Composites Weekly

On this episode, Kyle Jordan and Rob Germann join me to discuss the ACMA's recent work with the US Army Corps of Engineers on a personalized training program located at Creative Composites Group's facility in Dayton, OH.

The training is based on the CCT VIP program, and they'll discuss how the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is leveraging composite materials and the CCT program in future projects.

You can learn more about the ACMA's CCT training program by visiting https://acmanet.org/education/certified-composites-technician-program.

On this episode, Cindy Squires and Rebekah Stacha join me to talk about CAMX 2024, taking place in just 3 weeks out in San Diego, CA (Sep. 9-12). It's the largest, most comprehensive composites and advanced materials event in North America.

You can still register by visiting https://www.thecamx.org.

This week, Garrett Bernard joins the show. Garret is the director of business development at Specialty Materials, the world's leading supplier of the highest quality Boron fiber products.

Garrett has spent his career in marketing and business development roles, growing specialty chemical and advanced manufacturing companies. He has a background in materials science and is an instrument-rated pilot.

You can learn more about them by visiting https://www.specmaterials.com.

On this episode, Dr. Yasmin Abdin joins me to discuss her research work innovating a method to transform asphaltene, a byproduct of bitumen processing, into carbon fibers.

Bitumen which is typically restricted for use as fuel or asphalt, could now be transformed into more useful and valuable carbon nanofibres. Dr. Abdin and her colleagues have now turned their research into a startup, Fibernx Technologies, to commercialize their innovation by the end of 2024. You can learn more by visiting www.fibernxtech.com.

On this episode, Josh Shires, CEO of Fyous joins me to discuss their latest technology for tooling. It's called Polymorphic Moulding, an automated rapid shapeshifting molding technology that allows users to create accurate molds for tooling and will reduce time to market for a huge array of products.

Their technology uses 28,000 digitally controlled pins to create a shape from a 3D CAD shape in less than 20 minutes, achieving zero waste and enabling parts production 14 times faster than 3D printing.

It can be applied to a limitless number of products and sectors - including composites. Polymorphic Moulding is a zero-waste technology where raw materials are conserved and the molds can be used over and over.

Josh will be sharing the background of this technology on the show. You can learn more by visiting their website at https://fyous.com.

On this episode, we welcome Dustin Davis to the podcast. He is the director of business development at Norplex-Micarta, one of North America's leading producers of thermoset composite pre-pregs, sheets, and shapes. They have a long history of more than 100 years, of serving their customers.

Dustin has more than two decades of composite materials industry experience, with roots in manufacturing and engineering.

You can learn more about their company by visiting www.norplex-micarta.com.

On this episode, David Leach joins me to discuss the transition from thermoset to thermoplastic composites. David has been the director of business development at ATC Manufacturing, and a thermoplastic composites materials technology leader for over three decades.

ATC pioneers the adoption of continuous fiber thermoplastic composites in aero-structures. They supply more than a million parts per year, operating in a state-of-the-art facility in the eastern Washington, Northern Idaho region.

David will be presenting at ECCM21 next week on the topic of transitioning from thermoset composites to TPCs. ECCM21 (European Conference on Composite Materials) is Europe's leading conference on composite materials and will provide a forum for access to the latest knowledge from both industry and academia in all areas of composite materials.

You can learn more about ECCM21 by visiting https://eccm21.org.

On this episode, we feature a leadership segment with Vanessa Bohns, author of the bestselling book You Have More Influence Than You Think. Her book was named Best Book for Ethical Leaders by Notre Dame's Deloitte Center for Ethical Leadership, and a Top Business Title of the Month by the Financial Times. In the book, Vanessa draws from her original research to illustrate why we fail to recognize the influence we have, and how that lack of awareness can lead us to miss opportunities or accidentally misuse our power.

You can learn more about her by visiting https://www.vanessabohns.com.

On this episode, Pravin Luthada, CEO of Addcomposites joins me to discuss the new age of AFP (automated fiber placement) technology. Addcomposites aims to become the go-to provider of advanced manufacturing solutions that enable widespread adoption of composites.

Traditional AFP systems are cost prohibitive and difficult to verify at the production floor, but their new technology (AFP-XS) is a plug-and-play system that converts any robot into an AFP system.

You can learn more by visiting https://www.addcomposites.com/about-us.

On this episode, ACMA consultant Andrew Pokelwaldt joins me to discuss technologies that are driving Industry 4.0.

Industry 4.0 is often referred to as the fourth industrial revolution and it represents a seismic shift in the way manufacturing and production processes are managed.

With the advent of smart factories, the integration of cyber-physical systems, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), and artificial intelligence, we are witnessing unprecedented levels of automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies.

We'll also be featuring a previous interview with Brian Fitzgerald of Augury discussing how A.I. is revolutionizing the manufacturing industry with its ability to predict machine and equipment failure, enhancing efficiency and reducing downtime costs.