CW Tech Days virtual workshop targets thermoplastic composites for aerospace structures

CompositesWorld is hosting “CW Tech Days: Thermoplastic Composite Solutions for Aerospace Structures,” a free virtual workshop scheduled for June 24, 2026, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. ET. Sponsored by Composites One (Schaumburg, Ill., U.S.), Pacific Coast Composites (Tukwila, Wash., U.S.) and Albany Engineered Composites (AEC, Portsmouth, N.H., U.S.) the event will convene industry and research experts to examine the materials, processes and manufacturing strategies driving the transition to thermoplastic composite (TPC) parts production across commercial aerospace, defense and advanced air mobility (AAM) applications.

TPC are increasingly seen as transformative for next-generation aerospace and defense markets that require high-rate, high-volume materials and processes that move beyond autoclave and thermoset approaches — embracing improved efficiency, scalability, multifunctionality and recyclability. CW Tech Days will address topics including:

• The rise of oversized presses
• In situ thermoplastic automated fiber placement (AFP)
• Injection overmolding, specialized tooling for massive parts
• Advanced welding for assembly
• Robust process controls
• Case studies from groundbreaking aerospace, defense and AAM projects.

CW editor-in-chief Scott Francis will open the workshop, which includes four 30-minute technical presentations:

11:00-11:30 a.m. — One-shot tape sandwich injection molding for rotor blades

Lexington Peterson, business development manager for automotive and mobility at Engel Austria GmbH (Schwertberg, Austria), will present how combining continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic tapes with an injection molded thermoplastic core in a single automated step achieves cycle times below 45 seconds. The process molds aeroacoustic features — including serrated trailing edges — directly into lightweight drone and UAM rotor blade components, targeting automotive-level reproducibility and a reduced CO_₂ footprint versus thermoset benchmarks.

11:30-12:00 p.m. — Laser in situ layup with CONTIjoin 

Eric Pohl, a research associate at Fraunhofer (Munich, Germany), will introduce CONTIjoin, a CO_₂ laser-based continuous layup system with closed-loop online process control. The technology enables single-shot layup of multilayer laminates at widths of 500 millimeters and beyond, and has been applied to joining the world’s largest thermoplastic fuselage, rotor blades and other demanding structural components.

12:00-12:30 p.m. — Injection overmolding simulation for TPC parts 

Dr. Francesco Rondina of the ThermoPlastic Composites Research Center (TPRC; Enschede, Netherlands) will present a physics-based numerical framework for analyzing overmolded TPC parts. The framework evaluates process-induced defects — including wrinkles, warpage and poor interface adhesion — and structural performance, using advanced material modeling and data transfer between commercial finite element software packages.

1:00-1:30 p.m. — Induction welding for TPC assembly 

Pierre Rouch of KVE (The Hague, Netherlands) and Eric Jeanin of Pinette (Chalon-sur-Saône, France) will address induction welding equipment and methods for assembling thermoplastic composite structures. 

1:30-2:00 p.m. — TPC solutions for larger aerospace structures 

David Leach and Wade Bowles will close the event by addressing the challenges of scaling TPC adoption from small secondary components to larger primary structures. Their presentation will cover material form selection, fabrication methods, tooling, design for manufacturing, welded assembly and the need for TPC-specific inspection and finishing approaches distinct from thermoset methods.