Breaking Molds

A look at innovation, achievement, and ideas in manufacturing and the composites industry
by Rebecca D’Amico and Monica Cardenas

Not Another Fad
“Precast on a Diet” Tours U.S.
As an interesting marketing strategy, structural grid manufacturer TechFab, and AltusGroup—a partnership of five leading precasters and TechFab, formed to develop innovative precast technologies—went on a nine-city tour of the U.S. to further advance the use of C-GRID™ carbon fiber reinforcement in precast concrete. The “Precast on a Diet” tour lasted over two weeks, stopping in Washington, D.C.; New York, N.Y.; Philadelphia, Pa.; Raleigh, N.C.; Charlotte, N.C.; Atlanta, Ga.; Cincinnati, Ohio; St. Louis, Mo.; and Chicago, Ill. A key element of the tour included a 73-foot long flat bed precast product viewing trailer, which featured precast concrete wall panel samples, architectural panels, a mock double tee deck, and a residential stem deck. Daylong seminars were held at each stop, highlighting and demonstrating CarbonCast precast carbon fiber made using C-GRID reinforcement. CarbonCast™ is a new precast technology, using conventional steel for primary reinforcing and C-GRID resin-bonded carbon fiber grid for secondary reinforcing and shear transfer. The new product boasts greater long-term durability, lighter weight, finer finishes, improved insulating properties, and greater sustainability than traditional precast products. The improvements in weight, durability, and sustainability come from the product’s use of C-GRID reinforcement, a non-corrosive grid with a tensile strength of 87-255 KSI. C-GRID is an epoxy-coated composite grid made with cross-laid carbon fiber, manufactured by TechFab. The AltusGroup reports that CarbonCast components reinforced with C-GRID are thinner and up to 66 percent lighter, have up to five times the tensile strength of steel reinforcement, and minimize shrinkage cracks up to 50 percent better than steel mesh. They are also more environmentally friendly because they are made with local materials and industrial and post-consumer waste, deliver higher insulation values, and use less forming material and concrete. The “Precast on a Diet” tour reached over 300 attendees from nearly 250 companies, including attendance by Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin at the Atlanta stop. To further C-GRID outreach and education efforts, another tour is being planned for the fall. www.techfabllc.com; www.altusprecast.com

Watching Our Garden Grow
Washington, D.C.’s National Building Museum has launched a one-year exhibit, The Green House: New Directions in Sustainable Architecture and Design, to educate visitors on environmentally friendly home designs and practices. The 7,000-square foot exhibit—open May 20, 2006 through June 3, 2007—includes displays on the 21 most interesting and beautiful “green houses” in the world, and even has a full-size recreation of the Glidehouse™, which can be explored by exhibit visitors. The Glidehouse is a single-story, prefabricated house, created by California-based architect Michelle Kaufmann. The house features several composite materials, including recycled composites countertops, recycled agricultural waste composite cabinets, and composite decking. The Glidehouse’s use of green materials is not the only component that makes it green. The prefabricated nature of the house results in comparatively little construction waste and allows it to be easily positioned on site for optimized solar energy. Also, its unique design makes creates an energy flow that is extremely efficient. In addition to the home displays, the exhibit offers a Materials Resource Room—a gallery with 60 different green materials for the home. The goal of this room is to “de-mystify” the selection of environmentally friendly materials for homebuyers and designers. Featured materials include Country Floors’ recycled glass tiles, textiles by Maharam and American Clay Plaster, Mioculture three-dimensional recycled wall paper, coconut palm flooring by Smith & Fong Plyboo®, recycled rubber flooring by Ecopave, and IceStone® recycled glass and cement countertops. Another section of the exhibit is devoted to the “five green principles”—wisely using the land; working with the sun; creating high-performance and energy-efficient houses; improving indoor air quality; and wisely using the earth’s material resources. In this interactive section visitors are encouraged to experiment with a heliodon, a device that simulates the movement of the sun, in order to visualize how they might orient their own house to make best use of solar power. During the exhibition period, the Museum will present lectures, construction watch tours, films, and a major scholarly symposium on the design and construction of green houses. The exhibition will also be supplemented with a website focusing on the marketplace, methods, principles, and history of sustainable design, and a fully illustrated catalog on green design. www.nbm.org

Play That Funky Composites iPod
It seems everywhere you look today you see someone listening to an iPod. iPod’s are everywhere, and do just about everything. They play music, videos and games, and hold your personal calendars, contacts, photos, etc. So, what is the iPod missing? A carbon fiber carrying case, according to C6 Manufacturing founders Jason Anderson and Gaston Shealy. Anderson is the lead designer at Dale Earnhardt Inc. (NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s company) by day, but started manufacturing non-motorsport items after hours as a hobby. After receiving an iPod Mini as a gift, Anderson designed a sleek bladder molded carbon sleeve for his iPod, and then thought about selling them. Shealy, a machinist at DEI, made all the prototype pieces for iPod Mini cases. Unfortunately, as soon as they perfected the production of these cases, Apple discontinued the Mini model. They moved ahead, creating carbon fiber cases for the iPod Nano. Prototypes for the cases were well received by their friends, so the two formed C6 and began selling the cases online. They also offer a case for the 5G Video iPod. The carbon fiber cases have proved popular, and the company has received orders from around the world. Several companies, including the Apple store, have expressed interest in distributing the carbon fiber cases at the retail level. Anderson and Shealy are currently ramping up production beyond the initial batch, and hope to launch more products that incorporate this high-tech material and elegant design. For a chance to win an iPod Nano and one of these carbon fiber cases, visit CM’s booth at COMPOSITES & POLYCON 2006, booth # 1720. www.c6mfg.com

Houston, We Have a Solution
Composite Tanks for Spacecraft Take Off
Although cryogenic tanks can be associated with Walt Disney or Ted Williams, who were both cryogenically frozen (or at least those are the rumors), these tanks are also used for aerospace applications. Microcosm, a California-based aerospace engineering firm, manufactures such tanks as part of the technology development program for the Scorpius®® family of low-cost, responsive launch vehicles. Scorpius vehicles are pressure-fed liquid rockets, using liquid oxygen and kerosene as propellants. The tanks are robust enough to support themselves and can endure casual handling without problems. The wide vehicle profile also allows easier movement to the launch pad. Microcosm’s latest project through this program has been the development and testing of an all-composite liquid oxygen (LOX) tank for the Sprite Small Launch Vehicle. The Scorpius all-composite cryogenic tanks are manufactured using an out-of-autclave process, saving labor, time, tooling, capital, and material costs. Lower material and labor costs also result from the use of filament winding for the manufacturing process. The company recently announced that the LOX tank has successfully completed final qualification tests. The all-composite LOX tank is the main structural element of Sprite, a vehicle designed for the launch of small (700 lbs) payloads to low Earth orbit (LEO). Microcosm successfully tested a 42-inch diameter, all composite LOX tank to nearly four times its operating pressure of 550 psi, testing at cryogenic temperatures using liquid nitrogen. “This result will allow us to reduce the weight of the propellant tanks for Sprite and, consequently, increase the mass to orbit by over 30 percent” reported Maj. Gen. (ret.) Jack Kulpa, president of the Scorpius Space Launch Company. According to Kulpa, this would result in a projected performance of approximately 1050 lbs. to low Earth orbit (LEO) for a vehicle originally designed for 700 lbs. to LEO. He credited the improved performance to new manufacturing approaches by Microcosm and new materials technology from Composite Technology Development. Additional testing was done for 10-inch and 25-inch subscale tanks, which performed at comparable levels. The technology will still have to be proven through multiple flight tests, but the company is planning to offer the tanks in a range of sizes, as well as custom-made pressure vessels for industrial applications. www.scorpius.com; www.smad.com

The Lost Art: Just Read It!
If you can’t name the last book you read, or worse yet, have a bookcase full of unread books, it’s time for a lesson in selection. It is true that some business books are part of a fad or publicity stunt, but not reading up on your business at all is more of a loss than it seems. There are several steps even a person on a tight schedule can take in order to find the right book. Just because a book was beneficial to one person does not mean that it will help you. Reviews and suggestions from fellow business owners can only go so far. The majority of the research falls on the reader. Reading the back cover or inside flap gives a general idea of what topics the book will cover, but a quick skim of the introduction or preface will give more detail. Not every book works for every business, so look for specific applications to your business. With enough time, you can even skim a few paragraphs from a couple different chapters to get an idea of the writing style and if it works for you. Make sure the topic is interesting and the style appeals to you. Otherwise, it will just add to your collection of unread books. Check out the writer and his or her credentials. Real world experience may work better for you as opposed to an extensive education, or vice versa. Decide your style and return to that if it works. These and more tips are available from Susan M. Heathfield on www.about.com.

Honda Takes Off With New Jet
Just one year after its public world debut at the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) AirVenture in 2005, the HondaJet is nearly ready to begin sales. Late July and early August were busy months for Honda as regular announcements were released regarding the all-new Very Light Jet (VLJ). The most recent development is the newly established, wholly-owned subsidiary, Honda Aircraft Company, which is responsible for the further development, sales promotion and production of HondaJet. Based in Greensboro, N.C., the company will begin its work in the very place the prototype HondaJet has been tested for more than three years. The new company will begin taking sales orders for HondaJet this fall, and plans to deliver the first mass-produced HondaJet in 2010. In an effort to provide a new level of sales and service to jet customers, Honda also plans to form a business alliance with Piper Aircraft, which will be managed by Honda Aircraft Company. The goal of the collaboration is to set a higher standard for the quality of the ownership experience. The HondaJet has been in the works for twenty years, with research beginning in Japan in 1986 on small aircraft and jet engines. Seven years later, Honda began research at Mississippi State University (MSU) on a composite body aircraft. Work here continued until 1996, resulting in the MH-02 aircraft, jointly fabricated and tested by Honda and MSU. Meanwhile, from 1995-1996, Honda conducted more than 70 hours of tests on its first generation turbofan engine, HFX-01. Just three years later, development began on the HF118 turbofan jet engine in the 1,000 to 3,500-pound thrust class; and in 2002, Honda conducted high altitude tests with the same engine, which would ultimately be specific to the prototype HondaJet design. Finally, on December 3, 2003, HondaJet took its first test flight. Through July 2006, the plane has recorded more than 240 flight hours, achieved an altitude of 43,000 feet and speeds of 412 knots. A combination of honeycomb sandwich structure and co-cured stiffened panels create an advanced all-composite fuselage structure, reducing weight and manufacturing costs. In order to achieve low drag at a high speed, the natural-laminar flow (NLF) wing and NLF fuselage nose were developed through extensive analyses and wind tunnel testing. The patented over-the-wing engine-mount reduces drag at high speeds and improves fuel efficiency. Additionally, it eliminates the need for a structure to mount the engines to the rear fuselage, thus maximizing cabin and luggage space. HondaJet seats six to seven people including the pilot, and reaches a maximum speed of 420 knots, or 778 km per hour. While the plane was constructed in North Carolina and all flight tests have been conducted in the U.S.,
the company is still finalizing plans to manufacture the HondaJet in the U.S. However, nothing has been confirmed. www.corporate.honda.com.

Aerospace Forecasts a Bright 20 Years
Just before the start of the Farnborough Air Show in England on July 17, Boeing released the Current Market Outlook (CMO) 2006. The optimistic statistics presented in the report surely brought smiles to the faces of show attendees, for Boeing predicts strong 20-year growth and a doubling of the world freight fleet from 1,789 to 3, 563 airplanes. Nearly 62 percent of additions will fall into the widebody category (medium widebody plus large freighters), which includes freighters with a capacity of 40 tons or more. Standard-body freighters, on the other hand, will decrease from 50 percent to 36 percent over the next twenty years, according to the CMO. Standard-body freighters have less than 50 tons capacity and the body width of single-aisle passenger airplanes. In many cases, operators such as express carriers prefer medium widebodies as a replacement for retiring standard-body freighters. In response to the medium-capacity trend, Airbus revealed A350 Extra Wide Body (XWB) at Farnborough. The A350 XWB’s all-new wing is of advanced aerodynamic design and will be built with composite material, reducing weight while providing high cruise speeds. The 314-passenger jetliner is expected to hit runways mid 2012. By 2025, freighters of all sizes will provide more than half of the world’s total air cargo capacity, according to the CMO. And while new airplanes will make up the minority of the total world freighter fleet, they dominate the large-size category, with many airlines preferring their technical advantages, reliability, and fuel efficiency. Boeing received a record 113 firm orders for production and converted freighters in 2005 and brought the new 777F and 747-8F to market. The growth predicted in the report is attributed to increasing demand driven by global economic growth, and the need to replace older airplanes with newer ones. Overall projections include 27, 210 airplanes required over the next 20 years, and a $2.6 trillion market value. www.boeing.com; www.airbus.com.

Small Wind Generates Big Savings
For your wallet and the environment, that is. Wind turbines are not limited to wide, open spaces anymore. Small wind, as it’s called, is moving into residential areas, slashing homeowners’ electric bills with little more than the buzz of a quiet fan. According to Southwest Windpower, an Arizona-based manufacturer of small wind generators, the home is powered by the electric utility when the wind is not blowing, but excess electricity generated by the small wind can be sold back to the utility or used at a later date. Their latest product, the Skystream 3.7, can pay for itself in less than four years in states like Hawaii, where the cost of energy and wind speeds are both high. Skystream costs between $8-10,000 to purchase and install, but is estimated to save the average homeowner $500-800 per year and provide 40-90 percent of the average home’s energy needs. Windsave, based in Glasgow, was formed in 2002 with the goal of helping every property in Britain be a part of the Green Revolution. The WS-1000 is just 1.75 meters in diameter and claims to reduce electricity bills by as much as one-third. Common concerns with wind energy, particularly in residential areas, include bird safety and property values. However, these concerns have proven to be unfounded. Of 10,000 bird fatalities in the U.S., less than one was attributed to wind turbines, according to “Summary of Anthropogenic Causes of Bird Mortality,” available from Southwest Windpower. According to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), is no evidence to support the concern sometimes raised that the existence of a residential wind turbine will lower property values on adjacent or near-by properties.” In fact, studies show that 50 percent of homeowners surveyed in California would be willing to pay more for a home equipped with solar and wind technology. Residential wind power is gaining popularity. It was recently featured on the CBS Evening News, and they are becoming more affordable for the average homeowner. The U.S. House and Senate have introduced a bill to give a 30 percent tax credit for the purchase of small wind systems used for homes, farms and small businesses. A similar credit is already in place in Britain. www.windsave.com; www.windenergy.com.