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New composites target EV applications

Weaving a new future for composites Chris Oberste

NASA officials are announcing the availability of eight disruptive NASA materials and coatings technologies ready for commercialization. NASA officials are looking for companies interested in using the organization’s high-temperature materials and coatings, including those designed to withstand high temperatures, to improve existing products or introduce new ones.

The search for a suitable replacement to hard chrome plating on aerospace components has been a key supply chain priority for aircraft manufacturers. This is because of the documented health risks to workers and the impact on the environment from exposure to hexavalent chromium, a carcinogen that occurs during the chrome plating process and the most toxic form of chromium.

Orbex, a developer of small satellite (smallsat) launch vehicles based in Forres, Scotland, has unveiled its “Prime” launch vehicle. The rocket utilizes several novel technologies, including the world’s largest metal rocket engine produced as a single piece through additive manufacturing (AM).

Two new installments in the burgeoning SAE International Podcast Series cast a spotlight on additive manufacturing, which is fueling innovation, greater efficiencies, and the future of mobility engineering. Additive manufacturing continues to advance and transform mobility engineering, as aerospace and automotive firms increasingly adopt and invest in 3D printing technologies, which are becoming more capable and cost-effective.

To enable the tests required for development work to be performed with maximum efficiency, the Zwick Roell Group (ZwickRoell) – a global supplier of materials testing machines based out of Ulm, Germany – developed a materials testing machine that can be equipped with both a temperature chamber and a high-temperature furnace.

Demand for high-performance plastics (HPPs) is up across the aerospace industry, driven by such key trends as growing performance requirements, increased use of additive manufacturing or 3D printing, supply chain globalization, and tightening environmental regulations. Growing passenger traffic coupled with the need to reduce emissions – being accomplished through lightweighting, engine downsizing, and vehicle electrification – present opportunities for HPPs, research analysts at Frost & Sullivan in San Antonio, Texas, explain.

Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) in Waltham, Mass., has upped its investment in advanced manufacturing innovations, including automated and autonomous technologies, to support complex radar testing and integration. The company’s new $72 million, 30,000 square-foot facility on its Andover, Mass., campus, is now home to some of the industry's leading innovations, and a historic first, in manufacturing, officials say.

Adhesive joining of structural components will assume an increasingly important role in designing and manufacturing lightweight structures for aerospace platforms. The latest book from SAE International, Adhesive Joining of Structural Components: New Insights and Technologies explores recent advancements in adhesive bonding, used in the manufacture of primary aircraft fuselage and wing structures since 1945.

Together, the companies will develop customized lightweight material systems and advanced manufacturing processes, such as metal additive manufacturing – also known as 3D printing – to advance current and next-generation aerospace and defense solutions, including new structures and systems not currently in existence.

SAE International in Warrendale, Pa., is inviting members of the mobility engineering community to participate in the SAE Additive Manufacturing Webinar: Considerations When Integrating Additive Manufacturing into Aerospace and Ground Vehicle Development and Production Environments on Thursday, August 16, 2018 at 1 pm EDT/10 am PDT.

The 3D printing materials market will experience high double-digit growth in the aerospace industry through 2024, as manufacturers of aircraft and spacecraft vehicles and components increasingly adopt and reap the benefits of additive manufacturing, market analysts at Frost & Sullivan in Mountain View, California, predict.

In a recent joint paper by the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) and the National Graphene Institute (NGI) at the University of Manchester, researchers outlined the disruptive impact potential of graphene applications in aerospace. This comes at a time of marked graphene innovation from research teams in Japan and Singapore.