Elastomers

Engineers leverage thermotropic LCE phase transitions to power prosthetics, overcoming rigid motor constraints with flexible actuation.

OEM and material supplier innovations reveal breakthrough circularity solutions driving sustainable mobility at IKV Colloquium 2026.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) may help bridge the gap between scientific research and policy in the plastics industry.

Photothermal-responsive coatings use shape memory polymers to repair surface defects. Structural encoding and light activation enable autonomous recovery.

Multi-material 3D printing of PEEK and PEKK enables the consolidation of structural aerospace parts with embedded sensors and high-frequency antennas.

Mass production of microfluidics requires replacing PDMS with thermoplastics. Variothermal molding solves the “frozen layer” problem, enabling cycle times of <1 minute.

What it takes for sustainable plastics to work in pharma, with insights from Dr. Beate Mueller-Tiemann.

Move beyond ASTM D395 compression set to stress relaxation and DMA to predict contact stress retention and leakage risk in high-performance seals.

Moving beyond Melt Flow Index: select rheological measurements that match the deformation modes of injection molding and film blowing.

Polymer electrolytes boost aluminum-air batteries with safer, leakproof, high-energy performance, unlocking aviation and aerospace electrification.

Insights from K Show: 3D printing finds key niches in plastics, from conformal-cooling tooling to large-format parts and TPU lattices.

Reconfigurable liquid crystal elastomers use pixel-based director patterns for multi-mode shape morphing in soft robotics and adaptive surfaces.