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3-D printing plastic development highlights
Don Rosato Engineering3-D printing parts manufacturing is definitely coming of age in a way that's highly disruptive to traditional manufacturing. Global expenditures from the recent February Inside 3D Printing Conference & Expo on desktop and industrial printers will grow from $12 billion in 2017 to $25 billion by 2022.
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Emerging bioplastic feedstock, material and application trends
Don Rosato EngineeringNew biomaterial technology trends that emphasize sustainability are advancing rapidly across the bioplastics supply chain. Let's take a look at some emerging bioplastic feedstock, material and application highlights from among other sources, the recent 2018 European Biopolymer Summit and World Bio Markets conferences.
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Cities and power: The space between buildings
Lucy Wallwork EngineeringWhile cities used to be planned at the stroke of an architect's pen, a new era of "participative planning" is being sold to us as giving more power over decisions to ordinary people, to disperse more widely the power once held in the hands of "experts" and bureaucrats. But is the role of power missing from this conversation?
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How smart materials can aid in the fight against tooth decay
Tammy Hinojos Oral & Dental Healthcare"Two for one" is a great marketing strategy — for certain things. Two bags of chips for the price of one? Yep. Two nights hotel stay for the price of one? Yes, please. But an additional cavity (called recurrent caries) beneath the filling of a cavity that was already filled? Uh, no thanks. Unfortunately, many dentists have to deliver this bad news to patients on a daily basis.
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Europe reviews F-Gas success
Andrew Gaved ManufacturingThe last time I wrote to you, I was full of tales of the pain being felt by the cooling industry in Europe as the F-Gas regulations started to squeeze the market for higher-GWP refrigerants via its combination of restrictions on supply and bans on use. Now I can tell you that the European Commission has confirmed that such pain is precisely what it had in mind to drive the European industry towards better solutions for the environment.
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Cities and power: Might is set in stone
Lucy Wallwork Construction & Building MaterialsThose in power have throughout history understood the visceral psychological and emotional impact that the built environment has on us. We all feel this as we pass under the shadow of a corporate skyscraper or across a windswept military parade ground. Only those in the most remote locations do not have their lives interrupted daily by buildings.
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Where is LEED having the most impact in the US?
Scott E. Rupp Facilities & GroundsThe U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) recently released its annual list of the Top 10 States for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), the world's most widely used green building rating system. The list ranks states in terms of certified square feet per resident in the previous year, and it highlights the latest developments throughout the U.S. that are making significant strides in sustainable design, construction and transformation.
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Emerging plastic packaging trends and technologies
Don Rosato EngineeringThe Packaging Conference — just held Feb. 5-7 in Orlando — is an annual event with a strong new business and emerging technology focus in the plastics packaging industry. Solution-based plastic barrier packaging technologies are being developed in an environment of increasing global legislation directives and regulatory trends.
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Efficiency of buildings increase, with a focus on facility managers
Scott E. Rupp Facilities & GroundsIn 2010, the U.S. building sector generated 45 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions in the country — that's right, nearly half of all carbon emissions came from the places Americans live, shop and work in every day. Much of this is because of the fact that residential and commercial buildings use 75 percent of all electricity produced in the U.S., for lighting, pumping, heating and cooling.
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Europe prepares for perfect storm over F-Gas
Andrew Gaved ManufacturingI promise not to make every dispatch this year an update on the general alarm surrounding the EU F-Gas regulations, but having declared a crisis back in January, I feel duty-bound to keep you abreast of what I believe the TV newsrooms call a developing situation.
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