CompositesWorld
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COLUMNS 4 From the Editor 6 Perspectives & Provocations 8 Design & Testing 12 Gardner Business Index 22 Work In Progress CW contributing writer Karen Wood takes a close look at an automated 3D process that manufactures and pre-impregnates continuous-fiber preforms for injection/ compression overmolding of structural thermoplastic composite parts with complex shapes, tailored properties and reduced mass. » DEPARTMENTS 13 Trends 39 Calendar 40 Applications 41 New Products 42 Marketplace 42 Ad Index 43 Showcase » ON THE COVER Robotics, modified "quick-release" auto- mated fiber placement head technology, and a variety of material types, including towpreg, dry fiber and thermoplastic tape, come together in this workcell developed by Compositence (Loenberg, Germany) to build as many as four preforms per minute. Learn more about how systems scientists bring the complicated art of preforming up to production speed on p. 26. Source / Compositence FOCUS ON DESIGN 44 Composite Submersibles: Under Pressure in Deep, Deep Waters Manned deepsea exploration calls for a highly engineered solution that, at 6,500-psi service pressure, will maintain buoyancy and preserve life. By Jeff Sloan CompositesWorld (ISSN 2376-5232) is published monthly and copyright © 2017 by Gardner Business Media Inc. 6915 Valley Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45244- 3029. Telephone: (513) 527-8800. Printed in U.S.A. Periodicals postage paid at Cincinnati, OH and additional mailing offices. All rights reserved. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to CompositesWorld Magazine, 6915 MEMBERSHIPS: Valley Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45244-3029. If undeliverable, send Form 3579. CANADA POST: Canada Returns to be sent to IMEX Global Solutions, PO Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2 Canada. Publications Mail Agreement #40612608. The information presented in this edition of CompositesWorld is believed to be accurate. In applying recommendations, however, you should exercise care and normal precautions to prevent personal injury and damage to facilities or products. In no case can the authors or the publisher accept responsibility for personal injury or damages which may occur in working with methods and/or materials presented herein, nor can the publisher assume responsibility for the validity of claims or performance of items appearing in editorial presentations or advertisements in this publication. Contact information is provided to enable interested parties to conduct further inquiry into specific products or services. FE ATURES 26 Preforming Goes Industrial, Part 1 Long a production bottleneck, the complex, step-intensive preforming process has taken some large steps toward production-worthy maturity. In Part 1 of a two-part series, CW looks at the ATL- and AFP-based options that now abound for processing dry and/or impregnated reinforcements as quickly as 1 minute or less with potential yearly part yields in the millions. By Ginger Gardiner 32 Inside Manufacturing: Polyurethane's Processing Speed, Properties Enable Bigger Blades Wind turbine blade manufacturers are still one of the largest consumers of composites, but as blades get longer, some say processors can no longer stand pat on standard build materials. CW reports on a decade-long developmental effort that reached a key wind energy cost-reduction milestone by replacing typical epoxy and vinyl ester formulations with a polyurethane infusion resin. By Ginger Gardiner 32 26 22 40 CompositesWorld.com 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS JULY 2017 / Vol: 3 N o – : 7