Aerospace
High-speed engine blade manufacturing
High-speed video of GEnx engine blade manufacturing at CFAN offers a great look at the complexity of composites manufacturing.
WatchGE Aviation's CMC parts facility in Asheville, NC
CW's first-hand look at ceramic matrix composites production.
Read MorePlant Tour: GE Aviation, Asheville, NC, US
An avant-garde approach to unprecedented CMC parts production.
Read MoreSAMPE 2017: Highlights
SAMPE returned to Seattle, WA, US, May 22-25 and featured the usual mix of conference presentations and exhibit hall activity. CW was there and offers this summary of highlights from the event.
WatchAutomated Preforming, Part 2: Glide Forming
Flat layups are shaped into stringers with different cross-sections, lengths, thicknesses and curvatures using a single machine at rates up to 10 mm per second.
WatchNASA exploring using carbon nanotube for aerospace applications
NASA worked with Nanocomp to produce carbon nanotube (CNT) fibers to fabricate a carbon nanotube Composite Overwrap Pressure Vessel.
Read MoreAn aerocomposites wish list
Boeing R&T fellow Tom Tsotsis offers his vision of how design and manufacture of composite parts and structures might evolve in the aerospace industry.
Read MorePreforming goes industrial: Part 1
ATL and AFP-based preforming options now abound for processing dry and/or impregnated reinforcements as quickly as 1 minute or less with potential yearly part yields in the millions.
WatchComposites recycling is gaining traction
Although CW’s coverage of composites recycling dates back over a decade, informal statistics still show that only ~2% of composites-related companies are active recyclers. That said, three years since our most recent feature on the subject, there is demonstrably greater interest and activity, and real applications of recycled fiber are growing.
WatchComposites at AIA 2017
The ACMA Architectural Division exhibited its 4th annual Composites Pavilion and 2nd annual COMPOSITES CHALLENGE for architectural students.
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