Robert R. Lacovara, CCM, CCT-I, has been in the composites industry for more than 30 years, and he thinks composites manufacturing is at a crossroads. Traditional methods and thinking may facilitate the status quo, he says, but “real transformation is necessary to meet the challenges of our time.”
Marine: Anchored or Ready to Set Sail? For the first time in several years, the marine segment has better news to report in terms of customer demand and improving business results among boat fabricators. Boat making was one of the early success stories for composites proving itself a better performing and more cost-effective material, and...
We're almost ready for a new year filled with engineering innovation! this past year was bursting with success stories that massively impacted the industry and spurred trends towards composite integration in new markets. As we wave goodbye to 2011, here are some interesting developing technologies that the industry can look forward to in 2012.
Bruce Benda is the vice president of automotive and transportation for Bayer MaterialScience LLC. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. Benda grew up in the Detroit automotive industry where his father worked for General Motors for more than 30 years.
The 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show in Germany, September 15–25, showcased a number of innovative designs using composite solutions. Carbon fiber has long been used in racing panels and luxury car structures seen at the Frankfurt Auto Show, but this year composites were found in a vast array of developing concepts and production commuter cars...
The American Composites Manufacturers Association’s (ACMA) Automotive Composites Alliance (ACA) met for the first time in two years at the Society of Plastic Engineers Composites Conference & Exhibition (SPE ACCE) in Detroit, Mich. The goal was to use the SPE ACCE forum—ripe with automotive composite engineers—to gauge whether or not the automotive industry needs...
The Reach commercial van from Indiana-based Utilimaster and automaker Isuzu is advertised as delivering 35 percent better fuel economy than its conventional counterpart—a fact that, with rising gas prices, has lured delivery giants UPS and FedEx, among others.
Research and development in higher learning institutions around the globe is critical. It leads to breakthroughs that benefit industry and humanity. Composites Manufacturing did some research of its own to present a sampling of noteworthy achievements from various universities. This story, about self-diagnostic composites in vehicles, is the fourth in a series of stories...
Jeffrey Helms is the global automotive director for Ticona Engineering Polymers, in Auburn Hills, Mich., and is responsible for managing the firm’s dealings with automotive OEMs around the world. His experience and expertise encompasses engineering plastics, composites, coatings, urethanes, as well as materials regulatory requirements. Previous to assuming his current position, Helms was responsible...
While most researchers think big, Douglas Gardner thinks small—really, really small. The professor of wood science and technology leads the Nanocomposites Research Group at the AEWC Advanced Structures & Composites Center at the University of Maine. Nanocomposites are composites with dimensions less than 100 nanometers. Just how little is that? The average width of...
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