3M Engineered Products and Solutions

Tooling for composites: Evolutionary trajectory
New technologies and improved methods keep up as tools get bigger and more complex and toolmaking gets ever more challenging.

SAMPE 2011 Long Beach Product Showcase
Huge show, huge new product offerings … huge success.

JEC Composites Paris: 2011 Product Showcase
The news from this annual Parisian in-gathering of composites professionals is heavily weighted toward automotive lightweighting.

Antiballistics: Better defense, less expense
Armor applications grow on the strength of new markets, new composite materials.

SAMPE 2010 Seattle Showcase
SAMPE’s first-ever foray into Boeing Country wrapped up with the M&P organization’s biggest draw this decade.

Low-cost methods realize high-concept Superbus
Multifunctional mass-transport vehicle concept takes shape via resin-infused carbon/epoxy and vacuum-formed glass-reinforced thermoplastic sandwich construction.

Composites the right choice for subsea ocean observatory
Pultruded structure provides durable platform for Deep-ocean Environmental Long-term Observatory System (DELOS) project’s groundbreaking marine study.

Carbon fiber buys its way onboard
First used in one-off yacht and powerboat designs, where cost is no obstacle in the search for a performance edge in local regattas or around-the-world races, carbon fiber has since carved a niche in categories that were once the exclusive reserve of glass-reinforced composites, metals or wood. In applications as

JEC COMPOSITES 2007 Product Showcase - 7/1/2007
The annual Paris conclave showcases the global expansion of composites.

Composites connect with the world of cabling
Composite cables prove they can handle high tension - on land, over water and under the sea.

Corvette converts floor panels, wheelhousings from glass to chopped carbon

SAMPE 2005 Product Showcase
SAMPE's U.S. Symposium and Exhibition highlights technological innovation and market expansion.

Repair Of Infrastructure With Composites
Composites prove their mettle in large, demanding repairs and rehab.

SITE Manufacturing
SITE Manufacturing (Redding, Calif.) has taken knowledge acquired during more than 23 years of producing hi-tech carbon composite components, such as telescope housings (for Celestron, see story on p. 20), and applied it to the sport of paintball. "One year around Christmas, we decided we wanted to do something else,"

Resin transfer molding and preforms for jet engine stators
New 3-D woven preforms and nanofillers will improve part quality and reduce manufacturing costs.

Cocured materials damp vibration in composite structures
Viscoelastic layers convert strain energy into heat, suppressing the harmful effects.

Light-sport Plane Category Creates Take-off Point For Composites
Composites manufacturers and suppliers — and pilots — benefit from new FAA aircraft designation.