But among contract manufacturers, additive opens different doors: These businesses are increasingly adopting AM technology not just to enhance existing operations, but to diversify the customer base and reach into new spaces.

Such diversification makes good business sense. Any manufacturer that primarily serves just one market is subject to the ups and downs of that market. Serving multiple markets tempers these waves.

But why is additive manufacturing the means to do so? How does additive manufacturing help businesses reach beyond their current markets into new ones?

The key is the flexibility that additive manufacturing inherently provides.

A process like casting or injection molding requires hard-tooled certainty before production can begin. Not so for a 3D printer. The same additive machine that is making downhole drill components today can easily switch to making a spacecraft thrust chamber or firearm components tomorrow.

Knust Godwin’s 15 3D printers are used to manufacture parts for oil and gas, the company’s historic primary market, as well as emerging industries like commercial space. Source: Additive Manufacturing Media (All Images)

This exact scenario is playing out at Knust Godwin, an established machine shop business built on the foundation of serving oil and gas customers. But as the company has grown its additive manufacturing expertise, it has also expanded into commercial space and firearms with this capacity.

Both of these application spaces are very different industries from oil and gas, with different standards and even part sizes and common geometries. But both are growing fast, fast enough that existing supply chains can’t keep up, and with enough new products being developed that additive doesn’t need to defeat an incumbent process to be adopted.

With its laser powder bed fusion printers and in-house machining capacity for finishing 3D printed parts, Knust Godwin has been able to offer value for these newer markets that the legacy machining business might not have reached otherwise, even while continuing to 3D print oilfield parts. Knust Godwin has stretched to accommodate these new industries (adding an ITAR-controlled postprocessing area for firearms parts for example), but as a result, it is less subject to the fluctuations of oil and gas, or any market that it serves.

Combustion chambers, rocket nozzles and other combustion system components are a major market for Howco Additive’s services — and a point of differentiation from its parent company’s focus on products for oil and gas. 

Similarly, Howco Additive was launched as a deliberate effort to diversify the business of its parent company, Howco Group, a distributor of barstock, piping and other value-added metal products primarily for oil and gas. While the additive group also produces parts for this market, it has found an equally important niche in 3D printing parts for hypersonics and commercial space — bringing Howco overall into spaces it might never have served otherwise.

Other manufacturers have used AM to diversify by launching their own product lines, or even spinning up service businesses that can make parts for many industries.

Metal 3D printing is just one of many processes operated by Bifrost Manufacturing, but one that has opened opportunities in industrial automation (like this drive sprocket for a roller lead) among other markets.

But additive also makes it possible to establish a diverse customer base from the get-go, as illustrated by Bifrost Manufacturing. This custom engineering firm in North Dakota offers services in everything from metal fabrication to laser cutting to machining, but its most flexible and scalable capability is additive manufacturing. AM has enabled the company, founded in 2023, to establish itself as a reliable supplier for everything from drone bodies to industrial machinery components to power tool prototypes and more — meaning it does not have to rely on any one type of work as its primary breadwinner.

Companies thinking about adopting additive should consider diversification in the calculations. How might AM enable you to reach beyond the confines of the industries you typically serve, and shore up your business over the long haul?  

Source | Aerodine Composites

Aerodine Composites (Indianapolis, Ind., U.S.) has expanded its composite propeller capabilities for unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), which are engineered for precision, performance and defense-grade compliance.

Aerodine’s propellers are designed to meet the evolving demands of modern unmanned aviation, enhancing endurance, hover stability, stealth and payload agility. Each propeller is aerodynamically optimized for lift, drag, noise reduction and thrust efficiency across diverse mission profiles, the company reports — including hover, cruise and mixed-use operations. Manufactured from high-strength composite materials with specialized surface treatments, Aerodine propellers offer optimized resistance to abrasion, UV exposure and corrosion for long-term reliability. Advanced airfoil designs and tip geometries reduce acoustic signatures, enhancing stealth performance for defense and surveillance missions.

All propellers are fully ITAR-compliant and manufactured in the U.S. using traceable, domestically sourced materials, critical for Department of Defense programs and Blue UAS certification. Aerodine supports customers from prototype to production, with scalable manufacturing capacity ranging from one-off development units to more than 2,000 units per month. Each propeller is delivered flight-ready with precision balancing, erosion-resistant coatings, static discharge management and optional low-observable or custom finishes. Customers also benefit from Aerodine’s full-service engineering support, from reverse engineering and build-to-print production to mission-specific design optimization.

With decades of composites expertise across aerospace, defense, motorsports, medical and industrial markets, Aerodine is positioned as a trusted partner for unmanned systems. The company holds AS9100D, ISO 9001:2015 and FAA Part 145 certifications, ensuring precision, traceability and operational reliability. Aerodine says its adaptable engineering model integrates seamlessly with customer workflows, while its scalable operations and agile R&D partnerships make it a mission-critical supplier where failure is not an option.

“Our UAS/UAV propellers embody everything Aerodine is known for — precision-engineered performance, defense-grade compliance and scalable U.S. manufacturing,” says Craig McCarthy, CEO of Aerodine Composites. “In unmanned systems, mission success hinges on reliability, stealth and adaptability. This offering delivers all three, backed by decades of composites excellence and trusted partnerships.”

Source | Airbus

Airbus (Toulouse, France) has completed manufacturing the first horizontal stabilizer (HTP) for the A350F freighter at its plants in Spain. The Cádiz facility manufactured the HTP parts, which were sent to the Getafe facility for assembly and outfitting.

The A350F is derived from the A350, which is a highly composites-intensive aircraft, largely made of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) materials. This includes the A350F’s wings (Airbus completed its first wingset) and the HTP. In a June 2024 Aernnova Composites plant tour, CW’s Ginger Gardiner reports how “Aernnova Illescas … uses automated tape laying (ATL) and fiber placement (AFP) to produce the CFRP leading edge (LE) and other components for the Airbus A350 horizontal tail plane.”

The completed A350F HTP will be shipped to the Airbus Final Assembly Line (FAL) in Toulouse in the coming weeks to be joined with the fuselage of the first test aircraft. Airbus is manufacturing two A350F aircraft for flight testing in 2026 and 2027.

The A350F HTP can be manufactured in the same production line as the passenger version, delivering operational and industrial advantages and improvements.

“The A350F will offer a clean sheet, specifically designed solution for air freight transport, bringing more efficiency and versatility to the cargo market,” says Ricardo Rojas, president of Airbus’ Commercial Aircraft business in Spain. “With more than 1,400 orders for the A350, including 66 A350Fs, Spain plays a key role in this program that presents the future in air cargo transportation.”

All in all, the HTP, rear fuselage (section 19) and lower wing covers for both the A350 and A350F are manufactured in Spain. In addition, the A350F's main deck cargo door, said to be the largest in the industry, will also be manufactured in Spain. Made from composites, it has a 4.3-meter opening, making loading and unloading easier, faster and safer.

Wichita State University. Source | WSU NIAR

Computational intelligence company Altair (Troy, Mich., U.S.) and aerospace research institution National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) at Wichita State University (WSU, Kan., U.S.) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to advance innovation across the aerospace and defense industries.

According to Pietro Cervellera, senior vice president of aerospace and defense at Altair, the partnership will enable new opportunities for bringing “cutting-edge technology to the industry. By combining our expertise, we’re helping companies and startups innovate faster, reduce costs and bring products to market more sustainably.” The partnership focuses on three main areas:

Bringing digital twin technology to industry. Combining NIAR’s certification by analysis (CBA) methodologies with Altair’s simulation and data analytics tools, companies can design, test and optimize aircraft, drones and advanced air mobility vehicles faster and more efficiently, reducing the need for costly physical testing.

Supporting startups. Aerospace and defense startups working with NIAR and WSU will gain privileged access to Altair’s platforms and training to accelerate their product development, testing, certification and production processes.

Exploring new applications. The collaboration will explore how digital twins and Altair technology can support broader applications, including maintenance, additive manufacturing, robotics and defense systems.

“This agreement with Altair provides our students, researchers and clients with access to tools and expertise that will help accelerate development to support the next generation of aerospace technology and innovation,” says John Tomblin, WSU executive vice president for research and industry and defense programs and NIAR executive director.

Associate senior engineer Alfie Swallow works on AMSL Aero's hydrogen fuel cell. Source | Peter Morris/AMSL Aero

AMSL Aero (Sydney, Australia) has secured $3 million in grant funding from the Australian federal government to develop and demonstrate liquid hydrogen-powered aircraft for regional and remote Australia. The platform being used is the company’s hydrogen-electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft Vertiia, which comprises an electric motor with a battery, a hydrogen fuel cell and a composite tank.

The 2-year project, called Liquid Hydrogen Powered Aircraft for Regional and Remote Australia, is worth $7.56 million in total. It was awarded by the Australian Government Department of Industry Cooperative Research Centres Projects (CRC-P) Program.

AMSL Aero will collaborate with liquid hydrogen (LH₂) company Fabrum, Monash University and Deakin University to address the technical, regulatory and safety challenges of hydrogen-powered eVTOL aircraft in real-world environments. The project will focus on designing safe LH₂ refueling systems, testing advanced fuel measurement and power distribution during various stages of flight of Vertiia, securing evidence for the development of national regulatory pathways, and demonstrating refueling procedures integrated with aircraft systems.

Vertiia is a new generation of aircraft that take off and land like a helicopter but fly fast and smoothly like a fixed-wing airplane. 

Aiming to bring composites capabilities in-house, Archer has acquired a Southern California manufacturing facility from Mission Critical Composites. Source | Archer

Archer (Santa Clara, Calif., U.S.) announces two acquisitions aimed at accelerating the development of its next-generation defense aircraft:

•  a patent portfolio and critical employees from Overair, a spin-off of Karem Aircraft, and
• key composites manufacturing assets and an approximately 60,000-square-foot manufacturing facility from Mission Critical Composites, a specialized defense composite manufacturer in Huntington Beach, Calif.

These acquisitions build on Archer’s December 2024 announcement of a strategic partnership with Anduril to co-develop hybrid, autonomous, vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) military aircraft, followed by $1.3 billion in capital raised to pursue both defense and commercial opportunities. Since its December announcement, Archer says it continues to see growing demand from major allied defense programs worldwide.

The acquired Mission Critical Composites facility enables Archer to bring core composite fabrication capabilities in-house, supporting its defense program needs for rapid prototyping and iteration. Karem Aircraft developed and manufactured advanced fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft focused on the use of high-efficiency tiltrotors (including Overair’s Butterfly prototype). 

Archer says that both acquisitions come on the heels of a recent announcement of a budget request allocation by the Pentagon of $13.4 billion for autonomous military systems. 

Adam Goldstein, founder and CEO of Archer, says, “The Administration has made it clear: Leading in advanced aviation in both commercial and defense is a national priority. These acquisitions are part of our commitment — we’re working to accelerate our product development to meet our country’s needs.”

Source | Coexpair

Founded in 2006, Coexpair (Namur, Belgium) introduces itself as a reference in Europe for net-shape composites manufacturing solutions. Its engineering services support development of innovative part architectures, advanced RTM and SQRTM processes and optimal production equipment for composite aerostructures, with automation at their core. Coexpair’s EN9100 advanced composites shop is dedicated to material coupons, test elements, proof of concept or pre-serial parts.

Today, Coexpair says it works for some of the largest aerospace OEM and Tier 1s globally, including Airbus and Safran. Coexpair is also the partner of Radius Engineering USA (Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.), aligning the development of out-of-autoclave solutions for aerostructures.

Coexpair designs and builds RTM workstations including clamping and heating systems, injection systems and tools. The company has developed a local and solid supply chain for the manufacturing of its equipment. On a daily basis, Coexpair’s team follows the subcontracting activities of major part and assembles and tests them in its assembly hall in Belgium. The partnership with Radius Engineering ensures customers are provided the same high quality and reliability worldwide.

Coexpair’s presses, injections system and mold solutions are popular in the European aerospace market, demonstrated in Spirit AeroSystem’s A320 spoilers project where the Coexpair team developed, industrialized and installed mold tools and workstations for their production in Prestwick, U.K.

Coexpair says it further drives the future of composites manufacturing through strategic research, development and innovation (R&D&I). Its mission is to continuously develop and refine high-impact technologies, processes and solutions that meet the evolving needs of the industry. Each year, Coexplair leads and collaborates on applied R&D&I projects of strategic importance with public and private partners, both nationally and internationally. These initiatives deliver cutting-edge innovations that enhance the company’s capabilities and contribute to industry progress. 

Sam Staincliffe, co-founder and CEO of Uplift360 (left) and Chloe Barker, managing director for Babcock’s UK Aviation business (right). Source | Uplift360, Babcock

FTSE 100 defense company Babcock International Group (Babcock, London, U.K.) has signed a contract with Uplift360 (Luxembourg and Bristol, U.K.), a company that specializes in the recycling of advanced materials. The partnership will explore how composite materials from a Typhoon aircraft can be broken down and repurposed, and how this process could be applied more widely across additional defense platforms. 

“By combining our operational experience with Uplift360’s specialist expertise, we’re working together to support our customers’ sustainability ambitions,” says Chloe Barker, managing director for Babcock’s UK Aviation business. “This partnership is focused on delivering practical solutions that contribute to more efficient use of resources and strengthen the long-term resilience of U.K. defense supply chains. [Moreover] this collaboration is a great example of how we can work side by side with small and medium enterprises to deliver meaningful change.”

Uplift360 is a cleantech company developing circular chemical recycling technologies for high-performance materials such as carbon and aramid fibers. The company uses its room-temperature chemistry to recover mission-grade composites from end-of-life waste — helping defense and manufacturing partners reduce waste, secure supply chains and meet sustainability goals. Uplift360 was established in the U.K. in 2021 with DASA funding and has expanded operations to Luxembourg.

Big Daishowa Inc. has expanded its fixed 90-degree angle head lineup with the introduction of the TAG90 center-through-coolant angle head and AG35 high-pressure coolant adapters. This new offering provides productivity, flexibility and accuracy benefits while improving chip evacuation for operators.

These center-through-coolant angle heads deliver coolant directly from the machine spindle to the cutting edge, bypassing the stop block. This design improves cooling efficiency and chip removal. The angle heads support coolant pressures up to 1,000 psi.

Customers can select between two options: the Build-Up-type angle head, which enables operators to change the adapter for use in a variety of machining applications, or the HMC-type angle head, a high-rigidity milling chuck. The Build-Up-type angle head utilizes AG35 high-pressure coolant adapters, including the New Baby Chuck and Side Lock adapter types.

Big Daishowa’s angle head lineup enables shops to combine vertical and horizontal operations on a single machine and access hard-to-reach features on a workpiece that would otherwise require multiple setups. This capability reduces cycle times, improves overall accuracy, and minimizes the potential for error caused by multiple setups.

According to Alan Miller, senior manager of engineering at Big Daishowa, the TAG90 angle heads are well-suited to industries like aerospace, defense and automotive, where manufacturers aim to machine larger, more complex workpieces in fewer setups while addressing chip evacuation challenges, especially with hard-to-machine materials.

On-orbit render of a Millennium-built small satellite flying Spectrolab solar cells. Source: Boeing

Boeing has unveiled a 3D‑printed solar array substrate approach that compresses composite build times by up to six months on a typical solar array wing program from print to final assembly. This represents a production improvement of up to 50% when compared to current cycle times.

"Power sets the pace of a mission. We reached across our enterprise to introduce efficiencies and novel technologies to set a more rapid pace," says Michelle Parker, vice president of Boeing Space Mission Systems. "By integrating Boeing's additive manufacturing expertise with Spectrolab's high‑efficiency solar tech and Millennium's high‑rate production line, our Space Mission Systems team is turning production speed into a capability, helping customers field resilient constellations faster."

By printing features such as harness paths and attachment points directly into each panel, the design replaces dozens of separate parts, long‑lead tooling, and delicate bonding steps with one strong, precise piece that is faster to build and easier to integrate.

(Top left, clockwise) A ceramic honeycomb panel with OCMC prepreg skins, Space Rider’s CMC body flap, a UHTCMC fastener and graph showing reduced cost of SIF infiltration-free CMC. Sources | Isovolta, CIRA, K3RX and SRI

Demand continues to increase for ceramic matrix composites (CMC), which enable reduced weight and high performance at higher temperatures versus metals. This increases efficiency in engines, industrial processes and clean energy/recapture technologies, reducing fuel/power consumption and emissions. Robust CMC thermal protection systems (TPS) are enabling reusable launch vehicles, while CMC rocket nozzles, such as those being developed by Firefly Aerospace, can cut mass by 50%, increasing payload. Electric mobility also needs lightweight TPS in battery enclosures, and hypersonic platforms require materials for leading edges, radar-transparent radomes and other structures that can withstand thousands of degrees Celsius from air friction at Mach 5 and beyond.

In response, the past few years have seen a proliferation of new materials, processes, suppliers and parts production capacity. CW has reported regularly on these global developments, including elimination of process steps like coatings and infiltration, automation for high part volumes and new technologies for ultra-high temperature CMC (UHTCMC).

Increased supply of oxide fibers

New CMC fiber suppliers discussed in my 2023 feature on CMC have now started production. Launched in October 2024, Rath AG (Vienna, Austria) is producing Altra Flex continuous oxide ceramic fiber for extended service up to 1200°C. Initial capacity at its Mönchengladbach, Germany, site is 10 tons/year in three grades: M75 mullite, MK85 mullite-corundum and K99 corundum fiber.

Vulcan Shield Global offers a wide rang of alumina fiber products. Source | VSG

Another new supplier is Vulcan Shield Global (VSG, Singapore), offering alumina fibers produced by Shanghai Rongrong New Material Technology (Shanghai, China), which shares the same owner. Rongrong 's new alumina fiber plant began production of continuous and staple fiber in 2023 with the potential to scale capacity to 400 and 600 metric tons, respectively. VSG as an independent entity has some manufacturing in Malaysia and is actively exploring establishing production in Europe.

Made using ISO-certified manufacturing and patented sol-gel technology and processes, the continuous fibers VSG is offering feature varying alumina content for long-term, high-temperature service including: B-70, F-72 (1200°C), C-85 (1300°C) and M-99 (1100°C). VSG also offers a wide array of alumina products from long and short fibers to papers, felts and needled nonwovens to textiles, braids and tapes.

“We want to help alleviate the historical lack of accessibility and affordability of these fibers globally,” says Sheng Kai Fong, marketing manager for VSG. “We will use our broad manufacturing capability, global applications team and advanced research and engineering to help customers develop tailored solutions for a wide range of applications, including products previously ignored by other suppliers.”

Silica fiber prepreg for faster, affordable CMC

Source | Isovolta

Using decades of experience as one of the world’s largest producers of laminates and prepregs for aircraft interiors, Isovolta (Wiener Neudorf, Austria) has developed CERAPREG, combining silica fibers with a silica-alumina matrix to withstand up to 900°C but without the high cost of traditional CMC. It is selling prepreg, says Peter Wagner, vice president technology for Isovolta, “because it enables companies to make parts more quickly.” CERAPREG is designed to be nontoxic and easy to handle with no special equipment required except an oven, says Wagner. Parts are also being made with heated presses. “We train our customers to work with the material and make simple parts, but they don’t have to share details about what they will produce or how.”

CERAPREG has been demonstrated in a wide range of parts including exhaust mixers, tubes, cored panels (top) and the battery enclosure (top and bottom halves) a hybrid with CFRP shown here (bottom). Source | Isovolta

As explained in “A different Ox-Ox prepreg,” the resulting oxide CMC (OCMC) material provides good structural performance, but the silica fiber’s >95% purity also results in dielectric properties similar to quartz, making CERAPREG attractive for radar-transparent covers and radomes. Wagner adds that although silica fiber can withstand a one-time exposure up to 1600°C, it will start to degrade above 950°C. Isovolta continues to test the materials in new applications, including hybrids with epoxy, cyanate ester and thermoplastic composites, EV battery trays, exhaust mixers, CMC tubes and sandwich structures made with Eco ceramic honeycomb from Euro-Composites (Echternach, Luxembourg). All have shown CERAPREG’s capability for good mechanical performance and complex shapes, says Wagner, while flame tests at 1200°C show no damage after 5 minutes.

Geopolymer prepregs, towpreg in the U.S.

Established in 2023, Pyromeral Technology (Sunnyvale, Calif., U.S.) draws from decades of materials development and use by Pyromeral (Barbery, France) to further advance high-temp composites in North America. Its PyroKarb, PyroSic and PyroXide prepregs process like carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) yet offer high performance to 1100°C and beyond. Proprietary geopolymer matrices enable easy layup for complex, near-net shapes with low-temperature autoclave or press cure using low-cost tooling and a single, freestanding post-cure. No subsequent densification or infiltration is required, enabling simpler manufacturing and reduced lead times and part cost versus conventional CMC.

PyroKarb uses high-modulus carbon fiber for service up to 540°C and PyroSic uses silicon carbide (SiC) fiber for service up to 815°C, offering 60% and 75% weight savings respectively versus titanium. PyroXide uses alumina fiber for service up to 1100°C with excursions to 1650°C and radio frequency transparency for nose cones and radar apertures. In exhaust nozzles, it saves up to 70% weight versus Inconel. 

Pyromeral Technology also produces PyroXide as a 0.25-inch-wide towpreg in thousand-meter spools with no splices, enabling filament winding for conical and tubular components. Towpreg versions of PyroKarb and PyroSic are being developed to follow shortly. Pyromeral materials are used in engine heat shielding, hypersonic fins and external skins and as battery protection in advanced air mobility.

Boosting sovereign CMC capability in the U.K.

High Temperature Material Systems (HTMS) uses commodity fibers such as (top to bottom) alumina, carbon and glass fibers with a low-temp cure matrix to lower CMC cost. Source | HTMS

High Temperature Material Systems (HTMS, Bristol) was founded in 2021 to address the U.K.’s lack of sovereign (i.e., domestic and self-sufficient) CMC capabilities and supply chain. “We make a CMC prepreg that processes like polymer prepreg, but can serve long-term up to 1000°C,” says co-founder Dr. Richard Grainger. “Our technology is based on a novel matrix chemistry that cures below 500-600°C versus 1000°C plus for traditional Ox-Ox. Our goal is to enable room temperature to 200°C cure so the prepreg can be used by the existing composite supply chain.”

“There are plenty of groups looking at materials for higher temperatures,” he continues, “but they’re not really buying their way into commercial products, even in aerospace, because the cost is prohibitive. Our approach allows use of more commodity fibers.” Current HTMS products include Ignishield (basalt fiber), ThermaLite (alumina fiber) and Carbonite X (carbon fiber). “These significantly reduce cost and we also avoid sintering, which has a huge effect, not only cutting energy use, emissions and process time but the equipment cost as well. Cure is currently 1-2 hours at 180-200°C with a freestanding post-cure in a furnace, but we hope to eliminate this last step in version 2.0 of our chemistry.”

HTMS exhibiting battery box made from CMC prepreg. Source | HTMS

HTMS is currently supplying materials to parts fabricators for battery boxes that withstand various heat and flame tests for 30-60 minutes. “We enable full protection, with no organic components to contribute to fire, smoke or the heat load,” explains Grainger. The company is working with five defense and automotive Tier 1 suppliers/OEMs and three partners in motorsports/high-performance cars. Applications include TPS and heat shields, exhaust components and brake ducts. “We’ve also got a number of projects with UK Innovate and the Royce Institute,” he adds. “We’ve just closed our seed round, which will let us move to larger premises, and then we’ll ramp prepreg production and further expand development programs.”

Automating OCMC for higher part volumes

FOX Composites (Cologne, Germany) is a spin-off project from the German Aerospace Center (DLR) Institute of Materials Research in Cologne, evolving the production of OCMC materials and components to enable broader and higher-volume applications. The team, led by DLR scientists Dr. Michael Welter and Dr. Vito Leisner, uses two processes developed at DLR since 2017 and proven in small series parts and DLR flight missions.

“Vacuum-assisted slurry infusion [VASI] is derived from the vacuum-assisted resin infusion [VARI] process used in CFRP,” explains Welter. “We typically use a one-sided mold in a vacuum bag and then infuse the slurry into a fiber preform using vacuum. For our infusion fabricated oxide CMC [IFOX] process, we use positive and negative mold halves that define the part shape and wall thickness. Similar to RTM, a fiber preform is placed into the mold system before applying vacuum and pressure for slurry infusion and drying. A dried green body can be ejected from the mold and sintered to form OCMC.”

FOX Composites has developed three slurry systems for different in-service temperatures and use with silica, alumina and mullite fibers. Most of its parts to date have used woven fabrics, but its processes allow use of almost any kind of fiber preform such as felts, short fibers or mixtures, says Leisner, “and we see even greater potential for 3D preforms tailored to the customer’s design.”

(Top left, clockwise) Radar-transparent radar covers scheduled for 2026 hypersonic flight, clip-on TPS for rocket landing gear, sub-scale demonstrator rocket featuring OCMC nose cone, antenna cover and clip-on landing gear TPS, design study of an OCMC stator guide vane and radar-transparent nose cone made using IFOX. Source | FOX Composites

“We believe our IFOX technology will enable us to go way beyond the volumes that current CMC production technologies can deliver due to high automatability, short processing times and comparatively easy parallelization of processes,” says Welter. “We are currently setting up a pilot production line at DLR to increase the technology readiness level [TRL] and to demonstrate production capability of 10-20 parts per day. We are also looking at how we can further optimize the process, with the idea to eventually have parallel processing in multiple setups for continuous production, with the goal to produce several thousand parts/year and perhaps eventually up to 10,000 parts/year.”

Tested parts include a series of 10 radar-transparent antenna covers for a flight mission as well as nose cones for rockets and missiles. “We are able to achieve a very high surface quality with very low tolerances right out of the mold,” notes Leisner. A 1.8-meter-high, 90-centimeter-wide TPS for a rocket’s landing gear was produced for the CALLISTO project’s reusable demonstrator. These and other prototype products and customers are being transferred out of DLR to FOX Composites with planned commercial launch in 2026.

Cutting time, cost for C/C-SiC

Arceon (“ar-see-on,” Delft, Netherlands) produces Carbeon CMC with uncoated carbon fiber in a carbon-silicon carbide matrix (C/C-SiC) that withstands up to 2000°C in a non-oxidizing environment. It uses melt infiltration, says CEO Rahul Shirke, “because it requires a single densification cycle (1 week) and results in 1-3% porosity, compared to three to five densification cycles (2 months) for chemical vapor infiltration [CVI] and polymer infiltration and pyrolysis [PIP] processes, which typically produce 10% porosity. It also requires no exotic raw materials and no coatings on the fiber, reducing cost and increasing scalability.”

Arceon process used to make Carbeon C/C-SiC materials and parts. Source | Arceon

Arceon’s process uses three steps (see CW’s January 2025 article). Carbon fiber and a proprietary phenolic polymer are combined using filament winding, autoclave cure prepreg layup, RTM or hot pressing. This CFRP green body is then pyrolyzed to form a porous C/C preform followed by a single infiltration with molten silicon to form the CMC. “We have tested Carbeon for 2 hours at 1600°C,” says Shirke, “and observed only 1% mass loss, yet it’s two to four times lighter than metal alloys like Inconel.” The resulting C/C-SiC has low porosity, better for TPS because high porosity enables faster ablation as the heat can penetrate the material more quickly.

A convergent section (top cone) and divergent section (lower cone) are joined with paste after pyrolysis and then infiltrated with silicon to form an integrated, solid rocket nozzle. Source | Arceon

“Our strategy is not to patent the process but instead the design features of the Carbeon product,” says Shirke, showing a typical convergent-divergent nozzle. “We press form the two different cones using chopped fiber and simple molds, pyrolyze them and then join the two parts using a paste. We then infiltrate them together to produce a single part where you cannot see the joint. We use the same material in the parts to join them, thus, the joint is also stable at high temperatures.”

Carbeon rocket nozzle extension being tested. Source | Arceon, DLR, The Exploration Company

Arceon successfully tested a Carbeon leading edge for a hypersonic vehicle in 2024 and is working on other structures as part of the Hypersonic Technologies & Capability Development Framework (HTCDF) in the U.K. It aims to soon deploy a rocket motor nozzle which outperforms graphite at the same magnitude of cost, and has been selected to produce or support space structures for multiple European Space Agency (ESA) programs, including EMA, CASTT, THRUST! and SHIELD. Arceon is also targeting battery enclosures, friction and wear components, parts for metals treatment and other industrial processes and also for optics and telescopes. Arceon announced a collaboration with Goodman Technologies to develop melt-infiltrated CMC for the U.S. market, has received investment from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. and is working with TU Delft to make more cost-efficient and easier-to-scale UHTCMC, expecting results in late 2025.

Infiltration-free C/C-SiC

SRI’s infiltration-free process results in a non-traditional C/C-SiC comprising a C/C system where SiC nanoparticles comprise >30% of the volume. Source | SRI

Junhua Austin Wei, senior researcher at SRI (Menlo Park, Calif., U.S.), is also targeting more cost-competitive CMC by eliminating silicon infiltration. Since 2019, he has produced a non-traditional C/C-SiC that comprises a C/C with >30vol% SiC nanoparticles. Instead of using phenolic resin with a typical pyrolysis char yield of 60%, Wei’s team uses a benzoxazine (Bz) — a functionalized dihydrobenzoxazine called PHB-APA — with a char yield of 75%. Because that alone did not produce a sufficiently dense C/C, the team looked to add ceramic nanoparticles. Wei says NASA tried this in 1990 but used a slurry process with a solvent that created issues. His team instead functionalizes the SiC particles for compatibility with the resin, enabling easy dispersion without over increasing viscosity. The resulting 40%wt Bz-SiC nanoparticles in PHB-APA is not the easiest to process, Wei concedes, but it does reduce shrinkage during pyrolysis to prevent large cracks and voids. “If you don’t have those, you no longer need infiltration to fill them.”

As explained in CW’s February 2025 article, Wei’s team cured CFRP samples in a mold at 120°C under vacuum, followed by a 2-hour post-cure at 240°C and pyrolysis at 900°C for 3 hours. The resulting C/C-SiC had ≈10% porosity and sufficient density to obviate infiltration. “This reduces the manufacturing time to 3-5 days,” says Wei.

SRI has calculated that for a production capacity of 1 ton/year, the manufacturing cost of such CMC plates is ~$300/kilogram compared to $500-600/kilogram for PIP parts. Another benefit is shape fidelity throughout processing due to less shrinkage. SRI continues to advance this approach and is working with the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Solar Energy Technology Office (SETO) to develop a corrosion-resistant solar receiver that can operate above 700°C. Although such decarbonization applications don’t require mechanical performance as high as aerospace, notes Wei, they are extremely cost sensitive. “We have no market if our cost is higher than current nickel alloys. We are targeting 80% of the performance of C/C and C/C-SiC materials at 50% of the cost.”

Advancing large C/C-SiC parts

TPS components for the Space Rider made using ISiComp C/C-SiC CMC. Source | ESA, CIRA, Petroceramics

ISiComp is a C/C-SiC patented by Centro Italiano Ricerche Aerospaziali (CIRA, Capua, Italy) and its partner Petroceramics (Stezzano, Italy). Starting development in 2016, within 2 years they produced a 300 × 400-millimeter demonstrator with integrated stiffeners that survived 1200°C for >10 minutes in CIRA’s Scirocco plasma wind tunnel (PWT) without any damage. ESA contracted the team to design, produce and qualify the entire TPS for its Space Rider reusable vehicle comprising the nose, two body flaps, hinge TPS and windward assembly of 16 curved and five flat shingles. CIRA designs the CMC parts and manufactures the CFRP preforms, which are sent to Petroceramics for ceramicization into CMC parts and then sent back to CIRA for qualification.

ISiComp enables cost-effective manufacture of complex-shaped C/C-SiC parts in less time than with traditional CMC processes. Source | Petroceramics

ISiComp is made with a novel liquid silicon infiltration (LSI) process, which reduces manufacturing time and cost versus previous processes. The resulting robust C/C-SiC features load-bearing C/C domains in a SiC matrix. An external SiC coating applied by Petroceramics in a process patented with CIRA further enhances its reusability. As explained in CW’s May 2025 article, ISiComp has passed PWT testing to simulate six reentries, with just 0.3% mass loss, no fiber oxidation and strength similar to virgin samples.

“We grow a SiC layer on the top of the components,” explains Dr. Mario De Stefano Fumo, technology manager for the CMC Space Rider TPS. “This process enables a dentritic structure with the CMC underneath that enhances the joining and the oxidation resistance of the components.” He admits this adds a step but reduces overall manufacturing time and cost versus standard chemical vapor deposition (CVD) coatings. It can also be reapplied between missions, key for vehicle reusability.

 

CIRA has qualified the C/C-SiC body flap (top) and nose TPS for ESA’s reusable Space Rider vehicle. Source | CIRA

The team also uses in situ joining during LSI. Although this kind of joining is well known, says De Stefano Fumo, it was key for the complex body flap. While the various stiffeners were cobonded during CFRP manufacturing, the triangular part (or “shoe”) where the actuation rod attaches, was made as a separate CFRP part and in situ joined during infiltration at Petroceramics.

The 700 × 900 × 300-millimeter body flap CMC weighs only 11 kilograms (doubling with metal fasteners and components added) and has recently passed dynamic structural qualification along with the 1,320 × 941 × 414-millimeter nose. This double-curved and non-axisymmetric part with varying thickness and 16 omega-shaped CMC attachment points cobonded during CFRP fabrication weighs just 40 kilograms (the CMC weighs 10 kilograms) and withstands 1650°C. CIRA is now completing qualification testing for the remaining TPS components and preparing to start production of flight hardware for Space Rider’s first mission in 2027.

UHTCMC: Enabling service beyond 2000°C

K3RX (“care-x,” Faenza), a spin-off from Italy’s National Research Council – Institute of Science Technology and Sustainability for Ceramics (CNR-ISSMC), was founded in 2021 based on years of work in UHT ceramics and in UHTCMC via the C3HARME project including exclusive use of CNR patents awarded to co-founders Diletta Sciti and Luca Zoli, who have more than 200 publications on fabrication, testing, certification and optimized production of UHTCMC prototypes. K3RX UHTCMC enables service at >2000°C with increased durability versus CMC, ceramics and metals.

K3RX uses two processes for its UHTCMC parts (top) which can be made with a range of fibers and UHTC matrices, but its baseline is carbon fiber in a ZrB₂ and SiC matrix. Source | K3RX

As explained in CW’s May 2025 article, K3RX uses two processes. The first uses a preceramic slurry to impregnate a preform which is sintered into UHTCMC and machined to final dimensions. This can be fast, with a single densification cycle lasting a few hours to a day depending on part size; it can be accelerated by using spark plasma sintering. The second process is PIP where reinforcement is impregnated with a preceramic polymer, molded using filament winding or a heated press to create a near-net shape and then pyrolyzed into UHTCMC, followed by multiple infiltration/pyrolysis cycles depending on each part’s specifications.

K3RX is exploring the use of SiC and other fibers but prefers carbon fiber because its cost is one-tenth that of SiC fiber. It can use a wide range of matrix formulations, with a baseline of zirconium diboride (ZrB₂) and SiC. Higher melting point UHTC, like hafnium diboride (HfB₂), can provide even higher temperature and oxidation resistance, says Sciti, but cost 10 times more and increase weight. “This is why we developed our technology to tailor the properties as needed.”

K3RX has demonstrated its UHTCMC in a wide range of parts to TRL 5-6 and produced leading edges, flaps and nozzles for flight missions. Source | K3RX

K3RX UHTCMC has been tested at 2200°C for up to 30 minutes, and up to 2500°C for up to 5 minutes with near-zero ablation. The material is dense, with low porosity, providing thermal shock, wear and oxidation resistance with dimensional stability plus capability to self-heal cracks from thermomechanical stress. Parts up to 1 centimeter thick and 40 centimeters in diameter have reached TRL 5-6, passing repeated arcjet and PWT tests, including leading edges, flaps and nozzles for flight missions as well as nose cones, TPS tiles and spacers, the latter integrated into tested assemblies using screws and nuts of the same UHTCMC. K3RX is working to commercialize its products with customers in space, defense, energy and braking applications and is closing its first round of investment with large European companies in these markets.

K3RX is also evaluating its cost versus C/C and CMC materials. “With sufficient scale, our cost could be reduced by 75%,” says CEO and co-founder, Giorgio Montanari. Graphite used in furnace applications is made using PIP with at least 10 cycles, explains Zoli, yet the cost may be only €40/kilogram thanks to industrial-scale production from some companies.” Meanwhile, the size and TRL of the UHTCMC parts that K3RX is producing have not been matched in published information. “And we continue to develop and advance our technology,” says Montanari.

UHTCMC via converted carbon fiber

Founded in 2012, Advanced Ceramic Fibers LLC (ACF, Idaho Falls, Idaho, U.S.) has also patented processes and materials for producing UHTCMC. Its Direct Conversion Process (DCP), explains Ken Koller, CEO of ACF, “forms 30-500 nanometers of SiC or other metallic carbide [MC] on each individual filament in a carbon fiber tow.” The continuous process takes seconds, producing FiBar, a product with integrated thermal protection enabling carbon fiber to withstand temperatures up to 3940°C in a vacuum that otherwise, he says, would evaporate in seconds, “but we can suppress that vaporization for tens of minutes.” ACF can convert anything that’s carbon — chopped fiber, braid, tape, pitch carbon fiber, carbon nanotubes and graphene.

Advanced Ceramic Fibers LLC uses its patented Direct Conversion Process to infiltrate carbon filaments with any of 34 metallic carbides, used to produce FiBar reinforcements for UHTCMC parts. Source | ACF LLC

Depending on the application, ACF can use 34 of the MC elements in the periodic table such as tantalum (Ta), hafnium (Hf) and zirconium (Zr). The integrated SiC or MC also acts as the interfacial debond layer that enables fiber pullout to reduce crack growth for CMC toughness and helps non-oxide fibers resist oxidation. Thus, traditional CVD/CVI coatings are supplanted, reducing subsequent UHTCMC manufacturing time and cost.

As explained in CW’s June 2025 article, ACF uses PIP to fabricate UHTCMC with a solids level of 60-70% via the SiC/C filaments, says Koller, so that subsequent cycles can be reduced as low as two or three, depending on the part. Up to 70% carbon fiber volume can also be achieved for higher load-carrying and thermal shock capacity, and the UHTCMC is self-repairing.

ACF has fabricated UHTCMC with strain-to-failure as high as 8%, notes Koller, proven in testing by Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR). It has also made turbine engine vanes with different types of UHTCMC that were tested by the U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR) up to 1371°C with no significant damage. ACF also produced UHTCMC fasteners using five PIP cycles that withstood 600 pounds of load in testing at 2000°C plus projectile testing. With Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab, it produced UHTCMC that survived plasma torch testing up to 2900°C. The company is installing DCP systems that can produce larger daily quantities of FiBar products specific to individual client applications and is demonstrating its ability to tailor dielectric and electromagnetic properties for aerospace, defense, energy and electronics applications.

Phthalonitrile for C/C components

Founded in 2019, Cambium (El Segundo, Calif., U.S.) has developed ApexShield 1000, a phthalonitrile (PN) resin that it claims reduces PIP for C/C from six to nine cycles down to one to two, slashing production time by up to 80%. It claims this also reduces costs by enabling high output from existing manufacturing infrastructure (see Americarb below). Cambium’s PN, reportedly designed for infusion and RTM, is also used in prepreg and film adhesives, features low-melt viscosity, room temperature storage and a glass transition temperature (T_g) above 400°C. The company reports production at metric-ton scale and integration into U.S. supply chains to strengthen domestic CMC capabilities.

Cambium uses an AI-driven platform to speed development of materials that enable fabricators of hypersonic structures to reduce cycle times from months to weeks. To advance this technology, the company has worked closely with industry partners, the Biomanufacturing and Design Ecosystem (BioMADE) and especially the U.S. Navy, including a recent contract from ONR. Cambium says its PN-based high-temperature composite materials address key adoption issues in processing and production that were thought to be insurmountable, including developing C/C parts that can survive and perform at hypersonic speeds up to Mach 20.

Carbon fiber/phthalonitrile and C/C parts made using Azista materials and processes. Source | Azista USA

Another company expanding PN options is Azista USA (Raleigh, N.C.), the U.S. subsidiary of an Indian conglomerate including Azista Aerospace (Ahmedabad) and Azista Composites (Hyderabad). It supplies bismaleimide (BMI), cyanate ester, hot-melt phenolic prepregs. The latter is solvent-free, eliminating traditional porosity, and processes more like epoxy prepregs. The company also supplies PN resins, prepreg and film adhesive, as well as PN and carbon foams, 3D woven and 2D stitched preforms and a variety of CMC process capabilities, including PIP, LSI and CVI. Its patented film boiling CVI process achieves densification at 1.5 millimeters/hour, a 100-fold increase that reduces cycle time for manufacturing high-quality C/C by a factor of 10, says Jairam Chintalapati, business development manager for Azista USA.

Azista’s PN has a 75-centipoise viscosity at its 180-200°C cure temperature, a T_g of 435°C and char yield of 72%, reducing PIP cycles from five to three, says Chintalapati, “and the microstructure of the resulting C/C is very close to that obtained using CVI.” The Royal Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR) has worked with Azista’s room tempature PN, grinding it to a powder and applying to carbon fiber to form dry semipreg used to make autoclave-cured 24-ply laminates with good quality. Azista USA has demonstrated C/C and SiC CMC parts using its PN and hot-melt phenolic materials, and although these are currently manufactured in India, it is exploring domestic capabilities as it works to expand partners and applications in the U.S. (See “Expanding HT composites in India and the U.S.”)

Further developments, increased capacity

Azista has also developed a polycarbosilane polymer used as a precursor for SiC matrix. It has four variants, including one with high molecular weight for making SiC fibers and is seeking partners to help evaluate these. Polycarbosilane has been available in the U.S. for decades from Starfire Systems (Glenville, N.Y.). Chantalapati notes Azista’s advantage is it can tailor the polymer chemistry according to the needs and end goals of the user.

 

BJS Ceramics makes Silafil SiC fiber reinforcements (top) used by BJS Composites to make Keraman CMC materials and components (bottom). Source | BJS Ceramics, BJS Composites

SiC composites are also being advanced in Germany, including by DLR (see “C/C-SiC in rocket nozzles, piston rings and optical benches”) in engine turbine vanes as well as CMC machining, and by BJS Ceramics and BJS Composites (Gersthofen) founded in 2014 and 2015. BJS Ceramics makes, among others, Silafil F, a second-generation SiC fiber with broadly adjustable electrical properties for electromagnetic applications. BJS Composites uses Silafil and carbon fiber to create Keraman CMC materials and highly complex 3D parts offering an all-EU value chain that is not subject to U.S. export control regulations. “We are seeing increased demand across the aerospace and defense sectors, but also from the energy industry,” notes BJS partner and co-founder Jutta Schull. “This includes nuclear, where cooling pumps cannot fail and also water pumps in harsh conditions. CMC provides the ultimate durability, ensuring safety and continued operation for vital infrastructure.”

Americarb produces C/C and graphite plates, tubes and furnace fixtures/racks up to 2.4 × 3.4 meters with significant thermal processing capacity. Source | Americarb

Meanwhile, CMC thermal processing capacity is being increased by Americarb (Niagara Falls, N.Y., U.S.). Founded in 2002, it specializes in C/C and specialty graphite grades for service up to 2500°C, supplying plates, tubes, furnace fixtures/racks and custom parts. It is vertically integrated, with a carbon fiber prepreg line, autoclave, machining and assembly capability as well as a 30 × 40 × 40-foot 900°C carbonization furnace and 18 induction furnaces up to 3000°C which enable large parts up to 2.4 × 3.4 meters. Americarb is supporting applications in defense, space, nuclear energy, batteries, fuel cells and hydrogen electrolysis, and developing OCMC and SiC capabilities.

And there are more ongoing developments. “CMC is the next material revolution,” says Dr. David E. Glass, senior technologist and leader for the Applied Materials for Space and Hypersonics (AMSH) team at NASA Langley, which uses PWT and other test infrastructure plus multiscale modeling and subject experts to support successful design, manufacturing and flight. “CMC have the potential for disruptive change across space, defense, mobility and energy with significant returns for companies and countries that can successfully implement them. But the challenges are also significant. Collaboration and cooperation between researchers, manufacturers and end users is key to enable the advances needed for their rapid, increased adoption.”

Be sure to register for CW’s Oct. 16, 2025 online event to learn more: CW Tech Days: High-Temperature Composite Solutions for Defense and Space Applications.

Source | Getty Images

The Governing Board of the Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking has launched €945 million to support 12 visionary projects aimed at decarbonizing aviation. The selected initiatives in the field of new aircraft concepts and innovative propulsion technologies and systems will complement those funded under Clean Aviation’s first and second calls for proposals. Projects will start beginning of 2026 and first flight tests are planned for 2028-2029. The projects will help reduce net emissions of greenhouse gases for commercial air travel by no less than 30% compared to 2020 state-of-the-art technologies, and will pave the way for cleaner aircraft by 2035.

The results of this third call also mark the start of a new cooperation in regional aviation between the EU and Canada: Powerplant Hybrid Application for REegional Segment (PHARES), has been selected to receive €69 million in EU funding. The project, which will advance hybrid-electric propulsion for regional aircraft, is coordinated by a Canadian aircraft engine manufacturer.

“Achieving our climate goals and advancing sustainable aviation can only be done if public and private actors work hand in hand,” says Sabine Klauke, co-chair of the Governing Board, and Airbus’ head of digital design manufacturing and services “Next Gen.” “By supporting the brightest minds, fostering technical excellence and encouraging novel solutions, we can accelerate the breakthroughs our industry needs. The projects selected under Clean Aviation Call 3 represent an important milestone on this journey.”

Overall, 12 projects will receive funding in the following areas:

• €199 million EU funding for ultra-efficient short-medium range aircraft technologies
• €144 million EU funding for ultra-efficient regional aircraft technologies
• €20 million EU funding for fast-track areas (FTAs)
• Transversal projects dedicated to aircraft concept integration and impact assessment have been awarded €15 million EU funding.

Call 3 introduced a new initiative to advance disruptive technologies, the FTAs. FTAs are designed to de-risk alternative or complementary technical solutions offered by research centers and SMEs. They put the focus on proposals that can rapidly advance impactful technologies to the development phase and are closely connected to the short-medium range and regional aircraft coordinators. Four promising projects were selected within this realm.

Ultra-efficient, short-medium range aircraft

• TAKE OFF: Technology And Knowledge for European Open Fan Flight — Safran Aircraft Engines
• LEIA: Large scalE Integration demonstrator of hybrid electrical Architecture — Airbus Operations GmbH
• UNIFIED: Ultra Novel and Innovative Fully Integrated Engine Demonstrations — Rolls-Royce Plc

Ultra-efficient regional aircraft

• PHARES: Powerplant Hybrid Application for REegional Segment — Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp.
• DEMETRA: Demonstrator of an Electrified Modern Efficient Transport Regional Aircraft — Avions De Transport Regional
• OSYRYS: On-board SYstems Relevant for hYbridization of Regional aircraftS — Safran Electrical & Power

Fast-track areas (FDAs)

• CRYOSTAR: Certification Roadmap to Yield an Optimal and Safety methodology of crashworthiness for an integrated cryogenic Tank for liquid hydrogen storAge on board of future aircraft — Universita Degli Studi Della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli 
• MODABAT: Modular, scalable and technology-Open Design for future Aviation BATteries — Fraunhofer Gesellschaft Zur Förderung Der Angewandten Forschung EV
• POWER4AIR: Arc Fault Detection, low EMI and Reliability for Power Electronics in Electric Aircrafts — Skylife Engineering SL
• LIME: Lithium based Innovation for Modular Energy — Ascendance Flight Technologies

Aircraft concept integration & impact assessment

• HERACLES: Hybrid Electric Regional Aircraft Concept for Low EmissionS — Avions De Transport Regional
• ACI&I: Short Medium Range - Aircraft Configuration Integration and Impact — Airbus Operations GmbH.

All selected projects are in line with the Clean Aviation Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA).

DN Solutions has signed an agreement to acquire Heller Group, a German high-end machine tool manufacturer.

Founded in 1894, Heller is a 130-year-old company recognized for its advanced machining center technology, specializing in demanding, high-precision processes. With this deal, DN Solutions will gain access to Heller’s cutting-edge machining center technology. 

By combining their production networks, the two companies aim to become a stronger global partner for customers. Heller operates five major plants in Germany, the U.K., the U.S., Brazil and China, while DN Solutions runs facilities in Korea and China and is constructing a new plant in India.

This global production footprint will provide both companies with the flexibility to respond effectively to regional demand shifts, supply chain dynamics and trade policy changes. In particular, the U.S. plant is expected to act as an effective safeguard against the impact of recent changes in U.S. tariff policies.

With more than 130 years of experience in the machine tool industry and a broad installation base, Heller brings deep customer service expertise and resources. According to DN Solutions, this will serve as a catalyst for ongoing innovation in pursuit of service excellence.

Heller also has an extensive track record of working with leading global companies in the automotive, aerospace and defense industries — sectors that demand high levels of technological capability. This experience will enable DN Solutions to gain stronger insights into key customer industries.

For Heller, DN Solutions provides financial stability and synergy through its strong capital base, global sales network and broad product portfolio. Both firms aim to secure regulatory approvals swiftly and move ahead to provide stronger growth, profitability and value for customers worldwide.

Source | Ultima Forma, Polar Technology

In 2024, Ultima Forma (Tadley, U.K.) and Polar Technology (Eynsham, U.K.) launched the Leading Edge Electro Forms (LEEF) project, collaborating to improve the ability of a composite structure to withstand erosion, impact and corrosion in extreme operating conditions. The project is now attracting interest from aerospace and defense organizations, which are seeking to explore its potential applications.

Ultima Forma have developed a leading edge protection layer through a process called electroforming, which involves electric currents depositing a thin layer of metal onto a substrate. Polar Technology is an expert in design and manufacture of critical composite products and is working closely on the best method to integrate this electroform into the structure.

All aspects of the process can be carefully controlled, with thickness and dimensions tailored depending on the application. An additional ambition of the project is to develop a U.K.-based manufacture and distribution network for leading edge protection solutions, including the manufacture of the composite structure itself, which will ultimately shorten and simplify the supply chain process.

A number of milestones have been hit since the project launched, including confirmation that the nickel-cobalt LEEF layers maintain high hardness when tested up to 900°C and beyond 1,000+ hours of ASTM B117 salt spray testing, delivering optimal performance for high-temperature platforms and mission-critical components.

Scalable parts manufacturing is underway, with the electroformed leading edges integrating seamlessly with composite aerofoils as co-molded or secondary bonded structures, enabling faster builds and retrofit flexibility.

Three key use cases have been identified as ideal demonstrators of the technology: rotor and propeller blades for eVTOL aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) applications, aerofoils for turbine inlets and outlet guide vanes for aircraft engines. All three cases are based on geometries provided by OEM customers in the aerospace and defense industries, which illustrates the planned routes to market. From the smallest ISR drone to the largest tactical transport, LEEFs has demonstrated delivery of lightweight, high-durability protection against rain, ice, sand and bird strikes.

“We know the market is striving for scale on a competitive level without compromising on performance or quality,” says Daniel Chilcott, business development director at Polar Technology. “This technology and collaboration has the potential to make it a reality.”

EOS, a leading supplier of additive manufacturing (AM) solutions for industrial 3D printing, announces a Space Act Agreement with NASA and the EOS Additive Minds Academy to offer the Metal AM Master Class, an advanced, hands-on training program. The course will be proctored in collaboration with renowned experts Dr. Paul Gradl, Principal Engineer, NASA, and Dr. Omar Mireles, Additive Manufacture R&D Engineer, Zia AM, both recognized leaders in AM for space flight and high-performance applications.

Beginning in November 2025, the classroom and hands-on training program will take place at the EOS technical center in Pflugerville, Texas, covering metal industrial 3D printing processes and post-processing techniques for successful part fabrication and infusion into applications. This course will serve as a technology-agnostic review of metal AM strategies, such as laser powder bed fusion (LPBF), directed energy disposition (DED), and other advanced methods.

“This partnership embodies the power of public-private collaboration accelerating the adoption and understanding of additive manufacturing,” says Fabian Alefeld, EOS global director of business development and the Additive Minds Academy. “Through our agreement with NASA, we are delivering unparalleled access to the expertise and technologies that are shaping the future of aerospace and advanced manufacturing.”

Designed for engineers, researchers, program managers, industry leaders, and newcomers alike, the course includes:

•  Overview of solid-state AM processes and their process chains
•  Hands-on deep dives into the LPBF process chain, design, post-             processing, and quality assurance
•  Theory and practical lessons learned sessions led by Dr. Paul Gradl   (NASA) and Dr. Omar Mireles (Zia AM)
•  Hands-on experience with EOS M 290, EOS M 300-4, and EOS M 400-4     systems
•  Build job development, post-processing, and lab testing
•  EOS Additive Minds Certificate of Completion awarded to participants

Participants are limited to 20 attendees per session. Registration: us.store.eos.info/products/metal-am-masterclass

Eric Hein. Source | WSU-NIAR

Wichita State University’s (WSU, Kan., U.S.) National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) announces the appointment of Eric Hein as director of strategy and product development. In this role, Hein will lead the institute’s long-term strategic planning and guide product development efforts that support industry partners and the U.S. Department of Defense.

Hein brings more than 20 years of experience in the aerospace industry, leading engineering, R&D and defense program execution efforts. At NIAR, he will be responsible for connecting advanced technologies to end users, fostering strategic partnerships and advancing innovative products.

“We are excited to welcome Eric back to WSU,” says John Tomblin, WSU executive vice president for Research and Industry and Defense Programs and NIAR executive director. “His extensive background in defense programs, product development and strategic innovation will significantly improve our ability to streamline capabilities across our organization to expand our capabilities, bandwidth and R&D portfolio.”

Prior to joining NIAR, Hein served as vice president of defense programs at Spirit AeroSystems, where he led the execution of key defense contracts and guided the company’s expansion into new defense markets. He began his career at Spirit in 2010, managing propulsion product engineering teams for Boeing programs, including the KC-46A tanker and the 737 Max. He went on to lead the 737 Max Propulsion Integrated Product Team and later served as senior director of research and technology, overseeing Spirit’s R&D portfolio, materials and processes group, structures engineering team and test labs.

Previously Hein held engineering roles at Cessna and Boeing, contributing to a broad range of commercial and business aircraft programs. He has a private pilot license and Six Sigma certification.

Hein graduated from WSU with a B.S. and M.S. in aerospace engineering. He serves on the board of directors for the American Red Cross of South Central and Southeast Kansas.

Winglet production. Source | FACC Bartsch

In the first half of 2025, FACC (Ried im Innkreis, Austria) reports it was able to achieve a 10.6% increase in revenue to €484.7 million (same period in 2024: €438.3 million) despite a still challenging global environment.

All divisions of FACC (Aerostructures, Cabin Interiors, and Engines and Nacelles) reported a positive EBIT in the first half of 2025. Group EBIT of €18.4 million is in line with management's expectations and is burdened by disruptions in international supply chains as well as high material and personnel costs (same period in 2024: €22.5 million). Compared to the previous year, the number of employees increased by 123 employees (FTE).

Overall, growth of the aviation industry continued in the first half of the year. While short-term adjustments took place in the market for passenger aircraft — which were affected by supply chain problems in the engine sector — FACC was able to benefit from the sustained positive development of the business jet market in part due to the company’s diverse product strategy. The long-term growth of the whole industry is illustrated by a worldwide record order backlog of more than 17,500 passenger aircraft ordered. This is also reflected in FACC’s order backlog, which rose to more than $6 billion in the first half of 2025 with new orders and rate increases.

FACC’s global production and sales network of 15 international locations in Europe, the U.S. and Asia provides it with a high level of resilience given the current geopolitical challenges. With the strengthening of the supply chain in India, relocation of production of the COMAC C919 product range (structural and interior systems) to China, and an increase in operating performance at the FACC plants in Croatia/Jakovlje and in Canada/Montreal, this location strategy could be further advanced in the first half of 2025. 

The company’s cost reduction and efficiency program, which has been in place since October 2024, is already showing results. This is illustrated by FACC’s increase in revenue with around the same number of employees since the end of FACC’s 2024 financial year. In addition, the focus in the first half of 2025 was on optimizing the supply chain and reducing material inventories. These have been significantly reduced since the end of Q3 2024, thereby contributing to an improvement in cash flow.

When considering its outlook for the duration of 2025, FACC expects to see around 5 billion passengers in the aerospace industry for the first time. Airlines’ demand for efficient and modern aircraft remains high, and despite ongoing supply chain challenges, all major aircraft manufacturers are confirming their targets for the entire 2025 financial year at the end of the first half of the year.

Based on the current market situation for 2025, FACC management expects growth to continue and has specified its outlook at the half-year mark at around €1 billion in group revenue, which corresponds to a revenue growth of more than 10% compared to the previous year. The EBIT margin will continue to improve compared to 2024 due to effects from FACC’s efficiency improvement program currently being implemented (2024: 3.2%).

Source | Fibre Glast Development Corp.

Fibre Glast Developments Corp. LLC (Brookville, Ohio, U.S.) a composite materials distributor since 1957, announces that it is now AS9120B certified, adding to its ISO 9001:2015 certification. Fibre Glast now meets the elevated quality management standards required of aerospace, aviation and defense distributors.

AS9120B, developed by the International Aerospace Quality Group (IAQG, Brussel, Belgium) and published by SAE International (Warrendale, Pa., U.S.), builds upon ISO 9001:2015 by adding aerospace-specific requirements such as risk-based thinking, organizational context, product safety, counterfeit parts prevention and enhanced performance evaluation. Distributors holding AS9120B certification adhere to stringent quality systems that meet the exacting demands of aviation, space and defense industries, ensuring traceability, consistency and reliability throughout the supply chain.

“Achieving AS9120B certification marks a pivotal step in Fibre Glast’s ongoing commitment to customer satisfaction and continuous improvement. It further strengthens the company’s standing as a world-class distributor,” says Mark Knight, Fibre Glast CEO. The company is known for its extensive product portfolio — from reinforcements, core materials, resins and vacuum bagging supplies to tools — same-day shipping and customer-first ethos.

Inspired by the skin of sharks (top left, clockwise), micrometer-sized riblets are being used to reduce drag for a wide range of surfaces, including the AeroSHARK technology applied by Lufthansa Technik to aircraft fuselages. Source, AeroSHARK | Lufthansa Technik. Source (All Other Images) | Bionic Surface Technologies

A biomimetic technology inspired by the skin structure of sharks, riblets are myriad micrometer-sized “ribs” that when aligned with the direction of flow reduce fluid-dynamic drag by up to 8%, cutting fuel consumption and emissions for aircraft, trains, cars and boats, for example, with corresponding benefits in noise reduction. Up to 8% less fluid friction in pipes improves efficiency in fluid transfer, combustion and other industrial processes. Applied on wind turbine blades and propellers, riblets can increase power output by up to 7% and achieve a significant reduction in power consumption for pumps and compressors.

Riblets can be applied as films, by hand or using automation, and can be laser engraved into surfaces and molding tools.

The study of riblets has increased steadily since the 1980s. Riblets can be straight or curved and applied to 2D or complex 3D surfaces for a wide range of materials including metals, polymers and composites. They can be achieved via films and coatings, directly engraved into a surface using a laser or molded into a surface by machining negative riblets into a molding tool. (Note, riblet-like features are also being added to parts using additive manufacturing as discussed by Additive Manufacturing Media.)

Bionic Surface Technologies (BST, Graz, Austria) was founded in 2008 by two engineering students, Peter Adrian Leitl (CEO/CTO) and Andreas Flanschger (CEO), who began studying and developing riblet technology for industry. The company has since developed advanced computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and physical testing capabilities to design and tailor riblet surfaces per application and now has completed more than 800 projects worldwide.

Applications evolution

The first important project for BST was in 2009, when it applied riblets as a film on an acrobatic aircraft that competed annually in the Red Bull Air Race World Championship. “The pilot was very happy with the performance, and we only removed it after four years because the airplane got new branding,” says Flanschger. “It could have lasted for at least five to six years.” Riblets were used in other such aircraft and BST continued to collect and analyze data on their design and performance.

Computational fluid dynamic (CFD) analysis shows high fluid flow resistance (red, left) eliminated by using riblets (right).

Early applications included carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (CFRP) in motorsports. Riblets are now being explored for electric vehicles.

 

The second key application was for motorsports. Audi Sport (Neckarsulm, Germany) began with BST wind tunnel testing with riblets film on GT race cars in 2010. “The results were impressive, and for three years we were very successful in motorsports,” says Flanschger. “This was another important step to establish the technology. But we couldn’t talk about the programs publicly. And then in 2013, the use of riblets was banned in many motorsports because they gave such an advantage yet weren’t available to all teams because there were no other suppliers.”

However, in 2014, another key application began via collaboration with aircraft services provider Lufthansa Technik (Hamburg, Germany), which eventually led to its AeroSHARK technology.

AeroSHARK

Although BST is prohibited from discussing AeroSHARK technology in depth, Lufthansa Technik has covered it widely in videos and websites. It is described as a durable film manufactured by BASF Coatings (Münster, Germany) with millions of 50-micrometer-high prism-shaped riblets. Already applied to Boeing 747 and 777 aircraft by six airlines, AeroSHARK has logged 138,000-plus flight hours, saved 7,500-plus metric tons of jet fuel and avoided 26,000-plus metric tons of CO₂ emissions.

“You apply it like you would a decal film or foil,” says Flanschger. Airlines already apply their liveries as a decal, and even though AeroSHARK is significantly more complex, Lufthansa Technik reports that once in service, the cost savings from fuel savings provides a return on investment in just two years.

“In 2022, BST applied tailored riblet film to all surfaces of a business jet — around 80 square meters,” says Flanschger. “Even though this included very complicated shapes, the film was easy to handle and it took two people only 2.5 working days to complete.” He notes BST measured a 9% reduction in fuel consumption — compared to only 1% for the fuselage of large commercial aircraft — but this included riblets also on the small jet’s wings, nacelles and empennage. “We didn’t use them on the rudder or control surfaces because it is not yet fully understood how to optimize riblets for those structures,” he explains. Still, it’s obvious that the fuselage is only the beginning of what is possible.

“The issue if you want to put riblets on the wings and empennage is obtaining certification,” says Flanschger, “because you have additional loads and it’s much more complicated than putting it only on the fuselage.” The testing for certification on wings is also lengthy and expensive. The drag reduction possible also depends on the aircraft. “The reduction in fuel consumption depends on the flight altitude, which determines the air density, and also the flight loads,” says Flanschger. “So, with mid-size commercial aircraft you may reach 4-5% savings.”

An article in Lufthansa’s Innovation Runway series reports Lufthansa Technik is already planning to certify AeroSHARK for other aircraft types and also other surfaces beyond the fuselage. Meanwhile, in addition to its Novaflex AeroSHARK film, BASF has developed a second riblet film, Novaflex BladeUp, for wind turbine blades.

Wind turbine, helicopter rotor blades

 

Riblets can increase the power output of wind turbine blades by up to 5% and have also been used on aircraft engine fan blades and impellers, where they can be laser engraved or molded into blade structures. 

In 2022, BASF Coatings announced it had teamed up with wind turbine maintenance company Omega-Tools GmbH (Ritterhude, Germany) and turbine operator Energiekontor AG (Bremen) to equip the latter’s turbine blades with Novaflex BladeUp film. The company reported that riblets reduce the formation of air turbulence on the blade surface, increasing power output by up to 3% on an initial 1.3-megawatt SWT 1,300 turbine (produced by AN Bonus) in Ilsede, Lower Saxony, Germany. Omega-Tools added that installation of the films can be done without long downtimes for the turbines.

BASF is working to extend Novaflex BladeUp to other wind turbine and blade manufacturers and believes that the riblet film could be integrated into the blade manufacturing process, enabling new wind turbines to generate a higher electricity yield.

Flanschger notes BST has trialed riblets on other blade structures, including rotor blades on helicopters. “There, we saw a massive improvement — more than 5% greater lift for the helicopter. This is especially interesting for forward flight.” Unlike fixed-wing aircraft, a change in forward air speed causes a “dyssmmetry of lift,” where one half the disc of the rotating rotor blades advances into the air flow and the other half moves with it. This increases the airspeed on the advancing side, generating significantly more lift, and decreases it on the retreating side, opening the risk of “retreating blade stall” which can cause the helicopter to roll and pitch uncontrollably. Currently, this issue is addressed by a variety of design and control measures, including letting the blades “flap.” Flanschger estimates riblets could provide an additional tool to improve blade design, “but this is ongoing research for us at the moment.”

Laser engraved and molded riblets

Riblets have also been used on aircraft engine fan blades as well as low-pressure turbine blades and shrouds. Some of this work has been completed by Nikon Corp.’s Advanced Manufacturing Business Unit (Belmont, California). Possible benefits include reducing the amount of bypass air flow required or using current air flow to increase power output and efficiency, reducing fuel consumption and emissions.

Nikon is a key partner for BST, and the companies have been working on this and other projects for more than five years. However, for these structures, riblets are not achieved by applying a film but instead laser processing to create customized riblet patterns on metals, polymers and already-applied films and paints.

Similarly, riblets can be applied to the blades of impellers used in pumps, compressors and turbomachinery. “We have done many projects on pumps, including an ongoing project at the moment, and also with power plants,” says Flanschger. “And here too, riblets are directly lasered into the coating or into the metal. But this is also a technique possible for the composites industry, by engraving the riblets into the mold and then producing a part that is optimized and ready to use.”

This approach has been used for impellers but also has potential for pipes. BST is working with a company in Norway that produces glass fiber-reinforced composite water pipes. “By engraving riblets in the molding tools,” notes Flanschger, “they could produce, for example, an 8-meter-long water pipe with riblets inside.”

Propellers, ships, hydrofoils

BST is also pursuing research on carbon fiber propeller blades for aircraft, where Flanschger believes the benefits would be significant. “We have applied for EU-funded projects and are still looking for partners,” he says. “The application would be to laser engrave negative riblets into the aluminum mold for curing the prepreg or infused laminate and the resulting parts will have the tailored riblets.”

Ship propellers are similarly interesting. In tests on commercial ship propellers, BST has achieved a 3-5% increase in efficiency. “If you calculate this for a large container ship — for example, one of the latest from China that are 400 meters long — this would equate to 200,000 less liters of diesel consumed per year and the corresponding emissions,” says Flanschger.

However, many companies are resistant, believing their expertise in producing  very shiny, super smooth propellers is what demonstrates their quality and expertise. “In reality, we are in a new era that demands new solutions,” he observes. “For example, maritime applications also includes riblets for defense, because if you apply them on submarines, torpedoes and underwater drones you have less noise from the hull and also from the propeller because turbulent flow is reduced.”

CFD is an essential tool to optimize riblets for improving efficiency in a wide range of aerodynamic and fluid dynamic applications, including boat hulls and hydrofoils.

It seems riblets would also be perfect for hydrofoils. “Yes, they have a massive effect on foils,” says Flanschger. “The foil is not really large, yet riblets produce an extremely high efficiency increase compared to the area.” And though they are forbidden for use in sports applications, riblets could boost efficiency for foiling electric boats — including water taxis and ferries — where every bit of performance helps to offset the weight of batteries, for example, further extending vessel payload and/or range.

A key example for these propeller, hull and hydrofoil applications is the regulation starting Jan. 1, 2026, that all tourist ships and ferries under 10,000 gross tons traveling in the West Norwegian Fjords must be zero-emission vessels. This will extend to larger ships on Jan. 1, 2032. Again, a 3-5% increase in efficiency could directly apply to the bottom line for vessels adopting battery electric, hydrogen fuel cell and/or biogas to power zero-emission propulsion systems.

CFD analysis, challenges and next-generation riblets

But isn’t the CFD analysis required for such applications very complicated? “Yes, but this is our business, to perform these CFD analyses and help to optimize use of riblets on a wide range of structures,” says Flanschger, noting the CFD tools that BST has developed make the process much easier, including simulation automation and a vast database of designs and results. He also points out that riblets are not magic — they cannot make something that is bad good, “but if there is something good, then riblets can make it the best. This is always how they perform with applications involving aerodynamics and fluid dynamics.”

But Flanschger acknowledges that repair of structures using engraved or molded riblets could pose a challenge. “You need the riblets to remain very precise,” he explains. “For example, they must be in the correct direction and orientation.” He notes this is one advantage of using a film — you can simply repair the part and reapply the film as needed.” Some who have studied riblets on aeroengine nacelles have also noted that if they become dirty, their performance is diminished. “Therefore,” says Flanschger, “material experts play a major role to develop material for riblets which are dirt-repellent.”

Over the last few years, BST CTO Leitl has developed a new generation of patented riblets that promise even higher performance. Where AeroSHARK and other applications have shown up to an 8% drag reduction, with these new riblets, Leitl is targeting 12% with potential for up to 14% drag reduction. “The initial results from testing in 2024 look promising,” says Flanschger, “but much work remains and we are still looking for a commercialization partner.” He notes BST knows many potential partners and discussions are ongoing, “but it’s important to engage with new companies and possibly identify new applications that could really have an impact on the challenges we face in industry and sustainability.”

Originally published in sister publication CompositesWorld. 

About the Author

Ginger Gardiner

Ginger Gardiner is technical editor of CompositesWorld. She has an engineering/materials background and more than 20 years of experience in the composites industry.

The roughness of gears plays a major role in so many products developed over the past century. From the gears in dial indicators to machine tool spindle transmissions to automotive engines and transmissions, surface finish has always affected the interaction between gear teeth. In today’s world, the interactions of surfaces are becoming increasingly important in applications such as automotive electric motor drive systems and aircraft turbines.

There are three very important reasons for tighter control of gear surfaces. The first is increased efficiency. The correlation between the surface quality of transmission gears and energy efficiency has always been a concern for the automotive industry. An internal combustion engine might average an efficiency of 20%, (that is, around 80% of the energy it generates is lost as wasted heat). One possible approach to save fuel and reduce emissions is to minimize gear roughness in complex transmissions.

Alternatively, an electric car transmission is much less complex, as it may be a single-stage transmission. Although they are less involved, the surface quality of the gear teeth is critical because an electric motor can have up to 80% efficiency. Manufacturers’ most important goal and generally the most pressing challenge in electric car transmission is to prevent efficiency loss that would reduce vehicle range. To maintain or even increase the range, gear surfaces must be ground with high precision to minimize friction losses from the first mile traveled.

The second is torque and power throughput. A typical transmission for combustion engines is designed for comparatively low torque. Electric motor drive systems differ in that even typical stationary operation places extreme demands on the drivetrain; the load is comparable to that of a combustion engine under maximum load. This is because the electric drive reaches its highest torque and power throughput immediately after starting. The gears in electric motors must be able to cope with these extreme loads even in normal operation, which means that the demands on their surface quality are critical.

Finally, there is the noise produced from gear interaction. Every manufacturer strives to ensure its automobiles emit as little noise as possible. In combustion engines, noise primarily originates from the engine, rather than the transmission. In contrast, electric motor transmissions do cause undesirable noise. High roughness on gear surfaces increases this noise, whereas smoother surfaces minimize it. Ultra-fine surfaces on gear tooth flanks are therefore key to noise reduction.

Ultra-fine surfaces on the tooth flanks are the decisive quality feature for gears in electric motors and transmissions. Grinding machine manufacturers have already worked intensively with machining equipment and production processes to ensure the required ultra-fine gear surfaces, using continuous gear grinding and integrated polish grinding as an innovative process step. These advances reduce the roughness of a gear manufactured with continuous gear grinding, while not altering the gear flank topography or edge zone properties of the active tooth flanks. Thus, surfaces of unprecedented quality, currently with a roughness (Rz) of between 0.2-1 µm, are being produced; however, even smaller goals are expected in the future.

While the manufacturing of gears continues to improve, the high-precision metrology for testing gear roughness is also becoming increasingly demanding. Typically, the common practice is to determine the surface finish of gears using geometric gear measuring systems. However, these systems are designed for measuring coordinates, not roughness. With so many moving axes, system accuracy is often not appropriate for these tighter tolerances.

Also, these systems operate with a skidded probe system. The probes are too large to allow measurement down to the root of the tooth, even with small gears, where too much roughness can lead to hairline cracks and, as a result, to the complete rupture of a tooth. Additionally, they can only detect roughness and are unable to measure waviness.

A skidded probe is too large to be able to measure down to the root of the tooth. 

The challenge is to utilize existing high-precision surface texture technology for surface measurement and to stage it in a way that reliably checks roughness on gears. This means employing a skid-less probing system capable of measuring high-quality surface finish roughness of Rz < 1 µm while also being able to sense fine waviness on the gear surface.

Naturally, gears come in various sizes and weights. While surface measuring system probes are capable of measuring even the smallest tooth root, the challenge is handling the various sizes of gears and positioning the skid-less probe in the correct position.

However, with a combination of a system best matched to the gear size, a system to easily load and orient the family of gears, and measurement automation, a high level of inspection can be performed to ensure today’s gears meet the new challenges they were designed for.

Components made with Xycomp DLF. Source | Greene Tweed

Greene Tweed (Kulpsville, Pa., U.S.) has entered into a strategic agreement with what it says is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of commercial engines and integrated systems. This 10-year, multi-million-dollar collaboration strengthens an established partnership and reaffirms Greene Tweed’s position as a trusted supplier of thermoplastic composite (TPC) components for advanced aerospace applications.

Under the agreement, Greene Tweed will deliver more than 50 custom-designed parts made with its proprietary Xycomp DLF material, a compression molded TPC. The Xycomp DLF components — including complex engine bracketry and aerodynamic fairings — are designed to be up to 60% lighter than traditional metal components, while maintaining the strength and durability required for demanding aerospace applications. Greene Tweede says the weight reduction directly contributes to improved fuel efficiency, reduced emissions and enhanced engine performance, key enablers of more sustainable aviation.

“This customer collaboration highlights the value of Greene Tweed’s advanced material solutions in addressing the evolving challenges of aerospace engineering,” says Magen Buterbaugh, president and CEO of Greene Tweed. “By replacing heavier metal components with lightweight thermoplastics like Xycomp DLF, we are helping create more efficient, sustainable and high-performing jet engines without sacrificing reliability.”

Building on a legacy of powering more than 80% of the world’s aircraft with high-performing materials, Greene Tweed continues to expand its influence in the aerospace industry. The company’s technical expertise, precision manufacturing and commitment to sustainability enable it to deliver tailored solutions that enhance engine performance and improve production efficiency for its partners.

Greenleaf Corp.’s 
Capstone-360 high-performance end mills feature a ceramic tip combined with a carbide shank. Capstone-360 provides the speed and efficiency of solid ceramic end mills with the additional strength and stability provided by the carbide shank, offering optimized tool life.

Designed for high-performance slotting, pocketing and face milling applications, Capstone-360 is well suited for machining heat-resistant super alloys (HRSAs), cast iron and hardened steel materials for the aerospace, oil and gas, power generation and medical industries.

Features of Capstone-360 include:

• Optimized value and high performance: Delivers an optimal balance of productivity and tool life.
• Lower heat generation: The specialized combination of geometry and chemistry optimized for Ni-base HRSAs results in lower cutting forces and less heat generation even at speeds as high as 2,600 sfm (800 m/min), improving dimensional tolerances and tool retention, and reducing spindle wear.
• Necked shank for additional clearance: All tools feature a necked shank that enables access to cavities and facilitates programming in shoulder milling while maintaining rigidity.
• Versatility: Capstone-360 performs well at a wide range of cutting speeds in HRSAs, and offers similar cycle time and cost reduction benefits in most face-milling applications in hardened steel and cast iron.

“By combining advanced materials with cutting-edge design, we have developed an end mill line that enhances productivity, extends tool life and provides greater value across a wide range of applications,” says Bernie McConnell, executive vice president – commercial at Greenleaf Corp. “Capstone-360 represents a significant step forward, providing our customers with a powerful solution to maximize efficiency and extend tool life in demanding applications.”

With a precise latching function and an accurate axial height position when adjusting the arrow insert, the stamps ensure consistent component quality during the entire production process, according to Hasco. The stamps’ recessed engraving also guarantees a clean and precise reproduction as well as good readability and resistance, the company says.

Source: Hasco

The arrow inserts can be replaced easily from the parting line, facilitating maintenance and adjustment without the need to completely dismantle the tool. The marking stamps are also suitable for very small installation spaces from 2.6 mm.

Made from corrosion-resistant 1.4112 stainless steel, the marking stamps provide low-wear mechanics and a long service life over many production cycles, Hasco says.

In a separate announcement, the company introduced its Plug Insert H12294/… for 12 control zones that’s designed to optimize space without sacrificing performance. Despite its full 16-amp load capacity, the insert uses half the space of previous six-zone variants. Ideal for small molds or large multicavity tools where protruding boxes pose assembly challenges, the insert also features cables that are fixed by a crimp connection. While the wires are compressed permanently and reliably in the pins, they can be removed from the plug at all times with the necessary tool and be rewired up to 75% faster, according to Hasco.

Coordinated cables, including custom options, are available to integrate with existing control systems.  

Serpentine inlet duct built under the MASC program, highlighted at CAMX 2025. Source | CW

Hexcel Corp. (Stamford, Conn., U.S.) is strategically collaborating with A&P Technology (Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.) to work with the AFRL-funded Modeling for Affordable, Sustainable Components (MASC) research program and Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR, Kan., U.S.) to develop a methodology for certification of overbraided structures using Hexcel’s IM7 24K fiber and 1078-1 resin system

“Our collaboration with A&P Technology represents a significant step forward in delivering critical airworthy composite preforms at high rate,” says Lyndon Smith, president, Americas and global fibers, Hexcel. “By combining our advanced fiber and resin technology with A&P Technology’s overbraiding expertise, we’re enabling the next generation of high-performance military and commercial aircraft structures.”

A&P Technology, a manufacturer of engineered braided reinforcements using its line of braiding machinery, has developed the capability to overbraid large-scale aircraft structures at high rate. Development of composite specifications, design data and a methodology for certification acceptable to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will enable the adoption of this high-performance, low-cost, high-rate preform and part manufacturing by commercial airframe builders and will aid in its adoption into military platforms.

“Together, we are using feedback from specific aerospace primes to create preliminary design values for matrix systems, which will accelerate the process for full qualification and certification.”

Hawthorn Composites (Miamisburg, Ohio, U.S.) is currently producing inlet ducts for the Kratos XQ-58A Valkyrie using this overbraid and resin infused approach. Hawthorn has manufactured full-scale wings and fuselages for the same vehicle using similar approaches under the Design for Manufacture of Attritable Aircraft Primary Structure program (DMAAPS) program that culminated with a successful full-scale ground vehicle static test conducted by the AFRL. Independent analysis conducted by the AFRL concluded that use of braiding and overbraiding techniques on these types of parts would result in 57% cost savings when compared to hand applied prepreg and autoclave cure, and a 67% reduction in touch time.

“Net-shape braided preforms and overbraiding are both key technologies enabling the U.S. Department of Defense to realize their vision of affordable mass aircraft solutions,” notes Tom Margraf, CEO of Hawthorn Composites.

Overbraiding creates a controlled and predictable fiber change along the length of a part, including those with complex curvatures. Changing angles create mechanical property variation, but the controlled architecture allows for prediction of property change and creation of design envelopes.

The design of a composite combat drone inlet duct produced by NIAR, A&P Technology and Fiber Dynamics (Wichita, Kan., U.S.) will be used as the basis for the certification development. The complex curvature of the duct represents the types of aircraft structures that will require a path to FAA certification to take advantage of the high rate of manufacture benefits by overbraiding. A process is now in place that enables production of multiple duct preforms per shift, which opens a path to certification and adoption, according to officials from A&P Technology and NIAR.

“The overbraided serpentine inlet duct we developed under the MASC program is an excellent example of our partners’ capabilities and shows how modern braided composite technologies can advance aerospace innovation,” says Dr. Waruna Seneviratne, director of NIAR’s Advanced Technology Lab for Aerospace Systems (ATLAS). “Together, we are using feedback from specific aerospace primes to create preliminary design values for matrix systems, which will accelerate the process for full qualification and certification.”

“We’re excited to collaborate with Hexcel on this initiative,” says Andy Head, president of A&P Technology. “Our combined technologies offer a compelling solution for OEMs looking to quickly and consistently lay down fiber on complex load paths in complex geometries. This program will validate that the resulting structures are as easy to model and certify as incumbent, rate-limiting solutions.”

Source | Hexcel

Hexcel Corp. (Stamford, Conn., U.S.) has announced a significant expansion of its official Americas aerospace distribution network, now including Composites One, GracoRoberts, Heatcon, Krayden and Pacific Coast Composites. This move reflects Hexcel’s commitment to increasing agility and responsiveness across the aerospace sector, particularly for startups and fast-growing segments developing capabilities for unmanned vehicles, eVTOLs, hypersonics, and other defense and space applications.

“Our goal is to be as agile as the markets we serve,” says Lyndon Smith, Hexcel’s president of Americas and global fibers. “Expanding our official distribution network enables us to deliver our aerospace materials through multiple channels, ensuring customers have access to the right products, in the right quantities, at the right time.”

Through this expanded distribution network, Hexcel will deliver its advanced composite materials more efficiently and flexibly. Customers will also benefit from broader geographic coverage, faster turnaround times and improved access to technical support. These distributors bring extensive infrastructure, specialized capabilities such as roll slitting and kitting and robust e-commerce platforms that make it easier for aerospace manufacturers to source the materials they need — whether in large volumes or small, customized quantities.

As a vertically integrated manufacturer, Hexcel controls every stage of its production process — from fiber and resin development to prepreg manufacturing and engineered core solutions. This integration ensures consistent quality, supply chain reliability and technical excellence across its entire product portfolio. 

Type 4 COPV highlighted at Hexcel’s booth at CAMX 2025. Source | CW

Hexcel (Stamford, Conn., U.S.) announces the debut of a Type 4 composite-overwrapped pressure vessel (COPV), engineered in collaboration with HyPerComp Engineering Inc. (HEI, Brigham, Utah, U.S.) and built using Hexcel’s high-performance HexTow IM11-R/12K carbon fiber. According to Hexcel’s Lyndon Smith, president, Americas and global fibers, the company’s fiber delivers optimal burst pressure performance and reliability for critical aerospace and space applications.

Type 4 COPVs are made with a polymer liner fully wrapped in continuous carbon fiber. They are lighter and more corrosion-resistant than metal pressure vessels, which make them ideal for storing gases like hydrogen, helium and nitrogen in demanding environments. Hexcel and HEI’s design offers high processability during filament winding and near-perfect translation of fiber mechanical properties. 

“We have a high level of collaboration with Hexcel, which is resulting in the development of Type 4 COPVs used in extreme environments. Initial testing has shown excellent delivered fiber strengths and burst pressures,” says Jake Walker, chief innovation officer, HyPerComp. “The combination of Hexcel’s advanced fiber technology and our engineering expertise has set a high standard of performance for qualifying new COPV designs used in space launch and other applications.”

Smith says Hexcel and HyPerComp are well along the path for certification. The partners’ goal is to foster a more open, innovation and competitive market, with applications broadening beyond aerospace.”

Source | Horizon Europe

In a step toward the future of aerospace innovation, three European projects — DEMOQUAS, GENEX and TOSCA (more on these below) — are joining forces to present a webinar titled “Advancing Digitalization and Composite Technologies for Safer, More Sustainable Aviation.” The free and exclusive online event takes place on Sept. 24, 2025 from 11:00 – 12:00 p.m. CET. Interested parties can register here.

This collaborative event brings together leading minds and cutting-edge research to explore how digital transformation and advanced materials are reshaping the aviation industry.

At the forefront of this transformation is GENEX, a project redefining aerospace manufacturing through its eco-efficient composites and intelligent production systems. Central to GENEX’s innovation is an out-of-autoclave process using 3R resin — thermoplastic developed for recyclability, repairability and reprocessability (hence the name 3R). At the heart of GENEX innovation is Health and Usage Monitoring and Management, promoting real-time diagnostics and predictive analytics. By enabling data-driven maintenance, it enhances safety, boosts efficiency and extends asset life —ensuring mission readiness with sustainable precision.

The webinar will delve into how these advancements, alongside the contributions of DEMOQUAS and TOSCA, are converging to create safer, more efficient and environmentally responsible aviation technologies. Attendees will gain insights into the integration of digital tools, sensor technologies and sustainable composite materials — key enablers to the aerospace sector’s green transition.

Notably, this event is not just a showcase of technological progress — it is a call to action for stakeholders across the aerospace value chain to embrace innovation and collaboration in pursuit of a cleaner, smarter future in flight. It also promises to be of great interest to aerospace professionals, engineers, researchers, digital twin experts and sustainability advocates alike, offering valuable insights and opportunities for engagement.

Note: The webinar will be recorded and later uploaded to the official GENEX YouTube channel for wider dissemination.

3D printed (3DP) tool. Source | Airtech, Jamco

Jamco America Inc. (Everett, Washington), an interior products supplier and turnkey aircraft interiors integrator in the aerospace industry, announces its partnership with Airtech Advanced Materials Group (Huntington Beach, California), to advance aerospace manufacturing through 3D printing (3DP) tool recycling. The partnership will reportedly enable faster production of finished goods with reduced risk and cost and a lower total carbon footprint. 

The partnership between Jamco and Airtech began in 2006, with Airtech supplying composite manufacturing consumables and supporting materials to Jamco. In 2021, the collaboration expanded into large-format additive manufacturing (LFAM) tooling. Jamco’s goal is to explore LFAM technology for high-temperature applications, aiming to overcome the limitations of traditional composite layup tooling. According to the company, these efforts promise to significantly reduce lead times and supply chain delays while enhancing performance and reducing the risk of defects in finished parts.

The LFAM molds produced by Airtech use its Dahltram I350CF thermoplastic resin, a fully recyclable polymer. Depending on the application’s requirements, Airtech can grind up and compound this resin into a blended or 100% recycled formulation. Ongoing testing at Airtech aims to validate the best blended formulations for high-performance applications such as aerospace tooling and molds.

Through this partnership, Jamco and Airtech aim to revolutionize aerospace manufacturing and enhance product quality, reduce lead times, lower production costs and minimize environmental impact, thus ensuring greater sustainability, cost-effectiveness and safety across the industry.

Kennametal Inc. has expanded its BTKV tooling platform with the BTKV30 — a tooling system designed for small-parts machining for applications in aerospace, medical, oil and gas, transportation and general engineering.

Featuring taper face contact for better rigidity and precision in demanding applications in both roughing and finishing, the latest BTKV offering provides effective machining at high rotational speeds.

BTKV30 features Kennametal frontends such as hydraulic chuck adapters, shrink-fit adapters, shell-mill adapters, screw-on adapters, ER collet adapters and enhanced ER bearing nuts.

Kennametal Inc. has expanded its BTKV tooling platform with the BTKV30 — a tooling system designed for small-parts machining for applications in aerospace, medical, oil and gas, transportation and general engineering.

Featuring taper face contact for better rigidity and precision in demanding applications in both roughing and finishing, the latest BTKV offering provides effective machining at high rotational speeds.

BTKV30 features Kennametal frontends such as hydraulic chuck adapters, shrink-fit adapters, shell-mill adapters, screw-on adapters, ER collet adapters and enhanced ER bearing nuts.

Xycomp DLF engine external brackets. Source | Greene Tweed

Greene Tweed (Kulpsville, Pa., U.S.) is showcasing its aerospace material expertise, with a focus on how high-performance composites contribute to lighter, durable and production-ready aircraft designs. Attendees can learn how Greene Tweed solutions help address key industry challenges, including reducing weight in critical components and supporting the development of next-generation aircraft.

The highlight of Greene Tweed’s exhibit are the company’s Xycomp Discontinuous Long Fiber (DLF) composites, a material solution designed to replace metal parts in complex structural applications. Xycomp meets the stringent qualification standards of major OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers, with more than 400,000 components in service across commercial and defense applications. This technology offers weight reductions of 35-50% compared to metals while maintaining strength, thermal stability and chemical resistance. Using near-net, compression molded shapes, it can replace complex multipiece metal assemblies with a single molded component. The result is less waste, greater efficiency and consistent, high-performance.

As the advanced air mobility (AAM) market develops, Greene Tweed is leveraging its aerospace experience to help shape this new generation of aircraft. With eVTOLs and electrified aircraft transitioning from prototypes to viable fleets, lightweight materials will be critical to balancing performance, safety and sustainability. Greene Tweed is working alongside innovators in this market to ensure composite solutions like DLF meet the demands of new flight technologies, balancing energy efficiency with the ability to manufacture at scale.

Visitors can learn about the company’s latest composite technologies and engage directly with the technical experts. 

In this Chat, I sit down with Dave LaGrow of Maximum Mold Group who shares the story of its beginnings as a contract shop in 1996 to its current status as a multi-facility manufacturing operation.

LaGrow explains that Maximum Mold started by handling various machining jobs, particularly for automation companies. As the company grew, strategic acquisitions became central to their expansion strategy rather than building new facilities. Their first acquisition came in 2015 with Michigan Mold (rebranded as Max 2), which allowed them to continue serving contract machining customers while expanding their mold-building operations.
Between 2015 and 2019, Maximum Mold Group acquired three businesses.

After winning a Leadtime Leader Award in 2018, LaGrow notes they received multiple inquiries from shop owners interested in selling their businesses. This led to the acquisition of Magnum, a prototype facility with specialized welding and testing equipment. While Magnum previously focused primarily on air induction components for automotive applications, the shift toward electric vehicles pushed a business shift.

LaGrow details how Magnum now specializes in machining 3D-printed parts, particularly for automotive applications requiring precise finishing. To support this work, they recently invested in new five-axis equipment from Hurco.

The Chat also highlights how the four facilities work together, with each managed by experienced leaders who communicate regularly. All locations operate on the same ERP system, but LaGrow credits the success to strong relationships with his managers, many of whom have been with the company for around 10 years. 

Looking ahead, LaGrow expresses interest in expanding into automation equipment manufacturing, which would create additional work for all facilities in the group. He describes Maximum Mold Group as a "diverse manufacturing group" capable of handling a wide range of manufacturing needs beyond just molds and dies.

For More MMT Chats, Click Here.

Sources (clockwise) | HERWINGT project, Airborne, Loop Technology

As National Composites Week (NCW) unfolds this year and we discuss the myriad ways in which composites exemplify “Performance With Purpose,” one of the first areas that demands attention is the use of composite materials in the aerospace and advanced air mobility (AAM) sectors. Often innovations in materials are driven by the demands in this sector, are proven out in the qualification of prototypes and pushed to their limits in defense applications as part of their pathway toward commercialization. Today, new innovations aimed at manufacturing for scale, including ever-evolving automation solutions are propelling the industry forward.

A central theme echoed in recent CompositesWorld reporting — including CW’s coverage of this year’s Paris Air Show — is the industry’s decisive shift toward high-rate production. Demand for commercial airliners is a driving force behind a trend where aerospace manufacturers are increasingly integrating automation, robotics and digital process controls to boost output, repeatability and precision. Advances in automated fiber placement (AFP), stamp forming and in-line inspection systems, and the growing use of thermoplastic composites (TPCs) and ultrasonic welding is helping cut cycle times and scale composite manufacturing to levels more closely aligned with metal-intensive assembly lines. While thermoset composites continue to be widely used in aerospace applications, TPCs are gaining traction for their recyclability, toughness and production efficiency — qualities that align well with the aerospace sector’s goals for sustainability and volume manufacturing.

Rising to the challenge of passenger growth and fleet modernization, OEMs are envisioning next-generation single-aisle airliners that blend efficient aerodynamics, lightweight structures and modular composites. Coverage during industry showcases — like those at the Paris Air Show — highlight OEMs and suppliers exploring the use of composites for new wing designs, structural parts and composite-intensive fuselages that cut weight without compromising strength.

Meanwhile, emerging from the AAM realm, vertical take off and lift (VTOL) programs — though still in prototype stages — are already serving as experimental platforms for high-rate composite production. This new emerging class of aircraft offers new insights into workflow optimization, tooling reusability and scale-up strategies. As these programs move toward certification and potentially small-scale production, the lessons learned — particularly in balancing structural complexity with manufacturability — will cross-pollinate back to traditional aerospace programs scaling to meet commercial airline demand.

NCW provides a fitting moment to reflect on all of this progress. Automation isn’t optional — it’s driving production rates to meet the demand for these applications. Thermoplastic composites aren’t niche — they’re increasingly vital to scalable, sustainable aerospace systems. Next-generation single-aisle platforms continue to serve as the proving ground for composite-driven design and manufacturing. VTOL efforts aren’t just flying taxis — they’re laboratories for next-level composite production.

Together, these themes encapsulate a dynamic era — one in which composite materials and production innovation coalesce to help redefine aerospace manufacturing. This year’s NCW is a great time to reflect on some of the progress we’ve seen in the aerospace sector this year. Below is a roundup of key content to explore, read and learn more.

Note: Below covers only articles produced in 2025 for these topics. For other related content (including news and products), visit these sections of our website.

Paris Air Show highlights advanced materials, industry momentum

This year’s international air show offered a glimpse of the rapidly expanding future for composites in aerospace.

What you might have missed at Paris Air Show 2025

A surge in defense spending, partnerships in hydrogen propulsion and new combat aircraft agreements, many backed by composites industry leaders, culminated the 55th Paris Air Show.  

Ceramic matrix composites: Faster, cheaper, higher temperature

New players proliferate, increasing CMC materials and manufacturing capacity, novel processes and automation to meet demand for higher part volumes and performance.

Cutting 100 pounds, certification time for the X-59 nose cone

Swift Engineering used HyperX software to remove 100 pounds from 38-foot graphite/epoxy cored nose cone for X-59 supersonic aircraft.

Clean Aviation Pax Cabin Demonstrator uses biocomposites to cut weight, environmental impact

Full-scale regional aircraft fuselage equipped with cabin structures and systems demonstrates next-gen interiors to TRL 6 with successful FST, noise and vibration testing performance.

Advancing thermoplastic composite primary structure and morphing wings

The HERWINGT project in Clean Aviation seeks to ready technologies — including at least 16 composite demonstrators — for a hybrid-electric regional aircraft with 50% less fuel burn to be launched by 2035.

Aerospace prepregs with braided reinforcement demonstrate improved production rates, cost

A recent time study compares the layup of a wing spar using prepreg with A&P’s TX-45 continuous braided reinforcement versus traditional twill woven prepreg.

Inside the MFFD — CW's coverage of the Clean Aviation multifunctional fuselage demonstrator

CW rounds up coverage of the MFFD project over the past decade. Now complete, the MFFD illustrates numerous processes and technologies for manufacturing primary aerospace structures using thermoplastic composites. 

Plant tour: Collins Aerospace, Riverside, Calif., U.S. and Almere, Netherlands

Composite Tier 1’s long history, acquisition of stamped parts pioneer Dutch Thermoplastic Components, advances roadmap for growth in thermoplastic composite parts.

VIDEO: Installing the world’s largest thermoplastic composites press at Airbus Bremen

At JEC World 2025, Pinette PEI detailed its latest turnkey system for future aircraft serial parts production.

ASCEND program completion: Transforming the U.K.'s high-rate composites manufacturing capability

GKN Aerospace, McLaren Automotive and U.K. partners chart the final chapter of the 4-year, £39.6 million ASCEND program, which accomplished significant progress in high-rate production, Industry 4.0 and sustainable composites manufacturing.

Prepreg compression molding supports higher-rate propeller manufacturing

To meet increasing UAV market demands, Mejzlik Propellers has added a higher-rate compression molding line to its custom CFRP propeller capabilities.  

Source (clockwise) | Firefly Aerospace, MT Aerospace, Rock West Composites

As National Composites Week (NCW) unfolds this year and we discuss the ways in which composites exemplify “Performance With Purpose,” an exciting area of growth is the space sector. From the rise of carbon fiber rocket platforms to the proliferation of constellation satellites, the growth over the past 5 years has been explosive. According to a recent installment of The Space Report presented by the Space Foundation, space workforce employment grew by 18% between 2019 and 2024. Commercial companies are actively partnering with space agencies like NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) in ever-evolving ways, with composites enabling a variety of mission-enabling parts and structures including launch systems, landing struts, load-bearing structures, propulsion systems, thermal protection systems (TPS), telescoping arrays on satellites and many others.

Meanwhile, NASA’s Artemis program, which features many enabling composite technologies, has had numerous successful missions — small steps setting the stage for returning humans to the moon. An exciting time, indeed.

National Composites Week is  fitting moment to look ban the year’s progress in this constantly growing area. Below is a roundup of key content to explore, read and learn more.

Note: Below covers only articles produced in 2025 for these topics. For other related content (including news and products), visit these sections of our website.

Ultrasonic welding for in-space manufacturing of CFRTP

Agile Ultrasonics and NASA trial robotic-compatible carbon fiber-reinforced thermoplastic ultrasonic welding technology for space structures.

Revolutionizing space composites: A new era of satellite materials

A new approach for high volumes of small satellite structures uses low-CTE, low-cost CFRP cellular core, robust single-ply skins and modular panel systems to cut lead time, labor and cost for reflectors, solar arrays and more.

Episode 50: Markus Rufer, Scorpius Space Launch Co.

In this episode of CW Talks, CW interviews Scorpius Space Launch Co. CEO Markus Rufer about the company’s all-composite cryogenic pressure vessels and their role in a range of applications, including recent and upcoming lunar lander missions. 

A return to the Space Symposium: Charting the next frontier

Since 2019 the space sector has been on a rapid upward trajectory. This year’s Space Symposium delivered that same optimism, celebrating the community’s continued proliferation, even as political and financial uncertainty raise new questions.

CIRA qualifies CMC structures for the reusable Space Rider

Italian team designs, builds and tests multiple large, complex thermal protection system structures made from patented ISiComp C/C-SiC ceramic matrix composites.

Composites end markets: New space (2025)

Composite materials — with their unmatched strength-to-weight ratio, durability in extreme environments and design versatility — are at the heart of innovations in satellites, propulsion systems and lunar exploration vehicles, propelling the space economy toward a $1.8 trillion future.

Ceramic matrix composites: Faster, cheaper, higher temperature

New players proliferate, increasing CMC materials and manufacturing capacity, novel processes and automation to meet demand for higher part volumes and performance.

Optimizing a CFRP landing leg demonstrator

MT Aerospace achieves design for manufacturing, integrating multiple elements into one-piece structure using AFP and 3D printed tooling to meet time and budget constraints.

Composites business growth through diversification, innovation

San Diego-based 2024 Top Shops qualifier Rock West Composites gives an overview of its relentless commitment to improvement, including its composite capabilities and its role as a trusted player in the space market.

Carbeon C/C-SiC ceramic matrix composites without fiber coating

Dutch startup Arceon is working with leaders in space, hypersonics and industry to test its Carbeon CMC, validating near-net-shape parts with <3% porosity and performance at 1600ºC, targeting UHTCMC and a presence in the U.S. in 2025.

Source (All Images) | MORPHO project 

MORPHO (Manufacturing, Overhaul, Repair for Prognosis Health Overreach) was a Horizon 2020 funded research project (September 2021 – January 2025) that aimed to optimize the manufacturing and life cycle management of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) aeroengine fan blades. It would thus extend European industrial leadership by advancing cost-effective, flexible and ecological manufacturing, maintenance and recycling processes for the next generation of multifunctional composite airframe parts.

Consortium and objectives

The MORPHO consortium comprised 10 partners from six countries. Led by the Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Arts et Métiers (ENSAM, Paris, France) it included aeroengine manufacturer Safran Tech (Paris, France), Fraunhofer IFAM (Bremen, Germany), Delft University of Technology (TU Delft, Netherlands) and the University of Patras (Patras, Greece), as well as sensor suppliers Synthesites (Piraeus, Greece), Comet Group (Châtelet, Belgium) and FiSens (Braunschweig, Germany) as well as Spanish partners FEUGA, responsible for communications and dissemination, and simulation software supplier ESI.

 

“The goal was to define an industrial process for producing a multifunctional (or “smart”) composite fan blade, which is also multi-material, because the leading edge is titanium,” explains Nazih Mechbal, director of the 180-person PIMM Processes and Engineering in Mechanics and Materials (PIMM) laboratory at ENSAM. “We wanted to give it cognitive function, from its manufacture to end of life [EOL], by embedding sensors and enabling life cycle management through data-driven hybrid twins and machine learning [ML] algorithms. We also wanted to develop a disassembly process that could be industrialized for separating and recycling the titanium leading edge and composite structure.”

The MORPHO demonstrator was a foreign object damage (FOD) panel representing a section of a LEAP engine fan blade.

To demonstrate this, the MORPHO consortium developed a foreign object damage (FOD) panel, “representing a fan blade for the LEAP engine,” says Mechbal, “and used by Safran to test all this capability.” The project succeeded in multiple achievements including:

• Optimized RTM process with 20% shorter cure cycle using advanced dielectric sensors and real-time data analytics for monitoring viscosity, T_g and cure.
• Hybrid twin of RTM process predicted resin flow and cure with <1% error in under 1 millisecond; combining high-fidelity physics-based simulations with real-time process data enabled identifying local permeabilities in woven preforms which significantly enhanced quality control during production.
• Novel AI-based structural prognostics and health monitoring (SHPM) system for aeroengine fan blades that integrates low-frequency fatigue testing, advanced sensing techniques and deep learning architectures to predict stiffness degradation and remaining useful life (RUL) based on strain and other measurements.
• Demonstrated laser shock disassembly of CFRP blade from titanium leading edge, with process parameters tuned using simulation to ensure no damage to composite materials for recycling/reuse.

Hybrid twins for RTM

 

The MORPHO project’s hybrid twin (top) started with a multiphysics, digital model/virtual twin (bottom). Source | ENSAM

“A digital twin is when you use digital models to create a replica of your system using simulation,” says Mechbal. “In a hybrid twin, we enable dialog between this digital data and physical data obtained from sensors. To do this, we first build the physics-based RTM process simulation and finite element [FE] simulation, and then add data-driven online learning to create a hybrid twin.”

Virtual twin. The virtual twin of the RTM process is a digital twin developed as a multiphysics model comprising multiple steps:

• Resin injection (Newtonian fluid flow into 3D woven fabric, Darcy’s law, potential to form racetracks or dry spots)
• Curing (kinetics of polymerization, Kamal-Souror model)
• Heating/cooling (conduction + convection, thermo-dependent mechanical properties).

“From this complete physical model, which requires time and computing power, we extract a reduced model using proper general decomposition [PGD] or any other physics-informed reduction method,” says Mechbal. “Although these reduced models are quick and can be run on the fly during the RTM process, there will be discrepancies with the physical data. This is where we use AI and use it only to estimate these discrepancies. Thus, we retain as much physical knowledge as possible and only use ‘blind’ methods for discrepancies that may arise from the model reduction and unmodeled phenomena such as noise, environmental conditions, etc.”

Physical layout of Synthesites dielectric sensors and data acquisition units in the MORPHO project’s FOD panel demonstrator. Source | Synthesites

Physical measurements. For this second part of the hybrid twin, MORPHO used two kinds of sensors during the RTM process. Dielectric analysis (DEA) sensors from Synthesites were used for process monitoring and measuring the resin flow front. The image at left describes the equipment setup.

As I explained in my 2020 blog on Synthesites, DEA has been used for decades. For MORPHO, Synthesites supplied durable in-mold sensors and in-line sensors at the inlet and outlet gates which fed data into Optiflow and Optimold data acquisition units. Optiflow units monitor resin arrival and temperature and can identify production deviations during resin infiltration. Optimold units use temperature and resin resistance measurements to make calculations and monitor the state of the resin including mix ratio, chemical aging, viscosity, T_g and degree of cure. The data is then analyzed and results are displayed on a laptop using Synthesites’ ORS software.

The Cure Simulator uses a thermocouple in the RTM part to copy the cure process on a resin/prepreg sample and determine the cure level of the part, eliminating unnecessary cycle time and energy. Source | Synthesites

In addition, this setup used an additional piece of equipment, the Cure Simulator. As explained in my 2022 blog on the SuCoHS project, using only one thermocouple, the Cure Simulator can copy the cure process taking place inside the RTM mold (or in that case, the autoclave) and determine the cure level of the composite to identify the point at which it is cured. As explained by Wilco Gerrits, senior R&D engineer and SuCoHS program manager at Royal Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR, Marknesse), “this enables ending your autoclave process when it meets your cure requirements instead of keeping it at temperature for an extra half an hour just to be on the safe side.”

 “But we also looked at a process to put fiber optics with FBG [fiber Bragg grating] sensors from FiSens inside the 3D woven composite preform,” says Mechbal. “We did this using a manual method as proof of concept and also used a more automated weaving process. Because it’s a 3D preform, we are just weaving another fiber there. We did a lot of tests in the 3D woven preform and there was no noticeable impact from integrating the FBG sensors.”

Fiber optics with fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors were integrated into the FOD panel. Source | FiSens

RTM trials

Using a steel matched mold set designed by Safran, MORPHO completed multiple RTM trials to develop a sensor and hybrid twin approach that was reproducible and robust. “For example, we used the virtual twin to predict in real time physical parameters like resin permeability of the preform,” Mechbal explains. “We also had the input coming from the DEA and FBG sensors, which gave us the actual resin flow that we could compare in real time to what we simulated. And due to the layout of our sensors, this included a display of how the permeability changed by zone.”

During RTM trials, the MORPHO project demonstrated the ability to monitor resin injection, filling of the preform and cure. Source | ENSAM

A specific data acquisition interface was developed in MATLAB to gather data from all sensors (fiber optic/FBG, resin arrival, flow rate, pressure and temperature). This interface, also connected to the hybrid twin, can predict — in real time — flow front position and local material properties, says Mechbal. It also enables real-time dialogue between the RTM trial and the hybrid twin, handling both reduced models and data from experimental measurements simultaneously thanks to parallel processing. It can also be used offline to load both reduced models and sensor/process data measurements during RTM for further analysis, and is able to read HDF5 files as well as all raw source files.

The vision, he adds, is to keep advancing this technology so that the RTM process can be adapted as needed in situ

----- SLIDE SHOW -------------

SHM using printed PZT sensors

The original vision of the MORPHO project was always to use sensors, not only to enable a more efficient manufacturing process, but to also impart cognitive function while the part is in service, including structural health monitoring (SHM) and prognostic capability for maintenance. “The sensors we used to optimize the RTM process will also be used for SHM to detect impacts, etc.,” says Mechbal. “But for this, we added other types of sensors, including piezoelectric [PZT] sensors, which were printed on the surface of FOD panels.”

Although FBG for SHM has reached TRL 8-9 in the aerospace industry, Mechbal’s expertise is in PZT technology. Thus, his team at ENSAM worked with MORPHO partner Fraunhofer IFAM to advance PZT sensors for SHM. “While we knew that FBG sensors would give a lot of information on strains and could be used to predict the remaining life of the structure,” he explains, “we saw an ability for PZT sensors to complement this.”

Printing of piezoelectric sensors onto FOD panel. Source | ENSAM, Fraunhofer IFAM

Printing PZTs. Screen printing with silver conductive paste and piezoelectric lacquer on FOD panels was used to create three-layer sensors comprising a top electrode, a 135-micrometer-thick piezoelectric layer and a bottom electrode. “After printing, the part goes into an oven to achieve polarization,” says Mechbal. This induces the piezoelectric effect, enabling the sensors to convert mechanical stress into electrical signals and vice versa. For MORPHO, the printed sensors were processed at 100°C for 30 minutes. “This is a process that could easily be industrialized for composite fan blades,” he adds. “We can also print the wires on the part, but for MORPHO, we didn’t want to have a lot of variables, so we just used regular wire and connectors, to reduce complexity.”

PZT sensor testing

Multiple tests were performed on FOD panels with printed PZT sensors on the surface, including:

• Electromechanical impedance to detect impact events and determine their location and impact energy.
• Acoustic emission as a passive method for monitoring the damage process.
• Lamb wave interrogation for active monitoring of damage onset and evolution.

Testing to detect impact event damage, location and energy levels. Note the estimated impact location from the sensors was indeed the actual location. Source | ENSAM, Fraunhofer IFAM

“Using FOD panels with a titanium and aluminum leading edge, we proved that we can detect damage from impact with a hammer,” explains Mechbal, “including the position and level of energy. And this can be done automatically, because the PZT sensors are a passive approach. In this case, we didn’t send waves but just listened and applied algorithms based on correlation with parameters such as time of flight. These then gave the position and level of impact energy that the FOD panel was subjected to.”

 

Testing at TU Delft used both PZT and FBG sensors in impact and fatigue (top) as well as investigations with lamb waves (bottom). Source | ENSAM, TU Delft

Test panels were also subjected to fatigue testing, performed by TU Delft. “These panels were equipped with PZT and FBG sensors,” notes Mechbal. “We used a hydraulic machine to perform calibrated impact and then recorded this with a camera as well as collecting the sensor data. We also tested to see if we could use these sensors to send and receive lamb waves.” These have been proven effective for detection and quantification of damage in composite laminates.

The image above shows measurements that proved the printed PZT sensors can both correctly emit and sense lamb waves.

 “We then tested some probabilistic approaches for damage detection,” says Mechbal. “We started with a pristine panel, created impact damage and then looked to see if there is a difference in the measurements between them. We were checking to see if the structure was okay or not. The green diamond is where we estimated to have the location of damage with the yellow field of probability around it. And the cross in black is the actual damage that we detected with the sensors. These were good results for this kind of system, which wasn’t optimized in terms of sensor placement.”

Test data for undamaged panel in green on graph with damaged panel in red, and at right, estimated damage location at the green diamond with actual impact at the black cross. Source | ENSAM, TU Delft

“We have developed a good database of how these sensors perform with various damage detection methods that we’re now trying to share with the community,” he notes. “This technology of using printed PZT sensors for SHM is a new paradigm for SHM, enabling a more automated approach as we can print the sensors as quickly as we want and also the wires. Not only can this single sensor type handle several functionalities, but it’s fast and affordable to place as many sensors as we want, so that even if we have a part where some sensors are damaged and lost, we have enough redundancy to always detect and locate damage.”

“… we can print the sensors as quickly as we want and also the wires … it’s fast and affordable to place as many sensors as we want, so that even if … some sensors are damaged and lost, we have enough redundancy to always detect and locate damage.”

“The printing also makes it easy to place the sensors where we can easily plug into them to interrogate the parts when the aircraft is on the ground,” says Mechbal. “For example, the plane docks at the airport, and we simply plug into it and test by sending waves and taking measurements. We can then see if there is damage, or perhaps a change of stiffness in certain areas of the fan blade, as well as the amount. We can then try to quantify the severity of the damage using algorithms.”

Disassembly and recycling

The last part of the MORPHO project dealt with disassembling of the part for recycling or reuse. “The first route we proposed for the FOD panel was to disassemble the titanium leading edge from the composite and also use the sensors that are embedded to monitor this process,” says Mechbal.

“The disassembly was done here at ENSAM using laser shock dismantling, where a high-power laser beam creates a wave that we send to a sacrificial layer on the composite side of the specimens,” he continues. In this case, the sacrificial layer was a thin aluminum tape adhesively bonded to an eight-ply-thick CFRP coupon representative of the FOD panel. “This setup was just to prove that disassembly was possible.”

Laser shock disassembly process for separating metallic leading edge from CFRP laminate. Note the system that holds the samples has an inlet that allows water to flow over the area to confine the expansion induced by the plasma. Source | COMET, ENSAM

“We exposed the samples to the laser beam, which created a small plasma wave resulting from the temperature dilatation (thermal expansion),” notes Mechbal. “The setup includes using a laser-transparent material, such as water, to confine the expansion and further increase the pressure induced by the expanding plasma. This results in the generation of a compressive shock wave in the bulk of the material that propagates inside depending on the density of the material and other parameters.”

”We proved that we can create delamination at any layer in the composite,” he continues, “and control both the location and size of the delamination by tailoring the laser parameters. We then used this process to go further than delamination and actually disassemble the titanium leading edge from FOD panels. We also tested FOD panels with an aluminum leading edge. The method is the same — it just required new calibration.”

Mechbal explains how this tuning of parameters enables dismantling the components without damaging the composite, adding that MORPHO project partner University of Patras also developed a good FE simulation that predicts how this process achieves the dismantling, including damage results.

Lab scale tests showing CFRP sample before (a) and after (b) pyrolysis, with recovered carbon fiber at right, and at bottom, micrographs showing residual resin sticking on the recovered carbon fiber after pyrolysis (left), which was then removed via oxidation (right). Source | Comet Group

After the separation, the composite was processed by Comet Group, one of the MORPHO partners in Belgium, which used a pilot production line to pyrolyze the resin and reclaim the fiber. It developed an optimal process of pyrolysis for 2 hours followed by 30 minutes of oxidation. This resulted in recycled carbon fiber (rCF) with mechanical property degradation limited to around 10%. The idea, says Mechbal, is to use this in automotive or aeronautic interior parts but not structural parts.

Challenges, achievements, possible application for open rotor engines?

Overall, the MORPHO project was successful, says Mechbal, with multiple technologies demonstrated and moved forward, although there were significant challenges. ”The RTM process was easy to monitor using sensors, but integrating the sensors into the process was difficult. Integrating FBG sensors into the process was very laborious, requiring several specific developments and tests. The same was true for developing printed PZT sensors for SHM,” he notes. “We spent a lot of time developing how to integrate FBG and PZT sensors for the SHM process.”

He also notes that for the RTM process, the sensors are being used in an open loop. “The vision was to provide a control feedback loop to optimize the process, but that is not easy to do and requires more development,” he says.

“The process of printing PZT sensors is something that really changes the paradigm for SHM … including how to optimize their placement and interrogation.” 

Meanwhile, he sees the printed PZT sensors as one of the project’s largest achievements. “The process of printing PZT sensors is something that really changes the paradigm for SHM,” says Mechbal. “I have been developing this technology for 10 years, including how to optimize their placement and interrogation. Now, it’s very easy to print and use them. This is something that can be done at the end of any structure manufacturing process.”

“For recycling hybrid composite/metal parts, I think the laser dismantling process opens a lot of possibilities,” he continues. “Also, Comet has completed a business study to quantify the energy required for pyrolysis and what is possible to earn from rCF. Their analysis shows recycling using pyrolysis could be feasible for these fan blade type structures, reusing the fibers in other composites.”

Will ENSAM and other MORPHO partners continue with any of the technologies demonstrated? “This was our vision at the beginning of the project,” says Mechbal, “in alignment with Safran’s priorities at the time. We have given them the software for the hybrid twin of the RTM process and we’re now discussing how to mature the TRL further for the sensor technologies. We didn’t do any tests on an actual fan blade — only the demonstrator panels. So, it is still necessary to see what happens when you use these technologies in an actual flying part.”

“... without a nacelle, the blades are exposed and can experience a lot of FOD impacts. ... even small effects can have a large consequence during operation. For example, they can change the equilibrium of the rotation … But we have proven SHM is possible that can see these damage events and changes in structure.”

Source | Airbus

The use of these sensors to detect damage is indeed interesting because Airbus favors an open rotor engine for the next-generation single-aisle aircraft, slated to enter service after 2035. “I don’t know if open rotor is the future,” says Mechbal, “but it was still a priority project for Safran at the beginning of the MORPHO project. However, open rotor designs present a challenge, because without a nacelle, the blades are exposed and can experience a lot of FOD impacts.” And such impacts can create issues for all CFRP parts.

For aeroengine fan blades, however, even small effects can have a large consequence during operation. For example, they can change the equilibrium of the rotation, which can be very serious, says Mechbal. “When there is large damage, you can see it,” he explains. “You don’t need SHM. But when you have a small impact and perhaps only barely visible damage on the outside, there could be delamination and/or change of stiffness on the inside that you cannot see. And this is something that changes the rotation of the fan blade. But we have proven SHM is possible that can see these damage events and changes in structure. I think MORPHO has advanced technologies that will create new opportunities and possibilities for composites.”

Steep edge layup close-up. Source | Cevotec

Munich-based automation specialist Cevotec GmbH (Germany) presents its latest advances in robotic composite layup based on fiber patch placement (FPP) technology. Designed to bridge the gap between automated fiber placement (AFP) and manual layup, FPP expands the automation toolkit for composites manufacturers, especially in aerospace. It offers powerful options for fabricating geometrically complex components and processing diverse, tacky materials that typically challenge AFP systems. By enabling precise layup of plies and patches, FPP offers material, cycle time and cost savings of 20-60% compared to manual processes.

Cevotec is showcasing the new and advanced capabilities of its SAMBA Series FPP systems, including:

• A horizontal tailplane (HTP) fairing of a commercial aircraft, produced with FPP and demonstrating seven times increased improvement in layup time compared to the legacy process.
• A pressure vessel cut-out illustrating Cevotec’s dome reinforcement solution that won the 2024 CAMX Combined Strength Award.
• Fresh video footage from Cevotec’s lab, showcasing new layup features that address typical challenges for AFP on complex shapes.

As a highlight, the footage includes a demonstrator video featuring a double-curved barrel section with a steep 80° stepped edge — a challenge found at various aerospace components. The video illustrates how the SAMBA Pro system’s Post-Placement Push-In feature achieves uniform compaction and accurate fiber orientation around tight edges.

Furthermore, Cevotec’s expert for composites and FPP technology, Dr. Dimitrios Sikoutris, is holding a conference presentation on “Pressure Vessel Dome Reinforcements – Applied Design Exploration and Optimization,” scheduled on Wednesday, Sept. 10 at 10:00 a.m. in room W209 C. This educational session explores design considerations for FPP dome reinforcements.

The Cevotec team, including CEO Thorsten Groene and Dr. Dimitrios Sikoutris, are present all three days of the show.

Initial production of Kargo II will be based at Piasecki’s Heliplex facility in Coatesville, Pennsylvania. Source | Piasecki Aircraft Corp.

Originally reported by Airframer Ltd. (Hertfordshire, U.K.), Piasecki Aircraft Corp. (Essington, Pa., U.S.) has recently introduced Kargo II, a larger-capacity version of its Kargo medium-lift unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), which it acquired from Kaman Air Vehicles in April 2025. The new model is reported to feature significant payload, drivetrain and performance upgrades to support a range of military and commercial missions. According to FlightGlobal.com, the Kargo II pre-production prototypes feature a composite shell, which is similar to Kargo UAV.

Designed for contested and remote environments, Kargo II retains the compact form of Kargo UAV while delivering two to three times the payload — from around 500-800 pounds to over 1,500 pounds — with improved range, airspeed and mission flexibility. It uses a new shaft-driven transmission and larger rotors to achieve this.

Kargo II follows successful flight testing of Kargo UAV under U.S. Army and Marine Corps contracts, including autonomous lift operations and advanced flight control integration. Commercial availability in domestic and international markets is planned for late 2027. 

“Kargo II reflects Piasecki’s commitment to rapidly advancing autonomous vertical lift capabilities,” says John Piasecki, CEO of Piasecki Aircraft Corp. “With the launch of this first major development spiral, we’ve created a more capable, scalable solution for autonomous logistics, designed to meet the evolving requirements of defense and commercial customers alike.”

This week’s Pic features an airfoil 3D printed in-house by Bend Manufacturing, a student-led contract manufacturing business that operates from the Portage School of Leaders in South Bend, Indiana. 

Commissioned by NASA to 3D print airfoils for wind tunnel models, Bend used its in-house Markforged FX10 3D printer to fulfill the task. As opposed to aluminum, which NASA had previously used to produce airfoils, Bend 3D printed the airfoils from composite-reinforced plastic filament. The company described said material to be more time- and cost-effective in comparison. Bend was then able to cut NASA’s lead time down to 11%, while also cutting costs by 30%.

• Machine: Markforged FX10 3D printer
• Process: Fused filament fabrication (FFF)
• Material: Composite-reinforced plastic filament

Surface treatment with Openair-Plasma is a clean, reliable, cost-efficient method, which can be integrated inline in production processes. Source | Plasmatreat GmbH

Plasmatreat (Steinhagen, Germany and Hayward, Calif., U.S.), is highlighting its latest innovations in aerospace surface preparation, presenting new findings on plasma-enabled bonding of advanced composites and anticorrosion treatments for metal structures.

On display at its booth are low-pressure, large-capacity plasma systems, including the company’s Openair Plasma technology, engineered for the aerospace industry’s most demanding applications — including the pretreatment of large composite panels, sandwich structures, honeycomb cores and other lightweight components commonly used in aircraft interiors, fuselage assemblies and structural bonding.

Designed for R&D and full-scale production, Plasmatreat’s low-pressure systems offer high-uniformity plasma treatment in large vacuum chambers; consistent, repeatable surface activation; and zero hazardous waste and compliance with sustainability initiatives.

Also at Plasmatreat’s booth are live plasma demonstrations, real-time surface consulting and daily technical sessions. Each day at 11:30 a.m., visitors are invited to attend a 30-minute technical session focused on plasma-based surface preparation, activation and process qualification. These sessions feature hands-on insights using the Brighton Science analytical tool, with a technical specialist from Brighton on hand to provide live data interpretation and expert guidance.

Plasmatreat also offers on-the-spot surface consulting throughout the event. Visitors are encouraged to bring their own material samples for real-time analysis and personalized feedback from the technical team. This hands-on approach is designed to help manufacturers evaluate surface readiness, improve adhesion, reduce rework and streamline bonding processes. 

The company is putting on a technical presentation, titled “Enhanced Bond Strength and Corrosion Prevention in Composite and Metal Structures Through Plasma Modification,” on Tuesday, Sept. 9 from 3:30 – 4:00 p.m. The presentation will highlight how atmospheric pressure plasma jets improve adhesive bonding by increasing surface free energy (SFE) and enabling covalent bonding — without the damage, contamination or environmental hazards associated with traditional surface treatments like grit blasting or chemical etching.

Phantom 3500 aircraft rendering. Source | Otto Aerospace

Re:Build Manufacturing (Framingham, Mass., U.S.) has been selected to work with Otto Aerospace (previously Otto Aviation, Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.) to design and manufacture the structural control surfaces for Otto’s Phantom 3500 aircraft.

The Phantom 3500’s distinctive laminar flow fuselage and high-aspect ratio wing demands precision-tooled, tight-tolerance control surfaces to support low-drag flight, enabling Otto to meet its goal of burning 60% less fuel than its super-midsize jet competitors, and reducing emissions by up to 90% when combined with sustainable aviation fuel. To meet these specifications, Re:Build is working closely with the Otto engineering team to produce designs that meet structural requirements while also using tooling and assembly strategies that enable the surfaces to meet the tolerance levels required to minimize aerodynamic drag dramatically.

The Phantom 3500 is an all-composite airframe requiring tight-tolerance structural interfaces to the wing and empennage to support the required aerodynamic profile and enable Otto’s laminar flow concept. Re:Build’s team of engineers and composites manufacturing experts are collaborating with Otto’s internal engineering team to ensure the control surfaces will enable the critical aerodynamic requirements of the aircraft.

“Our goal is to engage with customers and products at the forefront of high-impact industries, where we can simultaneously solve for quality, timeliness and cost, all of which further Re:Build’s mission of onshoring advanced manufacturing,” says Miles Arnone, co-founder and CEO of Re:Build Manufacturing. “Collaborating with Otto on their laminar flow design is an example of the level of engineering expertise and rigor, coupled with stringent manufacturing quality, required to enable the U.S. manufacturing ecosystem.”

The highly optimized aerodynamic design of the control surfaces demonstrates Re:Build’s ability to develop and produce cutting-edge aerospace structural assemblies, seamlessly integrating them into the larger engineering teams and visions of its customers. Re:Build will leverage its aerospace structures design and analysis expertise along with its thermoset composite manufacturing capabilities for this effort. The company is collaborating with Otto on the development of the initial pre-production airframes, followed by scale production as the vehicle transitions from certification to production.

The Phantom 3500 is expected to begin flight testing in 2027, with entry into service targeted for 2030.

Sources (left to right) | Pyromeral Technology, Getty Images and Arceon

CompositesWorld and Gardner Business Media (Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.) have announced that the agenda is now finalized and registration is officially open for the next installment of the popular CW Tech Days online event series. The event will be held Oct. 16, 2025, from 11:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. ET and will cover “High-Temperature Composite Solutions for Defense and Space Applications.”

As defense and space programs push the limits of speed, endurance and mission capability, material performance at extreme temperatures has never been more critical. CW’s latest installment of Tech Days will deliver a focused look at the latest advancements in lightweight, thermally stable composite materials engineered for the toughest aerospace and defense environments.

The finalized agenda is as follows:

• 11:15-11:45 a.m.: “Carbeon C/C-SiC: A Scalable, Cost-Effective Ceramic Matrix Composite for High-Temperature Applications” — Presented by Rahul Shirke, founder and CEO, Arceon

• 11:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m.: “Novel Slurry Infusion for CMCs” — Presented by Dr. Vito Leisner, DLR/Fox Composites

• 1:00-1:30 p.m.: “High-Temperature Materials & Structures for Re-Entry and Hypersonic Systems” — Presented by Mario De Stefano Fumo, deputy head space materials and hot structures unit space directorate, CIRA

• 1:30-2:00 p.m.: “Bridging the Thermal Performance and Cost Gap Between CFRPs and CMCs” — Presented by Darren Friberg, VP Business Dev, Pyromeral Technology

• 2:30-3:00 p.m.: “Phthalonitrile Composites for Carbon/Carbon and Ablative Thermal Protection” — Presented by Joseph Severino, principal engineer- C/C, TPS, Cambium USA

• 3:00-3:30 p.m.: “Pyrolysis of Phenolic Resin and Other Organic Precursors for C-C and CMC Composites” — Presented by William Carty, CTO, MRF Furnaces

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from and engage with leading voices in the field. Registration is now open — secure your spot today. It is $49 to attend this webinar live or watch at your convenience on-demand! (An email with the recording will be sent to those who cannot attend the event.)

Source | Safran

Following a decision by its board of directors, Safran (Paris, France) has announced the location of its new aircraft carbon brake production facility at the Plaine de l’Ain Industrial Park (PIPA) near Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France. The facility will operate alongside Safran Landing Systems’ existing production plants worldwide in Villeurbanne (France), Walton (U.S.) and Sendayan (Malaysia). Scheduled to begin operations in 2030, the site will enable Safran to achieve gradually an increase in volumes of 25% by 2037.

This 30,000-square-meter facility represents an investment of more than €450 million once fully completed. Equipped with technology and industrial systems specifically developed for this project, the facility will be highly automated and will offer employees a working environment of the highest standards. It will have around 100 highly qualified employees when it opens and will double its workforce at full capacity. 

Since energy can account for up to 30% of the cost of manufacturing a carbon brake, the choice of location was dependent on a guarantee of secure access to low-carbon electricity at a stable and competitive price over the long term. The facility, says Olivier Andriès, CEO of Safran, “ensuring our ability to support our customers, against a backdrop of strong air traffic growth.”

These new technologies will also enable the plant to achieve zero emissions in support of Safran’s environmental commitments. It will use biomethane and low-carbon electricity. As a result, its electricity and gas consumption will be reduced by nearly 30% and water consumption by 80%. In addition, all the heat generated by the carbon production process will be recovered to supply a heating network. Some of the production technologies developed for the plant will also be rolled out at other carbon brake facilities to further enhance competitiveness and sustainability.

Sandvik Coromant’s Coromill Plura Barrel line of solid end mills are designed specifically for profiling applications. This solution provides high process security, notable productivity gains and significant cycle time reductions, making it well suited for the aerospace industry and other high-demand sectors.

The Coromill Plura Barrel offers a machining principle for profiling tools, marking a specialized addition to the company’s end mill solutions for ISO S profiling applications, including Coromill Plura Ball Nose, Coromill Plura Lollipop and Coromill Plura Conical Ball Nose. The tool features a one-radius barrel form featuring up to six optimized flutes.

The increased contact radius of the Coromill Plura Barrel is said to provide several advantages over traditional ball-nose machining strategies. This design can reduce cycle times by up to 90% by increasing the step-over, which improves machining efficiency by significantly increasing the surface removal rate (SRR) while also promoting exceptional surface quality.

The optimized barrel design reduces cusp height between passes, leading to superior surface finishes and lower surface roughness. Despite generating higher forces, the stability and process reliability of barrel end mills make them well suited for achieving precise finishes in demanding profiling applications.

According to Liam Haglington, product manager for solid carbide milling tools at Sandvik Coromant, the Coromill Plura Barrel’s large cutting edge radius increases step-over and reduces cycle times, boosting productivity during high-volume material removal. The large barrel radius makes it well suited for machining large, complex contours and 3D shapes, while minimizing scalloping for shallow depths of cut. This tool is particularly suited to demanding applications like aerospace, where components such as engine blisks involve complex geometries and challenging materials. It also improves profiling in other high-demand sectors like medical, oil and gas and power generation.

The tool is available with Sandvik Coromant’s internally developed, material-specific grades, including T2CH for titanium alloys and R2AH for heat-resistant superalloys (HRSA). Both are enhanced by a custom phyiscal vapor deposition (PVD) coating for improved durability and wear resistance. For customers with specific size and diameter requirements, the tool can be customized through Sandvik Coromant’s Tailor Made service, and a tool guide platform can further aid application needs with expert tooling advice.

Sandvik Coromant also offers a comprehensive recycling program for worn-out carbide tools, including the Coromill Plura Barrel and other advanced milling solutions. This service enables customers to return used tools for responsible recycling, reducing industrial waste and conserving critical materials like tungsten and cobalt. By participating, manufacturers can contribute to environmental sustainability and benefit from a more resource-efficient production process.

Source | Northrop Grumman, Siemens, Electroimpact, Scaled Composites

Northrop Grumman (Falls Church, Va., U.S.) has announced it will use the Model 437 aircraft built by subsidiary Scaled Composites (Mojave, Calif., U.S.) to test its Beacon autonomy ecosystem this year. This pioneering system will be tested in a pioneering aircraft — most likely the first to use continuous carbon fiber additive manufacturing in primary structures, namely the wings — showcasing Northrop Grumman’s investment and achievements via its Digital Pathfinder and Advanced Manufacturing teams.

Beacon is built on more than 500,000 autonomous flight hours and integrates advanced autonomous software and solutions within a digital environment that aims to accelerate software deployment, reduce risk and improve readiness for future aircraft programs.

Six partners — Applied Intuition, Autonodyne, Merlin, Red 6, Shield AI and SoarTech, an Accelint company — will test and refine their solutions using the Model 437 with Northrop Grumman’s flight autonomy hardware during a series of flight demonstrations this year.

Model 437 via Digital Pathfinder

According to the Scaled Composites website, Model 437 began as a conceptual design exploring a multi-mission low-cost attritable aircraft, with Vanguard as a crewed variant. The 41-foot-long aircraft has a 41-foot wingspan, gross takeoff weight of 10,000 pounds and is powered by a single 3,400-pound-thrust Pratt & Whitney engine.

It was also a key demonstrator for the Digital Pathfinder team to develop an innovative stealth aircraft using a fully connected digital environment. The integration of digital tools and processes combined with advanced manufacturing techniques enabled the Model 437 to be built faster and more affordably. Indeed, its first flight in August 2024 was just 27 months after starting the project.

As explained in the 2024 Breaking Defense article, “The wings of the M437 take flight after being developed in a fully connected digital ecosystem”, Northrop Grumman led design, build and manufacturing of the aircraft’s removable wing assemblies while Scaled Composites managed aerodynamic and structural analysis, fuselage and empennage fabrication, aircraft assembly and systems integration as well as ground and flight tests.

AM composite and titanium wings

Northrop Grumman fellow in advanced manufacturing, Eric Barnes, explained in a LinkedIn post how new targeted determinate assembly techniques and composite AM processes were used to build the aircraft’s wings.

“We utilized fully digital information through our patented Scalable Composite Robotic Additive Manufacturing (SCRAM) capability that required no hard tooling,” he says, “only a rapidly deposited polymer wash away tool. Combined with no secondary cures or autoclaves needed in this process, we greatly reduced cost and schedule timelines.”

Electroimpact’s SCRAM additive manufacturing system in 2020. See “Combining AFP with 3D printing ...”

“We have multiple patents associated with this continuous fiber additive manufacturing cell. One of these patents allows machines to switch between materials, laying down continuous fiber composites in true 3D form. This enables us to align fibers with load directions, producing lighter, stronger structures with less material.” — Eric Barnes, in 2024 Breaking Defense article

“We also incorporated Plasma Arc Directed Energy Deposition [using] titanium for some of the primary structure of the wing,” said Barnes, “which we believe was the first time this process was used in a defense primary structural application. Through this we are seeing a 30% reduction in cost and schedule timelines for these parts, compared to traditional processes.”

Digital thread, determinate assembly

Sarah Beaudin, DPF director at Northrop Grumman, noted in the Breaking Defense article that in today’s world, the ability to deliver high-tech, high-end aircraft/aerospace solutions within tighter timelines is imperative. “Digital engineering makes that possible,” she added. “Our digital environment provides near-real-time visibility, creating a single source of truth. This allows us to adopt a shift-left approach — iterating everything from design through sustainment as early as possible in the program. By the time we actually start building things, we’ve already got it right.”

“We integrated suppliers into the digital transformation collaborative toolset,” Barnes explained. “This was a game-changer in many ways. To perform determinant assembly effectively, we need to push digital collaboration down to our suppliers, integrating them into our digital toolsets.”

This capability reduced not only the timeline but also costs. “Typical programs budget 15-20% for engineering rework,” said Beaudin. “We saw less than 1%. In addition, we saw improved efficiencies on the manufacturing floor.”

Just as the power of collaboration has been demonstrated by Digital Pathfinder in the Model 437 platform, Beacon will reportedly do the same for autonomy.  

“By providing open access to the Beacon ecosystem, we’re enhancing the innovation, new competition and ultimately the autonomous capabilities that industry can deliver to our customers, with unmatched speed and at scale,” — Tom Jones, corporate vice president and president, Aeronautics Systems, Northrop Grumman.

Source | Getty Images

In early August, Spirit AeroSystems (Wichita, Kan., U.S.) announced a purchase agreement to sell its facility and businesses in Subang, Malaysia, to Composites Technology Research Malaysia Sdn Bhd (CTRM, Malaysia) for $95,200,000, subject to customary adjustments. This transaction was entered into following the previously announced merger agreement with Boeing and subsequent definitive agreement with Airbus. The transaction is expected to close in Q4 2025, subject to regulatory approvals and closing conditions being met. 

Spirit AeroSystems’ business in Subang is a world-class engineering and manufacturing business, which occupies 45 acres with 400,000 square-feet manufacturing footprint in Subang’s Malaysian International Aerospace Centre and employs more than 1,000 employees. The operation offers aerostructures assembly, services capabilities and an integrated supply chain with access to advantaged, in-region material sourcing, skilled labor and scalability. 

As a result of this transaction, CTRM will become an important supplier to Airbus for its A220, A320 and A350 programs, and to Boeing on the 737 and 787 programs. 

“Our agreement with CTRM for the acquisition of this manufacturing facility ensures a strong future for this business as well as the regional stakeholders in Malaysia,” says Irene Esteves, Spirit AeroSystems executive vice president and chief financial officer. “This also marks a milestone in the ongoing acquisition of Spirit by Boeing.” 

Source | Syensqo

Syensqo (Atlanta, Ga., U.S.) has achieved FAA-sponsored NCAMP qualification for its Prism EP2400 epoxy resin system in combination with Teijin Carbon’s (Rockwood, Tenn., U.S.) Tenax IMS65 E23 24K noncrimp fabrics (NCF) and unidirectional (UD) woven reinforcements.

The qualification, recognized by both the FAA and EASA and formalized under material specification NMS 241 and process specification NPS 82401, is supported by a publicly available NCAMP Material Property Data Report, providing aerospace manufacturers with certified, design-ready material data to accelerate implementation where resin infusion offers clear performance and cost advantages.

“This qualification fills a critical gap in publicly available aerospace material data,” says Rob Blackburn, head of customer engineering at Syensqo. “It’s the first resin infusion system in the NCAMP database, giving manufacturers a validated, scalable alternative to autoclave processing for applications where resin infusion makes sense such as integrated structures.”

Until now, public NCAMP allowables have focused almost exclusively on prepreg systems, leaving a gap for OEMs seeking validated out-of-autoclave (OOA) resin infusion solutions. NCAMP qualification means faster adoption (mechanical testing and analysis are already complete), reduced cost (qualification expenses are significantly reduced) and reduced program risk. 

Technical benefits of Prism EP2400 include:

• Low-viscosity system enabling robust and repeatable resin transfer processing.
• Toughened and damage-tolerant resin for high-performance application.
• Long and stable pot life for large or complex structure infusions.
• One-part, low reactive system, developed for global shipping by sea, land or air.

Ideal for both primary and secondary structures on commercial or defense aircraft, Syensqo reports that Prism EP2400 is suited for a wide variety of components, where its toughened resin system delivers higher performance than typical resin infusion systems.

The full documentation package is now publicly available via NCAMP at Wichita State University.

Source | Re:Build Manufacturing

Re:Build Manufacturing (Framingham, Mass., U.S.), high-performance engineering and manufacturing company for the aerospace and defense industries, announces that its new manufacturing facility in New Kensington, Pennsylvania, which specializes in assembly, precision machining and welding, has achieved both ISO 9001 and AS9100 certifications, making it the third facility within the Re:Build ecosystem to do so.

AS9100 is the internationally recognized quality management system (QMS) standard specifically developed for the aerospace and defense sectors. This certification reflects the site’s commitment to delivering high-quality, reliable components and assemblies that meet the industry’s stringent requirements. “AS9100 certification strengthens our position as a trusted partner to our customers and opens new opportunities to support complex programmatic work in the aerospace and defense sector,” adds Victor Mroczkowski, executive VP of Re:Build Manufacturing’s New Kensington site.

This certification supports product reliability through standardized, well-controlled processes and embeds robust quality assurance and risk management protocols throughout the production life cycle. Customers also benefit from faster qualification and audit processes, as well as more efficient collaboration through consistent documentation and traceability. Ultimately, it helps customers move faster, operate more confidently and meet the demands of increasingly complex aerospace and defense programs.

Re:Build’s facility has been purpose-built for scalability, with the infrastructure and resources to accommodate high-volume production. 

Gold-tin AuSN plating for semiconductors. Source | Mitsuya Co. Ltd.

Through a U.S. business development and sales agency agreement with California-based Japan USA Precision Tools (JUPT, Long Beach, Calif., U.S.), Mitsuya Co. Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan) is launching a new U.S. market expansion campaign offering its expert precious metal plating services for automotive, semiconductor, medical device and aerospace applications in the North American market. 

Mitsuya’s precious metal strategic plating solutions include rhodium, indium, platinum, gold, tin, hard silver and stainless steel without nickel finishes. In the global automotive sector, more than 40% of the vehicles that have integrated sensors use plated sensors from Mitsuya. Examples of U.S. customer solutions include tin plating on aluminum substrates for U.S. automotive OEMs, hard gold plating on contacts for a communication equipment manufacturer and high-strength gold-tin alloy solder plating for semiconductor IC inspection equipment.

ISO9001-2015- and JISQ9100-certified, Mitsuya has a team of more than 300 dedicated employees and a network of four plants across Japan.

JUPT is a B2B marketing and sales agency formed in 2022 and led by long-time industry veterans. The company focuses on precision machines, accurate made-to-order tooling and precious metals plating for tight-tolerance applications.

Lumes unmanned helicopter platform. Source | Uavos, Avincis

Uavos Inc. (Mountain View, Calif., U.S.) has been selected by emergency aerial services provider Avincis (Madrid, Spain), a European company specializing in aerial emergency services and critical operations, to supply composite main rotor blades for its Lumes unmanned helicopter platform. This collaboration reinforces Uavos’ position as a trusted OEM supplier of advanced rotorcraft components to international unmanned platform operators.

The delivered rotor blades are engineered using advanced composite materials to ensure high resistance to overload and fatigue; reduced weight and enhanced aerodynamic performance; and long service life and low-maintenance requirements.

The blades have passed rigorous qualification tests, including overload, fatigue and environmental performance evaluations, ensuring their compliance with strict operational standards. Uavos says its rotor blades are an ideal match for multi-role unmanned helicopters operating in challenging conditions.

“We are committed to developing the latest technology to support and enhance the emergency aerial services we already provide to more than 50 customers across three continents,” notes John Bag, Group CEO, Avincis. “Lumes is one of the key products in the portfolio of innovations we are currently working on and Uavos will be an important partner in the journey to bringing this UAS platform to market in the near future.”

The collaboration is part of the Biodiversity Project, funded by the Xunta de Galicia within the framework of the Civil UAVs Initiative.

Source | Getty Images

Valence Surface Technologies LLC (El Segundo, California), reported to be the largest independent aerospace surface finishing platform in North America, has announced the acquisition of Lawrence, Massachusetts-based C.I.L. Metal Finishing and C.I.L. Electroplating (CIL), a provider of surface treatment for highly engineered products in the North American aerospace and defense market. CIL provides surface treatment to prominent U.S. customers and platforms under key approvals, including Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, L3Harris, Boeing, Pratt & Whitney and their extensive network of approved suppliers.

Founded and operated by Jim Coskren since 1986, CIL has built a strong reputation for providing complex, high-quality metal finishing services. The company’s capabilities include plating on wire mesh for EMI and RFI shielding, plating on magnesium, large equipment blasting and refurbishment, anodizing, chem-film, hard metal and precious metal plating, and high-performance painting services — all for mission-critical defense, space and commercial aerospace applications.

CIL employs approximately 160 people and operates two facilities in Lawrence, Massachusetts, totaling approximately 150,000 square feet, with capacity for future expansion.

The acquisition of CIL marks another milestone in Valence’s strategy to improve the aerospace and defense supply chain through an integrated, full-service platform offering product finishing solutions with high quality and efficient turn times, according to the company.

CIL’s existing management team and workforce will remain with the organization as part of the transaction. Jim Coskren will continue as vice president and remain a driver of growth for the business. CIL operations management, including Mike Venable, Dennis Reidy, Alec Jillson and Rob Couyoumjian, will stay actively involved in the business through this next chapter of growth.

Valence is majority-owned by ATL Partners and British Columbia Investment Management Corp., who invested in Valence in June 2019 to support its strategic initiatives and continued expansion. CIL represents the 11th add-on acquisition for Valence since inception, and the company plans to pursue additional merger and acquisition opportunities in both North America and Europe.