Composites Recycling Becomes a Necessity
Boeing and Airbus each is generating as much as a 1 million lb of cured and uncured carbon fiber prepreg waste each year from 787 and A350 XWB production. If you include the entire supply chain for these planes, the total is closer to 4 million lb/year. And with the automotive industry poised to consume (and waste) more carbon fiber than ever, recycling of composite materials has become an absolute necessity. The technology is there, but the markets are not. Yet. More.
Experience the CAMX Difference: Registration and Housing Are Open
Make your plans to attend the largest, most comprehensive composites and advanced materials event for products, solutions, networking, and advanced industry thinking. CAMX 2016, being held in Anaheim, CA on September 26-29, 2016, is a must-attend event for you, your colleagues, and team.
Register today to experience cutting edge innovations and exhibitions, education and best practices to advance your work, and unrivaled networking – all in one place. Register early and save!
Architectural Composites: Bigger, Better, and Here to Stay
At this year’s American Institute of Architects (AIA) Convention in Philadelphia, keynote speaker Kevin Spacey described Netflix’s successful media market disruption through the hit series, “House of Cards.” Thanks to a number of efforts to grow the architecture market, the composites industry is primed for a similar market disruption as architects and designers transition from traditional materials to FRP.
Major companies are beginning to implement composites in large-scale projects. In March, Apple unveiled details of its new campus, which features a “theatre” building with the largest freestanding carbon fiber roof in the world. In addition to the historic size of the structure, what makes the roof important is that Apple picked carbon fiber over its signature aluminum and steel.
The architecture industry has recently seen the world’s first use of carbon fibers as earthquake-resistant materials. Japanese architect Kengo Kuma and manufacturer Komatsu Seiren recently unveiled an office surrounded by hundreds of carbon fibers that stabilize the building.
ACMA’s newly-published Guidelines and Recommended Practices for Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) Architectural Products—featured at the third annual Composites Pavilion at the AIA Convention and hailed as the industry’s most substantial resource—provides guidance on how, when, where and why to use composites in architecture, as well as good, accurate and achievable design and specification guidelines, resulting in the increased use of FRP composites in architecture.
One of the many people responsible for the guidelines coming to fruition, Bill Kreysler, oversaw the construction of the composite façade fabricated for the recently re-opened San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA). For the façade, Kreysler and Associates used open molding and fabricated 700 FRP panels – the largest use of FRP cladding on a multistory building in North America.
CAMX is your opportunity to pick the brains of many experts in architectural composites. A full-day of architectural sessions and events, including an overview of the 2016 FRP guidelines, will be presented on Wednesday, September 28, 2016 at CAMX 2016. Architects, design professionals, architectural students and faculty are invited to attend at no charge by using the registration code: CAMXAR. All others should register by September 1 to attend and get the best rate.
Submission Deadline for CAMX Award and ACE is July 1
Enter the prestigious CAMX Award or Awards for Composites Excellence (ACE) presented at CAMX, and your company could join an elite group of award winners—leaders and visionaries within the composites and advanced materials community. For the CAMX Award, CAMX is looking for collaborative innovations and visionary concepts that bridge low-cost materials/high-volume applications with high-performance applications/low-volume materials. Submit your entry here. For the ACE, showcase your most recent composite innovations in technology, design, manufacturing, and product development for this year’s ACE hosted by ACMA – open to members and non-members. Submit your entry here. The submission deadline for the CAMX Award and ACE is July 1.
CAMX extends a special thank you to our Awards Sponsors!
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Congrats to the “Count the Logos” Contest Winners
Thank you to those who participated in the CAMX promotional video contest. Players were asked to watch the video and count the number of CAMX exhibitor and sponsor logos displayed. Some of the logos identified include 3M, AOC, ChemTrend, Hexcel, and Reichhold.
Congratulations to the winners!
• Zachary August won first place by locating 27 logos
• Ross Opsahl (Akzo Nobel) received second place with 20 logos
• Michael Brown (Quatro Composites) earned third place with 18 logos
Each of our winners will receive a $25 Starbucks gift card. Continue reading CAMX Connection for your next chance to win!
Researchers Find Composite Solutions for Real World Problems
Year after year, one of the hottest topics in the composites industry is always how to continue bridging the gap between industry and academia. As we’ve seen over the past few months, researchers never cease to find composite solutions for real-world problems and challenges.
For instance, in the aftermath of an earthquake, bridge columns often take weeks to repair with traditional technology. However, thanks to recent research at the University of Utah, bridge columns can now be repaired in a matter of days thanks to composites. University of Utah civil and environmental engineering professor, Chris Pantelides, and his team have developed a process where concrete donut shapes known as “repairs” are lined with CFRP built around the bottom and top of each column. The process is both quicker and more cost-effective than traditional repair methods.
Sometimes, the industry and academia collaborate to address challenges. As Toyota looks to the future, it has been looking for a vehicle to appeal to the young, urban buyers of Generation Z while simultaneously meeting rigorous fuel efficiency standards. The OEM got its answer with the “uBox” – a futuristic concept vehicle made by Clemson University graduate students. The Clemson students used CFRP from CAMX 2016 exhibitor TeXtreme® to cut weight from the vehicle’s door panels, rear hatch, dashboard, bumpers and cladding.
While CFRP is often a catalyst for innovation, the issue of how to recycle it has been problematic. That’s why researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder (CU-Boulder) have been working toward an eco-friendly and cost-effective way to recycle carbon fiber composites. According to Wei Zhang, a CU-Boulder associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry, the university has discovered a process that simply requires soaking the carbon fiber composite in an organic solution at room temperature.
During CAMX, make sure to stop by the University Pavilion to get caught up on the latest composites research. CAMX will also open the door to a new generation of composites researchers with its annual poster session. For more information, contact Christie McCabe.
The Exhibit Hall is Over 75% Sold
CAMX 2016 will be the largest marketplace for the composites and advanced materials industries. Over 425 companies have already committed to exhibit. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to reach motivated buyers and industry professionals from all market segments at one must-attend event. View the Exhibitor Prospectus and reserve your space today.
Start Your Conference Experience with a Pre-conference Tutorial
Build a foundation for improved learning and understanding for the duration of the conference with a Pre-conference Tutorial. These three-hour courses immerse attendees of all technical backgrounds on a single area of focus. View the full list here.
Make a Splash at CAMX 2016: Sponsorship Opportunities Still Available
Sponsorship opportunities are available for CAMX 2016. Enhance your company’s exposure and secure a custom sponsorship option. Designed specifically to drive additional traffic to your booth and promote engagement and sales before, during, and after the show, these exclusive sponsorship and advertising opportunities can be tailored to meet any investment level and company goal. Learn more here.
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