Nice article, Ann. This sounds positive all the way around. With cycle times 40 percent shorter, there are probably some cost savings. Does the material itself also offer some cost savings.
TJ, since this is a composite, the fibers are surrounded by a polymer matrix (polypropylene at this point in time), so I doubt if water absorption is a problem.
tekochip, that's a good point about flammability. The fact that Ford is working with Weyerhaeuser to develop materials for car interiors, plus the fact that these are engineered, not just natural, fibers, makes me think that potential problem may have already been addressed/compensated for. Here's a link to the MSDS for THRIVE, which gives a rating of 1 (0-4 scale): www.weyerhaeuser.com/pdfs/msds/501.pdf
Tim, no info on fiber cost was given, but considering Weyerhauser's main business--wood pulp--I'd guess it's likely to be less than glass. Re "use in nylon applications," what exactly do you mean?
Hmm, 40% shorter mold times, comparable weight and material properties, less tooling damage during manufacturing, and blendability with a variety of plastic base material. What's not to like about the new THRIVE?
I agree with the flammability issue and the possible overharvesting of dwindling resources. Still, it seems to be a good idea.
Ann, ne thing I like about this product is that it is produced by materials we have naturally here in the US. With materials such as coconut, grow in a fairly narrow band of the planet. This tends to cause overharvesting in areas with low environmental controls.
Ann, this looks like a great use of material. Glass fibers do tend to eat machinery and molds in normal application, so a less abrasive fiber would be great. Has there been any look at using these fibers in nylon applications? Also, is the cost of the additive similar to that of the glass fibers?
For 3D printing to make the jump from rapid prototyping to manufacturing, engineers will need to find easier ways to move products from their CAD screens to their printers.
Gigabit and PoE are two networking technologies moving ahead in tandem as industrial users power remote Ethernet devices such as IP security cameras at 1,000 Mbps over existing CAT5 cable.
New versions of BASF's Ecovio line are both compostable and designed for either injection molding or thermoforming. These combinations are becoming more common for the single-use bioplastics used in food service and food packaging applications, but are still not widely available.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 5
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For industrial control applications, or even a simple assembly line, that machine can go almost 24/7 without a break. But what happens when the task is a little more complex? That’s where the “smart” machine would come in. The smart machine is one that has some simple (or complex in some cases) processing capability to be able to adapt to changing conditions. Such machines are suited for a host of applications, including automotive, aerospace, defense, medical, computers and electronics, telecommunications, consumer goods, and so on. This radio show will show what’s possible with smart machines, and what tradeoffs need to be made to implement such a solution.
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