May 2015 Issue
May 2015
Features
Featured articles from the May 2015 issue of CompositesWorld
Armored-vehicle and rapid-transit pods
Composite crew/passenger compartments drop vehicle weight but boost functionality.
Read MoreCarbon/epoxy overbraided, RTM’d spring carrier beam
Munich Composites (Ottobrunn, Germany) won a JEC Innovation award in the Transportation Category for its carbon fiber air spring carrier part.
Read MoreCoriolis celebrates aerospace history, anticipates automotive future, at JEC
Coriolis Composites (Queven, France) held a press event at its stand to celebrate its 15th year at the JEC Europe event.
Read MoreDow: 60-second epoxy is in range with liquid compression molding
Dow Automotive Systems (Horgen, Switzerland) made big news at JEC Europe 2014 with the introduction of VORAFORCE, its ultralow-viscosity, fast-cure epoxy for automotive molding.
Read MoreExelis wins center wingbox strut contract for Airbus A350-1000
Aerospace composites fabricator Exelis (Salt Lake City, UT, US) has won a multimillion-dollar contract from Airbus (Toulouse, France) to produce composite center wingbox struts
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Fraunhofer ICT develops lightweight cylinder casing
Car manufacturers may be able to achieve weight savings with cylinder blocks that feature parts made of fiber-reinforced plastics.
Read MoreGlass/epoxy RTM process yields “four-in-one” auto suspension blade
Hutchison (Levallois Perret, France) caused a stir at JEC Europe with its Trifunctional Auto Suspension.
Read MoreHexion is Hexion again, with a 60-second epoxy in hand
Resins manufacturer Hexion (Columbus, OH, US), which has spent the past few years going by the name Momentive, is back to being called Hexion.
Read MoreJushi initiates, AGY expands, US-based glass capacity
Two of the biggest names in fiberglass manufacturing made big announce- ments at JEC Europe 2015.
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Laser projection: Envisioning more than templates
Advanced systems offer ply-placement verification, aids to faster assembly and manufacturing process and quality control.
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Polyamide improves impeller performance
Direct-to-milled-tool process simplifies large deck mold development.
Read MoreRound-the-world flight progress: Solar Impulse 2
Energized only by sunlight taken in by the solar panels arrayed on its horizontal surfaces, the electric-prop-driven, all-composite-airframed Solar Impulse (Si2) aircraft had completed nearly one-half of its much publicized ‘round- the-world trip as CW’s May issue went to press.
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The rise of HP-RTM
Decades of development have propelled it to prominence but its future demands industrial solutions for handling cost, complexity and process control.
Read MoreTrends in automation: ATL and AFP technologies increase speed, flexibility
Many automated production solutions were on offer at JEC Europe 2015, and several companies made announcements.
Read MoreTrent jet engines: Rolls-Royce increases blade R&D, begins work with FACC
Rolls-Royce (London, UK) showed signs that it’s serious about composites development in a recent report that Bristol, UK, will be the location of a composite technology center for advanced commercial jet-engine fan systems.
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US wind energy: Parity with fossil fuels is getting closer
CW columnist and composites industry consultant Dale Brosius says a recent report issued by the US DoE offers reasons for optimism about US composite-industry prospects in the wind energy industry even without the stimulus from the Production Tax Credit.
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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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What is the genesis of automated tape laying technology?
CW Editor-in-Chief Jeff Sloan seeks and finds the roots of automated tape-laying technology in the work done by close associates of legendary composites-industry pioneer Brandt Goldsworthy.
Read MoreZoltek’s Hungarian plant to add carbon fiber production capacity
Zoltek Corp. (St. Louis, MO, US) has worked out a deal with the Hungarian government to expand capacity.
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