Cost Efficiency - The Expert's View

Jul 29, 2010 - Floor Panels Containing Wood / Plastic Composite by Duane B. Priddy (R&D Highlight)

This patent provide a new method of making wood fiber/plastic composite (WPC) floor panels. The invention also has as object to provide floor panels which are easy to manufacture and recyclable. Further, the invention provides a method of...
Jul 28, 2010 - New Technology for Textured and Structured Effects by ISPA (Innovation Brief)

The Swiss company GF AgieCharmilles, a world leading supplier of machines, automation solutions and services to the tool and mold making industry as well as to manufacturers of precision parts and components, has announced that it has...
Jul 27, 2010 - New Assembly Design for Windshield Wipers by ISPA (Innovation Brief)

The French company specialized in multi-shot injection molding and assembly Moulages Industriels Du Haut Bugey (MIHB) and the French moldmaker Grosfilley has collaborated in order to develop a turnkey system to produce a spray nozzle for...
Jul 26, 2010 - In-mold labelled, thin-wall injected molded containers by ISPA (Innovation Brief)

The UK-based processing technology Tradpac and the moldmaker FSG Tool & Die have collaborated in order to develop an innovative technology combining a thin-wall injection molding process together with In-Mold Labelling (IML) for the...
Jul 23, 2010 - Eco-friendly cylinder head covers by ISPA (Innovation Brief)

A collaborative industrial project between the automotive part supplier Dana Holding Corporation and the compounder Wellman Engineering Resins has allowed to produce an innovative eco-friendly cylinder head cover for the Ford 3.0-liter...
Jul 22, 2010 - Automotive interior component integrating soft touch foam by ISPA (Innovation Brief)

The innovative Varysoft® slide-table mold, which has been developed by the German plastic processing equipment manufacturer Georg Kaufmann Formenbau AG, enables soft touch foam to be added into automotive components such as door trims....
Jul 21, 2010 - High performance PBT-based connectors by ISPA (Innovation Brief)

The leading global supplier of connectors FCI has developed new ranges of connectors for South Korean automakers by using the new hydrolysis resistant 30% glass fiber reinforced poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) introduced by the German...
Jul 20, 2010 - Stepping towards thermal-efficient building construction by SpecialChem (Innovation Brief)

To ease the process of making energy-efficient buildings, Syntheon has developed two new construction products - Elemix concrete additive and accel-E steel thermal-efficient panel. These products are synthesized to be used in...
Jul 12, 2010 - Plastic solid waste: Recycling, energy recovery, and chemical recovery by Duane B. Priddy (R&D Highlight)

The goal of this article is to provide the reader with an in depth analysis regarding the recovery, treatment and recycling routes of plastic solid waste (PSW), as well as the main advantages and disadvantages associated with each route....
Jul 12, 2010 - Reducing the Water Footprint of Plastics Industry - Best Available Techniques by SpecialChem (Article)

Though the water footprint (defined as the volume of water abstracted from local sources minus the volume released in the same place after treatment making fresh water available for re-use) of plastics is not so alarming yet, it must be...
Jul 07, 2010 - In Mold decorated parts with textile surfaces by ISPA (Innovation Brief)

The German plastic converter Reiss Kunststofftechnik GmbH has announced that it has developed a new technology allowing the production of in-mold decorated components with textile, foam or fleece surfaces (with textile covering the overall...
Jul 05, 2010 - PA high-heat resins extend "Under The Hood" functionalities by SpecialChem (Innovation Brief)

For under-the-hood (UTH) applications (turbochargers, air ducts) in automotives, DSM has introduced two high-heat resins - Stanyl Diablo OCD2300 and Akulon Diablo, using polyamide (PA46) material. The resins aim at providing reduced weight...
Jul 01, 2010 - High-performance PEEK housing for sensors by ISPA (Innovation Brief)

The American company Advanced Sensor Technologies (AST) has developed a new range of housings for sensors by using a unreinforced polyethetetheketone (PEEK) material i.e. KetaSpire™ KT-880 NT grade from the Belgium material producer Solvay...
Jun 28, 2010 - Baby’s day out with light-weight foldable strollers by SpecialChem (Innovation Brief)

Eliminating the complexity and inconvenience involved in carrying infants outside, France-based Advanced Baby Concepts (ABC) and Scalea Innovation have jointly rolled out light-weight (10kg) and 25cm deep foldable strollers. The stroller...
Jun 28, 2010 - New Inspection hatch covers for water-tight compartment in seaplane floats by ISPA (Innovation Brief)

PlastiComp, LLC and the aircraft float manufacturer Wipaire have joined forces in order to develop a thermoplastic replacement solution to conventional aluminum-based inspection hatch covers used to access water-tight compartments in...
Jun 17, 2010 - New back injection technology for high-quality textured surface in automotive interiors by ISPA (Innovation Brief)

A new back-injection molding technology has been developed by the German companies Caplast Kunstsoffverarbeitungs GmbH and Bayer MaterialScience AG in order to provide a cost-effective alternative to the coating of injected molded...
Jun 11, 2010 - Improved mold release compounds and process by Duane B. Priddy (R&D Highlight)

The quality of molded parts and the molding speed can be greatly improved by improving the releasability of plastic parts from stainless steel molds. This invention provides new chemical compositions and processes for preparing mold release...
Jun 01, 2010 - CPVC enables pin-drop silence flow in large-sized pipes by SpecialChem (Innovation Brief)

PVC is often a preferred substitute to copper and polybutylene for pipes. However it find its limits when it deals with large diameter pipes (higher than 300mm), those needed for industrial uses. In these uses fluids flowing through may be...
May 31, 2010 - Cars GET-SET-GO with light-weight plastic-metal components by SpecialChem (Innovation Brief)

Specialty chemicals group Lanxess has developed a hybrid plastic-metal composite technology, popularly known as organic plastic sheets. These are now been used in the lower beam of the front end of Audi A8 car model. The basic idea behind...
May 31, 2010 - PHAs - the future green materials of choice by Duane B. Priddy (R&D Highlight)

PHAs have recently been the focus of attention as a biodegradable and biocompatible substitute for conventional non-degradable plastics. The cost of large-scale production of these polymers has inhibited its widespread use. Thus,...
May 28, 2010 - Electric machine that gives nearly zero reject rate by SpecialChem (Innovation Brief)

To achieve close to zero reject rate, Bernhard Kneifel Werkzeugbau GmbH of Germany has invested in an all-electric special injection molding machine from KraussMaffei. Producing a milk-foaming nozzle for a coffee machine was what the...
May 28, 2010 - Quick production of high pressure hydrogen tanks by ISPA (Innovation Brief)

High pressure hydrogen storage tanks such as those used in the automotive industry are usually produced using a filament winding technology. Nevertheless, in collaboration with the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences, A&P Technology,...
May 21, 2010 - Now honeycombs minus adhesives! by SpecialChem (Innovation Brief)

Plasticell put on its thinking cap and came up with an innovative way to produce light-weight thermoplastic honeycombs, made of fiber-reinforced Victrex Aptiv film. For this, the company used the laser-welding process and replaced the...
May 21, 2010 - Trends for fuel cell membrane development by Duane B. Priddy (R&D Highlight)

Fuel cells are considered to be a promising energy conversion technology of the future owing to the inherent advantages of electrochemical conversion over thermal combustion processes. In the polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) a...
May 19, 2010 - Significant Weight Reduction for Minimal Cost Increase by SpecialChem (Innovation Brief)

With only 3% increase in component cost, Lotus Engineering has helped reduce the vehicle mass of Toyota Venza crossover utility vehicle (CUV) by 33%, and fuel consumption by 23%. To achieve this, Lotus used a combination of stronger and...
May 13, 2010 - Blowmolded Elastomers Energize Automotive High-Performance Engines by SpecialChem (Innovation Brief)

MAHLE has clubbed its two-component air duct with the intercooler and thrust lever body of the high-performance twin-turbo engine from BMW. For this purpose, stiff and elastic DuPont Hytrel HTR4275 thermoplastic polyester elastomers were...
May 11, 2010 - Metals Will Never Do the Job at Such Low Weights! by SpecialChem (Article)

Metals, because of their densities and high melting points, consume a lot of energy for the fabrication and the use of parts and goods. Generally, the heavier the parts are, the more energy they consume during their service life. The... (3 Member Reactions)
May 10, 2010 - Environment-friendly composite material by Duane B. Priddy (R&D Highlight)

This patent claims a processfor manufacture of an environment-friendly composite material, using polyolefin particles and powder rubber that are made from reclaimed plastic and reclaimed rubber as a raw material. The process comprises of...
May 06, 2010 - New thermoplastic foam injection molding technology by ISPA (Innovation Brief)

Injection molding of thermoplastic foam is a solution for reducing part weight notably in the automotive industry. Up to 20% weight reduction can be achieved by using chemical or physical foaming. Both technologies employ a blowing agent to...
Apr 30, 2010 - Intelligent tape placement heads by SpecialChem (Innovation Brief)

Industries like petrochemical, automotive, aerospace, etc have long been struggling with the mess involved as a result of tape placement process during the welding exercise. The process till date had high possibility of inaccuracy in...