AI in the Plastics Industry: Sustainability & Innovation
11/04/2024
AI is revolutionising modern industry. Thanks to it, complex processes can be automated or efficiency increased. In the plastics industry, AI not only plays a decisive role in the optimisation of production processes and the development of new materials. It also enables more precise waste sorting and therefore better recycling – a benefit for the environment!
Thermoplastics in aircraft construction – less weight, more future
20/09/2023
Every gram counts: In aviation, a weight reduction of just one kilogram can save up to 25,000 litres of fuel annually. Plastics can be the key to this. The DLR uses carbon fibre-reinforced thermoplastics to make aircraft fuselages more resource-efficient. Within the framework of the Large Passenger Aircraft project, fundamentally new technologies have even been developed for this purpose.
Intelligent rubber materials
12/09/2023
Materials scientists at the University of Stuttgart and pharmacists at the University of Tübingen have developed smart polymer materials that can autonomously adapt to environmental conditions, making them ideal for soft robotics and exoskeletons.
Unwinding in high quality: Continuously detached and recycled thermoplastic carbon fiber tapes with a new recycling approach
17/08/2023
Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute have developed a recycling process to recover used fiber composite material from pressure tanks and use it for new lightweight products. The process preserves over 90 percent of the materials' mechanical properties. This contributes to the sustainable production of thermoplastic fiber composite products.
Digital meets material: a software transforms additive manufacturing
17/08/2023
ADAM could redefine plastics manufacturing. A big claim, but not without reason: Behind the acronym ADAM is a software called "Advanced Dimension Additive Manufacturing" that caused a real stir at K 2022. The impressive result of this software in action? A high-performance screw extruder controlled by an agile jointed-arm robot.
Automated Lab: Robots optimise adhesive development
10/05/2023
Robots already take over a large number of monotonous, repetitive tasks today – freeing up time and resources for creative and more exciting tasks. Henkel is also automating work steps in its new Inspiration Center Düsseldorf (ICD). In a data-driven laboratory, new adhesive formulations are automatically prepared and tested around the clock.