Composites Weekly

On this episode, Dan Neumann joins me to discuss the ACMA's Infrastructure & Sustainability Fly-In that's taking place in Washington DC this week(Feb 15-16). Dan is the Vice President of Government Relations with The ACMA, and he'll be filling us in on some of the activities and meetings from day one.

This week, I welcome Mike Graham on the show. Mike is the founder and president of Real Carbon, a composite engineering company with a long history of high-quality work.

Through 35 years of industry experience, they've helped their clients design custom carbon fiber products for all types of applications. These include the consumer, industrial, marine, medical, military, musical, recreational, and UAV industries.

Mike Graham is a chemist with a passion for all things composites related. He is originally from St. Andrews in Scotland and moved to the US in 1987.

You can learn more about their company by visiting https://realcarbon.com.

On this episode, Ben Gibbons of Circular11 joins me to share how their startup company is turning plastic waste into low-carbon building products that outlast and outperform traditional building materials.

In the UK, 75% of plastic goes to waste, and a significant reason for this is the cross-polymer contamination that is an inseparable part of the recycling system.

The mixture of plastics, and the range of chemicals in them, means that manufacturers can't achieve consistent product characteristics, and therefore don't buy the waste streams.

The team at Circular 11 has developed a process control system that dynamically adjusts our own sets of composite formulations to achieve a consistent, high quality output from low-grade variable inputs.

They currently manufacture and sell products to validate the technology, and will then license the process control system to other manufacturers, enabling the wider polymer processing sector to use low-grade plastic as a functional feedstock.

You can learn more about their company by visiting https://circular11.com.

This week Jeff Bassler, founder of Prodigm joins me on the podcast. Prodigm is a premier maker of production-focused filament winding controls and software solutions.

On this episode, Jeff will share some background of their company and a recent case study of helping Duoline Technologies improve their process. Duoline produces RICEWRAP®, a protective wrap of fiberglass epoxy externally applied and bonded to steel pipe for external corrosion protection on downhole tubing.

The team at Duoline had challenges with the current filament winding equipment used to produce this product line. Using Prodigm's open platform CNC controls and software installed on their filament winding fiberglass tubular product line Improved the quality of their parts.

Jeff started Prodigm back in 2008. Having over 13 years of experience in controls and software engineering already, Jeff was completely intrigued by the possibilities offered by filament winding different laminate structures and started developing the first algorithms.

Now, 13 years later, having customers across the continental US, Prodigm's primary focus has not changed. Getting a machine running is one thing; tailoring it to run for their customer's specific wants is the most rewarding part.

They've contributed to the manufacture of light poles, composite rifle barrels, ductwork, rocket fuselages, rocket fuel tanks, oil well-lining systems, and lightweight robotic arms—to name a few! You can learn more about their company by visiting www.prodigm.net.

This week Andrew Pokelwaldt joins me on the show as we discuss some of the expanded applications for ceramic matrix composites (CMCs). CMCs are widely used in the aerospace and energy sectors but their ability to be used in extreme conditions (high heat) makes them attractive for other industries as well.

On this episode, I welcome Lucas Grimes and Arthur Kaplan on the show. Their company Imperium was born out of the desire to optimize the way energy is purchased. Using the power of AI and automation, they help manufacturing companies cut out the hidden fees and tell you the best time to buy.

The energy that fuels the composites industry and mfg operations throughout the US is a significant cost. Their new predictive artificial intelligence (AI) platform helps manufacturers lock in the lowest energy rates at just the right time.

On this episode, we'll be discussing how their technology is helping companies in our industry.

You can learn more by visiting https://thisisimperium.com.