round up | product design


Medical firm wins award


Gerresheimer werkzeug und Automatisierungstechnik picked up a first place category award in Germany’s excellence in Production tooling award. the wackersdorf, Germany-based company, part of Gerreshiemer’s Medical Plastics Systems division, won the “internal mouldmaker with less than 100 employees” category in the annual competition, which is sponsored by rwtH Aachen University’s wZl tooling and laboratory Fraunhofer’s Aachen-based institute for Production technology (iPt). 291 companies took part


in this year’s competition. Gerresheimer was one of seven companies to make it through to the final. ❙ www.gerresheimer.com


Flux folding chair design hinges on Sabic’s PP


Amsterdam, netherlands- based Flux Furniture took inspiration from the Japanese origami art form in the design of Flux, which gives new meaning to the term “folding chair”. each Flux chair is “assem-


bled” from a flat injection moulded panel of Sabic’s HPc


PP impact block copolymer, utilising a network of mould- ed-in living hinges to create a sturdy seat capable of support- ing users weighing up to 140kg. the design provides a novel flat-pack solution to the problem of cost effective bulk furniture transport. “Sabic’s polypropylene


helped to make our complicated product look simple,” says douwe Jacobs, co-founder and lead designer for Flux Furniture. the resin maker provided technical


assistance in the design of the single-piece moulding, which combines thick and rigid seat and body panels with very thin hinge sections. the innovative chair resulted from Jacobs’


graduation project, which explored new opportunities in


Flux is a novel take on flat-pack furniture


production of folding furniture. the design has already secured a number of prizes, including the Philips innovation Award. Flux Furniture is now


working on the development of a smaller version for children. ❙ www.fluxfurniture.com ❙ www.sabic.com


long term data set for FdM resins


researchers at UK-based loughborough University have completed a year-long study that looked at how the performance of ABS and Pc parts produced using Fused deposition Modeling (FdM) equipment from US-based Stratasys is affected by time, temperature and environmen- tal conditions. According to Stratasys, the


decision to undertake the study recognises that FdM, initially developed for prototyp- ing applications, is increasingly


www.injectionworld.com


being used for production of short series production parts. “Stratasys has migrated


into manufacturing and other high-requirement applica- tions,” says Fred Fischer, director of Materials Business development for Stratasys. “Manufacturers are hungry for data on mechanical perform- ance of additive processes. the loughborough study offers statistically sound, compre- hensive data, which will help engineers make decisions about additive manufacturing.”


the study looked at two


Stratasys FdM materials – Fortus ABS-M30 and Fortus Pc – and each extends to 10- pages of test results. the Fortus ABS-M30 grade


is shown to be most affected by temperature, although over the range from 0-60˚c measured values are consist- ent and predictable. Moisture also impacts on physical properties, with mechanical performance significantly impacted by continuous exposure of the resin to water.


For the Fortus Pc grade,


mechanical performance is shown to be consistent and predictable over the range of temperatures from -40 to 120˚c. Physical properties showed sensitivity to environ- mental conditions but water alone has little impact on performance at temperatures above 0˚c, according to the study results. download the ABS data


here. download the Pc data report here. ❙ www.stratasys.com


January/February 2012 | inJection world 53


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