The Australian designed and built FR-1 has become a reality after nine years and over A$1 million invested to produce this hand-built , one-off, high performance concept sports car.
15 May 2012
At the JEC Europe 2012 trade show in Paris in March, Momentive Specialty Chemicals introduced a new epoxy system for the mass production of carbon fibre automotive components and a line of epoxy resins for longer and lighter wind turbine rotor blades. The company also announced the opening of a development centre for transportation composites.
28 April 2012
AkzoNobel and DSM Composite Resins are introducing BluCure™ cobalt-free curing technology for unsaturated polyester and vinyl ester resins. With the use of cobalt-based curing agents currently under regulatory review in Europe, the two companies have decided to combine their respective intellectual property and offer the technology for license to manufacturers of resins and composite products.
18 April 2012
Samantha Bell, Global Marketing Manager, Composites Specialities, Scott Bader Company Ltd, discusses how two companies have realised benefits by using Scott Bader’s Crystic Crestabond structural adhesives in the manufacture of their composite products.
28 February 2012
The wind energy industry is one of the fastest-growing consumers of fibre reinforced plastics in the world. Production challenges are compounded as the scale of wind turbines continues to climb. Blades, among the most complex parts to mould, now exceed 80 m in length and are getting longer. We report on new products and processes developed to meet the needs of utility-scale blade producers.
24 January 2012
World growth will slow in 2012, but the question is by how much – IHS Global Insight chief economist Nariman Behravesh releases his Top 10 Economic Predictions for 2012.
23 December 2011
How the redesign of a motorbike swingarm in carbon fibre epoxy prepreg was made possible by using the Composites Modeler ply modelling and fibre simulation software developed by Simulayt Ltd.
06 December 2011
The recreational boat building industry is a major consumer of composite materials. But the global economic downturn left material suppliers and boat builders struggling to survive. Boat manufacturers have gone through a period of consolidation and downsizing, looking for ways to cut costs and boost productivity. Meanwhile, the industry has never stopped developing new materials, processing techniques and innovations that contribute to better boat construction and better on-water performance.
29 November 2011
Thicker laminate structure in new commercial passenger aircraft will affect maintainability. Vicki P. McConnell identifies possible changes in composite repair of these new designs.
22 November 2011
Specialist kiteboard and surfboard manufacturer North Kiteboarding uses TeXtreme spread tow carbon fabric from Oxeon AB in its new Select and Team Series composite boards to produce the lightest products on the market, with the best riding experience.
15 November 2011
A £25 million centre for innovation in composites design and manufacture officially opens in the UK in late November. CEO Peter Chivers gave Amanda Jacob a tour.
08 November 2011
Is automotive design paradigm shifting into high gear on a direct drive to carbon fibre body-in-black? Vicki P. McConnell looks at new FRP products for vehicle applications and asks composites suppliers if this ride is for real.
11 October 2011
Eric Debondue, Business Development Leader, 3B-the fibreglass company, discusses the development of glass fibre composite compressed natural gas (CNG) cylinders for natural gas powered passenger cars and light commercial vans.
04 October 2011
Christian Fais, General Sales Manager North America for Dieffenbacher, outlines the potential of high-pressure resin transfer moulding (HP-RTM) for series production of composite components.
27 September 2011
FORMAX doesn’t do ‘off the shelf’ – it works with customers to develop bespoke reinforcements optimised for their composite processes and applications. Reinforced Plastics visited the multiaxial fabric specialist’s facility in Leicester, UK.
20 September 2011
Bernd Hoevel, Senior R&D Manager, and Alain Sagnard, Senior R&D Engineer, at the Dow Chemical Company, describe how the company's foam core material and epoxy resin systems can help manufacture lighter, stronger wind turbine blades.
29 August 2011
Various materials have been used as core materials in sandwich composites to produce strong, lightweight and cost-effective structures in a broad range of uses. Most recently, the wind energy industry has become a major consumer of core materials, especially foam core, which has been making inroads against balsa in wind turbine blade production.
22 August 2011
Over the past decades, structural adhesives have evolved into effective and dependable alternatives to conventional joining techniques such as bolting, riveting and welding. They can be used to bond almost all materials commonly employed in industrial manufacturing. One essential aspect is selecting the right bonding solution for each particular construction. But which adhesive solutions are available and which factors must be considered in order to get the best results?
22 August 2011
The automotive industry is using increasing quantities of carbon fibre composites and the latest advances in automated mass production techniques can be seen on 27-29 September at the COMPOSITES EUROPE trade show in Stuttgart, Germany.
07 July 2011
As with most automation, advanced fibre placement (AFP) requires substantial investment, but it has shown its ability to cover its cost in terms of saved labour and reduced material scrap, combined with the ability to form laminates of exceptional quality with higher accuracy and repeatability .
28 June 2011