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Design/Innovation
Opinion: China needs to protect innovation

Toloken
Chinese leaders talk a lot about developing an innovation economy, but Tang Shanxin, an expert on intellectual property policy, believes that won’t happen unless the country develops and enforces stronger laws that really protect innovation.

Dow Chemical unveils new solar shingles
MIDLAND, MICH. (October 11, 2009) -- Dow Chemical Co. on Oct. 5 unveiled a line of photovoltaic solar panels that can be integrated into rooftops with standard shingle materials. Dow's Powerhouse solar shingles integrate thin-film photovoltaic cells into a proprietary injection molded roofing shingle design. The solar shingle systems will be available in limited quantities by mid-2010, and Dow expects them to be widely available in 2011.

IDSA’s new China chapter finally takes flight

Xin
MIAMI (October 6, 2009) -- After years of discussion and effort, the Industrial Designers Society of America recently approved the formation of a China Chapter. Its champions hope the move will help to advance the practice of design in creating social as well as business value in China. The chapter's chair is Xin Xiangyang, an assistant professor at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University’s School of Design.



Tesla turns to metal for sedan


Dewhurst Photography photo
TROY, MICH. (September 22, 2009) —- When designers from Tesla Motors Inc. began planning the company’s all electric Roadster, they had to add up the 900-pound weight of its lithium-ion battery pack with the speed performance of a sports car and ultralow production volumes, and came up with a light-weight car-body equation of carbon-fiber panels.

Fuel economy rules encourage material changes
TROY, MICH. (September 22, 2009) -- One number is pushing innovation in the North American auto industry: 35.5. That’s the average number of miles per gallon that the passenger vehicle fleet will have to hit by 2016 according to new rules announced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Rice based composites to challenge WPCs
COLOGNE, GERMANY (September 15, 2009) -- German company Münchener Boulevard Möbel (MBM) claims its new rice-based composite may provide an environmentally-friendly and better performing alternative to wood plastic composites (WPC) in applications such as decking.

Power station ash for new cut price fillers
BRISTOL, UK (September 15, 2009) -- A new reprocessing technology that extracts high performance fillers from the waste ash produced by coal-fired power stations could slash the cost of manufacturing performance polymer compounds, according to process developer RockTron Engineers.



Aviation industry sees potential in polymers


"Stingray" seats
HONG KONG (September 15, 2009) -- While problems with plastic composites have repeatedly delayed Boeing Co.’s next-generation 787 Dreamliner airplane, some aviation industry executives continue to see a role for polymers in helping airlines reduce weight and improve their environmental footprint.

Opinion: China aviation manufacturing has long way to go

Toloken
At the recent Asian International Aerospace Expo and Congress in Hong Kong, Plastics News reporter and Asia Bureau Chief Steve Toloken not only saw China's attempt and potential to move into aerospace manufacturing, but also noticed some major obstacles, such as the lack of supply base and corporate transparency.

Japan's Tanaka and Teijin make bioplastic eyeglasses
TOKYO (September 8, 2009) -- Teijin Ltd. said a Japanese eyeglass frame maker has become the first in the world to make a frame entirely from bioplastic, as part of Teijin's push to improve performance and broaden markets for the material.

UK firm researching power-generating plastic trees
LONDON (September 8, 2009) -- UK-based firm SolarBotanic hopes to revolutionise the green energy movement with its new power-generating plastic tree concept, which uses nanotechnology to convert solar energy to electricity.

Germany's IKV: Plasma-coated PLA could challenge PET
AACHEN, GERMANY (September 8, 2009) -- The Institut fĂĽr Kunststoffverarbeitung (IKV) plastics processing institute in Aachen believes that plasma coating -- a technique already used commercially to enhanced shelf-life performance of PET bottles -- could enable polypropylene and polylactic acid containers to meet demanding barrier-performance requirements.

California's EnVino finding success with PET wine bottles
BURLINGAME, CALIF. (August 18, 2009) -- A joint venture between a plastic bottle maker and thermoforming packaging manufacturer is making an aggressive push to penetrate the wine industry with plastics. With clear bottles for whites and green-hued bottles for reds, the bottles come in three sizes: 187 milliliter, the industry standard 750 milliliter, and 1 liter.

Plastics used in winning designs
DULLES, VA. (August 18, 2009) -- The use of polymer resins helped numerous products — including advanced medical devices, double-color injection molded consumer electronics and an amphibious sport plane — win 2009 International Design Excellence Awards.

Snappy innovation for plastics packaging
OYONNAX, FRANCE (July 21, 2009) -- The breakage-resistant property of plastics is an advantage in most applications but not in production of ampoules, which are opened by snapping away the neck. Now, the French plastic processor Sériplast has developed a technology that uses irradiation to embrittle the neck of a polypropylene (PP) ampoule, allowing it to be "snapped" open without the risk of sharp glass splinters.

China’s manufacturers mull ways to boost industry

Chan
HONG KONG (June 30, 2009) -- Stung by the collapse of their export markets, Chinese manufacturers should not look for that big volume business to return and instead ought to explore new areas such as manufacturing products targeted at niche markets, using better industrial design and looking inward at Chinese culture for inspiration. That, at least, was some of the advice coming from manufacturers and industrial designers -- like Eric Chan, a native of Guangdong province and now president of industrial design firm Ecco Design Inc. in New York -- at a Hong Kong forum on reinvigorating the sagging manufacturing industries in the Pearl River Delta.

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