Aerospace
Magazine names carbon fiber composites to list of top advances in materials science
Carbon fiber makes the list at #6 in Materials
Read MorePotential buyer of three EADS plants in Germany pulls plug
Forbes.com reports that a suitor for three EADS plants in Germany has bowed out, citing a breakdown in talks with Airbus.
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Friction products: Carbon fiber stopping power
Low weight, thermal shock resistance, and extreme strength drive growth of carbon-reinforced friction products and materials in brake applications.
Read MoreMarket Trends: The MRO challenge #x97; managing uncertainty
According to a recent report by Aerostrategy Management Consulting, spending by air transport maintenance and repair organizations (MROs) worldwide totaled $40.8 billion (USD) in 2006. Moreover, Aerostrategy (Ann Arbor, Mich. and Amersham, Buckinghamshire, U.K.) reports that spending on air transport maintenance
Read MoreOther fiber options
Quartz fibers, while more expensive than glass, have lower density, higher strength and higher stiffness than E-glass, and about twice the elongation-to-break, making them a good choice where durability is a priority. Quartz fibers also have a near-zero CTE; they can maintain their performance properties under
Read MoreHigh-volume molding methods
Compression molding is a high-volume thermoset molding process that employs expensive but very durable metal dies. It is an appropriate choice when production quantities exceed 10,000 parts. As many as 200,000 parts can be turned out on a set of forged steel dies, using sheet molding compound (SMC), a composite sheet
Read MoreFiber demand and supply
Industry statistics for carbon fiber supply and demand are in flux, as all fiber manufacturers have announced major expansion programs and new suppliers are entering the industry. Estimates of annual worldwide demand for continuous, PAN-based carbon fiber exceeded 27,000 metric tonnes (60 million lb) in 2006 and
Read MoreFrom the Publisher - 11/1/2007
I’ve been in the field a lot lately, and I’ve sensed a ground swell of activity around carbon fiber. End users tell me they are not having the difficulty getting fiber (with the possible exception of 3K) that they experienced at this time last year. And the future supply looks even better. This is no big surprise:
Read MoreRepairing flying composite structures
As the Boeing 787 nears first flight, certification and delivery and as the design of the Airbus A350 XWB is solidified, we hear more and more about how airlines that fly these planes might deal with maintenance and repair.
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Managing multi-axis manufacturing
Much early computer numerically controlled (CNC) machinery served short-run military and space programs where cost per part was too high to be acceptable in the manufacture of commercial aircraft. Now, Automated CNC machinery moves toward volume production and part-specific design.
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