Image courtesy of e-Xstream engineering
Image courtesy of e-Xstream engineering
Photo courtesy of Carolina Color Corporation
Images courtesy of Arevo Labs
Images courtesy of Arevo Labs
Photo courtesy of Anellotech
The MSC Software company e-Xstream engineering announced the release of Digimat-RP/Moldex3D, which provides computer aided engineering (CAE) for injection molding simulation from within Digimat-RP.
The system provides structural CAE engineers with an accurate estimate of fiber orientation for finite element analysis. The fiber orientation estimate is based on a fully integrated Moldex3D technology for meshing, flow simulation, and fiber-orientation computation.
The integrative technology of Digimat-RP allows easy and accurate nonlinear analysis of reinforced plastic parts through advanced nonlinear micromechanical material models, and an intuitive user interface. The integrated system brings efficiency to predictive plastic part analysis, the company says; multiple process/design iterations for part optimization, such as for light-weight designs, can now be achieved within a single day of work.
“The design of reinforced plastic parts is traditionally based on a ‘black metal’ approach where the plastic behavior is highly approximated, resulting in over-designed/too-heavy parts,” says Roger Assaker, CEO, e-Xstream engineering. “This is due to the lack of process information and efficient tools enabling the structural engineers to account for the actual material behavior in the early design stages. This is today solved with Digimat-RP in general and with the integration of Moldex3D within Digimat-RP.”
AGC Chemicals Americas Inc. has introduced three Fluon® ETFE compounds that are reinforced with proprietary conductive, strengthening, and reinforcing fillers to better tolerate extreme temperatures, pressures, harsh chemicals, and volatile weather conditions.
Fluon ETFE is a melt-processable copolymer of tetrafluoroethylene and ethylene for a variety of applications, including wire and cable coatings; semiconductor and electronic components; valves, fittings and pump housings; and tubing and pipe.
To optimize chemical resistance, Fluon ETFE is reinforced with compatible fibers that allow cables to withstand higher environmental temperatures and severe chemical conditions. The fiber reinforcement enables cables processed with the compound to deliver superior performance in continuous insertion/extraction operations, the company says.
To improve flexibility, Fluon ETFE is compounded with fillers that dissipate the electrical charges that accumulate within the cable construction during operation. This compound is formulated to optimize the flexibility of cable constructions so there’s less cracking due to spooling and other motions of the cable. This compound exhibits excellent flow behavior and adhesion during cable manufacturing and can be applied efficiently in intricate cable constructions, the company adds, especially when it’s critical to minimize gas migration.
Carolina Color Corporation—a family-owned company serving colorant needs from ISO 9001-certified locations in North Carolina and Ohio—has introduced a new color concentrate, UltraPET, specifically for use with PET resins.
The color concentrate represents continued growth in color innovation based on “G2,” a patented technology from Carolina Color in which pigments and additives are highly loaded and well-dispersed in both large and small parts. The unique qualities of this next-generation technology result in the proven benefits of time, space, and cost savings, the company says.
“We are thrilled to introduce this product line to meet the PET color needs for the plastics molding industry,” says Matt Barr, CEO of Carolina Color. “Innovation is a core competency of Carolina Color and this type of investment is necessary for the company and the industry to grow.”
Key attributes of the new color concentrate include:
- a low-melting polymeric carrier with excellent compatibility with the base polymer (it will not migrate and cause screw slippage issues);
- mini-beads with more pellets per gram and a larger surface area, aiding color distribution (especially at lower use rates with tints);
- improved rheology of the mini-beads, leading to faster incorporation rates; and
- FDA compliance.
Targeted applications for the UltraPET product line include cosmetic packaging, vitamin bottles, nutraceuticals, sample liquor bottles, spice jars, thermoformed sheets, and much more, the company says.
Steer, a creator of materials platform technology, and FITT, an industry interface organization at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, announced their intent for joint research on engineering plastics and the development of newer and more sustainable polymers. The teams will have access to Steer’s Omega 1.71 Do/Di twin-screw compounding extrusion platform, which has the capability and control required to work with demanding, sensitive materials.
“The collaboration between Steer and FITT is a step towards building a strong connection between industry and academia to foster an active community for exchange of knowledge around the development of advanced polymers,” says Babu Padmanabhan, Steer managing director and chief knowledge officer.
The per-capita consumption of polymers in India is expected to double by 2020, from 9.7 kg to almost 20 kg, given the rising consumerism and modern lifestyles which have increased the usage of plastics across industries like automobiles and consumer products.
Steer and FITT have also agreed to offer interested students of IIT Delhi opportunities for research-based projects and to mentor them in specific areas. They also agreed on coming out with joint scientific reports. “Our intention is to create a forum that facilitates a culture of innovation and discovery,” Padmanabhan adds.
Arevo Labs, a leader in composite additive manufacturing technology, has introduced a scalable robot-based additive manufacturing (RAM) platform for fabricating 3-D-printed composite parts.
The first-of-its-kind solution consists of a standard commercially available robot, composite deposition end-effector hardware, and a comprehensive software suite. Arevo’s solution is tailored to ABB’s smallest six-axis robot, the IRB 120, though the scalable software can support larger ABB robot models and sizes. The additive end-effector hardware
consists of a deposition head with advanced thermal management technology for processing high-performance carbon-fiber reinforced thermoplastics.
Arevo’s software suite includes CAM software to convert CAD models to a set of additive deposition instructions for the robot. The software is capable of six degrees of freedom, enabling true 3-D additive manufacturing, says the company. And a precise kinematics simulator interprets deposition instructions to validate and optimize part construction.
The RAM platform interfaces with ABB’s RobotStudio™ programming and simulation software to simplify tool-path generation from CAD files. The platform’s multi-axis tool paths enable production quality parts constructed with true 3-D surfaces in variable orientations. The resulting parts reportedly have strength and aesthetics superior to those made with conventional Cartesian-based additive manufacturing equipment and software.
In addition to expanded design possibilities, the Arevo Labs’ RAM platform maximizes size scalability and production efficiency. Key enabling technologies include automation and secondary process integration within manufacturing work cells. Depending upon the size of the robot, the part build envelope is scalable from 1000 mm3 to 8 m3.
“We are excited to be the first to develop a robot-based additive manufacturing platform optimized for composite parts,” says Hemant Bheda, CEO and founder of Arevo Labs. “Unencumbered by the constraints of conventional Cartesian systems, this platform is the dawn of the additive manufacturing work cell for the aerospace and defense factory-of-the-future.”
Solvay, a leading international chemical group, has announced that its Move4earth™ project for the recycling of technical textile waste from post-industrial sources is well on target. Validation of the technology has been completed and construction is underway for an industrial-scale facility to become operational in 2016 at the project site in Gorzów, Poland.
Move4earth is one of several Solvay initiatives supported by the European Commission as part of its “LIFE+ program” and demonstrates the company’s ongoing strong commitment to sustainable development. The project is focused on designing, implementing, and validating an innovative recycling process designed to “revalue” technical textile waste (initially from airbags) into high-quality polyamide 6-6 (PA66) grades with reduced environmental impacts, to complement Solvay Engineering Plastics’ Technyl® Force portfolio of engineering polymers.
“The demand for cost-efficient yet high-performance recycled plastics is growing across all European markets, as processors and OEMs are seeking to reduce their dependency on fossil resources whose prices are rather volatile and constantly rising,” says Peter Browning, Solvay Engineering Plastics general manager.
The project addresses a need for more effective recycling solutions to help minimize large volumes of valuable engineering plastic waste. “More than 70% of all automotive airbags in Europe are made of silicone-coated nylon fabrics, mostly based on PA66,” explains Richard Bourdon, Move4earth project director at Solvay.
“While regulations such as directive 2000/53/EC are setting high targets for end-of-life recycling and reuse of materials in vehicles, there is no sustainable solution in place for post-consumer airbag waste in Europe. Our mid-term objective is to establish an efficient and sustainable way of re-using these resources and provide pure, high-grade PA66 recycle compounds with stable properties near those of virgin Technyl resins for a wide range of eco-designed applications,” Bourdon concludes.
To these ends, Solvay has developed an advanced proprietary recycling technology for separating the airbag fabrics from the coating. The process reportedly delivers a premium recycled PA66 with no significant loss in material properties.
The next steps in Solvay’s Move4earth project are to bring the new facility fully on-stream to ensure a continuous target throughput under stable process conditions, and to validate value-creating options for the silicone coating by-product separated from the airbag fabrics, which can amount to 15% of the material flow.
Anellotech announced a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Form D filing, stating that the company has received an equity investment of $7 million from a new strategic investor.
The new multinational corporate investor joins existing partners, which demonstrates a strong interest in the development of Anellotech’s proprietary thermal catalytic biomass conversion technology (Bio-TCat™). The company says Bio-TCat cost-competitively produces building-block aromatics, including paraxylene and benzene, from non-food biomass. The development of 100% bio-based aromatics will meet growing consumer demand for products and packaging made from sustainable sources.
“This recent investment is extremely encouraging, especially when considering recent oil prices,” said David Sudolsky, president and CEO of Anellotech. “It indicates a bullish perspective on Anellotech’s future, and a strong commitment by our new partner for low cost bio-based aromatics.” The initial $7 million is the first tranche of a total of $10 million the company plans to raise. The remaining $3 million is expected to come within the next few months.
The funding will be used for the development of the Bio-TCat process, including the installation of the company’s new, fully-integrated development and testing facility (“TCat-8”), which will be operational in 2016. This 25-m-tall unit will confirm the viability and suitability of the Bio-TCat process for scale-up, and generate the data needed to design commercial plants using the technology, planned for the end of this decade.
The Bio-TCat process efficiently and cost-competitively produces bio-based aromatics, including paraxylene, benzene, toluene, and other xylenes (BTX), from non-food sources. BTX is used to make plastics such as polyester (like PET), polystyrene, polyurethane, and nylon.
By using renewable and readily available materials, such as wood, sawdust, corn stover, and bagasse, the Bio-TCat process is less expensive compared to processes that use sugar-based feedstock, and avoids competition with the food chain. And, unlike thermochemical approaches where bio-oil is an intermediate product, the requirement for extensive, costly amounts of hydrogen is not a fundamental aspect of the technology.
Anellotech’s competitive advantage is also derived from its use of a simple process—performing all process reactions in one fluid bed reactor where biomass is thermally broken down and then catalytically converted into aromatics. As a result, these bio-based aromatics can be sold profitably against their identical, petroleum-derived counterparts.
“Despite strong industry demand, there is no commercially available, renewable-based paraxylene, a critical missing component required to make 100% bio-based PET products on the market today, nor other biobased aromatics needed for bio-nylon, -polyurethane, -polycarbonate, or linear alkyl benzene,” Sudolsky says. “Dynamic partnerships—and the strong support from a growing number of highly knowledgeable strategic investors—will enable us to meet this unmet demand.”
The Rodon Group has released a new eBook, How to Manufacture a Perfect Plastic Part, focusing on four key factors in the plastic molding process. The eBook reviews the most important aspects of each stage in the manufacturing cycle using helpful charts and diagrams. It provides details on how key critical design features can impact part quality, and moves through the process to the final step of manufacturing. Each section of the eBook is dedicated to one specific key factor in the process, including:
- part design (and how to design for manufacturability);
- tool design and build (and the role it plays in part quality);
- material selection (and how to choose the right resin); and
- manufacturing (and what to look for during processing).
“We are excited to be able to offer this free guide to those looking to get a better understanding of the entire process of manufacturing a plastic part, from start to finish,” says Kevin McGrath, Rodon VP of sales and marketing. “We hope to educate the reader on how a molder like Rodon would approach a project, beginning with designing the part for optimum manufacturability.”