Summary

New composite materials and semi-fabricates, as disparate in their nature as solid multilaminates and powder compacts, have been steadily increasing in importance. Their application to a variety of industrial situations is being made easier by the considerable development of conventional manufacturing techniques which fulfil many of the requirements imposed on such materials. At the same time, however, the degree of their exploitation can be limited by, either the inadequate final product properties, or simply - as in the case of particulate matter - by the inability of these techniques to produce significant quantities of the composite. For these reasons, combined with the ever increasing demand for highly sophisticated composites, attention has been focused on the dynamic manufacturing methods. Not only do they extend the range of the available routes, but they also offer the possibility of achieving chemical and/or structural syntheses of new materials from either the elemental or complex constituents. What is more, these techniques often tend to ensure integral bonding of the elements of the structure and they thus enhance the mechanical properties of the composite.