Don Rosato

Dr. Donald V. "Don" Rosato serves as president of PlastiSource, Inc. a prototype manufacturing, technology development and marketing advisory firm located in Concord, Massachusetts. He has written extensively, developed numerous patents within the polymer-related industries and is the author of the Vols. 1 & 2 "Plastics Technology Handbook".

Articles by Don Rosato

• Nanotechnology: The new frontier for plastics

  Not since the discovery of the silicon chip has there been this much excitement in the field of physics…

  Monday, August 20, 2018

• Automotive lightweighting technologies from NAIAS 2018

  The North American International Automotive Show (NAIAS) is an annual, 6-day automotive trade show in…

  Monday, June 25, 2018

• Emerging plastics technologies highlighted at NPE and ANTEC shows

  ​Recently, the global plastics industry community was welcomed to a great National Plastics Exposition…

  Tuesday, May 29, 2018

• 3-D printing plastic development highlights

  ​3-D printing parts manufacturing is definitely coming of age in a way that's highly disruptive to…

  Monday, April 23, 2018

• Emerging bioplastic feedstock, material and application trends

  ​New biomaterial technology trends that emphasize sustainability are advancing rapidly across the bioplastics…

  Monday, March 26, 2018

• Emerging plastic packaging trends and technologies

  ​The Packaging Conference — just held Feb. 5-7 in Orlando — is an annual event with a strong new…

  Monday, February 26, 2018

• Demanding E&E developments from CES 2018

  The annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) — just held Jan. 9-12 in Las Vegas — is the world's top…

  Monday, January 29, 2018

• Best of plastics: 3-D printing

  Although it's in its plastics industry end-use product infancy, 3-D printing is a disruptive, technology-driven…

  Monday, October 31, 2016

• Best of plastics: Bioplastics

  By way of an introduction definition, the term bioplastics is not limited to biodegradable or compostable…

  Monday, October 24, 2016

• Best of plastics: Medical

  The medical device industry is making important contributions to advances in healthcare, and this sector…

  Monday, October 10, 2016

• Best of plastics: Barrier packaging

  Value and health are currently driving barrier technology in food packaging. Increasingly busy lifestyles…

  Monday, September 26, 2016

• Best of plastics: Electrical and electronics

  Manufacturers in the various electrical/electronic (E/E) sectors can choose from an enormous and versatile…

  Monday, September 12, 2016

• The path forward in automotive lightweighting applications

  Every car model that is launched over the coming years is expected to include lightweighting measures.…

  Monday, August 29, 2016

• Emerging automotive lightweighting materials and processes

  Every car model that is launched over the coming years is expected to include lightweighting measures.…

  Monday, August 15, 2016

• Automotive lightweighting trends on the move

  Auto lightweighting goals are driven by changes in government regulations for fuel emissions, ongoing…

  Monday, August 01, 2016

• Developing plastics manufacturing cell automation applications

  Production cell applications that increase manufacturing efficiency are central to modern plastics manufacturing…

  Monday, July 18, 2016

• Automated plastics process manufacturing takes center stage

  Plastics processing information exchange in the internet age has spawned interesting evolutionary development…

  Friday, July 01, 2016

• Plastics manufacturing automation trends rapidly expanding

  The business dynamics of plastics manufacturing automation technologies are rapidly advancing. Trends…

  Monday, June 20, 2016

• Advanced MIM applications complementary to injection molding

  Metal injection molding (MIM) relies on a thermoplastic polymer blend filled with about 60 percent by…

  Monday, June 06, 2016

• Advanced MIM electronic materials and processing

  Within the field of advanced metal injection molding (MIM) technology, aluminum MIM thermal management…

  Monday, May 23, 2016

• Metal injection molding technical marketing basics

  Metal injection molding (MIM) offers a manufacturing capability for producing complex shapes in large…

  Monday, May 09, 2016

• SPE plenary session: The state of the plastics industry

  There's a new plenary session concept for SPE's ANTEC Indianapolis 2016: an editor's panel composed of…

  Monday, May 02, 2016

• Barrier packaging applications to watch

  Barrier developments in food packaging are expected to greatly help reduce food waste to better feed…

  Monday, April 25, 2016

• Barrier packaging: Novel material and process solutions

  With new plastic barrier materials, let's start by taking a look at layered barrier film material comparisons.…

  Monday, April 11, 2016

• Innovative plastic barrier packaging trends

  Value and health are currently driving barrier technology in food packaging. Increasingly busy lifestyles…

  Monday, March 28, 2016

• The road ahead for innovative medical plastics packaging

  Within the broad expanse of medical package development there are several simultaneous medical packaging…

  Monday, March 14, 2016

• Novel medical plastics packaging material and process advances

  It is projected that ongoing medical packaging research and development will continue to produce sophisticated,…

  Tuesday, March 01, 2016

• Medical plastics packaging trends keep expanding

  In terms of the future, experts say medical packaging will be dramatically different by the end of the…

  Monday, February 15, 2016

• Innovative, advanced conductive polymer application development

  Electrically conductive plastic got its industrial start by playing an important role in providing low-cost…

  Monday, February 01, 2016

• Electrically and thermally conductive material/process innovations

  Within a mixture of mature and simultaneously evolving technologies, there are numerous conductive polymer…

  Monday, January 18, 2016

• Growing electrically conductive polymer market trends

  By way of introduction, the global market for electrically conductive polymers was at $2.2 billion in…

  Monday, January 04, 2016

• Bioplastic applications advancing new development routes

  The bioplastics market based on "renewable carbon" is expanding from single-use compostables to durable…

  Tuesday, December 15, 2015

• Bioplastic materials and process advances on the move

  Microbiologists, rather than materials scientists, are developing new plastic building blocks. To further…

  Monday, November 30, 2015

• Rapidly expanding bioplastics production capacity trends

  Interest in bio-based plastics is closely connected to the price of oil and is a key driver for demand…

  Monday, November 16, 2015

• Cutting-edge plastic electronic devices coming of age

  E/E devices keyed to polymer-based technology are being developed for the nanophotonics market that could…

  Monday, November 02, 2015

• Plastic material and process advances define new E/E frontier

  In commercial applications, polymer material and process development advances are pushing plastic properties…

  Monday, October 19, 2015

• Plastics advances pushing broad-based electrical device trends

  The electrical and electronic (E&E) market ranks as the third-largest plastics end-use market, only exceeded…

  Monday, October 05, 2015

• Solar energy expanding plastic application development

  Financial incentives, government renewable energy targets and technology cost reductions remain the three…

  Monday, September 21, 2015

• Solar energy market-ready materials and processing

  For polymer-based organic photovoltaic (PV) cells, scientists have long believed the key to high efficiencies…

  Tuesday, September 08, 2015

• Solar energy trends pushing renewable energy forward

  Most people no longer ask whether solar energy/photovoltaics (PV) will be a success, the question is…

  Monday, August 24, 2015

• The ever-expanding road ahead in wind energy applications

  Wind energy provides significant growth opportunities for composite plastic materials. The global market…

  Monday, August 10, 2015

• Plastic materials and processing advancing wind energy

  The vast majority of the total tonnage used in wind turbine blade manufacturing are glass fiber and thermoset…

  Monday, July 27, 2015

• Plastics technology revitalizing wind energy trends

  In wind energy, the trend is to create larger and lighter blades to capture more wind and lower rotational…

  Monday, July 13, 2015

• Automotive lightweighting drives plastics applications

  ​Every car model that is launched in the coming years is expected to include lightweighting measures.…

  Monday, June 29, 2015

• Automotive lightweighting drives plastic materials and processes

  Innovative materials together with new production methods and reinforcing structures will play an important…

  Monday, June 15, 2015

• Automotive lightweighting trends drive plastics technology

  The global shifts in automotive manufacturing haven't slowed plastics innovation and the adoption of…

  Monday, June 01, 2015

• Highlighting barrier packaging application developments

  Safety, convenience and quality drive food packaging technology. Increasing demands for fresh packaged…

  Monday, May 18, 2015

• Compostable high-barrier packaging material highlights processing advances

  Plastic barrier packaging technology is driven by safety, convenience and quality. Growing demand for…

  Monday, May 04, 2015

• NPE 2015 end-use regulatory impact review: Green building

  ​The National Plastics Exposition (NPE) recently took place March 23-27 in Orlando, Florida. Let's…

  Monday, April 27, 2015

• NPE 2015 end-use regulatory impact review: Food labeling/packaging

  The National Plastics Exposition (NPE) recently took place March 23-27 in Orlando, Florida. Let's go…

  Monday, April 20, 2015

• Innovative technology drives barrier packaging trends

  Despite being costly, plastic barrier packaging has established itself in the food and beverage sector…

  Monday, April 20, 2015

• NPE 2015 end-use regulatory impact review: Automotive lightweighting

  The National Plastics Exposition (NPE) recently took place March 23-27 in Orlando, Florida. Let's go…

  Monday, April 13, 2015

• Smart polymer applications entering mainstream markets

  Properties inherent in shape memory polymers (SMP) and other smart polymers have the potential to be…

  Monday, March 16, 2015

• Innovative smart polymer material and process advances on the rise

  Key to the development of smart polymers is our growing understanding of the world at the molecular level…

  Monday, March 02, 2015

• Broad-based emerging trends in smart polymers

  In the past century, polymers served elementary functions, such as being structural, insulative or optical.…

  Monday, February 16, 2015

• Innovative medical plastic applications breaking into new areas

  The U.S. market for the medical sector is the largest and most sophisticated in the world. As a rule…

  Monday, February 02, 2015

• Medical plastic material and process innovations to watch

  Plastic products designed for applications in medical technology have to meet a number of special criteria.…

  Monday, January 19, 2015

• Global medical plastics device trends keep expanding

  The medical device industry is making important contributions to advances in healthcare. The sector is…

  Tuesday, January 06, 2015

• Energy-saving, high-tech plastics applications in green building

  In the U.S., demand for green building materials — products that contribute to LEED credits — are…

  Monday, December 15, 2014

• Disruptive plastic products rapidly emerging in green building field

  Green building technology redefines how we make and live in buildings. From a plastics material and processing…

  Monday, December 01, 2014

• Green building regulatory trends drive plastics use

  The construction and operation of buildings has a significant impact on the environment. In the U.S.,…

  Monday, November 17, 2014

• Bioplastic applications rapidly developing across major markets

  The bioplastics industry is experiencing a sense of arrival confirmed by a growing volume and variety…

  Monday, November 03, 2014

• Highlights of bioplastic material and process building blocks

  The chemical industry relies heavily on traditional sources of carbon — oil, natural gas, coal and…

  Monday, October 20, 2014

• Bioplastics trends and drivers for greener plastics

  By way of an introduction definition, the term bioplastics is not limited to biodegradable or compostable…

  Monday, October 06, 2014

• Bright future for plastics in electronic devices

  The road ahead for plastics has the potential to significantly impact future electronic device applications.…

  Monday, September 22, 2014

• E/E plastic material and process advances to watch

  Convergence among computer, consumer electronics and telecom industries continue to blur the lines between…

  Monday, September 08, 2014

• Legislation and performance requirements define electronic device trends

  Manufacturers in the various electrical/electronic (E/E) sectors can choose from an enormous and versatile…

  Monday, August 25, 2014

• Emerging food-packaging barrier applications to watch

  Barrier developments in food packaging are expected to greatly help reduce food waste to better feed…

  Monday, August 11, 2014

• Green plastic barrier packaging material and process advances

  Modern innovations have made it possible to keep food fresh for a much longer time without changing the…

  Monday, July 28, 2014

• Technology and market drivers in plastic barrier packaging

  Food and beverage packaging together comprise 55 percent of the $550 billion value of packaging in the…

  Monday, July 14, 2014

• Wind energy applications — the promising road forward

  Wind energy continues to provide major growth opportunities for plastic composites — the industry will…

  Monday, June 30, 2014

• Wind energy processing technologies steadily advancing

  Wind energy designs increasingly depend on plastics processing and design technologies. Plastic parts…

  Monday, June 16, 2014

• Highlighting novel material advances in wind energy

  Wind energy provides significant growth opportunities for advanced composite resin and reinforcement…

  Monday, June 02, 2014

• Market and technology trends driving wind energy forward

  Among the various sources of alternative energy, wind has the highest rate of return and is attracting…

  Monday, May 19, 2014

• Automotive lightweighting applications — the path ahead

  Every car model that is launched in the coming years is expected to include lightweighting measures.…

  Monday, May 05, 2014

• New applied automotive weight-saving process technologies

  The average car contains 400 pounds of plastics or approximately 14 percent of its total weight, and…

  Tuesday, April 22, 2014

• Automotive lightweighting — Flash-forward material highlights

  Automotive lightweighting with alternative plastic materials will remain an important technology trend…

  Monday, April 07, 2014

• Automotive plastics lightweighting and environmental trend drivers

  Auto-makers choose plastic parts for a multiplicity of performance features. Important characteristics…

  Monday, March 24, 2014

• Innovative solar energy applications point the way forward

  Most people no longer ask whether solar energy will be a success, the question is rather which forms…

  Monday, March 10, 2014

• Solar energy process technology developments to watch

  System considerations such as reliability, overall energy production rate and competitiveness in the…

  Monday, February 24, 2014

• Back to the future with Ford bioplastics

  Sustainability is a megatrend driving innovations in automotive plastics with bio-based plastics gaining…

  Monday, February 17, 2014

• Solar energy electronic and plastic material advances

  Most solar cells are commonly designed to operate outdoors for 25-plus years. A variety of films and…

  Monday, February 10, 2014

• Solar energy global market drivers and challenges

  ​The worldwide solar energy or photovoltaic (PV) demand reached only 29 gigawatts (GW) last year, a…

  Monday, January 27, 2014

• 3-D printing taking center stage in additive manufacturing

  Additive manufacturing (AM) is a process of joining materials to make objects from 3-D model data, usually…

  Monday, January 20, 2014

• Innovative medical plastic devices define the road ahead

  Future medical device innovations are expected to center around six major technological areas.

  Monday, January 13, 2014

• Medical plastic process developments take center stage

  Plastics are integral to the entire medical industry's supply chain and their use is projected to surge…

  Monday, January 06, 2014

• Medical device plastic material innovations to watch

  ​The medical device universe encompasses a particularly imposing spectrum of constant technological…

  Monday, December 16, 2013

• Medical device market trends and the headwinds of change

  The term "medical device" can be applied to a wide range of products. The global market is comprised…

  Monday, December 02, 2013

• Greenbuild offers a glimpse of emerging green building trends

  The U.S. Green Building Council's Greenbuild International Conference and Expo is the world's largest…

  Tuesday, November 26, 2013

• Green-building applications: The road ahead

  ​Growth in green-building material demand will outpace the growth of building construction expenditures…

  Monday, November 18, 2013

• Fabricated green building products rapidly advancing

  Green building technology redefines how we make and live in buildings. From a plastics processing standpoint,…

  Tuesday, November 05, 2013

• Emerging green building material technologies to watch

  "Green building" is being transformed from a buzzword to a sophisticated approach using technology that…

  Monday, October 21, 2013

• Green building trends will drive plastics construction use

  The construction and operation of buildings has a significant impact on the environment. In Europe and…

  Monday, October 07, 2013

• Electronic device applications — the road ahead

  Stated simply, 20 percent of global electricity is consumed for lighting. The advent of light emitting…

  Monday, September 23, 2013

• Specialty processing techniques advancing electronic end-use development

  End-use electronic application plastic process development is responding to the ongoing need for smaller…

  Thursday, September 12, 2013