Biofibres Gathers Momentum
Natural fibres, extracted from the stalks of flax and hemp plants, gains attention worldwide as reinforcements in composite parts. The Composites Innovation Centre (CIC) has been coordinating several developmental activities supporting the introduction of natural fibres in bus parts. This program also involves commercializing co-products from the fibre separation process; such as equine / animal bedding and reinforcements for injection moulded farm equipment parts. The majority of this work was reported at an international biofibres workshop that was held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, March 2008.
JEC 2008: A Success for Western Canadian Delegation
CIC
Future SIG & RRC Training Program
The CIC is continuing to plan its next Special Interest Group (SIG) in the area of Composites in Civil Infrastructure. Meetings have been held with key collaborators including local engineering consulting & restoration companies and ISIS Canada, a network head quartered at the University of Manitoba that promotes the use of composite products in civil infrastructure combined with intelligent sensor technologies. Establishment of the mandate and activities of the SIG are in process and communications describing the events will be forthcoming. The CIC has been collaborating with Red River College, a local technical college, to develop industry orientated training programs for composite open mould laminators, closed mould/liquid resin infusion process operators and mould makers. The resulting programs will be piloted during the next few months and will be available shortly for use by industry. It is also hoped to include some of the contents in regular college programming.
