composite engine piston cylinder housings
Phenolic BMC could replace aluminum in car/motorcycle engine housings.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More