Work In Progress Column
Automated robotic NDT enhances capabilities for composites
Kineco Kaman Composites India uses a bespoke Fill Accubot ultrasonic testing system to boost inspection efficiency and productivity.
Stewart Mitchell
Contributor writer
Manufacturing tech for scalable Type V hydrogen tank fabrication, CFRP lifecycle management
Cygnet Texkimp’s Multi Roll Stack and composite recycling technology catalyze ASCEND program’s mission to optimize aerospace, automotive hydrogen storage and CFRP sustainability.
Read MoreThe potential for thermoplastic composite nacelles
Collins Aerospace draws on global team, decades of experience to demonstrate large, curved AFP and welded structures for the next generation of aircraft.
Read MoreThermoplastic composite, tube-shaped preforms for large-volume manufacturing
Starting with the sporting goods and bicycle market, French startup 3DiTex targets its continuous preforming system for thermoformable, thermoplastic composite tubes in complex geometries.
Read MoreInfinite Composites: Type V tanks for space, hydrogen, automotive and more
After a decade of proving its linerless, weight-saving composite tanks with NASA and more than 30 aerospace companies, this CryoSphere pioneer is scaling for growth in commercial space and sustainable transportation on Earth.
Read MoreType V pressure vessel enables lunar lander
Exploratory IM-1 lunar landing mission to feature a unique, all-composite unibody Type V pressure vessel designed for cryogenic propulsion.
Read MoreComposite molding compound replaces Invar for lightweight small satellite structures
Patz Materials and Technologies and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory developed a new monolithic optics housing with 80% less weight, near-zero CTE and the high-volume manufacturing required for commercial space.
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Measuring energy use to enable sustainable composites production
Airbus subsidiary CTC uses new technology to measure energy use in machine components and processes to optimize equipment, production lines and guide decisions for future composites.
Ginger Gardiner
Senior Technical Editor, CompositesWorld
Engine vane demonstrates potential for gapped, unidirectional dry fiber for infusion
GKN Aerospace and its partners developed an aircraft demonstrator component made with TeXtreme’s latest Gapped UD material, proving out a dry, infusible tape meant to compare in performance to UD prepreg.
Read MoreModular, robotic cells enable high-rate RTM using any material format
Airborne’s automated ply placement systems at Airbus, GKN Aerospace and Teijin Automotive Technologies aim to maximize flexibility and intelligent automation.
Read MoreDrag-based wind turbine design for higher energy capture
Claiming significantly higher power generation capacity than traditional blades, Xenecore aims to scale up its current monocoque, fan-shaped wind blades, made via compression molded carbon fiber/epoxy with I-beam ribs and microsphere structural foam.
Read MoreLarge-diameter composite pipe repairs Detroit sewage system
QuakeWrap's 16-foot-diameter FRP pipes will transfer more than half of Detroit's sewage from a pump station.
Read MoreUltra-lightweight skis demonstrate potential of graphene-reinforced composites
With a graphene additive, Folsom Custom Skis evolved and optimized the material makeup of its carbon fiber composite touring skis for higher performance at a lighter weight.
Read MoreRobotized system makes overmolding mobile, flexible
Anybrid’s ROBIN demonstrates inline/offline functionalization of profiles, 3D-printed panels and bio-based materials for more efficient, sustainable composite parts.
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Demonstrator project targets circularity solutions in carbon fiber composite sports equipment
The Carbon Fibre Circular Alliance (CFCA) brought together OEMs and technical partners to reclaim short carbon fibers from end-of-life sports equipment, realign into continuous prepreg tapes and remanufacture into new equipment.
Hannah Mason
Technical Editor, CompositesWorld
MFFD thermoplastic floor beams — OOA consolidation for next-gen TPC aerostructures
GKN Fokker and Mikrosam develop AFP for the Multifunctional Fuselage Demonstrator’s floor beams and OOA consolidation of 6-meter spars for TPC rudders, elevators and tails.
Read MoreComposite tension leaf springs: Available for trucks at last
Tension leaf springs with progressive spring rates meet the demanding needs of truck suspensions.
Read MoreBio-based acrylonitrile for carbon fiber manufacture
The quest for a sustainable source of acrylonitrile for carbon fiber manufacture has made the leap from the lab to the market.
Read MoreASCEND program update: Designing next-gen, high-rate auto and aerospace composites
GKN Aerospace, McLaren Automotive and U.K.-based partners share goals and progress aiming at high-rate, Industry 4.0-enabled, sustainable materials and processes.
Read MoreNovel processes for hybrid thermoset-thermoplastic pultruded parts
CFRP pultrusion and pullwinding specialist Epsilon Composite combines thermoplastic overmolding with traditional thermoset processes, demonstrated through aircraft struts and industrial applications.
Read MoreInside Teijin’s thermoplastic tape expansion
Teijin is qualifying its second thermoplastic tape line in Heinsberg, Germany, that will significantly expand the company’s presence in this material segment.
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Innovation in ultrasonic inspection and nondestructive testing
With increasingly complex structural components working their way into aerospace programs, the need for versatility in inspection and testing capabilities is growing.
Scott Francis
Editor-In-Chief, Gardner Business Media
New polymer expands composites options in demanding environments
Aromatic thermosetting copolyester offers unique properties, availability in multiple form factors.
Read MoreOne-piece, one-shot, 17-meter wing spar for high-rate aircraft manufacture
GKN Aerospace has spent the last five years developing materials strategies and resin transfer molding (RTM) for an aircraft trailing edge wing spar for the Airbus Wing of Tomorrow program.
Read MoreEvolution of the one-piece, all-composite Funny Car body
Large, one-piece drag racing vehicle bodies require extreme lightweighting and precise layup skills. Specialist MTCcorp shares how its John Force Racing Funny Cars have evolved over the past 25 years.
Read MoreFlexible, induction-based heating for thermoplastic composite part repair
Spinning off from a German Aerospace Center (DLR) research project, msquare GmbH’s technology aims to innovate and enable repair for high-temperature thermoplastics.
Read MoreLow-void, large-scale, high-volume 3D-printed composites
Among its many composites-related projects, Oak Ridge National Laboratory recently installed its first AMCM test cell, combining extrusion with compression molding for fast, low-void, low-porosity thermoplastic composite parts.
Read More3D printing and AFP join forces in automotive demonstrator
Bavarian auto industry and TU Munich research how to reduce molding costs by combining continuous fiber and 3D-printed composites.
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