Browse Topic: Plastics
Yamaha Motor Engineering Co., Ltd. provides plastic processing technology based on fuel tank press forming technology, and is developing various plastic processing methods, including forging, and developing mold equipment to realize them. This time, the core parts of the YECVT unit mounted on Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.'s small premium scooter "NMAX" were not made by welding individual parts to each other, but by integrally forming them from a single thick plate using the cold forming method, resulting in lightweight, compact, high-strength, high-precision parts. By incorporating a composite plastic processing method that takes advantage of the characteristics of the material while making full use of analysis technology and mold technology, we were able to develop a composite plastic processing method (plate forging method) that creates new added value and mass produce it. In addition,this development has made it possible to achieve a thickness increase of 1.7 times the standard material
Plastic materials are used for a wide variety of spacecraft applications including seals, bearings, fasteners, electrical insulators, thermal isolators, and radomes. Selecting plastics for use in space is complex due to wide operating temperature ranges, vacuum conditions, and exposure to radiation and atomic oxygen. Additionally, some spacecraft applications require sealing flammable propellants such as hydrogen and oxygen. This article will present some design considerations when selecting plastics for use in spacecraft. It will provide rich data on the performance characteristics of plastics as well as examples of successful spacecraft applications.
FibreCoat, the German materials startup, has developed a groundbreaking fiber reinforced composite that is capable of making aircraft, tanks and spacecraft invisible to radar surveillance. The company was officially founded in Aachen, Germany, in 2020, however its core founding team first began developing new approaches to the use of materials that make commercial and military vehicles invisible to radar as back as 2014. FibreCoat is known for inventing a novel technology to coat metals and plastics onto fibers, thus combining the properties of the fibers and the coating material, during the fiber-spinning process.
Researchers developed wearable skin sensors that can detect what’s in a person’s sweat. Using the sensors, monitoring perspiration could bypass the need for more invasive procedures like blood draws and provide real-time updates on health problems such as dehydration or fatigue. The sensor design can be rapidly manufactured using a roll-to-roll processing technique that essentially prints the sensors onto a sheet of plastic.
Traditional silicon-based solar cells are completely opaque, which works for solar farms and roofs but would defeat the purpose of windows. However, organic solar cells, in which the light absorber is a kind of plastic, can be transparent.
Los Angeles-based plastics contract manufacturer Kal Plastics deployed UR10e trimming cobot for a fraction of the cost and lead time of a CNC machine, cut trimming time nearly in half, and reduced late shipments to under one percent — all while improving employee safety and growth opportunities.
Purdue University material engineers have created a patent-pending process to develop ultrahigh-strength aluminum alloys that are suitable for additive manufacturing because of their plastic deformability.
Plasma is a state of matter, like a solid, liquid, or gas. When sufficient energy is applied to a gas, it becomes ionized, transitioning into the plasma state. With precise application and control, plasma can alter surface properties of a metal or plastic part without compromising the underlying material.
Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), a form of Additive Manufacturing (AM), has emerged as a groundbreaking technology for the production of complex shapes from a variety of materials. Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) is an opaque thermoplastic that is frequently employed in additive manufacturing (AM) due to its affordability and user-friendliness. The purpose of this investigation is to enhance the FDM parameters for ABS material and develop predictive models that anticipate printing performance by employing the Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS). Through experimental trials, an investigation was conducted to evaluate the influence of critical FDM parameters, including layer thickness, infill density, printing speed, and nozzle temperature, on critical outcomes, including mechanical properties, surface polish, and dimensional accuracy. The utilization of design of experiments (DOE) methodology facilitated a systematic examination of parameters. A predictive model was
A team led by Emily Davidson has reported that they used a class of widely available polymers called thermoplastic elastomers to create soft 3D printed structures with tunable stiffness. Engineers can design the print path used by the 3D printer to program the plastic’s physical properties so that a device can stretch and flex repeatedly in one direction while remaining rigid in another. Davidson, an assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering, says this approach to engineering soft architected materials could have many uses, such as soft robots, medical devices and prosthetics, strong lightweight helmets, and custom high-performance shoe soles.
Sterilization plays a vital role in the use of medical devices. Prior to the 1980s, most medical products were reusable and required sterilization or disinfection between uses. The advance of contagious diseases has raised some concerns over the risks of reusable medical devices, spurring the medical device manufacturing industry to develop disposable, single-use versions of many medical instruments.
Automotive electrical and electronics manufacturer MTA attended IAA Transportation for the first time, demonstrating its new range of wireless communication technologies for the truck industry. Earlier this year, the company acquired Calearo Antenne S.p.A, a company with a long history of producing antennas, amplifiers and cables. MTA global sales director Davide Bonelli explained to Truck & Off-Highway Engineering how that acquisition complements its business. “From a more strategic point of view, we see the world of antennas as complementary to what MTA does,” he said. “Often MTA products have an antenna as an interface, so this is one reason why we have done the deal. There are also a lot of synergies from an engineering standpoint. Historically, MTA is a company that uses many mechanical parts - plastics, metals - which we are very strong with so we can share them. And there are also some competences from Calearo Antenne that can be transferred to us.”
Inspired by the paper-folding art of origami, North Carolina State University engineers have discovered a way to make a single plastic cubed structure transform into more than 1,000 configurations using only three active motors. The findings could pave the way for shape-shifting artificial systems that can take on multiple functions and even carry a load — like versatile robotic structures used in space, for example.
Inspired by the paper-folding art of origami, North Carolina State University engineers have discovered a way to make a single plastic cubed structure transform into more than 1,000 configurations using only three active motors. The findings could pave the way for shape-shifting artificial systems that can take on multiple functions and even carry a load – like versatile robotic structures used in space, for example.
While 3D printing has exploded in popularity, many of the plastic materials these printers use to create objects cannot be easily recycled. While new sustainable materials are emerging for use in 3D printing, they remain difficult to adopt because 3D printer settings need to be adjusted for each material, a process generally done by hand.
Electric trucks and off-highway vehicles weigh about 30% more than their gasoline- and diesel-powered counterparts. That's a challenge for OEMs who want to reduce vehicle weight to increase range but are bound by the limits of current battery technology. To reduce vehicle weight, OEMs can make design changes in other areas, such as by replacing steel with thermoformed plastics, aluminum alloys and composite materials. What manufacturers may overlook, however, is the weight savings that can be achieved with industrial rubber products. Rubber is already lightweight, but there are heavier-than-necessary elastomeric components used throughout vehicle interiors and exteriors, typically with metal or plastic fasteners.
Researchers have found a way to bind engineered skin tissue to the complex forms of humanoid robots. This brings with it potential benefits to robotic platforms such as increased mobility, self-healing abilities, embedded sensing capabilities and an increasingly lifelike appearance. Taking inspiration from human skin ligaments, the team, led by Professor Shoji Takeuchi of the University of Tokyo, included special perforations in a robot face, which helped a layer of skin take hold. Their research could be useful in the cosmetics industry and to help train plastic surgeons.
Unlike glass, which is infinitely recyclable, plastic recycling is challenging and expensive because of the material’s complex molecular structure designed for specific needs. New research from the lab of Giannis Mpourmpakis, Associate Professor of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh, focuses on optimizing a promising technology called pyrolysis, which can chemically recycle waste plastics into more valuable chemicals.
Wysong USA has been manufacturing industrial press brakes, hydraulic shears, and mechanical shears for sheet metal and plastics for nearly 120 years. Like many companies, their motto was “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” so their product had remained essentially the same. But during a customer visit that motto clashed with another company saying, “the customer is always right.” This customer had replaced the dry clutch brake for an oil shear clutch brake that was more accurate. “The customer is always right” won, so Wysong updated their product line and increased accuracy while reducing costs, making it a win all around.
The tubing described in this document is for use in electrical interconnect systems for the protection and routing of wire bundle installations.
The world is on a “take-make-waste,” linear-growth economic trajectory where products are bought, used, and then discarded in direct progression with little to no consideration for recycling or reuse. This unsustainable path now requires an urgent call to action for all sectors in the global society: circularity is a must to restore the health of the planet and people. However, carbon-rich textile waste could potentially become a next-generation feedstock, and the mobility sector has the capacity to mobilize ecologically minded designs, supply chains, financing mechanisms, consumer education, cross-sector activation, and more to capitalize on this “new source of carbon.” Activating textile circularity will be one of the biggest business opportunities to drive top- and bottom-line growth for the mobility industry. Textile Circularity and the Sustainability Model of New Mobility provides context and insights on why textiles—a term that not only includes plant-based and animal-based
Some people do not go the dentist for a fear of syringes, thereby risking a worsening of untreated tooth damage. However, some dental practices offer patients a gentle alternative — a device for computer-controlled, pain-free local anesthesia, which its developers fittingly call a magic wand: The Wand – STA System from Milestone Scientific. For the past 25 years, the U.S.-based company specializing in injection technology has been manufacturing the system’s single-use components from CYROLITE®- by Röhm — a high-quality, transparent, acrylic-based plastic especially for medical applications.
Researchers have been pursuing the development of robots so tiny that they can maneuver through blood vessels and deliver medications to certain points in the body. Now, scientists have succeeded in building such micromachines out of metal and plastic in which these two materials are interlocked as closely as links in a chain. This is possible thanks to a new manufacturing technique they have devised.
This procurement specification covers inserts made from A286 alloy of the type identified under the Unified Numbering System as UNS S66286, solid film lubricated with a piastic self locking device, integrated locking keys to positively secure the insert against rotation when properly installed in threaded holes.
Most motor mounts, even for EV applications, are made of metal alloys. It makes intuitive sense: It's a vibration-intensive mounting application that demands durability that matches the life of the vehicle itself. But there is another way. Now, a composite nylon-based motor mount on the Cadillac Lyriq has won the Society for Automotive Analysts' Innovation in Lightweighting Award. The mount is a collaboration between GM, anti-vibration parts maker DN Automotive and chemical company Celanese. It is made with Zytel PA NVH Gen 2, a new polyamide (PA 66). The results not only showed up in development data, but in the end product, which has reviewers raving about how quiet the Lyriq's cabin is - “crypt quiet,” according to Automotive News.
As a car OEM, we continuously strive to set the bar for competitors with every product. Consumer travel experiences are enhanced by increasing passenger cabin silence. There is only one steering system opening in the firewall panel, which is used for allowing intermediate shaft's fitment on the pinion shaft of the steering gear. The steering grommet is the sole component that covers the firewall cut-out without disrupting steering operations, which has a substantial impact on the NVH performance of the vehicle. It is typically used in cars to eliminate engine noise and dust entering to passenger compartment. The part is assembled inside the vehicle where the steering intermediate shaft passing through BIW firewall panel. We use a bearing, plastic bush, or direct rubber interference design in the steering grommet to accommodate the rotational input the driver provides to turn the automobile. However, occasionally noise may be produced due to uneven bearing or plastic bush loading or a
This SAE Recommended Practice determines whether plastic and glass-plastic safety glazing materials will successfully withstand exposure to simulated weathering conditions.
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