CRP Technology to Exhibit Composite-based Orthoses at SuperPower Design Exhibition

CRP Technology's 3D printed orthoses made of glass-fiber reinforced thermoplastic, Windform® GT material, have been selected to be exhibited at the SuperPower Design exhibition. The event will be held from March 24 to August 25, 2024 at the Center for Innovation and Design (CID) in Grand-Hornu, Belgium.

An orthosis is a medical device applied externally to the human body. It is used to assist, restrict, control, or limit movement for specific body segments.

Integrated Framework of Mass Customization for Orthoses:

The orthoses that will be showcased in Belgium include one leg orthosis for drop foot and one hand orthosis. They were created and manufactured using an innovative approach and procedure. CRP Technology and MHOX, in collaboration with medical professionals, developed an integrated framework of mass customization for generative orthoses. The system is based on three phases: bodyscan of the patient, generation of a 3D model of the orthosis, and 3D printing of the orthosis. It aims to replace the traditional sizing system with a complete customization of the product.

MHOX handled the first two stages by developing and using proprietary software, which was designed for the automated management of systems for mass product customization.

The third stage was assigned to CRP Technology. They 3D printed the orthoses with their Windform® GT material by means of Selective Laser Sintering. Windform® GT is a polyamide-based material reinforced with glass fiber. Its special features, such as elasticity, flexibility, impact resistance, impermeability, and durability, make it particularly suitable for applications where the material has to flex for extended periods without the risk of damage. These characteristics are crucial for the manufacturing of generative orthoses, where reliability, performance, and longevity are essential considerations.

3D printed orthoses in Windform® GT represent a compelling example of how design and technology can intersect to create innovative solutions that push the boundaries of human potential. This makes them a fitting addition to the SuperPower Design exhibition.

Source: CRP Technology/Omnexus.specialchem.com

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share:128-Cavity Mold

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

World First: Manufacturer Runs 128-Cavity Mold in 1.9-second Cycle Time

A 128-cavity mold will produce 26-mm water closures in a cycle time of 1.9 seconds in a live experience at Netstal’s booth at NPE 2024.

Netstal’s CAP-Line 4500 is identical to two production systems being used by Alltrista, a contract manufacturer based in Greer, SC. The line features an all-electric clamping unit with 4,500 kN of force and a dry cycle time of 1.4 seconds. An optimized barrier screw allows for a smaller injection unit with higher plasticizing performance and better homogenization, Netstal expained.

More than three billion closures produced annually

"Alltrista is the first in the world to produce with 128 cavities and a cycle time of 1.9 seconds,” said Horst Kogler, head of Netstsal’s caps and closures business unit. “They produce more than 3.1 billion closures with two lines [annually]. More output per square meter of production area is currently not possible."

Enclosure weight reduced 25%:

The mold, produced by Austria’s z-moulds, is as small and light as a 96-cavity mold and fits into the injection molding machine with a smaller column distance. Cycle time is reduced by the smaller design, which also requires moving less mass. Alltrista has cut the weight of its enclosures by 25%; with 3.1 billion closures produced annually, that means more than 2 million pounds less resin used – about the weight of 160 African Bush elephants, the company said.

In the NPE demonstration, finished caps will travel through an Intravis vision-inspection system. The system executes 360-degree inspection of the closures to an accuracy of hundredths of a millimeter using nine high-resolution cameras. 

Overall, Netstal’s CAP-Line also fits in a smaller overall space — 538 square feet — and uses about 12% less electricity than competing machines running 96-cavity molds, Kogler said.

Accelerated machine delivery times

"With the new CAP-Line concept, we are aligning our portfolio even more closely with our customers' applications,” he noted. “Closure manufacturers benefit from a customized system, while pre-configuration can speed up the consultation and quotation process so that delivery times for the machine are as short as possible."

Added Christopher Navratil, CTO of Alltrista's parent company: "We were determined to be the first manufacturer to run a system with 128 cavities in under two seconds. In Netstal, z-moulds, and Intravis, we have found the best system partners for this project. Each company is a leader in its field, and the combination is unbeatable. With our 128-cavity systems, we produce more efficiently than ever before, can deliver at any time, and inspire our customers. This has given us an enormous competitive advantage."

Visit Netstal at booth W223 during NPE2024 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL, from May 6 to 10.

source:Geoff Giodano (plasticstoday)

Elusive 3D printed nanoparticles could lead to new shapeshifting materials

In nanomaterials, shape is destiny. That is, the geometry of the particle in the material defines the physical characteristics of the resulting material.

“A crystal made of nano-ball bearings will arrange themselves differently than a crystal made of nano-dice and these arrangements will produce very different physical properties,” said Wendy Gu, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Stanford University, introducing her latest paper which appears in the journal Nature Communications. “We’ve used a 3D nanoprinting technique to produce one of the most promising shapes known – Archimedean truncated tetrahedrons. They are micron-scale tetrahedrons with the tips lopped off.”

In the paper, Gu and her co-authors describe how they nanoprinted tens of thousands of these challenging nanoparticles, stirred them into a solution, and then watched as they self-assembled into various promising crystal structures. More critically, these materials can shift between states in minutes simply by rearranging the particles into new geometric patterns.

This ability to change “phases,” as materials engineers refer to the shapeshifting quality, is similar to the atomic rearrangement that turns iron into tempered steel, or in materials that allow computers to store terabytes of valuable data in digital form.

“If we can learn to control these phase shifts in materials made of these Archimedean truncated tetrahedrons it could lead in many promising engineering directions,” she said.

Elusive prey

Archimedean truncated tetrahedrons (ATTs) have long been theorized to be among the most desirable of geometries for producing materials that can easily change phase, but until recently were challenging to fabricate – predicted in computer simulations yet difficult to reproduce in the real world.

Gu is quick to point out that her team is not the first to produce nanoscale Archimedean truncated tetrahedrons in quantity, but they are among the first, if not the first, to use 3D nanoprinting to do it.

“With 3D nanoprinting, we can make almost any shape we want. We can control the particle shape very carefully,” Gu explained. “This particular shape has been predicted by simulations to form very interesting structures. When you can pack them together in various ways they produce valuable physical properties.”

ATTs form at least two highly desirable geometric structures. The first is a hexagonal pattern in which the tetrahedrons rest flat on the substrate with their truncated tips pointing upward like a nanoscale mountain range. The second is perhaps even more promising, Gu said. It is a crystalline quasi-diamond structure in which the tetrahedrons alternate in upward- and downward-facing orientations, like eggs resting in an egg carton. The diamond arrangement is considered a “Holy Grail” in the photonics community and could lead in many new and interesting scientific directions.

Most importantly, however, when properly engineered, future materials made of 3D printed particles can be rearranged rapidly, switching easily back and forth between phases with the application of a magnetic field, electric current, heat, or other engineering method.

Gu said she can imagine coatings for solar panels that change throughout the day to maximize energy efficiency, new-age hydrophobic films for airplane wings and windows that mean they never fog or ice up, or new types of computer memory. The list goes on and on.

“Right now, we’re working on making these particles magnetic to control how they behave,” Gu said of her latest research already underway using Archimedean truncated tetrahedron nanoparticles in new ways. “The possibilities are only beginning to be explored.” Reference Direct observation of phase transitions in truncated tetrahedral microparticles under quasi-2D confinement

David Doan, John Kulikowski & X. Wendy Gu

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-46230-x

Study Finds PFAS Chemicals May be Linked to Increased Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

DZNE researchers provide evidence that traces of the widely used PFAS chemicals in human blood are associated with unfavorable lipid profiles and thus with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

The findings are based on data from more than 2,500 adults from Bonn and the Dutch municipality of Leiderdorp. PFAS were detected in the blood of nearly all study participants. The study results were published in the renowned scientific journal “Exposure and Health”.

Effects are More Pronounced in Younger Population:

It is estimated that more than 10,000 different per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been developed since their invention in the 1950s. They are used in thousands of products ranging from cosmetics and dental floss to pan coatings and firefighting foams because of their water-, fat- and dirt-repellent properties. In addition to their basic chemical structure, PFASs have another thing in common: they are virtually non-degradable. They enter the human food chain primarily through groundwater.

The findings of the Bonn researchers are the latest contribution to the current debate on the effect of PFAS on human health. “We see clear signs of a harmful effect of PFAS on health. And we have found that at the same PFAS concentration in the blood, the negative effects are more pronounced in younger subjects than in older ones,” says prof. Dr. Monique Breteler, director of Population Health Sciences at DZNE. The results of the current study also suggest that even relatively low PFAS concentrations in the blood are associated with unfavorable blood lipid profiles.

“Our data shows a statistically significant correlation between PFAS in the blood and harmful blood lipids linked to cardiovascular risk. The higher the PFAS level, the higher the concentration of these lipids. Taken strictly, this is not yet a proof that PFAS chemicals cause the unfavorable blood lipid profiles. However, the close correlation supports this suspicion. It is a strong argument for stricter regulation of PFAS in order to protect health,” says the Bonn researcher. Strikingly, PFAS could be detected in the blood of almost all test subjects. Which means you cannot escape these chemicals. “Even if we don’t see an immediate health threat for the study participants we examined, the situation is still worrying. In the long term, the increased risk may very well have a negative impact on the heart and cardiovascular system,” says Breteler.

Blood Samples from Bonn and the Netherlands:

The current study was based on DZNE’s “Rhineland Study” – a population-based health study in the Bonn urban area – and the so-called NEO study from the Netherlands (“Netherlands Epidemiology of Obesity study”). Researchers from the DZNE collaborated with experts from the Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands. Blood samples from more than 2,500 men and women between the ages of 30 and 89 were included in the analyses. State-of-the-art technology was used. "The technology to analyze blood samples with the accuracy required for our research has only become available in the last few years," says DZNE scientist Elvire Landstra. Together with a colleague from Leiden, she is the first author of the current publication.

Proven Connection Between PFAS and Unfavorable Lipid Profiles

The blood samples were analyzed in detail using a sophisticated method known as mass spectrometry. In their analysis, the researchers focused on three of the most common types of PFAS – PFOA, PFOS and PFHxS – and also determined the concentration of 224 blood lipids, metabolites and amino acids. “With this ‘untargeted approach’ – an intentionally broad approach without a preconceived target – we were able to prove the connection between the PFAS concentration and a problematic profile of fatty substances, so-called lipids. These include the well-known cholesterol and various other blood lipids that are known to be risk factors for cardiovascular disease,” says Elvire Landstra.

No significant differences were found between the samples from Bonn and Leiderdorp. “Our study is the most detailed on this topic to date and the one with the largest database. Previous studies had already suggested a correlation between PFAS and unhealthy blood lipids, but this link had never been as clear as in our study.”

Future studies could focus on specific areas of the body, the Bonn researchers suggest. “We looked at the blood levels. In a next step, it would make sense to investigate the occurrence of PFAS in individual organs,” Monique Breteler says.

Source: DZNE/Omnexus.specialchem

Azelis Secures Distribution of LANXESS’ Flame Retardants in the U.S. Market

Azelis announces it has been appointed the exclusive distributor in the U.S. of LANXESS polymer additives phosphorous flame retardants. It includes the Disflamoll® and Levagard® product lines.

Azelis’ CASE technical expertise and application labs in the Americas region will be leveraged to grow the market and support customers' needs. The commercial partnership is effective as of April 1, 2024.

Building Additive’s Portfolio for CASE Market:

LANXESS Polymer Additives is a leading supplier of flame-retardant additives for multiple industries, including construction, electrical and electronics, and transportation. Fire represents a significant risk to both life and property.

LANXESS flame retardants are innovative polymer additives that provide substantially increased fire protection when added to rubber and plastic materials, such as flexible PU, rigid PU foam formulations and PVC. They offer superior low flammability, low flame propagation, and low smoke density and are designed to meet applicable regulations and standards and ensure compliance with the safety requirements of various industries.

The LANXESS Polymer Additives phosphorous flame-retardant portfolio includes the Amgard®, Disflamoll®, Levagard®, and Reofos® extended product lines, as well Emerald Innovation® NH-1. Azelis also represents the brominated line of flame-retardants Firemaster®, PHT4® and PHT4 Diol®, BA59P®, BC 58®, PDBS-80®, and Emerald Innovation 3000®.

Shiona Stewart, managing director, Azelis, CASE US comments, “The addition of LANXESS polymer additive's phosphorus flame retardants is a direct result of the hard work and positive results we have delivered. By adding Disflamoll® and Levagard® products, this continues to build out our additive’s portfolio for the CASE market. Azelis has had a long and successful commercial relationship with LANXESS, and we are excited to expand our collaboration with this new set of high-performance additives. Our application labs and chemists will provide technical expertise and innovative solutions for our customers as they seek to develop new product applications.”

Source: Azelis/Lanxess/specialchem