The composites-intensive electric aircraft was purchased to meet the airline’s goal of flying a commercial demonstrator by 2026.
The $37 million contract will enable Piasecki to demonstrate its ARES tilt-duct VTOL aircraft and hydrogen fuel cell propulsion technologies. Chopped Strand Fiberglass
Design Organization Approval makes Lilium qualified to design and hold a type certificate for aircraft developed according to the EASA’s SC-VTOL safety objective rules.
The two-seat EL-2 Goldfinch is a blown-lift aircraft filling the gap for air travel routes between 50-500 miles. Certification and entry into service is targeted for 2028.
The Spanish electric mobility solutions developer is steadily growing its team and investments, emphasized by its rebranding from Umiles Next and the introduction of Integrity to customers.
$9.8 million will grow the eVTOL aircraft manufacturer’s footprint in Marina, California, support 690 new state jobs and accelerate early manufacturing to support initial commercial operations, targeted for 2025.
Combined LSAM and five-axis CNC milling capabilities will optimize D-Composites’ production services, flexibility and cut time and cost for composite tooling manufacture.
Evaluation of CFRTP m-pipe through Element’s U.K. facility aims to qualify the system for new operating environments.
Innovative prepreg tooling is highly drapable, capable of forming complex carbon fiber tooling shapes, in addition to reducing through thickness porosity and only requiring one debulk during layup.
Simutence and Engenuity demonstrate a virtual process chain enabling evaluation of process-induced fiber orientations for improved structural simulation and failure load prediction of a composite wing rib.
3D imaging and analysis capability illustrates detailed, quality characterization and performance simulation of composites and other advanced materials that properly captures the as-manufactured component.
Latest version of comprehensive simulation software speeds up computations and introduces surrogate model functionality.
Qarbon Aerospace will focus on the design, development and manufacture of a thermoplastic composite structure for defense aviation components requiring icing protection.
Fraunhofer IFAM researchers and partners combine biodegradable polymer polycaprolactone and bioactive glass to 3D print custom-fit structures for bone fracture sites.
The carbon fiber wheel manufacturer and supplier has been awarded a total of 18 vehicle programs over the last couple of years, and is now looking to build capacity.
Lehvoss’ carbon fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite materials are being used in the production of an e-bike set that will taken an expedition across North Africa.
Through the use of EzCiclio low-dielectric epoxy hardener, PCB manufactures can make recyclable, reusable products for electronic applications.
Terrene 3.0 is a compression-dominant arch developed as a multidisciplinary research project composed of natural fiber-reinforced sand and other biomaterials that delivers eco-friendly, less energy-intensive building methods.
Combined LSAM and five-axis CNC milling capabilities will optimize D-Composites’ production services, flexibility and cut time and cost for composite tooling manufacture.
New developments regarding productivity, maintenance and ergonomics make this enhanced composite placement system well suited for the production of complex parts.
Data collected from one year of outdoor testing reasserts the 3D-printed, bio-based structure’s viability to address housing challenges, sets the stage for future development.
Using Mechnano’s D’Func process, the new masterbatch of ogolimers enables 3D printing resin development with improved mechanical and nano-uniform electrical performance.
Collins Aerospace draws on global team, decades of experience to demonstrate large, curved AFP and welded structures for the next generation of aircraft.
Discussion of the issues in our understanding of thermoplastic composite welded structures and certification of the latest materials and welding technologies for future airframes.
CW explores key composite developments that have shaped how we see and think about the industry today.
Knowing the fundamentals for reading drawings — including master ply tables, ply definition diagrams and more — lays a foundation for proper composite design evaluation.
As battery electric and fuel cell electric vehicles continue to supplant internal combustion engine vehicles, composite materials are quickly finding adoption to offset a variety of challenges, particularly for battery enclosure and fuel cell development.
Performing regular maintenance of the layup tool for successful sealing and release is required to reduce the risk of part adherence.
Increasingly, prototype and production-ready smart devices featuring thermoplastic composite cases and other components provide lightweight, optimized sustainable alternatives to metal.
Interest in higher performance and more sustainability drive new composite materials innovations in sporting goods and other consumer products.
Manufacturers often struggle with production anomalies that can be traced back to material deviations. These can cause fluctuations in material flow, cooling, and cure according to environmental influences and/or batch-to-batch variations. Today’s competitive environment demands cost-efficient, error-free production using automated production and stable processes. As industries advance new bio-based, faster reacting and increased recycled content materials and faster processes, how can manufacturers quickly establish and maintain quality control? In-mold dielectric sensors paired with data analytics technology enable manufacturers to: Determine glass transition temperature in real time Monitor material deviations such as resin mix ratio, aging, and batch-to-batch variations throughout the process Predict the influence of deviations or material defects during the process See the progression of curing and demold the part when the desired degree of cure, Tg or crystallinity is achieved Document resin mix ratios using snap-cure resins for qualification and certification of RTM parts Successful case histories with real parts illustrate how sensXPERT sensors, machine learning, and material models monitor, predict, and optimize production to compensate for deviations. This Digital Mold technology has enabled manufacturers to reduce scrap by up to 50% and generated energy savings of up to 23%. Agenda: Dealing with the challenge of material deviations and production anomalies How dielectric sensors work with different composite resins, fibers and processes What is required for installation Case histories of in-mold dielectric sensors and data analytics used to monitor resin mixing ratios and predict potential material deviations How this Digital Mold technology has enabled manufacturers to optimize production, and improve quality and reliability
SolvaLite is a family of new fast cure epoxy systems that — combined with Solvay's proprietary Double Diaphragm Forming technology — allows short cycle times and reproducibility. Agenda: Application Development Center and capabilities Solutions for high-rate manufacturing for automotive Application examples: battery enclosures and body panels
OEMs around the world are looking for smarter materials to forward-think their products by combining high mechanical performance with lightweight design and long-lasting durability. In this webinar, composite experts from Exel Composites explain the benefits of a unique continuous manufacturing process for composites profiles and tubes called pull-winding. Pull-winding makes it possible to manufacture strong, lightweight and extremely thin-walled composite tubes and profiles that meet both demanding mechanical specifications and aesthetic needs. The possibilities for customizing the profile’s features are almost limitless — and because pull-winding is a continuous process, it is well suited for high volume production with consistent quality. Join the webinar to learn why you should consider pull-wound composites for your product. Agenda: Introducing pull-winding, and how it compares to other composite manufacturing technologies like filament winding or pultrusion What are the benefits of pull-winding and how can it achieve thin-walled profiles? Practical examples of product challenges solved by pull-winding
Composite systems consist of two sub-constituents: woven fibers as the reinforcement element and resin as the matrix. The most commonly used fibers are glass and carbon, which can be processed in plane or satin structures to form woven fabrics. Carbon fibers, in particular, are known for their high strength/weight properties. Thermoset resins, such as epoxies and polyurethanes, are used in more demanding applications due to their high physical-mechanical properties. However, composites manufacturers still face the challenge of designing the right cure cycles and repairing out-of-shelf-life parts. To address these issues, Alpha Technologies proposes using the encapsulated sample rheometer (premier ESR) to determine the viscoelastic properties of thermosets. Premier ESR generates repeatable and reproducible analytical data and can measure a broad range of viscosity values, making it ideal for resins such as low viscous uncured prepreg or neat resins as well as highly viscous cured prepregs. During testing, before cure, cure and after cure properties can be detected without removing the material from the test chamber. Moreover, ESR can run a broad range of tests, from isothermal and non-isothermal cures to advanced techniques such as large amplitude oscillatory shear tests. During this webinar, Alpha Technologies will be presenting some of the selected studies that were completed on epoxy prepreg systems utilizing ESR and how it solves many issues in a fast and effective way. It will highlight the advantages of this technique that were proven with the work of several researchers. Moreover, Alpha Technologies will display part of these interesting findings using the correlations between the viscoelastic properties such as G’ and mechanical properties such as short beam shear strength (SBS).
Surface preparation is a critical step in composite structure bonding and plays a major role in determining the final bonding performance. Solvay has developed FusePly, a breakthrough technology that offers the potential to build reliable and robust bonded composite parts through the creation of covalently-bonded structures at bondline interface. FusePly technology meets the manufacturing challenges faced by aircraft builders and industrial bonding users looking for improved performance, buildrates and lightweighting. In this webinar, you will discover FusePly's key benefits as well as processing and data. Agenda: Surface preparation challenges for composite bonding FusePly technology overview Properties and performance data
The incorporation of EMI shielding into composites is necessary in a wide range of applications — such as electronics and battery enclosures for AAM, automotive and aerospace — where EMI could interfere with the operation of the device, vehicle or aircraft, ultimately compromising security and control. TFP’s conductive nonwoven materials provide a solution, possessing a combination of properties that make them highly infusible, flexible, lightweight and an effective EMI shield. This combination allows them to overcome challenges in both application and process that more traditional substrates such as films, foils and paints struggle to achieve. In this webinar, Dr. Mark James will introduce TFP’s conductive nonwovens, their lightweight structure and EMI shielding capability. He will discuss how they are easily incorporated into composites to impart this functionality to the surface of a part, with some typical examples. Mike Campbell and Adam Halsband will then provide a case study on a new development for TFP materials as an EMI enhanced SMC compound. This compound is designed as a scalable, cost-effective solution for high throughput BEV applications, such as battery enclosures. Agenda: An introduction to TFP’s conductive nonwovens, their structure and manufacture The key physical properties and how they are tailored to suit end-use requirements How conductive nonwovens can be used effectively in a variety of applications A case study on the development and use of TFP’s veils in an EMI enhanced SMC compound for BEV applications
ICERP India is an important event of the Indian composites industry organized by FRP Institute once in every two years and ICERP event is the biggest event on Composites in India and second biggest event in Asia.
The annual Conference on Composites, Materials, and Structures (also known as the Cocoa Beach Conference) is the preeminent export controlled and ITAR restricted forum in the United States to review and discuss advances in materials for extreme environments. The Conference started in the 1970s as a small informal gathering for government and industry to share information on programs and state-of-the-art technology. Attendance has grown to nearly 500 people while preserving this same objective to share needs and trends in high-temperature and extreme environment materials, and the latest information on advanced materials and manufacturing processes. The five-day conference program includes two to three parallel sessions per day on topics including thermal protection materials, ceramic matrix composites, carbon-carbon materials, ballistic technologies, hypersonics, and gas turbine engines. Attendees are engineers, scientists, managers, and operational personnel from the turbine engine, aviation, missiles and space, and protective equipment communities. These communities include the Navy, Air Force, Army, MDA, NASA, DARPA, FAA, DOE, engine manufacturers, missile and aircraft manufacturers, commercial space companies, and material and component suppliers. The Conference will be held in St. Augustine again for 2024! Participation is limited to U.S. Citizens and U.S. Permanent Residents only with an active DD2345 certification.
The 48th International Conference & Exposition on Advanced Ceramics & Composites (ICACC 2024) will be held from Jan. 28–Feb. 2, 2024, in Daytona Beach, Fla. It is a great honor to chair this conference, which has a strong history of being one of the best international meetings on advanced structural and functional ceramics, composites, and other emerging ceramic materials and technologies.
The Transformative Vertical Flight (TVF) 2024 meeting will take place Feb. 6–8, 2024 in Santa Clara, California, in the heart of Silicon Valley and will feature more than 100 speakers on important progress on vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft and technology.
The Program of this Summit consists of a range of 12 high-level lectures by 14 invited speakers only. Topics are composite related innovations in Automotive & Transport, Space & Aerospace, Advanced Materials, and Process Engineering, as well as Challenging Applications in other markets like Architecture, Construction, Sports, Energy, Marine & more.
JEC World in Paris is the only trade show that unites the global composite industry: an indication of the industry’s commitment to an international platform where users can find a full spectrum of processes, new materials, and composite solutions.
Thousands of people visit our Supplier Guide every day to source equipment and materials. Get in front of them with a free company profile.
Initial demonstration in furniture shows properties two to nine times higher than plywood, OOA molding for uniquely shaped components.
The composite tubes white paper explores some of the considerations for specifying composite tubes, such as mechanical properties, maintenance requirements and more.
Foundational research discusses the current carbon fiber recycling landscape in Utah, and evaluates potential strategies and policies that could enhance this sustainable practice in the region.
In its latest white paper, Exel navigates the fire, smoke and toxicity (FST) considerations and complexities that can influence composites design.
New white paper authored by Eike Langkabel, Sebastian de Nardo, and Jens Bockhoff, examines the best resin formulations for composites used in automotive part production, both structural parts and body panels.
Tension control plays a vital role in composites manufacturing in order to achieve automated processing, continuous processing, reduced scrap, increased product quality, and more, says a new white paper released by The Montalvo Corp.
Austrian research institute Wood K plus makes 95% silicon carbide ceramics more sustainable (>85% bio/recycled content), enables 3D shapes via extrusion, injection molding and 3D printing.
Thermoplastic polymer resin was designed to tackle distinctive industry challenges of large-scale 3D printing while also assisting with sustainability initiatives.
The MB9, representing a combination of high performance and eco-conscious materials use, will be commercially available in time for the 2024 sailing season.
For 42 months, the Aitiip Technology Center will coordinate the EU-funded project to design a new range of intermediate materials, such as pellets or resin-impregnated carbon fibers, which will be used to manufacture more sustainable final products.
Co-located R&D and production advance OOA thermosets, thermoplastics, welding, recycling and digital technologies for faster processing and certification of lighter, more sustainable composites.
The German Institutes of Textile and Fiber Research are targeting more sustainable carbon fiber via low-pressure stabilization and bio-based precursors, and working with Saint-Gobain to commercialize oxide ceramic fibers for CMC.
CW’s editors are tracking the latest trends and developments in tooling, from the basics to new developments. This collection, presented by Composites One, features four recent CW stories that detail a range of tooling technologies, processes and materials.
CompositesWorld’s CW Tech Days: Infrastructure event offers a series of expert presentations on composite materials, processes and applications that should and will be considered for use in the infrastructure and construction markets.
Explore the cutting-edge composites industry, as experts delve into the materials, tooling, and manufacturing hurdles of meeting the demands of the promising advanced air mobility (AAM) market. Join us at CW Tech Days to unlock the future of efficient composites fabrication operations.
The composites industry is increasingly recognizing the imperative of sustainability in its operations. As demand for lightweight and durable materials rises across various sectors, such as automotive, aerospace, and construction, there is a growing awareness of the environmental impact associated with traditional composite manufacturing processes.
In the Automated Composites Knowledge Center, CGTech brings you vital information about all things automated composites.
Closed mold processes offer many advantages over open molding. This knowledge center details the basics of closed mold methods and the products and tools essential to producing a part correctly.
During CW Tech Days: Thermoplastics for Large Structures, experts explored the materials and processing technologies that are enabling the transition to large-part manufacturing.
CompositesWorld’s CW Tech Days: Infrastructure event offers a series of expert presentations on composite materials, processes and applications that should and will be considered for use in the infrastructure and construction markets.
Explore the cutting-edge composites industry, as experts delve into the materials, tooling, and manufacturing hurdles of meeting the demands of the promising advanced air mobility (AAM) market. Join us at CW Tech Days to unlock the future of efficient composites fabrication operations.
Thermoplastics for Large Structures, experts explored the materials and processing technologies that are enabling the transition to large-part manufacturing.
MVP's Automated Equipment: Revolutionizing Composites Part Production Through Filament Winding within CompositesWorld's CompositesWorld Collections Knowledge Center
Composites One Offers Manufacturing Efficiencies with Aerovac Kitting Solutions within CompositesWorld's CompositesWorld Collections Knowledge Center
A report on the demand for hydrogen as an energy source and the role composites might play in the transport and storage of hydrogen.
This collection features detail the current state of the industry and recent success stories across aerospace, automotive and rail applications.
This collection details the basics, challenges, and future of thermoplastic composites technology, with particular emphasis on their use for commercial aerospace primary structures.
This collection features recent CW stories that detail a range of tooling technologies, processes and materials.
FlexSpring insoles take advantage of unidirectional, continuous fiberglass and thermoplastics to enable next-level performance for the everyday runner.
The most recent product from composite sporting goods developer FlexiStiX LLC is a line of running shoe inserts featuring a layer of unidirectional (UD) continuous glass fiber-reinforced thermoplastic material (shown above as the white layer underneath a layer of blue neoprene) to increase runner comfort, stride length and speed. Photo Credit: FlexiStiX LLC
There are typically three layers to the soles of running shoes: a durable exterior outsole, a midsole that takes most of the impact and an insole that has the most direct contact with the foot.
Aiming to make the lightest weight, highest durability athletic shoes available, there have been a number of carbon fiber composite midsoles and other shoe components on the market for years. Generally targeted at elite athletes, these carbon fiber composite-enhanced shoes offer runners top-tier stride and speed increases.
However, carbon fiber is also very rigid, which can have negative effects on the runner’s feet, legs and muscles, explains Gordon Brown, president of sporting goods developer Flexi-StiX LLC (Anderson, S.C., U.S.). He contends that for the average runner, fiberglass is a better, more flexible, more forgiving material option for increasing performance in running shoes by providing smoother, continuous energy return to the runner’s foot.
Brown has extended his career and expertise in the composites industry into several athletic training inventions, including the Jump Sticks athletic training device, which uses pultruded fiberglass rods within a PVC tube to produce a semi-flexible but resistant dynamic training device.
He has long had an interest in composites for high-performance running shoes, and over the years has worked on various prototypes and patents alongside Jeff Milliman, former professional runner, master shoe designer and operator of athletics store Greenville Running Co. (Greenville, S.C., U.S.).
Milliman himself has spent decades working on and evolving composites in running shoes, creating his own custom shoes to compete with as well as those for customers. He has long thought that fiberglass was the ideal material option for running shoes, noting its flexibility and versatility.
“They’re comfortable, the wearer feels less fatigue and they make the shoe last longer. There’s a lot of potential.”
Brown and Milliman have recently developed and commercialized their latest innovation, a patent-pending running shoe insole made from unidirectional (UD), continuous fiberglass-reinforced thermoplastic tape sandwiched between two layers of neoprene foam.
These latest insoles are the result of several decades of development in this field. In the 1990s, Brown and Milliman began by prototyping continuous fiberglass/epoxy midsoles for running shoes, targeting maximum cushioning and a spring-like effect that returned energy to the runner. These midsoles, roughly shaped like two sinusoidal waves on top of each other, were wet laid in an aluminum mold, pressed and oven cured.
“These midsoles worked — they were flexible, they lengthened the stride, they produced a spring effect,” Brown says, “but they were labor-intensive and ultimately not commercially viable.” The team decided to switch to fiberglass composite insoles, aiming to provide cost-effective benefits to the consumer without redesigning an entire shoe.
The first insole design involved the layup of tiny pultruded fiberglass/epoxy rods in stripes along the width of the insole. These were placed in a way that enabled them to bend in the middle, allowing a smooth, dynamic rolling motion that lengthened the stride with a more moderate spring-like effect. “This design was also successful in practice, but also labor-intensive to manufacture,” Brown says.
In the last few years, he notes that the development and increased availability of UD thermoplastic tapes “has been a gamechanger.” The gamechanging nature of the materials is two-fold, he explains. First, the UD and continuous orientation of the fibers, if aligned across the width of the shoe the way the original pultruded fiberglass rod design did, can be directed in such a way that lengthens the runner’s stride. “With running shoes, it’s all about increasing forward motion,” Milliman says. As the runner presses down on the insoles with the foot, a regular neoprene insole absorbs the energy that is exerted, but a fiberglass composite insole deflects the energy back to the runner, giving a more controlled spring effect and lengthening the stride. Brown emphasizes, “The fiberglass returns energy.”
Second, the use of a thermoplastic instead of a thermoset resin enables a reduced modulus, which makes the insole more comfortable for the wearer and also helps the insole conform to the foot. “The heat from the foot warms the thermoplastic just slightly, just enough so that it can form into the shape of the foot,” Brown says.
Avient Corp.’s Polystrand continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic tape material is layered between Neoprene sheets of different stiffness and thickness levels. Photo Credit: Avient Corp.
After working on several prototypes by hand, Brown and Milliman collaborated with material partner Avient Corp. (Avon Lake, Ohio, U.S.) to produce sheets of sandwich materials consisting of three plies — one layer of Polystrand UD fiberglass/thermoplastic tape in between two layers of neoprene foam. These sheets are then die-cut into insoles matching a range of shoe sizes, and can either replace existing shoe insoles or be placed beneath the existing insole. Two different thicknesses (5 or 8 millimeters) are available depending on the customer’s desired cushioning.
Marketed as FlexSpring insoles, runner trials over the past year have demonstrated successful results. Users experienced a longer stride length and an increase in number of strides per minute (also known as a runner’s cadence), enabling them to run faster and beat personal records. “You also get a better recovery time, less fatigue and there’s not as much rotation from side to side — not as much supination or pronation, in other words,” Milliman says. “Plus, they’re durable, allowing running shoes to last up to three times as long by reducing the compression on the midsole material.”
FlexSpring insoles are now available at Milliman’s Greenville Running Co. store. In future, Brown says their goal is to partner with a running shoe manufacturer to build FlexSpring insoles directly into the midsole of the shoe.
Beyond running shoes, the insoles could also ultimately be used in other types of performance footwear, Brown adds, such as basketball shoes and work shoes such as those worn by assembly line workers. “They’re comfortable, the wearer feels less fatigue and they make the shoe last longer. There’s a lot of potential.”
The matrix binds the fiber reinforcement, gives the composite component its shape and determines its surface quality. A composite matrix may be a polymer, ceramic, metal or carbon. Here’s a guide to selection.
A wealth of low-cost core solutions are available for high-performance sandwich structures.
Options for adding color have been around for decades, but new products are hoping to up the ante and open new markets.
A look at the process by which precursor becomes carbon fiber through a careful (and mostly proprietary) manipulation of temperature and tension.
Continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites enable high-performance athletic shoe components.
Developed with 3D scanning support from Diadora and CRP Technology’s Windform SP carbon fiber-filled composite material and 3D printing process for a track shoe that meets individuals’ needs in terms of foot structure and athletic performance.
The KO-Z Sport Low Wool Carbon footwear features an Xponent midsole with carbon fiber plate layered between upcycled EVA foam for a “fast-casual” shoe selection.
Flexible Fiberglass CompositesWorld is the source for reliable news and information on what’s happening in fiber-reinforced composites manufacturing. Learn More