Design & Tooling

Consumer

Heated composites

LaminaHeat enables heated composite tools and new opportunities for composites via multifunctional structures.

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Aerospace

Massive, bondline-free tooling block

A candidate for the biggest “bun” from high-density urethane foam?

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RTM

Virtual process chain + online process monitoring = first-time-right manufacturing

Co-authors Dr. Michael Bruyneel, Marc Attar and Dr. Christian Brauner (Siemens PLM Software, Liège, Belgium) illustrate the benefits of manufacturing simulation software in virtual trials of molding processes, using resin transfer molding as a reference.

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Automotive

Weber Manufacturing Technologies: Midland, ON, Canada

With a long, storied history in composites moldmaking, this rare nickel vapor deposition specialist has built a strong niche, making large, high-quality tools.

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Autoclave

Ascent Tooling Group ascends via innovation

The world’s largest metal and composite moldmaker has a new name and continues to make a name for itself in closer control of large-part dimensional tolerance.

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Methods for interlaminar tensile testing of composites: A comparative evaluation

Dr. Daniel O. Adams, professor of mechanical engineering and director of the Composite Mechanics Laboratory at the University of Utah and VP of Wyoming Test Fixtures Inc. (Salt Lake City, UT, US) compares and contrasts the direct and indirect loading methods for interlaminar tensile testing of composites.

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Marine

CompoSIDE delivers cost and time saving for composites consultancy

STRUCTeam cites £40,000 savings in licensing costs and up to 40% reduction in design time by using this web-based composites design engineering solution.

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Aerospace

Integrating NDI into manufacturing: Online inspection of CFRP prior to cure

Esmeralda Cuevas, head of NDT technologies at Tecnatom SA (San Sebastian de Los Reyes, Spain), details efforts of the TARGET project, which investigated how to integrate NDI into the composites manufacturing process prior to cure stage.

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Natural Fibers

Looking for Lindberghs

Every paradigm-shifting invention throughout human history has been met with skepticism. CW editor-in-chief Jeff Sloan says the composites industry has need of those willing to attempt what most believe impossible.

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Wind/Energy

Incremental thinking just won’t cut it!

Composites industry consultant and regular CW columnist Dale Brosius says if this industry is to have a future that goes anywhere profitable, then we've got to get off the road we're on and map out a whole new way to think about the tasks at hand.

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