Generative design replicates nature’s evolutionary approach by combining artificial intelligence (AI) — specifically advanced optimization algorithms — and cloud computing to provide thousands of solutions to one engineering problem. “This is n

As CW’s editors developed this Plant Tour Supplement for the July 2018 issue of CompositesWorld, it quickly became clear that half of its tours would profile composites manufacturers from the state of Israel. Why half? For one, Israel, in its short history, has become an economic powerhouse, a

Change, better yet, rapid change. This best characterizes the current state of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) design and manufacturing. One big change is the terminology. UAVs are now drones, and drone technology, at one time, almost exclusively confined to military missions, are defying limiting def

The Lightweight Composites Solution Conference, held May 17 in Gent, Belgium, focused on materials and designs for reducing automotive powertrain weight. Organized by Vyncolit NV (Gent, Belgium) and parent company Sumitomo Bakelite Co. (Tokyo, Japan), the event brought together more than 50 exp

Entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in Israel. A case in point is Kanfit Ltd. (Migdal HaEmek, Israel), near the city of Nazareth. Founded in 1986 as a composite tool workshop by Shai Fine, an aeronautical engineer with extensive experience building military jets, Kanfit, today, is primarily a b

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) was established as Bedek Aviation Co. in 1953, five years after the State of Israel was created. Then situated next to Lod Airport (now known as Ben Gurion International, southeast of Tel Aviv), the company began with 70 employees. As Israel has developed, so has IA

Elbit Systems Ltd. (Haifa) is Israel’s largest defense contractor, with a turnover of US$3.3 billion in 2017 and a backlog of more than US$7.5 billion in 2018. Its activities include systems and structures for military and commercial aircraft, land vehicles, homeland security and a variety of

If FBM Composite Materials Ltd. (Kiryat Gat, Israel) is any indication, Israeli companies love a challenge. Despite no composites experience between them, three firms agreed in 2006 to form a new subcontracting entity that would produce composite parts for Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI, Lod, Isr

In the composites industry, there are a few manufacturing processes that, on the face of it, appear relatively straightforward and easily done. The braiding of fiber reinforcements is, arguably, one of them. Braiding, in fact, is done by a fair number of fabricators. Indeed, acquiring and using a br

Like a lot of companies that manufacture composite parts and structures, Van Horn Aviation (VHA, Tempe, AZ, US) came to the material with little experience and knowledge, but an inherent desire to help customers solve problems, a willingness to learn and a desire to propel the company forward. Ironi

The complexities of composites manufacturing make it nearly impossible for all fabricators to be all things to all customers. The variety of material and process types almost mandates some degree of specialization, or a very substantial investment if the goal is to offer customers a full suite of pr

In 2003, when The Boeing Co. (Chicago, IL, US) announced plans for the development of what was to become its 787 commercial jetliner, much was made of the fact that the plane would be the first to feature a fuselage, wings, tail and other major structures fabricated from carbon fiber composites, rat

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) manufacturer Hexadrone SAS (Saint-Just-Malmont, France) was looking to develop and mass produce a new, easy-to-use yet robust UAV, one that could function in harsh military, industrial, firefighting or agricultural environments. In answer, a new UAV called the Tundra-M,

Master Bond (Hackensack, NJ, US) in June launched a new epoxy system, EP30LTE-2, developed for joining dissimilar substrates exposed to thermally or mechanically induced stresses. According to Master Bond, it can be used for sealing, coating and encapsulating, especially for smal

  Russ Emanis will conduct a composites infusion demo at the EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, WI, US on July 23. This is a photo from 2017. There’s nothing else quite like it. The annual EAA AirVenture event is an air show/aircraft exhibition/trade show/learning opportunity/hist

SOURCE: CW   At the JEC show in Paris this year, one of the project displays in the Automotive World showcase was a molded-in fastener developed by Böllhoff Otalu (La Ravoire, France), the French subsidiary of the German fastener supplier Böllhoff (Bielefeld).   Yann B

Rhodes Interform (Wakefield, UK), a specialist in bespoke composite and metal forming machinery, announced July 19 it has recently completed the installation and testing of a composite forming facility at the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC, Sheffiel

CW has toured GE Aviation’s ceramic matrix composite (CMC) parts plant in Asheville, NC and also blogged about CMC future developments. Now GE has released a video walking through the complete process chain, including a few facts not included in our coverage.   The company also o

Vartega (Golden, CO, US) and the Colorado Cleantech Industries Association (CCIA, Golden, CO, US) on July 24 announced the formation of the Advanced Materials and Additive Manufacturing Infrastructure Development and Education (AMIDE) Alliance. The alliance, which was formed by a grou

Shape Group (Witney, UK) has successfully compression molded the first batch of parts that combine short fiber sheet molding compound (SMC) over an optimized, continuous carbon fiber ShapeTex preform. This process is commonly referred to as overmolding. Typically, the overmold is an inject