Out of Autoclave

Adhesives 30 Nov 2012

ACMA COMPOSITES 2013 preview

For 2013, the American Composites Manufacturers Assn. (ACMA, Arlington, Va.) returns its annual U.S. COMPOSITES exhibition and convention to the East Coast’s sunny, fun capital, Orlando, Fla.

Sheet Molding Compound 30 Nov 2012

Cladding controversy: SMC insulation panels preserve pre-1919 building aesthetics

Acell (Milan, Italy) offers a solution for insulating older buildings that is designed to satisfy advocates of both architectural preservation and environmental conservation.

Autoclave 2 Nov 2012

Acoustical architecture: Making beautiful music

On the market for more than 40 years, composite musical instruments have advanced from a novelty to critical acclaim.

Infusion 2 Nov 2012

Infusion of aerostructures: Doubling down on the details

For this carbon-fiber composite manufacturer, little things make big differences in a not-quite-new but still novel double-bag infusion technique.

Autoclave 2 Nov 2012

Double-bag infusion attracts new customers

Carbon Fiber Composites Inc. (CFC, Hurricane, W. Va.) president Brian Alley credits the double-bag infusion process with attracting two new aircraft customers.

Autoclave 1 Nov 2012

EAA AirVenture 2012 Airshow Report

New composite light sport aircraft attract flyers at the Oshkosh Fly-in, especially those with a flair for the amphibious.

Adhesives 1 Nov 2012

Carbon is the choice for amphibious LSA floats

Superlight, landing-gear-equipped design gives light sport aircraft builders an option for land and water.

Out of Autoclave 31 Oct 2012

Material selection optimizes power-to-weight ratio for twin-masted catamaran

Composites are the key when Pauger Carbon Composites (Budapest, Hungary) builds the Fifty-Fifty, a twin-mast catamaran, the design objective for which is the best possible power-to-weight ratio for high speed over long distances.

Out of Autoclave 1 Oct 2012

Building a better corrosion-control composite

Many FRP products used in corrosive environments — pipe, tanks, ductwork, stack liners and so forth — are constructed with filament winding or pultrusion processes and contain 60 to 70 percent glass fiber reinforcement by weight.

Out of Autoclave 1 Oct 2012

Industrial corrosion control: Huge opportunities

Fiber-reinforced plastic is the ideal but still widely ignored option in environments that eat away at most metal alloys. Opportunities abound, but the key is still education.