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Filament winding is a specialized technique used in composite manufacturing, involving the precise and automated winding of continuous fibers onto a rotating mandrel or mold. This method allows for the creation of strong and seamless structures, optimizing the alignment and orientation of the fibers to meet specific design requirements. Filament winding is employed in producing cylindrical or conical composite parts, such as pipes, pressure vessels, and aerospace components, enabling engineers to tailor the strength, stiffness, and performance characteristics of the final product.

Processes in composites manufacturing encompass a diverse array of techniques employed to fabricate composite materials. These processes include methods like hand layup, where layers of resin and reinforcement materials are manually placed, and vacuum infusion, where a vacuum draws resin into a preform. Other techniques like compression molding, filament winding, and automated methods such as 3D printing are utilized to create intricate and specialized composite structures. Each process offers unique advantages in terms of precision, scalability, and efficiency, catering to diverse industry needs. As technology advances, newer methods are emerging, promising faster production cycles, reduced waste, and increased customization, driving the evolution of composite manufacturing towards more sophisticated and versatile methodologies.

The wind energy market has long been considered the world’s largest market, by volume, for glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) composites — and increasingly, carbon fiber composites — as larger turbines and longer wind blades are developed, requiring higher performance, lighter weight materials. The outer skins of wind and tidal turbine blades generally comprise infused, GFRP laminates sandwiching foam core. Inside the blade, rib-like shear webs bonded to spar caps reinforce the structure. Spar caps are often made from GFRP or, as blade lengths lengthen, pultruded carbon fiber for additional strength.

Limited-edition sneakers feature soles composed of micronized dismantled wind blades from a wind farm in Navarra, Spain.

This time, Exel has signed a contract to deliver 75 kilometers of pull-wound carbon fiber tubes for the LCA60T VTOL aircraft.  

New aircraft is expected to deliver wind turbine blades from 105 meters up to expand the reach of wind energy and achieve global climate goals.

Second phase will add 384 megawatts to the Tyligulska wind project, bringing it to a capacity of 498 megawatts.

Composites industry insights gleaned from spending time on the road. 

CAMX 2024: Century Design Inc. highlights its OnDemand towpreg systems, designed to provide differentiation and cost efficiency in-house while maintaining high quality.

Twenty U.S. teams from 15 states were selected for Phase 1 of funded efforts to develop, mature and commercialize recycling technologies for FRPs and rare earth elements used in wind turbines.

Additional production lines in a third facility within TPI’s Juarex campus will manufacture GE Vernova’s latest wind turbine blade type.

After an expected slow start to 2024 with low sales in the first quarter, Gurit saw a stronger second quarter with net sales of ~$246.7 million, driven by the ramp-up of new wind blades and higher demand in non-wind markets.

ÂÌñÏ×ÆÞ is soliciting presentation proposals for Carbon Fiber 2025 — and what better location to discuss carbon fiber’s role in the key market of aerospace than Wichita, Kansas, the Air Capital of the world?