Technological watch

CompositesWorld’s editors offer an overview of industry news and developments highlighted via displays of materials, components/structures and machines, hosted presentations and conversations held at the JEC World 2022 trade show from May 3-5. The three-day event — unanticipated by many — was busy, robust, active and even crowded (read more on Jeff Sloan’s take of the show, or watch the first day video recap), and was considered to be a definitive success.

CW’s editors have highlighted some trending exhibits that they saw in Paris in three separate articles:

• Part 1 identifies a few prominent exhibitors that brought sustainability, digitization and industrialized production to the table, from a thermoplastic CFRP bike frame, hydrogen tanks and a turnkey automated fiber placement (AFP) cell.
• Part 2 particularly emphasizes sustainability — the theme of this year’s show — evidenced through the many recycling and natural fiber-based products on display, such as tape-like carbon fiber “bricks” made from a proprietary recycling process. Additive manufacturing (AM) was also a key technology often exhibited.
• Part 3 continues to stress emerging markets in the composites industry — AAM, hydrogen, automotive and sustainability — with a focal point on thermoplastics, carbon fiber and other prominent materials.