Engineering Materials

Engineering materials is a discussion led by Design News Contributing Materials Editor Doug Smock on important new developments and applications that affect mechanical design. Metals covered include all types of steel and nonferrous metals, in all shapes. Resins covered include nylons, polycarbonates, polysulfides, polyimides, and polybutylene terephthalate (PBT). Other materials covered include ceramics and rubber. Topics covered include materials enhancement, new applications, process technology, tooling, sustainability, and economic issues. Posts will include latest news from global events such as K 2007, the Alliance of Plastics Processors Annual Conference, the National Plastics Exposition, and the annual technical conference (ANTEC) of the Society of Plastics Engineers.

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Tuesday, June 5, 2007

Bioplastics Premium: The Cost of Being Green

What price premium will you pay for bioplastics? In general, look for a premium of 20 to 30 percent above what you now pay for a comparable material. That’s an artificial figure, but it’s what OEMs think customers will pay for the environmental friendliness plus the enhanced properties some of these grades will have.I say artificial, because seemingly like all things that overcome our “energy” or “global warming” crisis (pick your decade) costs will be very high until there is economy of scale. And economy of scale for plastics is huge. American OEMs that have been leaders in this field, such as John Deere, have not pursued bio materials for economic reasons. They pursued them for political reasons. Deere, for example, wanted to support its farmer-customers, particularly in the soybean area, where grants were available.

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