Industry Digest

Keep up to date with the latest news of interest to the composites industry

A diagram of the composite material that converts water to steam.

Composite Converts Water to Steam with Little Solar Energy

MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering researchers have produced a sponge-like composite material that helps convert water to steam by using sunlight only one-hundredth as bright as what conventional...

Poplar trees could be used to make carbon fiber.

Lignin Found in Poplar Trees Could be Used to Create Carbon Fiber and Plastics

Money doesn’t grow on trees, but we might soon be able to make carbon fiber from trees. Gerald Tuskan of Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Biosciences Division postulates that in 50 years, scientists will be...

Students use Composites to Set Speed Cycling World Records

After setting the world speed cycling record of 83.13 mph (133.78 km/h) last year with the composites-intensive VeloX 3 recumbent bike, The Human Power team at Delft University of Technology and the VU...

3D Printed Car Could Change the Face of Auto Manufacturing

With more and more major auto manufacturers turning to composites to make stronger and lighter chassis, bodies, springs, wheels and other parts, one 3D printing laboratory is taking the movement a step further...

The U.S. Army is developing a micro-composite to 3D print various devices in the field.

U.S. Army Develops Micro-Composite to 3D Print Real Devices, Not Prototypes

Traditionally, 3D printing has relied on materials like polymers and has been used primarily for prototyping. Now, researchers at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory hope to develop strong and lightweight...

C-lignin is a linear polymer found in vanilla orchids.

Carbon Fiber Made from Plant Substance could Replace Petroleum, Coal-Based Products

Researchers at the University of North Texas have created a new carbon fiber from C-lignin, a linear polymer found in plants, that can replace common petroleum and coal-based products in a variety of products....