The idea that materials can be designed to satisfy specific performance requirements is relatively new. With high-performance composites, however, the entire process of designing and fabricating a part can be worked out before manufacturing. The purpose of this book is to present an integrated approach to the design and manufacturing of products from advanced composites. It shows how the basic behavior of composites and their constitutive relationships can be used during the design stage, which minimizes the complexity of manufacturing composite parts and reduces the repetitive "design-build-test" cycle. Designing it right the first time is going to determine the competitiveness of a company, the reliability of the part, the robustness of fabrication processes, and ultimately, the cost and development time of composite parts. Most of all, it should expand the use of advanced composite parts in fields that use composites only to a limited extent at this time. To achieve these goals, this book presents the design and fabrication of novel composite parts made for machine tools and other applications like robots and automobiles.This book is suitable as a textbook for graduate courses in the design and fabrication of composites. It will also be of interest to practicing engineers learning about composites and axiomatic design.A CD-ROM is included in every copy of the book, containing Axiomatic CLPT software. This program, developed by the authors, will assist readers in calculating material properties from the microstructure of the composite.This book is part of the Oxford Series on Advanced Manufacturing.

A composite sandwich panel is a hybrid material made up of constituents such as a face sheet, a core, and adhesive film for bonding the face sheet and core together. Advances in materials have provided designers with several choices for developing sandwich structures with advanced functionalities. The selection of a material in the sandwich construction is based on the cost, availability, strength requirements, ease of manufacturing, machinability, and post-manufacturing process requirements. Sandwich Composites: Fabrication and Characterization provides insights into composite sandwich panels based on the material aspects, mechanical properties, defect characterization, and secondary processes after the fabrication, such as drilling and repair. FEATURES Outlines existing fabrication methods and various materials aspects Examines composite sandwich panels made of different face sheets and core materials Covers the response of composite sandwich panels to static and dynamic loads Describes parameters governing the drilling process and repair procedures Discusses the applications of composite sandwich panels in various fields Explores the role of 3D printing in the fabrication of composite sandwich panels Due to the wide scope of the topics covered, this book is suitable for researchers and scholars in the research and development of composite sandwich panels. This book can also be used as a reference by professionals and engineers interested in understanding the factors governing the material properties, material response, and the failure behavior under various mechanical loads.