Chrysler Group LLC Reveals Custom Vehicles Headed for 2012 SEMA Show

“The SEMA show is the perfect place for us to showcase our vast portfolio of proven, quality-tested Mopar performance parts and accessories,” said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar?, Chrysler Group LLC’s service, parts and customer-care brand. “We hope that show-goers look at each of these vehicles and get inspired to customize and accessorize their rides.”

Following are select “Moparized” vehicles that will take center stage at SEMA:

The Dune-in-Matte color,prepreg four-door Jeep Wrangler serves as a showpiece for the company’s new portfolio of high-end, hard-core Jeep performance parts.

The Sand Trooper is powered by the new 5.7-liter HEMI? V-8 conversion kit. The conversion kit pumps out 375 horsepower and 410 lb-ft. of torque. Paired with the power of the HEMI are front and rear portal axles, providing an extra 5 inches of lift to boost ground clearance capabilities.

Massive 42-inch Super Swamper Bogger tires, endowed with the oversize style of a tractor tire, ensure the Sand Trooper will enjoy a large, aggressive presence on the SEMA show floor. Performance bead lock wheels are painted matte-black. “Moparized” Fox Shox provide racing-level ride traction and stability,carbon sheetwhile the full-length underbody skid plate prototype helps protect the exposed undercarriage of the Sand Trooper from off-road elements.

For the exterior, the Dune-in-Matte tan color of the Sand Trooper is livened up by numerous black accents throughout the vehicle, including matte-black front and rear off-road bumpers, grille, fuel-filler door, tail lamp guards and black door-sill guards.carbon clothThe Sand Trooper is sans top for an open-concept feel, which is amplified by Mopar half-doors. A vented hood helps the HEMI breathe, and additional Mopar products include a skid plate, Warn winch, LED off-road lights, rock rails and trailer-tow hitch receiver, providing a full arsenal of vital accessories when venturing into the unknown.

Moving inside, premium black Katzkin Leather seats incorporate the exterior feel with unique tan stitching. Interior Mopar accessories include a rearview camera, Mopar prototype CB radio,carbon prepreg all-weather slush mats, hood lock, and locking trailside winch kit. The Mopar Add-a Trunk upgrades the Sand Trooper with secure storage, as does the under-seat and center-console locking storage and below-floor storage box.

Astronomers find diamond planet twice the size of Earth

Forget a diamond the size of the Ritz – astronomers have discovered a planet partly made out of diamond, and at an incredible 40 light years away from Earth, it is visible to the naked eye.

While visually appealing, with no atmosphere and temperatures reaching 1,648 degrees Celsius it’s hardly habitable.

The incredibly hot, rocky planet, called Cancri e,prepreg has a mass eight times greater than our planet and orbits a sun-like star visible to the naked eye in the constellation of Cancer. It orbits at hyper speed, moving so fast that its years last only 18 hours.

In addition to diamond the planet appears to be composed of carbon, iron, silicon and carbide; in contrast to Earth, which is low in carbon. Its carbon-rich composition could influence the planet’s thermal characteristics and plate tectonics, with implications for volcanoes, earthquakes and mountain formation.

The study, carried out by a US-French research team at the Institute de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planetologie in Toulouse,carbon sheetFrance, believes that a third of the planet’s mass – the equivalent of about three Earth masses – could be diamond.

Nikku Madhusudhan, one of the lead researchers whose findings are due to be published in the journal Astrophysical Journal Letters, told Reuters, “The surface of this planet is likely covered in graphite and diamond rather than water and graphite.”

Diamond planets have been discovered before, but this is the first time one has been seen orbiting a sun-like star.

Madhusudhan explained that this was the first glimpse of a rocky world with a fundamentally different chemistry from Earth’s. He added that the discovery of the carbon-rich planet means that distant rocky planets can no longer be assumed to be similar to Earth – namely to have atmospheres, interiors, carbon clothchemical constituents or biologies like Earth.

David Spergel, an astronomer at Princeton University, explained that while it was quite simple to work out the basic history and structure of a star once you know its mass and age,carbon prepreg planets were much more complex.

“This ‘diamond-rich super-Earth’ is likely just one example of the rich sets of discoveries that await us as we begin to explore planets around nearby stars,” he said.

But any fortune hunters will be thwarted by the distance involved in astronomy, as Cancri e is about 40 light years – or 230 trillion miles – from Earth. (RT News).

How to care carbon wheels and other parts

Drop by our shop and hold a carbon handlebar, seatpost or fork, or better, lift one of our full-carbon dream machines, and you'll be startled at how little they weigh. The real surprise, though,prepreg comes on rides, when the featherweight and beautiful miracle material transfers more of your effort to the ground, dazzling you with acceleration, climbing, control and even comfort, superior to anything Best Wheelset you've pedaled before.
Carbon is so light and tough that Boeing picked it for their 787 "Dreamliner" jet. It's over 80% carbon, including the fuselage, which seats 300-plus passengers. And, perhaps the ultimate Roue Carbone 38mm ever, carbon sheetis the 197-foot-wide wing. With the Dreamliner's 360,000-pound takeoff weight and Mach 0.85 cruising speed, this amazing and gossamer carbon structure must withstand a lift force of some 450,000 pounds.
Yet, even with incredible strength and toughness like this, with a single indiscriminate act like clamping your carbon wheels wonder wrong in your repair stand, over torquing with an Allen wrench, carbon clothor letting the handlebars swing around and smash into the top tube, you can do some serious damage.
It's possible because carbon bike wheels has very different qualities than steel, aluminum and titanium, which you've probably ridden before. Unlike these metals, carbon is a synthetic composite material comprised of fibers soaked in epoxy resin and then compressed, heated and cured. Essentially, your carbon jewel is made up of a super-strong fabric, which requires a little new know-how on your part. The foremost being that while metal shows signs of damage, typically bends,carbon prepregdents or bulges, carbon bicycle wheels may appear normal, yet, if compromised enough, even though you can't see the defect, the component could fail without warning. Another issue is notch sensitivity, which means that deep cuts, gouges or scratches can cause carbon to break and should be inspected by a pro immediately (and avoided!).
Now that we've got your attention, there's really no reason for concern as long as you treat your carbon gear correctly. To help, we asked our mechanics for their best tips, picked the brains of every industry carbon guru we know, and culled information from the major Bicycle Wheelset and component leaders' websites to bring you this guide to caring for and maintaining your carbon bicycles and components.

Ford developing new techniques for the use of carbon fiber

Ford is one of the brands that surprised me personally in the last two years. New technologies and developments quite intelligent are the reasons why Ford has positively impacted me.prepreg A brand that is developing new cleaner and greener technologies, designing vehicles discounts without despising some good finishes and ride comfort worthy of any premium German. But Ford’s philosophy is to go beyond and apparently is developing a technique based on CFRP which could improve the final costs of production.carbon sheet A direct blow to the waterline of the leading brands in the automotive world, no doubt.

Very recently and talked about the future of Ford with the 2012 Go Further to that we had the opportunity to attend. And if anything it was clear from that world event is that Ford wants to keep growing, and not in any way. carbon sheetsThey seek to improve in all segments with new technologies that drive the value of efficiency and performance for all their new models. That is why we have recently seen that Ford walks involved in developing new gearboxes 9 and 10 speeds.

But there are many factors involved in the creation of more efficient models.carbon fabric Speak weight. That is why Ford is investing in new technologies to implement in a production line the CFRP technology (i.e. Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic). A technology that we have spoken at length in the past and it is not new to the big brands. It will be a technology that would greatly reduce the final weight of certain components while maintaining the rigidity of materials such as steel. carbon clothThus Ford said it would be able to save on average about 340 kg in each model.

That way everyone would benefit, but the problem is that the implementation of the road cars is an expensive CFRP. And Ford wants to improve this factor patterns redefining the impregnation process all fabric must suffer before becoming rigid. Thus, it would be a “quick, stable and suitable way to treat the CFRP with a high degree of finishing and quality.”

Apple on carbon fiber: "tired", unexciting look

Despite the many benefits of carbon fiber composites, such composites are typically black and the carbon fibers are typically visible on the composite surface. In addition, the fibers (either as a unidirectional, prepregwoven, or nonwoven substrate) are typically variable in their construction and therefore are variable in their surface presentation. As a result, the resulting carbon fiber composite can have cosmetic imperfections that reduce the aesthetic appearance of the molded article formed therefrom. Further, carbon fiber composites, often being black, provide a narrow range of surface appearance to the molded article and therefore may give a "tired", carbon sheetsunexciting look.

From the summary:

A composite laminate having an improved cosmetic surface is presented herein. The composite laminate includes a plurality of sheets of preimpregnated material, or prepreg, stacked one over another and a scrim layer provided on an exterior surface of the sheets of prepreg. The scrim layer and the sheets of prepreg form a composite laminate whereby the scrim layer constitutes an outer, exposed surface of the composite laminate. Each sheet of prepreg is made from fibers preimpregnated with resin, and the fibers of the prepreg may be substantially parallel or woven carbon fibers. The scrim layer may be a glass fiber or carbon fiber scrim, or veil, that has absorbed resin from the sheets of prepreg during a molding process. In another embodiment, carbon cloththe composite laminate includes a plurality of sheets of prepreg stacked one over another and first and second scrim layers provided on opposing exterior surfaces of the sheets of prepreg, whereby the sheets of prepreg are sandwiched between the first and second scrim layers. The first and second scrim layers constitute exposed surfaces of the composite laminate.

The first claim:

A composite laminate comprising:a plurality of sheets of prepreg, the sheets being stacked one over another, each sheet of prepreg including fibers preimpregnated with resin;cc composite anda scrim layer provided on an exterior surface of the plurality of sheets of prepreg, wherein the scrim layer and the sheets of prepreg form a composite laminate whereby the scrim layer constitutes an outer, exposed surface of the composite laminate.

Carbon fiber tech center for wind and more

    Zoltek 300x163Carbon-fiber manufacturer Zoltek Corp. has taken a step toward growing its carbon fiber prepreg capabilities by expanding into a new 135,000 ft2 facility near St. Louis, Mo. The new facility will house Zoltek’s prepreg manufacturing and new Technical Center.prepreg

The company says it is making the move in response to the growing demand of a low-cost carbon fiber prepreg supply in wind energy and other applications. “Our strategy has been to commercialize carbon fiber and broaden its use in industrial applications through low-cost and supply availability”, says CEO Zsolt Rumy. “Unfortunately, the current carbon fiber prepreg supply is fragmented and geared towards aerospace markets rather than industrial use. We are addressing this shortfall by consolidating the supply chain and forward integrating into prepreg manufacturing for select industrial applications.”

St. Louis is home to Zoltek’s headquarters and one of their four carbon fiber manufacturing facilities. The new location will also serve as a technical center for carbon-fiber applications, specifically targeting wind energy and automotive applications.carbon sheets

Wind energy is a leading application for Zoltek’s prepreg carbon fiber due to its unique and inherent characteristics (high-stiffness, high-strength, lightweight). Recent trends in wind energy have spurred wind-blade manufactures to create longer turbine blades. Carbon-fiber composites have proven ideal for wind blade turbine reinforcement, letting longer blades capture more wind energy, even at lower wind speeds.

Automotive is a growing application for carbon fibers, carbon clothwhere the strength-to-weight ratio of carbon fibers enables vehicles to be lighter weight and therefore more fuel-efficient. Other applications include offshore drilling, infrastructure repair, marine, and other applications requiring a high strength and light-weight material.

In addition to the two production facilities in St. Louis, Zoltek has carbon fiber manufacturing facilities in Hungary,cc composite

As discussed in our previous article on Polymer Testing Equipment

As discussed in our previous article on Polymer Testing Equipment, plastic is fast becoming the most popular choice of material in manufacturing industries. As many readers have been asking me to give some details about Plastic Processing Equipment and methods, I took out time to inform our readers about the various methods involved in procuring finished plastic parts.
The family of polymers is extraordinarily large and varied. There are,China Carbon Plate 160g/㎡, T300 3K, Unidirectional Manufacturers however, some fairly broad and basic approaches that can be followed when designing or fabricating a product out of polymers or, more commonly, polymers compounded with other ingredients. The type of fabrication process to be adopted depends on the properties and characteristics of the polymer and on the shape and form of the final product.
In the broad classification of plastics there are two generally accepted categories: thermoplastic resins and thermosetting resins.
Thermoplastic resins consist of long polymer molecules, each of which may or may not have side chains or groups. The side chains or groups, if present, are not linked to other polymer molecules (i.e., are not cross-linked).China Carbon Plate 200g/㎡, T300 3K, Plain Weave Manufacturers Thermoplastic resins, usually obtained as a granular polymer, can therefore be repeatedly melted or solidified by heating or cooling. Heat softens or melts the material so that it can be formed; subsequent cooling then hardens or solidifies the material in the given shape. No chemical change usually takes place during this shaping process.
In thermosetting resins the reactive groups of the molecules from cross-links between the molecules during the fabrication process. The cross-linked or “cured” material cannot be softened by heating.China Carbon Plate 200g/㎡, T300 3K, Twill Manufacturers
Thermoset materials are usually supplied as a partially polymerized molding compound or as a liquid monomer–polymer mixture. In this uncured condition they can be shaped with or without pressure and polymerized to the cured state with chemicals or heat.
With the progress of technology the demarcation between thermoplastic and thermoset processing has become less distinct. For thermosets processes have been developed which make use of the economic processing characteristics or thermoplastics. For example, cross-linked polyethylene wire coating is made by extruding the thermoplastic polyethylene, which is then cross-linked (either chemically or by irradiation) to form what is actually a thermoset material that cannot be melted again by heating.
More recently, modified machinery and molding compositions have become available to provide the economics of thermoplastic processing to thermosetting materials.China Carbon Plate Carbon Laminate 280g/㎡, T300 3K, Twill Manufacturers Injection molding of phenolics and other thermosetting materials are such examples. Nevertheless, it is still a widespread practice in industry to distinguish between thermoplastic and thermosetting resins.
Compression and transfer molding are the most common methods of processing thermosetting plastics. For thermoplastics, the more important processing techniques are extrusion, injection, blow molding, and calendaring; other processes are thermoforming, slush molding, and spinning.
Tooling for plastics processing defines the shape of the part. It falls into two major categories, China Carbon Plate 200g/㎡, T700 12K, Unidirectional Manufacturersmolds and dies. A mold is used to form a complete three-dimensional plastic part. The plastics processes that use molds are compression molding, injection molding, blow molding, thermoforming, and reaction injection molding (RIM). A die, on the other hand, is used to form two of the three dimensions of a plastic part. The third dimension, usually thickness or length, is controlled by other process variables.
The plastics processes that use dies are extrusion and thermoforming. Many plastics processes do not differentiate between the terms mold and die. Molds, however, are the most predominant form of plastics tooling.