Airbus Engineers Create Free-Flapping Wing Tips

Airbus engineers have developed a new aircraft concept that could be the first to flap its wings. Well, not the entire wing, just the tip.

The team created AlbatrossOne, a scale-model prototype that has been under development for the past 20 months at the Airbus Filton facility in the UK.

The new wing design features what Airbus is calling a "semi-aeroelastic hinge." Essentially, the tip of the wing flickers to fend off turbulence and wind gusts while also reducing drag and overall wing weight.

According to Airbus Engineer Tom Wilson, the team was inspired by the albatross, which locks its wings at the shoulder in order to soar long distances, but can unlock them to maneuver or combat wind gusts.

Made out of a combination of carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites (CFRP), glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP), additive layer manufacturing (ALM) and plywood, the scale model proof-of-concept recently took its first flight, and it was a success.

The AlbatrossOne is based on Airbus's A321 plane. While some existing aircraft, like military jets, do have hinged wing-tips, the AlbatrossOne is the first that allows inflight, free-flapping wing-tips.

According to the researchers, by allowing the tips to react and flex, it reduces the load on the wing which could enable lighter and longer wings - longer wings mean less drag and more fuel efficiency. And while others, like a team from NASA and Boeing, have experimented with rigid inflight wing folding, Airbus's Albatross appears to be the first free flapper.

In initial tests, the wings were either fully locked or free-flapping. Next, the team plans to fly the plane in both modes during a single flight before the demonstrator is scaled up for additional tests.

Image Credit: Thomas Industry Update

Bio-on & Kartell Develop the World's First Furniture Made from 100% Natural Bioplastic

One of the leading design firms Kartell and Bio-on have developed the world's first furniture made from BIO-ON's 100% natural, revolutionary bioplastic. The two companies are working together on a number of fronts. "Fully sustainable" edition of modular unit presented at Salone del Mobile already available to buy. 

For Kartell, the way to offer more choices of materials to its customers and designers is through one of its most popular products. The company has chosen one of its signature best-sellers - the modular unit designed by Anna Castelli Ferrieri in 1967 and, to mark its 50th anniversary, it will be on sale immediately in a totally eco-sustainable edition available in four colors, green, pink, cream and yellow, in the three-module version. 

Kartell Chairman Claudio Luti says: “Research is our mission and we continue to experiment to combine innovation and design. Holding firm our values and working on new and developing industrial processes, we are pleased to reach a further milestone in the year of our seventieth anniversary. We have worked with Bio-on to offer our customers an extremely high-quality bioplastic product and we have chosen one of our most world-renowned products to do so. Bioplastic research sits alongside our innovation journey and is part of the “Kartell loves the planet” project aimed at encouraging good sustainability practice.” 

Bio-on founder and CEO Marco Astorri adds: “It's an extraordinary honor for us to see our bioplastic used by one of Italy's best-known design brands and to launch sales at the sector's top trade show. To repay the trust and attention Claudio Luti has given us in the last few months, we named the biopolymer used in this specific application CL, using his initials. We are seeing the first line of sunscreen products made using our technology and the first furniture reach the market within the space of just a few days. This is clear confirmation of the amazing versatility that our biopolymer can offer, bringing its extraordinary advantages and values to all sectors.” 

Source: Bio-on

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LyondellBasell & Neste Achieve Milestone by Producing Bio-based Plastics at Commercial Scale

LyondellBasell and Neste have jointly announced the first parallel production of bio-based polypropylene and bio-based low-density polyethylene at a commercial scale.

The joint project used Neste's renewable hydrocarbons derived from sustainable bio-based raw materials, such as waste and residue oils. The project successfully produced several thousand tons of bio-based plastics which are approved for the production of food packaging and being marketed under Circulen and Circulen Plus, the new family of LyondellBasell circular economy product brands.

PP & PE Polymers Derived from Renewable Sources

"LyondellBasell has an innovative spirit that spans decades, and an achievement like this showcases concrete actions we are taking in support of a circular economy," said Richard Roudeix, LyondellBasell Senior Vice President of Olefins and Polyolefins for Europe, Asia and International. "Through the use of renewable resources, we are contributing to the fight against climate change and helping our customers achieve their environmental targets."

Drop-in Replacement Option to Fossil Materials

"We are excited to enable the plastics industry to introduce more bio-based material into its offering. It is very satisfying to see Neste's renewable hydrocarbons performing perfectly in a commercial scale production of bio-based polymers, providing a drop-in replacement option to fossil materials," said Neste's President and CEO Peter Vanacker. "This pioneering collaboration with LyondellBasell marks a major milestone in the commercialization of Neste's renewable polymers and chemicals business focusing on developing renewable and circular solutions for forward-looking sustainable brands."

This achievement is extraordinary in that it combined Neste's unique renewable feedstock and LyondellBasell's technical capabilities. LyondellBasell's cracker flexibility allowed it to introduce a new renewable feedstock at its Wesseling, Germany site, which was converted directly into bio-based polyethylene and bio-based polypropylene. An independent third party tested the polymer products using carbon tracers and confirmed they contained over 30% renewable content.

LyondellBasell sold some of the renewable products produced in the trial to multiple customers, one of which is Cofresco, a company of the Melitta Group and with brands like Toppits® and Albal®, Europe's leading supplier of branded products in the field of household film. Cofresco plans to use the Circulen Plus bio-based polyethylene to create sustainable food packaging materials. 

Source: LyondellBasell

ANTIBACTERIAL PLASTIC SHEET HAS BEEN INSTALLED IN MEDICINE CABINET/CATHETER CABINET IN INDIA

Antibacterial plastic sheet has been installed successfully in Medicine/Catheter cabin in a well known group in India.It is another milestone in penetrating into the market where only conventional products have been widely encouraged so far.

Now we have been using it on Furniture in the healthcare industry.Besides medical applications,now getting orders for offices and residence (living room,bed room and Rest room) in recent days.

Interested buyers/orders please contact me through private message on linkedin or my email rosaram211@gmail.com as soon as possible.

Job Opportunities in South India and Kolkotta

32)FRESHERS in Electrical and Electronics NEEDED for a well known Solar Maintenance company in India. 
Diploma Electrical, Electronics freshers needed - Bidar - Latur - Tanakallu, Mulanur, Jaipur, Bhiwadi each one position open 

ITI Freshers needed in Kolar, Perundurai, Jaipur & Bhiwadi But all of them should have undergone Personal Safety Training Depends on the state they get employed - Ranges between 11 - 13k CTC Local transport and accommodation will be on company's scope 
Local transport is fixed per hub / region and will be reimbursed Company will not provide any advance for the first 45 days They should join the company with Safety Shoe 

 33) Safety supervisor with min 1 yr experience.. qualification: full time BE or diploma.. location haldia.. CTC is 25k, 7 no's required..
 Interested candidates,please write to my email rosaram211@gmail.com to proceed further.

BASF & Paxis Work Together to Test Photopolymers on Paxis’ New 3D Printing Technology

BASF 3D Printing Solutions has announced that they will provide innovative additive manufacturing materials to Paxis LLC for their new WAV™ technology. This is currently in development and is designed to meet the needs of additive manufacturing users, advanced manufacturing as well as traditional manufacturing markets. 

The WAV™ (Wave Applied Voxel) process was created with the end-user firmly in mind in an effort to solve trapped volume issues of current liquid resin-based technologies.

Extending AM Application Possibilities

"The combination of BASF materials and Paxis’s system will revolutionize the way end-applications are designed, manufactured and integrated into production", states Arnaud Guedou, Business Director Photopolymer Solutions, BASF 3D Printing Solutions. 

"With the new WAV™ technology, Paxis extends the application possibilities of additive manufacturing to a much broader scope than current technologies allow. What’s more, equipment and processes can be adapted to requirements that were previously unimaginable in additive manufacturing. BASF’s innovative photopolymer materials are a perfect match for Paxis's WAV™ technology."

BASF’s Ultracur3D ST 45 Reactive Urethane Photopolymer

BASF’s Ultracur3D ST 45 reactive urethane photopolymer for tough applications has been designed to fulfill the requirements of functional applications for high accuracy and mechanical strength, where existing 3D printing materials often reach their limitations. 

Ultracur3D ST 45 can be used to produce high performance functional parts by using a wide variety of equipment, such as stereolithography (SLA), digital light processing (DLP), or Liquid Crystal Display (LCD).

Paxis’s primary focus are commercial manufacturing applications in the:

• Aerospace
• Automotive
• Dental and medical sectors, as well as
• Identifying potential vertical markets within advanced manufacturing that have so far been ignored due to the limitations of existing technologies.

Opening Up New Possibilities in Part Manufacturing

Commercial manufacturers will benefit from a scalability of size and speed previously unknown in current additive-manufacturing resin-based systems. Hand-selected companies will be invited during the early stages of hardware and product development to work closely with industrial producers on solving their application requirements. 

Adaptability to specific commercial manufacturer needs coupled with a system capable of far greater scalability will further accelerate additive manufacturing beyond mass customization, with the goal of opening up new untapped vertical markets.

“Pairing innovative materials at the earliest stages of designing the WAV™ technology is critical to meeting the needs of end-users – that is, the commercial manufacturers”, explains Mike Littrell, CEO, co-inventor of WAV™ and Founder of Paxis LLC. 

“Too often, the material is modified to work within the limitations of existing technologies. Through our early access program our approach is to work with progressive material manufacturers like BASF, as well as commercial manufacturers at the earliest stages of product development in order to push system capabilities and forge future hardware improvements. Developing the materials prior to launching the WAV™ technology will enable end-users to integrate the technology quickly into their operations.”

“BASF’s collaboration with Paxis will enable customers to access a modular additive manufacturing technology, whether they are producing large quantities of small parts, small quantities of very large parts, or anything in between”, says Oleksandra Korotchuk, Business Development Manager BASF 3D Printing Solutions.

"The combination of BASF materials and Paxis’s WAV™ technology will revolutionize the way end-applications are designed, manufactured and integrated into scalable production.” 

Source: BASF

New Transparent Bioplastic for Fully-compostable Food Packaging

Group of scientists at Kaunas University of Technology (KTU), Lithuania have created biodegradable plastic, which decays in a compost bin in a couple of years. Bioplastic created at KTU is transparent and all the materials in its composition are suitable for contact with food.
Globally, the amount of plastic produced in a year is roughly the same as the entire weight of humanity. Only 9 percent of it is recycled, and the rest is slowly degrading in the landfills. The plastic disintegration process takes from several hundred to a thousand of years; during the time plastic is disintegrating into microplastic particles, which get into the ground waters and from them – into our food and environment.
It is estimated that by 2050 in our oceans there will be more plastic than fish.
War with plastic waste is among the priorities of the current generation. The European Parliament has approved a law banning a wide-range of single-use plastic items, such as straws, cotton buds and cutlery by 2021, and numerous legislations around the world are being passed in order to control plastic waste. Scientists are also taking part in the movement while creating more environmentally-friendly solutions.

Biodegradable Packaging Alternatives

A team of researchers from the KTU Faculty of Chemical Technology have created a fully-compostable packaging for food products from bioplastic, which disintegrates with the help of microorganisms.

“We are used to get sandwiches, snacks, pastries, sweets and many other products in a paper bag with a plastic window. With a clear window on the front face, the products in the bag can be viewed easily. Although paper is biologically degradable, it is complicated to separate paper from plastic, and the package is considered non-recyclable and non-compostable. However, if we made the window from biodegradable plastic, it could be composted. Moreover, we could even use the bag for collecting biodegradable waste and put all into the compost bin together”, says Dr Paulius Pavelas Danilovas, the lead researcher of the team.

Compostability is a characteristic of a product that allows it to biodegrade under specific conditions under the influence of microorganisms.

“There are plenty of microorganisms in compost and they digest our plastic very well”, says Dr Danilovas.

According to EU standards, in industrial compost centers, which sustain the temperature of 58°C, bioplastic degrades in half a year. However, in a compost bin at home, the process would take a couple of years.

…But it is Expensive

Bioplastic created at KTU laboratories is made from cellulose – a natural material, the main building block of plant cells’ membranes. Usually derived from timber, cellulose is the most common biopolymer found in nature.
According to researchers, the main challenge while creating bioplastic is not only to make it degradable but also transparent, as this quality is often required by customers.
“Usually, to become fluid plastic needs to be heated. However, if you heat paper (which is also based on cellulose) it will not only not become liquid, but will also burn! We are excited to have found composites, which not only allow cellulose to turn into fluid condition but also are non-toxic, which is very important in all products related to food handling”, says Dr Danilovas.
He admits that being environmentally-friendly has its cost – the biodegradable package created at KTU is several times more expensive than usual. However, the growing number of eco-conscious users is encouraging industries to take an interest in biodegradable packaging alternatives. 
 
Source: Kaunas University of Technology