Cogent Purchasing Blog

Aircraft are complex vehicles, often consisting of millions of parts that come together to make flight operations possible. Depending on the structure of an aircraft and the materials making up its assembly, varying methods or processes may be carried out to join parts together. While fasteners and welded joints account for a significant portion of connected parts, adhesives are also commonly used for structural applications for the means of bonding parts, filling gaps, sealing openings, and more. In this blog, we will discuss the most common types of structural adhesives that are used in aerospace applications and the various benefits that they present.

The world of aviation has countless terms and acronyms that pilots are expected to memorize. IFR and VFR are just two prominent examples that are critical for student pilots to become familiar with. IFR stands for “instrument flight rules,” whereas VFR is “visual flight rules.” With similar shorthand spellings, people often confuse the two. To better understand their importance, this blog will cover their unique features.

When installing pipeline or cable networks, you will often need to use shrinkable tubing to seal points of connection and avoid damage from environmental factors such as contaminants. Cold and heat shrink are two common types of adhesive tubing which can be used to seal a pipe or cable from leakage or environmental damage. These two types of tubing are used in much the same way, but cold shrink is often more costly. As such, you may wonder which is the overall better option. In this blog, we will discuss the difference between cold and heat shrink products, and evaluate which one is better for most applications.

Calibration gasses are a vital part of society. They are often used as comparative mixtures as they make it possible for analytical instruments to read measurements with increased accuracy. However, several factors must be aligned for a mixture to qualify for calibration. Since many wonder how these mixtures differ, this blog will outline different types of calibration gasses.

Composite materials have been a staple on commercial aircraft since their debut on the Airbus A300 in 1983. Today, composite materials used alongside aluminum alloys are found in 40% of modern aircraft. With an ever-increasing amount of aircraft implementing these contemporary materials, it is important to understand their advantages and disadvantages. In this blog, we will define composite materials before going into their pros and cons.