Into the plastic innovation world, the "plasticization" trend is sweeping

In the next five years, general plastics engineering, high performance and low cost of engineering plastics will become the main trend of plastics development. As China's economic growth slows, the demand for plastics in traditional industries is saturated. The plastics field needs innovation to cope with market changes, and innovation has become an important means for the plastics industry to open up the market in the future. Let us share some typical innovative application cases in the global plastics field in recent years, and feel the increasingly accelerated plastic life revolution.

Cars - the most popular application holy place

With the increasing demand for lightweighting, plastics are becoming more and more widely used in the automotive field. According to the US market research company GVR, the annual compound growth rate of automotive plastics is expected to reach 9.5% in 2015-2022, and the market value will reach 53 billion US dollars by 2022. In terms of materials, PP is the leading product, accounting for 25.6% of global sales in 2014.

In 2020, China's car usage is expected to exceed 200 million. Lightweight has become a pioneer in energy saving and consumption reduction for automobiles. Engineering plastics and related composite materials are the most important materials for achieving lightweight. As the most advanced and popular carbon fiber thermoplastic composite material in the field, the application in the automotive field is reflected in the extension of decorative parts, cover parts to bearing parts and body parts, from local applications to vehicle applications, from high-end vehicle applications to new energy sources. Car extension, from research and development gradually entered the industrialized production and other significant trends.

Due to the high temperature and harsh environment around the engine, the performance of the product is demanding. Therefore, it has become the favorite of plastic explorers, and they are competing to show their unique skills. Evonik Industries Group's specialty polyterephthalamide (PPA) VESTAMID HT plus R1033 product and Germany's KACO's newly developed hydrogenated nitrile rubber (HNBR) elastomer can be directly compounded into a cooling circuit component based on plastic-rubber The patented technology of direct bonding is installed and used by famous automobile manufacturers. This technology allows for a strong bond between the plastic part and the rubber part without any pre-treatment. Even during the vulcanization of the elastomer, the plastic part remains dimensionally stable, which does not cause any component to be used after millions of cycles. malfunction.

Packaging applications are booming

In developed countries, plastic packaging accounts for 30% of the value of plastic products, while China is less than 10%. The next few years will be the period of rapid development of China's plastic packaging industry. Lightweight, functional and intelligent has become the development trend of plastic packaging. In the beverage industry, at present, China's beverage packaging is divided into the use of materials, mainly polyester bottles (PET), metal cans, paper-plastic composite packaging, glass bottles and other packaging forms, becoming the "four major" in China's current beverage packaging market. Family", in which polyester bottles account for 30%.

Wearable Electronics - Trendy Intelligence

Smart wearable devices are getting hotter and hotter now, and many users want to have their own wearable smart device. Smart wearable devices can be broadly classified into several broad categories: smart watch bracelets, head-mounted VR devices, smart sensing devices, and the like.

Other applications - plastic banknotes

Last March, the Bank of Scotland, Clydesdale, UK issued the first batch of plastic banknotes in the UK with a face value of £5, one year ahead of the rest of the UK. The rest of the UK will issue £5 plastic banknotes from 2016 and £10 plastic banknotes in 2017. Compared with banknotes, plastic currency is more resistant to dirt and easier to clean, better in anti-counterfeiting and safety, longer in use and more environmentally friendly.

Flexible panel

The University of Saarland and the Carnegie Mellon University in the United States jointly developed the flexible touch panel "iSkin". Its overall thickness is only 0.7mm, which can be attached to the back of the hand, arms and back of the ear for operating mobile terminals and music players. The touch panel is bonded to two conductive silicone rubbers mainly composed of PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane) using a gasket made of a non-conductive silicone rubber. Even if it is attached to the skin, there is not much dissonance.

Innovation is a communication feast

In this era of advocating win-win, information exchange, and resource integration, innovation is no longer a struggle alone, behind closed doors, but the upstream and downstream of the industry chain, sometimes even cross-border cooperation, can successfully turn an innovative concept and design into Products are brought to market.