Design engineers are probably smiling this morning at the Alcoa Technical Center outside of Pittsburgh, Pa. Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp., part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, announced last night that it is dropping plans to use a composite carbon fiber wing box for its new regional jet, and will go instead with aluminum. The first flight of the 92-seat MRJ90 will be delayed by as much as six months because of major design changes to the cabin and the wing box.
The announcement follows the stunning news that a Mitsubishi-built composite wing for the Dreamliner 787 broke in a stress test. Mitsubishi is one of the major sub contractors chosen by Boeing to design and manufacture major sections fo the Dreamliner. For Mitsubishi it was an opportunity to learn more about leading-edge aircraft design and manufacturing as it broke into the regional jet market, competing against Embraer and Bombardier.
Its regional jet had been the most ambitious new design to use composites in smaller aircraft. Mitsubishi now says only about 15 percent of the structure will be made from composites. In other words, Mitsubishi designers will be using composites in areas, such as the tail, where they have been used for more than 25 years.
Wing failure wasn’t the only major design problem that Mitsubishi encountered with composites. The design for the Dreamlimer was also significantly above projected weight.
Scott Carson, Boeing’s ahead of commercial airlines, did not disclose the wing test problems for a month, and he recently was replaced by Boeing in the face of growing schedule problems for the troubled aircraft.
Inspired by the hooks a parasitic worm uses to penetrate its host's intestines, the Karp Lab has invented a flexible adhesive patch covered with microneedles that adheres well to wet, soft tissues, but doesn't cause damage when removed.
Engineers at the University of California, San Diego are designing a robotic arm that takes inspiration from the loose, flexible, yet very strong structure of the armored plates on a seahorse's tail.
Researchers at the Missouri University of Science & Technology have designed a new nanoscale material that can transmit light faster than the 186,000 miles per second it usually takes to travel through air.
It has often been said that as California goes, so goes the nation. This spring, the state's wind power is setting energy generation records and solar energy generation is expected to rise sharply during the second half of 2013.
The latest model of Liquid Robotics' Wave Glider autonomous, unmanned marine vehicle (UMV), the SV3, is reportedly the world's first hybrid wave- and solar-power-propelled unmanned ocean robot.
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A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is
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