Overview: Panorama
Silicones: All-rounders for healthcare, electronics and climate protection
27/05/2022
Baby pacifiers, plug seals, medical tubing – we encounter silicones in a wide variety of life situations. Why? They are flexible, water-repellent, heat- and chemical-resistant and even have electrical properties. In short, they are true all-rounders! WACKER, the German chemical group and K exhibitor from the very beginning, is considered a European pioneer in silicones.
Safely above the clouds – plastics in aviation
13/04/2022
Around 10,000 m altitude, speeds of almost 1,000 km/h, outside temperatures as low as -60°C. One of the reasons why we as airline passengers don't notice any of this is because of plastics. These are not only mechanically and chemically resistant, but also lightweight. And lighter aircraft cause fewer CO2 emissions, which is of great importance for achieving climate targets.
Integrated electronics make for sleek, smart surfaces
08/03/2022
Technological advances and evolving user preferences are redefining the look (and feel) of future electronic devices. Some examples were on display at the big CES 2022 consumer technology show in Las Vegas during the first week of January.
eCampus offers online training for employees in the plastics industry
04/03/2022
Knowledge is power – this also applies to the plastics industry. But training courses cost time and tie up participants, although they are actually needed elsewhere. So that companies do not have to do without employees for entire days during such training courses, the SKZ has developed the eCampus together with Hanser Verlag.
That smells nice: GRAFE adds fragrance to plastics
23/02/2022
It’s instantly recognizable, even with your eyes closed: that unmistakable “new car smell”. Granted, it’s not necessarily a scent everyone loves, prompting many to reach for alternative air fresheners. But what if you could avoid unpleasant odors right at the factory source - and not just when it comes to cars, but other products as well?
3D printing: InfraredTags make plastics communicative
31/01/2022
Shopping can be exhausting, for example when you first have to find the price label of a product or rush through the aisles looking for alternative products. All of this could be done at a glance while shopping – if InfraredTags were integrated into a product's packaging.
Recyclable furniture from the creative workshop
24/01/2022
Plastic is a versatile material that can be used for a wide variety of projects. What's more, it is reusable and can be given new forms – so it can be given a second life in the sense of the circular economy. In the plastikfabrik in Saarbrücken (Germany), Daniela and Pascal Becher breathe such a second life into plastic.
Using circular economy principles to recycle toys
28/12/2021
Many of us are familiar with this scene in our children’s bedrooms: when the kids have outgrown their toys, the latter typically get boxed up until we finally take heart and purge them. But it doesn’t have to be that way: the initiative of the HolyPoly company takes recycling steps to create new toys – that look slightly different.
Turning a problem into a solution: Wasser 3.0 studies ways to remove microplastics from water without a filter
15/12/2021
Plastic is an important material and a virtually irreplaceable component in many products. However, the breakdown and disposal of plastics after use also goes along with microplastics. At the end of its life cycle, plastic material first ends up in the environment and then comes back to us: a study has found that we ingest about five grams of plastic every week without realizing it.
Digital education: Increase knowledge about plastics without holding up operations
09/11/2021
One way to address the shortage of personnel in the plastics industry is to hire lateral hires – but that requires a good continuing education program. But especially in production, this is usually not so easy to do without taking the employee away from his or her job - which results in production coming to a standstill.