An ambitious multi-year program by Germany’s System integrated Multi-Material Lightweight Design for E-mobility (SMiLE) consortium has developed a demonstrator automotive load floor module that is part of a larger hybrid body-in-white (BIW) structure and that shows great promise for use of com

  A multiyear, publicly funded research program, overseen by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and called System integrated Multi-Material Lightweight Design for E-mobility (SMiLE), combined composites and non-ferrous metals to reduce mass and costs for the enti

Sicomin (Châteauneuf les Martigues, France) announced Dec. 4 it has been awarded the Bureau Veritas Footprint Progress Certification for its GreenPoxy products range. The certification applies to the following GreenProxy products: GreenPoxy 56, a clear and waterproof ep

The Netherlands will have the opportunity to showcase its knowledge and skills in the area of composites during The Netherlands “Country on Stage” program at JEC World 2019 in Paris, March 12-14. The Netherlands are a leader in thermoplastic composites, automation, sustainability i

SikaAxson has been renamed Sika Advanced Resins, marking a new step in the business unit’s integration within the Sika Group (Baar, Switzerland). “This new identity strengthens Sika Advanced Resins’ positioning in relation to its competitors, as it gives visibility

Mikrosam (Prilep, Macedonia) recently delivered a new AFP system to The Department of Lightweight Design and Structural Materials (LsW) at Brandenburg University of Technology (BTU, Cottbus, Germany). The 8-axis robotic AFP machine is reportedly capable of automated and precise place

I’ve blogged about Covestro’s Maezio Continuous Fiber-Reinforced Thermoplastic (CFRTP) materials and their application in Haier’s high-end, Casarte air conditioners. Maezio is now being used in the shank of limited-edition running shoes for the Chinese sportswear brand Bmai. &ldqu

Resin distributor Chase Plastics (Clarkson, MI, US) announced Dec. 6 the formation of a new supplier partnership with Interfacial (River Falls, WI, US), a company focused on the development and commercialization of technology platforms relating to advanced materials and manufacturing

The National Center for Advanced Materials Performance (NCAMP), a laboratory within the National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) at Wichita State University (Wichita, KS, US), reports that it is performing a full qualification on TenCate Cetex TC1225 T700GC 12K T1E unidire

The “Future is Built” ? I recently listened to a Freakonomics podcast where CEO Jim Hackett discusses his future vision for the Ford Motor Co. Host Stephen Dubner points out that while Ford has mocked electric vehicle (EV) upstart Tesla in its recent “Built Ford Proud&rd

“Ambitious” may be an understated characterization when it comes to the space industry’s goals for reducing the cost of space transport. A case in point, the US National Atmospheric and Space Administration (NASA, Washington, DC) reports that one of its aims is to reduce the cost o

Conbility GmbH (Aachen, Germany) has announced that its PrePro 3D tape placement and winding applicator has been installed at the Technology Center AIMEN (O Porriño, Spain). The modular tape placement applicator was delivered in Oct. 2018. The system boasts a multifunctional ra

PolyOne Corp. (Avon Lake, OH, US), global provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions, recently announced the acquisition of Fiber-Line (Hatfield, PA, US), a global leader in customized engineered fibers and composite materials for $120 million. Founded in 1987,

It’s a fact that the vast majority of bicycles sold in the US are made abroad. According to one source (www.statista.com, data from 2015), 99% of bicycles sold in the US were imported from China and Taiwan. So it was interesting to hear of bicycle manufacturer HIA Velo (Little Rock, AR, US), m

The National Composites Centre (NCC, Bristol, UK) is currently supporting Surface Generation Ltd. (Rutland, UK) in the application of their PtFS technology with a thermoplastic composites injection overmolding process. The two companies have worked together to produce a number of carbon fiber r

Prodrive Composites Ltd. (Milton Keynes, UK), is working with lightweighting and materials researchers at the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC, Sheffield, UK) to advance its processes for manufacturing recyclable composite components. Prodrive 

Ashland (Covington, KY, US) on Jan. 18 announced it has appointed VELOX (Hamberg, Germany), an IMCD company, as its new main composites distributor for the Nordic countries of Sweden, Norway and Denmark. The new distribution agreement, which was effective Dec. 12, 2018, includes all Ashland unsatur

Tecnofire is a family of intumescent nonwoven veil products made by Technical Fibre Products (TFP, Burneside Mills, UK and Schenectady, NY, US).  They have been used in a variety of applications, including fiberglass-reinforced plastic (FRP) wind fairings on the Whitestone Bridge in the Bronx,

Kaneka Aerospace LLC (Benicia, CA, US), a global supplier of high performance composite materials, has received AS9100D certification, which recognizes Kaneka Aerospace’s high standard Quality Management System (QMS). The AS9100D standard incorporates the ISO 9001 QMS standard while inclu

PolyOne (Cleveland, OH, US) announced Jan. 16 it has rebranded ElectriPlast material technology as Surround EMI/RFI Shielding Formulations. The portfolio of conductive thermoplastic materials shields sensitive electronics from both electromagnetic interference (EMI) and radio frequency interfer