Gel Coat Basics
Unsaturated polyester resins (UPR) were first developed in the late 1920s in the research group of Dr. Wallace Carothers at DuPont. In the late 1940s, coatings made from these resins were applied to molds to...
A Primer on Glass Fiber Reinforcements
The Making of Glass Fiber Engineered minerals are melted in high-temperature, firebrick lined furnaces, refined to allow volatile materials to escape the “melt.” The melt flows out of the furnace...
Best Practices: How to Use Fire Tests to Design Fire-Safe Composites
FRP composites are used in a range of industries such as aerospace, automotive, building construction, infrastructure, and marine and rail passenger transport. FRP materials are attractive to those industries...
Best Practices: Resin Selection
There are so many different factors that influence the selection of an appropriate resin. The main thing is to work with your resin supplier, whether it is a distributor or resin manufacturer, to select one...
Proper Tooling Design Matters
Early in my composites career, I owned a small shop focused exclusively on manufacturing whitewater racing kayaks and canoes, which was really just an excuse to support my own personal racing habit and...
Composite Structural Connections
Composite Structural Connections As the polymer composites industry continues to grow, questions arise concerning connections between composites and between composites and other materials such as metals,...
