Composites Manufacturing Process

Various methods of composite manufacturing offer various benefits. An engineer must choose wisely to determine which process will yield the best results.

Honeycomb structures are a lattice of hollow, thin-walled cells with relatively high compression and shear properties out-of-plane while boasting a low density.

What constitutes a wear pad? Some companies sell “wear pads”, which are just cut up sections of FRP pipe that don't prevent pipe corrosion.

Epoxy granite is a composite material made of epoxy and granite. It has 10x better vibration dampening than cast iron and up to 3x better than natural granite.

3D composites are composites manufactured with fiber preforms arranged in complex, 3D shapes. The preform can be woven, braided, or...

Some industries require high temperature resistant composites. A metal, glass or ceramic matrix allows composites to withstand 900 degrees celsius or higher.

FRP composites are an optimal pipe support material because plastics are not susceptible to corrosion like traditional metallic pipe supports.

Ceramic matrix composite materials CMCs are formed from ceramic fibers embedded in a ceramic matrix, known as ceramic fiber reinforced ceramic material.

Wear Pads have a lot of aliases: pipe saddle, cradle, FRP or GRP saddle, load pad, pipe protection pad, pipe isolation pad, wear pad, plate or shoe.

Chemical vapor infiltration is a fiber-reinforced composite manufacturing process in which the matrix is introduced through the use of high-temp reactive gases.

When a longtime customer from a global engineering firm came to APP with a problem, we jumped at the chance to design and 3D-print a prototype solution.

Hybrid materials are a type of composite in which two components interact at the nanostructure or molecular level.

While metal matrix composites (MMCs) can provide higher strength material, their manufacture can be more costly, complicated and labor intensive.

Micromechanics is the analysis of composites or heterogeneous materials at the level of the material’s individual components. Heterogeneous materials (like...

Printing composites in 3D is accomplished by using successive layers of material such as fiberglass to form a finished product from a 3D computer model.

APP's ProTek Package fights pipe movement, abrasion and corrosion by using of advanced composite materials at critical points in the piping system.

Sandwich structured composites are created by layering a thick, lightweight core between two thin, stiff sheets.

Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) is a composite material used to make products with great strength and resistance to extreme temperatures and chemical attack.

Tensile testing is a simple and widely used mechanical tests that determines an epoxy's material properties, including tensile strength.

Voids are unoccupied “empty” spaces filled with gas instead of solid material. As defects, they can cause unpredictable behavior – even catastrophic failure – in the composite. This is why it is important to know about quality manufacturing processes and what you can ask about when questioning a manufacturer.