{"id":2555,"date":"2015-05-29T10:00:20","date_gmt":"2015-05-29T16:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ulprospector.com\/knowledge\/?p=2555"},"modified":"2022-12-12T09:12:46","modified_gmt":"2022-12-12T15:12:46","slug":"pe-survey-highlights-industrys-resin-needs-priorities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/2555\/pe-survey-highlights-industrys-resin-needs-priorities\/","title":{"rendered":"Survey Highlights Industry\u2019s Resin Needs & Priorities"},"content":{"rendered":"

You can never get enough of a good thing \u2013 or so it would seem, based on the survey responses of plastics professionals asked recently about their resin-related wants and needs.<\/p>\n

\"1_Current-Materials-Needs-Augmented_2015_Pie-Chart500\"<\/p>\n

While 81 percent of the 813 respondents to the DuPont\/Plastics News<\/em> \u201cPlastics Industry Trends\u201d survey \u2013 conducted by email in February 2015 \u2013 said that today\u2019s resin portfolio is \u201csufficient\u201d or \u201csomewhat sufficient\u201d to meet current product development needs, they ranked thermal resistance<\/a> (17 percent), durability and structural capabilities (14 percent each) as those properties for which they most desire enhancements.<\/p>\n

\"2_Industry-Wants-to-Enhance_2015_Bar-Graph500\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Asked to rank their technology requests for polymer property enhancements, 57 percent of respondents said they want to see further polymer mechanical property improvements, followed by gains in recycle technology (42 percent), processing enhancements to improve productivity (35 percent), multimaterial technologies and 3D printing<\/a> (31 percent each).<\/p>\n

\"3_Polymer-Property-Enhancements-Tops-the-List-_2015_Bar-Graph500\"<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the \u201cenvironment and sustainability\u201d tied with the \u201ccompetitive global environment\u201d (15 percent each) as the top industry concern among respondents, followed closely by \u201cunstable oil prices.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"5_Top-the-List-of-Industry-Issues_2015_Bar-Graph500\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"DMDean_2014\"
David Dean, R&D Director for DuPont Packaging & Industrial Polymers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

David Dean, DuPont Packaging & Industrial Polymers<\/a> research and development director, noted \u201cthe attributes that people say they value today are the ones they would like to see enhanced.\u00a0I believe that tells us we are on the right trajectory from the perspective of our R&D efforts.\u201d Dean summarized the findings that ranked structural capabilities, durability and thermal resistance as the most valued material attributes as indicating that users want \u201cmore robustness\u201d in their materials.<\/p>\n

In an April 24 phone interview, Dean said that DuPont continues to focus a lot on multilayer films<\/a>, as it works to downgauge such products while retaining good puncture resistance<\/a>. He also said the Wilmington, Del.-based chemicals and plastics giant is putting a lot of effort into developing better barrier resins<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cNear term,\u201d Dean said, \u201cit\u2019s more about incremental improvements [than about inventing entirely new resin families]. We need to get the chemistry right, and the cost.\u201d<\/p>\n

When it comes to enhanced material structural capabilities and durability, composites are a key, according to Jeffrey Sternberg, DuPont\u2019s automotive technology director. In an April 27 phone interview from Wilmington, Sternberg said he sees significant opportunity and growth in the area of carbon fiber thermoplastic composites<\/a>, or mixtures of glass-fiber and carbon-fiber thermoplastic composites. Most composites today, of course, are based on thermoset composites<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"JeffSternberg\"
Jeffrey Sternberg, DuPont’s Automotive Technology Director.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThermosets have certain advantages,\u201d he said, \u201cbut they also have some disadvantages, as well, around cycle time and things like that.\u201d And he noted that thermoplastic-based composites could allow for improved recyclability \u2013 addressing another topic that ranked high among survey respondents.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt requires some additional process development, of course, and probably some infrastructure, but I think the potential is greater there,\u201d Sternberg said, referring to TP composites<\/a>. DuPont is already busy in this area, having developed its \u201cVizilon TPC\u201d thermoplastic composite, which French automaker PSA Peugeot Citroen is testing in a side impact beam (see this June 2013 European Plastics News<\/em> story<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The Vizilon beam \u2013 whose composite technology is based on DuPont\u2019s Zytel\u00ae<\/a> nylon 66 material \u2013 is said to offer a 40 percent weight reduction vs. the original beam made from ultra-high strength steel.<\/p>\n

Sternberg acknowledged that when it comes to a glass-fiber\/carbon-fiber mixed filler thermoplastic composite, \u201cthat is still more in the R&D phase.<\/p>\n

Addressing the point that nearly a third of respondents express interest in improved multimaterial technologies, Sternberg said he sees a lot of effort going into joining technology. Many automakers are using mixed materials to construct their chassis and bodies-in-white, and joining these dissimilar materials is a real challenge.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019re going to see a lot of development in the next few years about how to join composites to aluminum, and aluminum to steel, and one composite type to another composite type to make these bodies.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for 3D printing, Dean said, \u201cIt\u2019s a growing area, for sure. A key question will be on the equipment side \u2013 what [additive manufacturing] technology will come out ahead, or will there be multiple versions, and what types of materials can they run?\u201d<\/p>\n

Sternberg said it\u2019s \u201cstill an open question\u201d as to what role 3D printing might play in larger-scale manufacturing (beyond it\u2019s current primary use for prototyping work).<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are still a number of technical hurdles that need to be overcome before we see that realized,\u201d he said. \u201c3D printed plastic parts tend to be not as strong as an injection molded or blow molded part. There are lots of void spaces, and we\u2019re going to need to find a way to improve the mechanical strength of those parts. There also are temperature limitations, based on the polymers currently used.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we can move to using crystalline polymers<\/a> in 3-D printing,\u201d Sternberg said, \u201cthat will open some doors. But we\u2019re still a ways away.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two DuPont executives also are in agreement when it comes to the future of renewably sourced materials.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe key is,\u201d Dean stressed, \u201cit can\u2019t just be about being a biomaterial. It needs to add some functionality that is not otherwise available through different chemical means.\u201d<\/p>\n

To which Sternberg added: \u201c\u2026 it\u2019s going to continue to be a struggle and a challenge for renewably sourced materials if they\u2019re performing the same function and it requires paying a price premium.\u201d They need to deliver real performance advantages to become a major factor, he said.<\/p>\n

Meeting the demands of plastics-consuming professionals won\u2019t be easy. There are a host of major challenges, which perhaps helps explain another one of the survey\u2019s results. Some 39 percent of respondents said they believe the role of the material supplier is more important now than it was just three years ago (vs. just 3 percent who think it is less<\/em> important).<\/p>\n

\"4_Materials-Suppliers-are-More-Important-_2015_Pie-Chart500\"<\/p>\n

For more information about the makeup of the survey respondents, and to see more survey results, go to the DuPont website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You can never get enough of a good thing \u2013 or so it would seem, based on the survey responses of plastics professionals asked recently about their resin-related wants and needs. While 81 percent of the 813 respondents to the … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":2569,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[274,275],"ppma_author":[1244],"class_list":{"0":"post-2555","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-plastics-2","8":"tag-design","9":"tag-materials","10":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\nSurvey Highlights Plastic Industry Resin Needs | Prospector<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Results from a recent survey by DuPont give insights in to the resin needs of plastics industry professionals. 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He has broad global experience and for more than 35 years has worked as a journalist, editor-in-chief, publishing executive and key connector of like-minded parties. He has launched successful publications and C-level events on three continents. While with Crain Communications Inc., he oversaw the relaunch of the 100-year-old European Rubber Journal in London and helped to start Urethanes Technology magazine there. \u00a0In 1988 Bob returned to Akron, Ohio, to serve as founding editor of Plastics News, an award-winning, weekly business newspaper. In 2005 he oversaw the editorial launch of the bilingual (Chinese and English) PN China e-newsletter and website. For more than a decade at PN he also held the titles of associate publisher, editorial director and conference director, and most recently served as business development director. A long-time affiliate member of the Industrial Designers Society of America, Bob has organized numerous design-focused events, earned a Personal Recognition Award from IDSA in 2013, and constantly strives to help bridge the gap between the design and manufacturing communities. In 2014 he left Crain and created RC Grace LLC in Akron, Ohio, as a consultancy that aims to help companies to enhance their branding and market presence, find business partners, connect with design resources (here or in Asia), secure funding and advance their growth initiatives. Email Bob or visit his website at www.rcgrace.com to learn more about how he can help you.","sameAs":["http:\/\/ulprospector.com"],"url":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/author\/robert-grace\/"}]}},"authors":[{"term_id":1244,"user_id":23,"is_guest":0,"slug":"robert-grace","display_name":"Bob Grace","avatar_url":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/media\/2017\/10\/Robert-Grace_avatar_1508791447-96x96.jpg","0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2555"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2555\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2569"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2555"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=2555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}