Opel is in the news almost weekly for financial reasons. But the German-based subsidiary of General Motors is also making some technical news. Opel joined with Recaro, a Tier II seat maker, and BASF to develop an all plastic car seat that eliminates the requirement for a steel frame.
The seats are low weight while offering high mechanical strength, good ergonomic properties and a sporty look. The seat pan is made of Ultramid B3ZG8, a very tough yet stiff PA6. Ultramid B3G10 SI is used in the large, free-standing backrest shell as well as in the crossbar. The insert for the backrest shell is made of Neopolen P 9225 K (EPP), an energy-absorbing foam that also covers edges and serves as a module carrier for motors and seat components such as the spinal column support.
Ford and Unifi, maker of Repreve, will gather and recycle 2 million plastic bottles at CES and other shows for conversion into the Repreve seat fabric used in the 2012 Focus EV.
Thanks to embedded electronics, medical devices are getting smaller and smarter than ever. Pacemakers and implantable defibrillators are now able to call physicians. MRIs, CT scanners, and ultrasound machines are gaining mobility. And the venerable Band-Aid may soon be able to detect illnesses ranging from fevers to heart arrhythmias. On February 21, join Design News senior editor Charles Murray for a wide-ranging discussion, "Embedded Angles for Medical Products," which will explore the latest developments in medical electronics. The discussion will examine advances in medical device technology and offer an inside look at the embedded electronics behind it.
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