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Carbon fibers

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Materials

Altair Honors Innovations in Automotive Lightweighting and Sustainability

General Motors engineers opted for a battery structure comprised entirely of high-performance polymeric materials for the 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray’s hybrid...

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Test & Measurement

Zero Prototype Summit 2024: The Future Is Closer Than Ever

Despite rainy skies above northeastern Italy in mid-May, the mood at VI-grade’s 2024 Zero Prototype Summit (ZPS) was decidedly sunny. VI-grade’s partners from around the...

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News
Power

Tested: 2025 Mercedes-Benz G 580 Spins up a Winner

I’m used to spinning wheels while testing cars, but the 2025 Mercedes-Benz G 580 is making a spectacle.

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News
Energy

Fuel Cell Production Spurs Supplier Opportunities

The head of General Motors’ global fuel-cell business is bullish about ongoing opportunities for suppliers in the emerging hydrogen-power space, as GM and partner Honda Motor Co. began...

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News
Propulsion

Honda Showcases Electrified Future of Motorsports

Honda North America has long had a presence in racing and motorsports at every level in the United States. The company has continually supported programs aimed at the highest levels of...

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Articles
Automotive

A Formula for Real-World Experience

On a hazy, cool day in late May, a massive throng of thousands of collegiate engineers and hundreds of volunteers descended on Michigan International Speedway to put the teams’ engineering,...

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Automotive

3D, No Waiting!

Few will dispute that additive manufacturing — commonly called 3D printing — has endured a development path of fits and starts. But as niche applications, an ever-increasing array of material choices — and the...

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Transportation

Hydrogen Storage in a Box!

Until recently, there was only one practical solution for storing gaseous hydrogen for onboard vehicle use: the cylindrical storage tank. Spiral-wound, carbon fiber cylinders are the proven form factor for...

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News
Manufacturing & Prototyping

Recaro Pioneers Seating Shells Made with CF Recyclate

The green flag is about to drop on an auto-racing first: a seat shell infused with recycled carbon fiber.

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News
Materials

Liebherr Reveals ‘Hybrid’ CFRP Cylinders and Parallel-Pump Concept

Reducing weight from components and systems is a major trend in passenger vehicles to boost fuel efficiency and driving range.

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News
Energy

Launching Aerospace Battery Tech for EVs

Advanced materials and energy storage company Nanoramic Laboratories is in the early stages of a 30-month project to develop a low-cost/fast-charge Li-ion battery for electric vehicles using its...

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Manufacturing & Prototyping

All-Composite EV Wheel Heads to Production

Designed for EV and niche applications, the first commercially viable, low cost, lightweight, all-composite wheel moves to the next phase of development with a pilot production run. The...

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News
Power

Carbon Fiber Research Eyes Roof Frames, Doors

It’s not just for exotic “supercars” and motorcycles anymore. The performance-enhancing attributes of carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics continue to be explored by global automakers as they...

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Power

Lightweighting Tour-De-Force: 2021 Ducati Superleggera V4

According to Ducati, the 2021 Superleggera V4 is its most powerful, fastest and most advanced production bike, ever. This is no mean claim from the Bologna-based manufacturer...

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Technology Report
Materials

Altair Honors Lightweight Advances

Fitting for an industry that collectively is accelerating electric-vehicle launches, Harley-Davidson’s LiveWire electric motorcycle won the Full Vehicle category of the 8th annual Altair Enlighten...

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News
Propulsion

Ford’s Max Mustang Brings ‘World Class’ into the Sports Coupe Conversation

There’s the old saw about a something being better than the sum of its parts. That phrase applies to the 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 – despite most...

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Manufacturing & Prototyping

2019’s Best Automotive Plastics Innovations

The Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) annual Automotive Innovation Awards Competition, now in its 49th year, is considered the “Oscars” for those developing polymer and...

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Road Ready
Energy

Volvo’s Polestar Powerhouse Plug-In Hybrid

You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. That’s why Polestar, Volvo’s new electric performance subsidiary, used its first vehicle as a rolling showcase of the brand’s...

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What We’re Driving
Imaging

The Ford GT

As part of its sponsorship of this year’s annual auto-palooza known as the Woodward Dream Cruise, Ford invited media to sample its Ford GT supercar along Detroit’s famous avenue. With its sold-out production run of 1,350...

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Technology Report
Automotive

Mass-Reducing Innovations Honored by Altair

The 4th generation Jeep Wrangler, which eliminated 92 kg (203 lb) compared to the previous-generation vehicle, and Ferrari’s Portofino, which is 80 kg (176 lb) lighter yet 35%...

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News
Electronics & Computers

Gordon Murray Reveals Lightweight T.50 Supercar: V12, Ground-Effects Fan, $2.5-Million Pricetag

It will be the aural signature of Prof. Gordon Murray, Formula 1 racecar and environmental-efficiency vehicle creator: the sound of a bespoke...

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News
Imaging

2020 GMC Sierra to Debut New Diesel Along with Expanded 10-Speed, Towing Tech and Carbon-Fiber-Bed Applications

The 2020 GMC Sierra will be the first model year to provide the light-duty truck the option for GM’s new 3.0L Duramax...

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Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Ford and Its Suppliers Take Top Honors at the 48th SPE Automotive Innovation Awards Competition

Ford Motor Co. took home top honors at this year's 48th SPE Automotive Innovation Awards Competition, winning the Grand Award for...

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News
Defense

High-Altitude Pseudo Satellites: New Battle for Inner Space, Part II

A new development applicable to the production of the Airbus Zephyr lightweight, solar unmanned aircraft is the Airbus Spider radar payload, a novel commercial...

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Articles
Transportation

Meritor Pursues Lightweighting Strategies for Drivelines

As with passenger vehicles, reducing the weight of systems and components in commercial vehicles is a key strategy to improve fuel efficiency. In the commercial-vehicle sector, the...

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News
Nanotechnology

Gordon Murray Calls New IStream Superlight Chassis Concept a Paradigm Shift

High-profile automotive engineer and designer Prof. Gordon Murray is utterly confident of the potential for his company’s latest iStream Superlight...

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Articles
Nanotechnology

Prodrive Process Expands Carbon Fiber’s Manufacturing Potential

Motorsport and advanced-engineering company Prodrive recently revealed what it confidently sees as a breakthrough process for recycling carbon fiber. It says the...

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Road Ready
Materials

With 2019 Sierra, GMC Puts Brand Differentiation Behind It—literally 

That the all-new 2019 GMC Sierra 1500 pickup uses GM’s same T1 fullsize-truck architecture as the 2019 Chevrolet Silverado was of course preordained. The new...

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Technology Report
Materials

Linking Embroidery and Carbon Fiber to save Weight and Cost

The story of carbon fiber’s use by the automotive industry in medium- to high-volume manufacturing has for decades moved through chapters of high expectation and low...

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