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The efficiency and speed of a jet engine, the careful precision of surgical instruments, the unmanned collection and monitoring of data from deep ocean or deep space – these are human-designed and built innovations that put the strongest of materials and the brightest of minds to the test.
Our May Solutions Newsletter celebrates the material scientists, technologists, and manufacturers that have dedicated their intellect to discovering the potential for improving humanity through the conversion and sustainable use of materials. Not all materials are created equal, and for many manufacturers, the most demanding and high-value opportunities require high-performance materials.
When it comes to materials, anything is possible when you have the right capabilities, teams, and strategy. Check out the useful links embedded in this month’s Solutions Newsletter as well as our blog feature, “From Difficult to Differentiated: Creating Customer Solutions for Hard to Manufacture Materials” for practical solutions to the use of tougher to manufacture materials.
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Aerospace materials — past, present, and future
Constant pressure for greater fuel efficiency is forcing aerospace manufacturers to find ways to incorporate new and existing materials that had once been considered impractical to machine.
Forty years ago, aluminum dominated the aerospace industry. As the new kid on the block, it was considered to be lightweight, inexpensive, and state-of-the-art. In fact, as much as 70% of an aircraft was once made of aluminum. Other new materials such as composites and alloys were also used, including titanium, graphite, and fiberglass, but only in very small quantities – 3% here and 7% there. Readily available, aluminum was used everywhere from the fuselage to main engine components.
Times have changed. A typical jet built today is as little as 20% pure aluminum. Most of the non-critical structural material – paneling and aesthetic interiors – now consist of even lighter-weight carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRPs) and honeycomb materials. Meanwhile, for engine parts and critical components, there is a simultaneous push for lower weight and higher temperature resistance for better fuel efficiency, bringing new or previously impractical-to-machine metals into the aerospace material mix. READ MORE...
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Instituting Industry Change
The Lightweight Innovations for Tomorrow (LIFT) consortium recently opened a new $148 million, 100,000-square-foot innovation acceleration center in Detroit to serve as its headquarters going forward. In a conversation with Industry Today, the organization’s ExecutiveDirector,LawrenceE.Brown, talksabout theregional and national impact he expects LIFT to have, and expands upon the importance of innovation centers like their own to the future of U.S. manufacturing.
READ MORE...
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