CW Blog

The LEHVOSS Group, which includes LEHVOSS North America (Pawcatuck, CT, US) and its parent company Lehmann&Voss&Co (Hamburg, Germany), announced March 14 it is partnering with Livrea Yacht (Palermo, Italy) to build the world’s first 3D printed sailboat. Since work began on the design in 2014, LEHVOSS Group has supported the process development and engineered its LUVOCOM 3F customized 3D printing materials specifically for the application.

The innovative yacht, called the Mini 650, is the ambitious project of two Italian boat builders, Francesco Belvisi and Daniele Cevola. They are building it for the 2019 solo transatlantic yacht race, called the Mini-Transat, which starts in France and ends in Brazil. Livrea Yacht performs all simulation and evaluation work for the project, which is supported by engineers experienced in America’s Cup and Volvo Ocean Race.

Being the newest member of the editorial team at CompositesWorld, I jumped at the chance to review the recently published “Practical Analysis of Aircraft Composites,” (Grand Oak Publishing) by Brian Esp, Ph.D. My interest in the book was driven by wanting to learn as much about the industry as quickly as I can. It also drew my interest because of my editorial background – I’ve edited textbooks on a wide range of topics over the past 10 years. So, I know what makes for a good reference book.

Approaching Esp’s book from this point of view, I found a text that was surprisingly approachable for one that delves into such complex subject matter. This stems from the book’s premise which promises a practical application of theory. Esp sets up his text with a clear foundation that covers how composites behave, analysis methods, mechanical properties and aspects of design.

CompositesWorld editor Jeff Sloan shares highlights from the third and final day of the JEC World 2018 composites industry trade show. Jeff shares some news about TenCate, Cetim and Danobat. Stay tuned to the CW website and magazine during the coming weeks for more insights learned at JEC World 2018.

Coriolis Composites (Quéven, France) showcased their Solo machine, a compact automated fiber placement (AFP) system that lays thermoset, dry fiber or thermoplastic tape materials up to 1.5-inch wide at a rate of 1 m/s. It features fast cutting and adding fibers on-the-fly without slowing down. Coriolis also displayed a large aircraft fuselage panel and a variety of automotive parts, the latter molded from preforms made using its AFP machines. Its goals for both markets, is to enable high-rate production of parts with cycle times as low as one part every 20 seconds in automotive composites.

CompositesWorld editor Jeff Sloan shares highlights from the second day of the JEC World 2018 composites industry trade show. Jeff shares some auto industry highlights, including some info on Continental Structural Plastics’ new carbon fiber pickup truck bed for the forthcoming 2019 GMC Sierra Denali. Stay tuned to the CW blog for more updates from Paris.