PolyOne, a leading specialty compounder, launched a line of biopolymer compounds at this week’s National Plastics Exposition in Chicago. Patent-pending Resound compounds will be formulated with a minimum of 30 percent bio-derived content, and as much as 70 percent, Dr. Cecil C. Chappelow, vice president of innovation for PolyOne, told Design News in an interview. The biobased polymers that maybe used include PLA, PHB, PHBV as well as biopolyesters. Dr. Chappelow said he could not disclose the traditional plastics that PolyOne is studying. One logical candidate, however, is polycarbonate. Resound grades feature heat resistance (HDT) up to 120C (248F) and impact resistance up to 53 J/m (12 ft-lb/in). PolyOne’s goal is to develop bio compounds that will meet or exceed performance requirements for durable applications such as computer laptops, cell phones and auto components. Dr. Chappelow said the new compounds will process as well as traditional compounds.
PolyOne has developed a large portfolio of bioproducts, ranging from special colorants to thermoplastic elastomers. PolyOne is even working on a bio-based plasticizer that could replace phthalates in construction applications. The goal is to develop drop-in replacements that are competitive on a performance and total cost basis. Meanwhile, PolyOne retains a strong commitment to vinyl compounds. At a press conference today, PolyOne showed a PVC appliance part with a metallic appearance. The pre-colored part represented a significant savings over a painted part.
A new process for laser-welding large-scale, steel-aluminum foam sandwich structures for lightweighting ships, which eliminates intermetallic phase, has been demonstrated.
A major advance in repairing composite structures combining robots and lasers bodes well for commercial aircraft such as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A350XWB, which contain composites in large proportions of their structures.
Against a backdrop of mounting product complexity and a need to keep a lid on development costs, companies are recognizing a need to make simulation a more integral part of the design process. In response, vendors in the CAD world are building out CAE functionality as part of their CAD suites while simulation vendors are building tighter integrations to leading CAD tools. Keith Meintjes, Ph.D., Practice Manager, Simulation and Analysis at CIMdata, Inc., joins Design News CAD Editor Beth Stackpole in this radio program to explore the new face of integrated CAD and CAE, how companies are benefitting from this tighter partnership between platforms, and how integrating CAE earlier in the development cycle pays off in optimized product designs.
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