The 2022 CAMX Award recognizes Combined Strength and Unsurpassed Innovation
October 18, 2022 (Arlington, VA.) CAMX – The Composites and Advanced Materials Expo has announced the winners of the ninth annual CAMX Award. The winners were announced during the General Session at CAMX 2022 in Anaheim, CA. The CAMX Award recognizes two innovations that will significantly impact composites and advanced materials. The award is divided into two categories that embody the spirit of CAMX – Combined Strength and Unsurpassed Innovation.
The Combined Strength Award acknowledges a product that incorporates composite materials that solves a problem through teamwork and collaboration, and the Unsurpassed Innovation Award celebrates a product with a design that incorporates low-cost materials for high-volume applications that can change the outlook of a particular market.
The strong style=”font-family: Gotham Bold;”>2022 Combined Strength Award Winner is AMCM: Integrated Large-Scale Additive Manufacturing and Compression Molding Process. Additive Manufacturing-Compression Molding (AM-CM) is a new large-scale manufacturing process developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) that combines the advantage of high fiber alignment possible in AM-printed parts with traditional CM, improving bead-to-bead interfaces and removing porosity. High fiber alignment, low porosity, and selective bead placement can provide exceptional mechanical properties with precise control. In addition, an AM-produced preform can incorporate multiple materials for structural functionality, such as over-molding, selective reinforcement, and embedding electrically conductive pathways. All these benefits come along with a very fast part production cycle time, i.e., 2-minutes/part (1ft x 1ft part).
The strong style=”font-family: Gotham Bold;”>2022 Unsurpassed Innovation Award Winner is the Creative Composites Group’s submission, Fire Retardant FRP Utility Poles for Grid-Hardening in Fire-Prone Areas. The company’s FireStrong™ utility pole system incorporates industry first innovations, including combining outer fire protection sleeve or shield layer with inner StormStrong® utility pole as primary structure. The StormStrong inner core helps with storm hardening efforts to keep the utility grid intact when extreme weather events occur. This FireStrong utility pole system was developed to withstand a chaparral fire and has been independently tested to withstand 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit for 3 minutes – which is twice the time of the average wildfire. FireStrong poles are classified as self-extinguishing per UL94 with V0 rating. Additionally, Self-Monitoring Temperature Recorders permit a utility company to inspect poles post-fire to gauge the level of strength retention for each pole with little to no guesswork. Previously, utility companies could only guess the strength retention post-fire resulting in errors in replacing poles after fire exposure.
For more information on the 2022 CAMX Award winners and finalists, please click here.
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About CAMX
CAMX brings together all aspects of the world’s composites and advanced materials communities to discover the latest products, solutions and advanced industry knowledge. CAMX 2022 was held in Anaheim, CA, from October 17 – 20, 2022. Learn more.
About ACMA
The American Composites Manufacturers Association (ACMA) is the world’s largest composites industry trade group. We are manufacturers, material and equipment suppliers, distributors, academia and end users, dedicated to growing the composites market. We serve our members and the industry by promoting the competitive advantage and versatility of composite materials. ACMA offers composites industry educational resources through our Education Hub, CAMX, conferences, webinars, and Certified Composites Technician (CCT®) program. We develop standards and specifications that drive preference for the use of composites in place of traditional materials. We lead advocacy efforts via legislative and regulatory channels to achieve a more viable composites industry. Together, we are shaping the future of composites.
About SAMPE
The Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE®), a global professional member society, provides enhanced educational opportunities by delivering information on new and advanced materials and processing technology. SAMPE provides growth and educational opportunities via conferences, exhibitions, technical forums, and publications. As the only technical society encompassing all fields of endeavor in materials and processes, SAMPE provides a unique and valuable forum for scientists, engineers, and academicians. SAMPE North America is a regional subsidiary of SAMPE serving Canada, Mexico, and the United States.