Safety is paramount in motor sports, and composite materials are driving safety, said NASCAR legend and ESPN/ABC Sports commentator Rusty Wallace in today’s General Session. He estimated that 30 percent of a racecar body is now composed of composites — and that figure will only grow. As an example, he highlighted the 8-inch-thick composite...
Converting a regular car into electric doesn’t work, and BMW’s head of R&D Klaus Draeger would know. In a recent interview, Draeger addresses the hurdles to electric-conversion in the new i8, as well as what is needed for mainstream adoption of composites and its future in BWM vehicles. Read more about BMW research at...
Alliant Techsystems (ATK), a Fortune 500 aerospace company based Arlington, Va., announced it will reorganize its business into three groups—aerospace, defense and sporting—starting in 2013. The company says the reorganization will allow ATK’s to focus on emerging sport group and increase international sales. In order to remain competitive and advance the manufacturing industry, economists suggest...
Seeing is believing, and the show floor at COMPOSITES 2012 will include live demonstrations to help attendees grow their businesses. One will be the Lean Mean Closed Mold Machine, where composites professionals will “learn the secrets of closed molding,” says Marcy Offner, marketing manager at Composites One, a leading distributor of composite materials, and chair...
LORD Corp helps manufacture two prototype S-97 helicopters. High-performance snowboards are using biomaterials.
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...
Toray purchased Arkema’s Soficar shares and renamed the facility Toray Carbon Fibers Europe. The site is capable of producing 10,400,000 pounds of carbon fiber annually. New composites manufacturing techniques mimic seashell structures to increase strength.
U.S. manufacturing industry considered a bright spot in the economy. Boeing closes Kansas plant in preparation for U.S. defense budget cuts. Engineers are optimistic about job opportunities in 2012.
“Hangar One in Moffett Field needs new skin, not demolition,” said NASA report. Cytech Industries, Woodland Park, N.J., was recently awarded the 2011 Defense Manufacturing Technology Achievement Award from the U.S. Department of Defense for optimizing composites used in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
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.
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