Sara Black Senior Technical Editor Emeritus
Thermoplastic catamaran highlights plastic waste recycling
This month, adventurer David de Rothschild and a crew that will include several scientists will set sail on a 60-ft/18.5m catamaran, dubbed Plastiki, made entirely of postconsumer plastic bottles in various forms.
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CNC routers optimize cooling tower build
Although cooling towers traditionally have been made with wood and concrete, composite materials are gaining acceptance due to their corrosion and rot resistance, light weight and ease of installation.
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The color purple: The "no complaints" movement
So, I finally heard about the “no complaints” movement the other day, which involves wearing a rubberized purple bracelet and switching it from one wrist to the other whenever one utters a negative word.
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Mining the potential of polyurethane composites
 Pultruded rollers for mine conveyors outperform steel and portend a huge new market.
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Cost- and time-saving preform process used for propeller spinner
Carbon fiber/epoxy spinner uses pulp slurry preforming process combined with vacuum infusion molding.
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Composites employed for thermal insulation in space observatories
NASA’s Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO), launched in October 2006, is expected to provide a revolutionary view of our solar system.
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Pultruding cost out of aerospace parts
 Design-for-manufacturing effort proves to be cost-effective for carbon/epoxy airfoil on expendable UAV.
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One-piece molded truck body uses customized resin formulation
When General Motors Corp. (Flint, Mich. ) opted to update its small Astro cargo van in 2007 concurrent with the introduction of new Colorado and Canyon light truck platforms, customers talked and GM listened.
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Composites help create "ghostly" sculpture of bygone time
Sculptor Lawrence Argent of Argent Studios Ltd. (Denver, Colo. ) recently completed another of his several Denver-area public art installations, an internally illuminated, translucent composite sculpture called Ghost Trolley.
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Low-cost methods realize high-concept Superbus
Multifunctional mass-transport vehicle concept takes shape via resin-infused carbon/epoxy and vacuum-formed glass-reinforced thermoplastic sandwich construction.
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Finite element analysis garners performance gains for yacht component
In the ongoing quest to reduce weight in high-performance sailing yachts, no part goes unexamined or untouched.
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Dielectric heating speeds honeycomb core manufacture
Many composites, particularly those made with glass or aramid fibers in a polymer matrix, tend to be inherently nonconductive.
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