Composites

Three Guinness World Records have been awarded to the University of Maine (UMaine)’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center for the world’s largest prototype additive manufacturing (AM) machine

Collaborative research into the design and manufacture of strong and lightweight materials for use by the automotive sector will be undertaken in the USA by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and

Henkel of Düsseldorf, Germany, has reached a strategic material supply agreement with manufacturer of one-piece carbon fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) wheels Carbon Revolution of Geelong, Victoria,

A commercially viable all-composite wheel for electric and niche vehicles, such as driverless cars, last-mile delivery vehicles, road sweepers and agricultural vehicles, is being developed by a con

Fibre-reinforced polyamides (PAs) from Lanxess have been used by L&L Products to reinforce a steel insert for the A-pillars of Porsche’s convertibles and roadsters.

Voith Composites and HRC are to work together to develop next-generation high-pressure hydrogen vessels for fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEVs).

A plant and technical centre for the development and manufacture of resins has been opened in Ayutthaya, Thailand, by Teijin.

Carbon Truck & Trailer GmbH (CarbonTT) is producing lightweight pultruded carbon fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) components for truck chassis using polyurethane (PU) resins from Covestro.

A carbon fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) suspension link that is 45% lighter in weight than aluminium versions has been designed and manufactured for a high-end carmaker by Shape Machining Ltd of W

GKN Aerospace of Redditch, UK, is to cut 100 jobs over the next two years as it consolidates its four divisions in order to create what it describes as a simpler, more competitive business.

Continuous carbon fibre-reinforced polycarbonates (PCs) from Covestro are being used to produce parts of the wheels for NIO's ES6 and ES8 electric sports utility vehicles (SUVs).

Diab has signed a five-year contract for the supply of core materials with turbine blade manufacturer Vestas that it believes to be worth €200–250 million.

A battery pack with high energy- and power-densities that features an exoskeleton made from carbon fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) has been developed by Williams Advanced Engineering of Wantage, UK

Saertex says that it is now able to sell a wider range of large-tow multiaxial fabrics following its purchase of TK Industries GmbH in July 2019.

Teijin Ltd of Tokyo, Japan, has completed its acquisition of an automotive composite and component supplier

The first composite pedestrian bridge that can be produced using additive manufacturing (AM) has been designed by a trio of companies in The Netherlands.

A foldable fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP) structure that could be used as a temporary shelter or as a customizable container for cargo has been developed in Japan.  

Ineos Enterprises has completed its acquisition of Ashland Global Holdings Inc’s entire composites business.

A contract to deliver one of the largest filament winding lines for the production of tanks for compressed hydrogen gas (CHG) and compressed natural gas (CNG) for the automotive industry has been a

Increasing numbers of composites manufacturers in Germany are dissatisfied with the current business environment and are becoming increasingly restrained in their expectations of future growth.

Gurit of Zurich, Switzerland, has secured contracts to supply core materials to two original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the wind energy industry.

The world’s longest offshore wind turbine blade has arrived at the UK Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult’s testing facilities in Blyth, UK.

EconCore has installed an extrusion line at its facility in Leuven, Belgium, for the production of cores for honeycomb sandwich panels from recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET).

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SGL Carbon, Jürgen Köhler, is to resign over flawed business planning and the company, of Wiesbaden, Germany, has withdrawn its business forecasts for the next

Solvay of Brussels, Belgium, has taken a key step towards divesting its remaining polyamides (PAs) business to BASF of Ludwigshafen, Germany.

Thermwood is working with the US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and Boeing to develop low-cost tooling from composites using additive manufacturing (AM).

Toray Advanced Composites and BASF have signed a manufacturing and supply agreement for the production of continuous fibre-reinforced thermoplastic tapes for automotive and industrial applications.

Highly damage-resistant composites, the design of which has been inspired by the dactyl club of the mantis shrimp, are poised for commercialization following the licensing of the technology by The

The automotive industry’s first composite engine shroud is being produced by Continental Structural Plastics (CSP) for the dual-wall dashboard that features in Ford’s 2020 Explorer. 

Prodrive Composites is increasing production capacity at its facility in Milton Keynes, UK, as it looks to meet the automotive industry’s growing demand for composite parts.

Continental Structural Plastics (CSP) has signed a definitive agreement to buy the stamping operations of AMI, including its 8361-m² (90 000 square-foot) headquarters and manufacturing f

A consortium of German and Austrian companies has been set-up to develop new materials, printing methodologies and post-processing technologies for the production of automotive parts using additive

Teijin Ltd has completed its acquisition of the US supplier of highly heat-resistant thermoset prepreg for the aerospace industry, Renegade Materials Corp of Miamisburg, Ohio.

Following the signing of a year-long contract extension, SGL Carbon is to supply carbon fibre prepregs to Elbe Flugzeugwerke for the manufacture of the Airbus A350 cabin’s floor panels until the en

A glass fibre-reinforced polyamide (PA) 6 from Lanxess is being used by Leopold Kostal GmbH & Co KG to produce steering-column-switch housings for various models of Ford’s Fiesta, Focus and Eco

Covestro of Leverkusen, Germany, is investing in the manufacture of continuous fibre-reinforced thermoplastics (CFRTPs) in response to growing demand for the materials from its customers.

A method for producing composite sandwich structures using a multilayer textile has been developed by Toyota Jido Shokki, a subsidiary of Toyota Industries of Japan.

Following the signing of a joint development agreement, Teijin Ltd is to supply materials to AEV Robotics for the development of its modular vehicle system.

The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has awarded a US$73.7-million contract to Made In Space Inc to demonstrate the viability of the automated manufacture and assembly of spa

Engel of Schwertberg, Austria, is to use its stand at K 2019 to showcase an overmoulding cell that employs infrared (IR) radiation to heat-up and form three continuous fibre-reinforced the

Two novel, lightweight wing designs have been tested by the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, DLR)  as part of a European Union (EU)-funded project.

An efficient weaving machine feeder designed for use in the production of reinforcements for composites has been launched by IRO AB of Ulricehamn, Sweden.

Glass fibre-reinforced polyamide (PA) 6s from Lanxess are being used in the high-volume manufacture of lightweight shells for the electronically adjustable rear seats in Audi’s A8 sedan.

Novel approaches to the recycling of wind turbine blades are to be developed through a newly formed partnership between a trio of industry associations based in Brussels, Belgium.

Teijin Ltd is to buy tier one composite parts supplier Benet Automotive sro from Jet Investment. The terms of the deal will not be disclosed.

ELG Carbon Fibre is working with sailing team INEOS Team UK to ensure sustainable materials and practices are incorporated into its build programme for the 2021 America’s Cup.

Hexcel, Progen and Future Aerospace have opened a joint-venture laboratory and materials testing facility in Shanghai, China.

Drones and crawling robots that can inspect composite wind turbine blades non-invasively for hidden damage faster and in more detail than is possible using traditional inspection cameras are being

A centre that will be used to develop lightweight components for high-value industries, including aerospace, automotive, oil and gas, renewables, medical, marine and off-road transport, was officia