Materials

Alcoa fastener a lightning-strike fighter The Alcoa fastener conforms to machine-induced micro texture inherent in fastener holes drilled in composite material, reducing the likelihood of electrical arcing in a lightning strike. A paper describing Alcoa’s solution, and the testing that led to it, will be presented at the SAE 2009 AeroTech Congress & Exhibition Nov. 10-12 in Seattle. Read full story

Nanostitching, 'fuzzy fibers' boost composites’ through-plane properties Polymer composites made with fibers covered in "forests" of carbon nanotubes are tougher than traditional unmodified fiber-reinforced polymer composites. Read full story

Extending PCD to tuned cutting-tool geometries Traditional application of polycrystalline diamond (PCD) to cutting tools poses a number of problems. MegaDiamond's solution is to produce carbide tool blanks for routers and drills with complex geometries formed or pocketed into them. Diamond powder is filled into the pockets and sintered into PCD. Read full story

Linking design and manufacture With growing composites use, engineers are making more extensive use of simulation to better understand manufacturing operations and how design decisions impact production. Read full story