May 7 2008 9:22AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (1) |

Plastics made from sustainable resources, or plants, are at a tipping point, according to several speakers at special session at the annual technical conference (Antec) of the Society of Plastics Engineers in Milwaukee, WI.  According to one research study cited, 40 percent of bioplastics will be used in durable applications in 2011, compared to just 2 per cent today. In the United States, in particular, plastics made from crops, usually corn, are mostly targeted for disposable packaging. As I’ve blogged before, that’s a joke since there are virtually no composting facilities that could handle the biodegradable packaging. The argument works OK for plastic bags that are thrown in the ocean or beside highways. But that’s hardly a reason to develop a new industry.&...Read More

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May 6 2008 12:24PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

Roger Jones, the former president LNP Engineering Plastics, blamed the American government for many of the plastics industries woes in a talk to a standing room only audience at the annual technical conference of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) in Milwaukee, WI this morning.

 

“Politicians are generally hostile to manufacturing,” said Jones, telling attendees that this year’s elections, particularly at the Congressional level are a watershed for the future of plastics.  “I think one of the material outcomes unless things change is that more manufacturing companies are going to move offshore,” said Jones.

 

...Read More

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May 6 2008 8:48AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

Forty-five percent of serious plastics product failures result from inappropriate materials selection, said Melissa Kurtz, senior materials scientist at Stork Technimet Inc. in a lively discussion on failure analysis at the annual technical conference of the Society of Plastics Engineers in Milwaukee, WI. “This is especially true in applications involving chemical attack and environmental stress cracking,” she said. In one example she cited a phthalic-based plasticizer used in a rubber seal caused environmental stress cracking of polyetherimide in a medical device. In a panel discussion, a General Motors engineer asked for tips on how to determine if excessive use of capt...Read More

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May 6 2008 8:33AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

Chinese tool makers are gaining ground in precision aluminum tooling, according to a presentation this morning at the annual technical conference of the Society of Plastics Engineers. For starters, aluminum billet is cheaper in China than the United States, according to Peter Mooney, president of Plastics Custom Research Services. Then mold makers laminate billets and precision machine the shapes for molds. As a result, it’s less expensive to make machined aluminum molds for complex shapes. The tools are particularly important for rotational molding.

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May 2 2008 7:26PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

I received a forwarded email from Rick Weinberg, director of communications and public relations, for ArmorLite Roofing Technology of Santa Ana. CA.  Now I don’t get too many pitches from roofing suppliers since I cover materials used in mechanical design at Design News. But the pitch starts likes this:

 

“We have an intriguing story for you: ArmorLite Roofing Technology is launching in June a never-before-seen "seashell" design that is 100% recyclable with 0% waste.   ArmorLite (www.ArmorLiteRoofing.com) is the innovative company that created a futuristic eco-friendly roofing product to complim...Read More

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May 2 2008 2:43PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

News reports drone on constantly these days with more and more negative information. I don’t get the same kind of vibe when I talk to design engineers every day for my writing about materials and fastening technology for Design News. Most incredible to me are reports on advances in medical technology by American inventors and engineers. The most recent was an interview I had with Dave Danitz, the vice president of research and development at Novare Surgical Systems In California, which recently developed and brought to market an instrument called RealHand that allows laparoscopic surgery through a single port—and even through natural orifice such as a mouth. The result is a dramatic reduction in the risk of infection.

...Read More

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Apr 29 2008 10:25AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

It was apparent at the recent Great Designs in Steel seminar that steel plans on stealing a page or two from the plastics’ playbook in the key automotive battleground. Steel has several advantages to start with. The manufacturing infrastructure to make steel parts exists, and in fact represents a significant capital investment. Steel also has a strong recycling track record (to say nothing of performance). It seems intuitive that the high gas prices will kick start already existing efforts to reduce weight of cars. But not so fast. New grades of steel reduce weight, and also play into the trend to boost safety performance, particularly for the sides and rear of vehicles. For example an ultra high strength steel (boron-alloyed 2...Read More

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Apr 21 2008 9:18AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (4) |

We all want to trust “the system” when it comes to issues such as potentially toxic chemicals that could affect our health. But new reports about polycarbonate baby bottles are disturbing. Research from the federal National Toxicology Program is said to   raise ''some concern'' about bisphenol A potentially leaching from polycarbonate baby bottles and other p...Read More

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Apr 18 2008 8:18AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (3) |

Fasteners—usually the less glamorous part of a mechanical design—have been grabbing headlines lately. First it was a lack of fasteners that created (or was at least blamed for) the first delay announcement for the Boeing Dreamliner. Now two metallurgists have put out a book that really dredges up the past. In “What Really Sank the Titanic” , coauthors Jennifer Hooper M...Read More

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Apr 17 2008 4:58PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

A very useful Web-based tool called the Global Powder Metallurgy Database now exists to search properties for nearly 2,500 powder metals. The database has been created by parts manufacturers and powder producers across the world through three trade associations: the Metal Powder Industries Federation (MPIF), the European Powder Metallurgy Association (EPMA), and the Japan Powder Metallurgy Association (JPMA). You an find detailed mechanical, physical and fatigue properties for materials identified by ISO or MPIF code. Materials include structural steels, stainless steels, soft magnetic alloys, bearings, and nonferrous. Once you discover grades with acceptable propert...Read More

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Apr 14 2008 1:09PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

Are you looking for advice on bar steel fatigue? The American Iron and Steel Institute is starting up a blog on that subject for materials engineers, application engineers, FEA simulation experts, as well as OEM and supplier design engineers. The first post covers the topic Does Grain Refining Practice Affect Fatigue Properties? The post looks at strain life data for aluminum, niobium and vanadium that are used for grain refinement in medium carbon steels. The post comes from blog administrator Tom Oakwood...Read More

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Apr 9 2008 8:25AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

One of my favorite themes in recent months has focused on how engineers can fight rising materials costs with new designs. Metals costs are still about double what they were four years ago. It looks like steel prices will be rising another 10 to 20 percent in coming months based on what’s happening  in iron ore and coking coal contracts. Contract prices for the coal used as fuel in blast furnaces are rising 200 percent.

 

One way to mitigate rising metals prices is to consider net shape forming processes, such as metal injection molding. This is still a relatively small business,...Read More

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Apr 7 2008 8:47AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (2) |

Plastics made from renewable feedstocks, such as corn, hold an odd place in the engineering playbook. They don’t offer any engineering advantages, and, in fact, offer significantly less heat resistance and mechanical strength than their hydrocarbon brethren, which continue to improve in performance. They also have no economic advantage, and remain, significantly more expensive than hydrocarbon-based plastics, even with oil at $100+/bbl. Yet production plans for bioplastics are rapidly expanding, based on the idea they are good for the environment. Some cities are behind the push, such as San Francisco’s ban on polyethylene bags. That strategy is superficial since paper bags create significantly more air and water ...Read More

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Apr 1 2008 7:47AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

Here is a letter we received in response to my article on plastics engineering programs:

I am a big fan of the Design News magazine.  I have been in the
engineering field for 10 years and have received a lot of subscriptions
to magazines in my career, but your magazine is the only one that I do
not immediately throw in the circular file.  The articles are reported
fairly with little slant towards the advertisers products.  My entire
office area enjoys the Calamity column greatly and typically discuss the
problems and failures in the office.

This month's issue in regards to the Crisis in Engineering education was
particularly intriguing to me.  Being a "recent" graduate (1997) of the
Penn State University Behrend College Plastics Engineering Technology
progra...Read More

Mar 27 2008 6:15AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

It’s not often you read about engineers in the financial pages, but that’s exactly what happened yesterday when the Wall Street Journal posted a story that a leading engineer named Mike Donoughe left the company, possibly over frustrations in efforts to redesign mid-size cars. Donoughe headed ”Project D” , which is described as a crash program to replace the Sebring. Various bloggers claim that Donoughe was...Read More

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