Sara Black Senior Technical Editor Emeritus
Public transit: Modular composites update Sao Paulo ferries
When the Brazilian state of São Paulo, through its state-controlled company DERSA, funded new composite superstructures for 12 existing car ferries, Barracuda Advanced Composites (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) specified materials and engineered the new design.
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Marine resurgence – with carbon?
The marine market took a big hit during the Recession, but it's been recovering since, and there are signs that carbon fiber might be leading the way.
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Electric-powered aircraft: good for composites suppliers
Electric-powered flight is nascent, but the promise is real, as is the opportunity for composites fabricators and suppliers.
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3D Printing continuous carbon fiber composites?
Additive manufacturing startup MarkForged aims to make it happen and is already marketing systems.
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Don’t call it a blimp!
The builders of this variable-buoyancy craft count on carbon fiber/epoxy trusswork to enable a new era of air transport.
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Demonstration software modeling exercise aids Taiwan’s yachtbuilding community
Ray Tsai, technical director of Simutech Solution Corp. (Taipei, Taiwan) and colleagues develop a demonstration modeling exercise for Taiwanese motoryacht builders.
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Towerless wind turbine
Altaeros' BAT (Buoyant Airborne Turbine) prototype will be tested soon in Alaska. Remote settlements or communities far from the power grid pay dearly for electricity.
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A surge in seaplanes?
The current bright spot in general aviation might be in light-sport aircraft (LSA), and more specifically in seaplanes.
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UAVs may deliver Internet access
Facebook is considering use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) to bring Internet access to remote areas. The composites industry could be among the beneficiaries.
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TV tower composite repair: High-rise in Hawaii
Boulder, Colo.-based Aero Solutions LLC performs repairs with composites on a 175-ft/54m tall television broadcasting tower atop a 42-story building in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Read MoreComptek's consumer adhesive spin-off
When technicians involved in Aero Solutions LLC’s (Boulder, Colo.) repair projects reported that resin residue left in the bags that contained the company’s glass/polyurethane protective wraps was “great for gluing stuff,” parent conpy Comptek Structural Composites’ CEO Jim Lockwood decided to try bottling it.
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Composites the clear choice in telecom tower rehabs
Tower permit difficulties spur repairs/upgrades of aging steel structures.
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