Aluminium has a long and successful history in the aerospace industry. As far back as the 19th century, Count Ferdinand Zeppelin made the frames of his iconic airships from it. Aluminium was chosen as it is lightweight, strong, and has a high resistance to corrosion.

Comic book fans flocked to cinemas as Black Panther hit the screens. Underpinning the film’s plot was fictional metal vibranium, which powered the titular hero’s kingdom of Wakanda. Interestingly, this metal was, in part, inspired by tantalum. So, what of the Marvel Universe vibranium’s real-life counterpart?

Viridian Systems set Rutland Plastics a material challenge, a metal replacement project that would test the water in more ways than one.

With PET (polyethylene terephthalate) firmly ensconced as the material of choice for plastic container manufacturers, the focus has shifted to designing lighter-weight versions of current packaging to cut costs and quench consumers’ thirst for more sustainable products.

Bürkert looks at how to achieve the best result with coating technologies from Ion Implanting, PVD and CVD, to Thermal spray and Welding.

The use of bonding systems is gaining increasing popularity among machine builders as more come to recognise the potential advantages on offer.

RP Technologies are approached on what seems to be a daily basis to discuss over-moulding as a process for prototype tooling and moulding, and whether it is suitable for low volumes.

Athletes place a great deal of trust in their equipment. They invest many years of their lives to train for a few minutes of maximum performance and need to be confident that the swimsuit will help them perform at their best.