The world around us is made from materials and the materials we use have a huge impact on the consumption of resources, the use of energy as well our well being.
Bicycle frames made from hemp and bamboo, flexible stone for sports goods, carbon nanotubes for conductive plastics or inflated lightweight constructions from metal: These are some of the topical highlights of the Materials in Progress 2010 conference at Euromold in Frankfurt this year.
The conference reflects the growing significance of materials for product development and design. 70% of all new products today arise from material innovations. Consequently, new material technologies are classed among the main drivers for innovation.
The growing world population and the need to deduce CO2 emissions are putting immense pressure on using resources in more efficient ways and developing new materials which are sustainable in the long term.
The talks, presentations and discussions during the conference reflect this trend. The topics will range from interesting material developments for tool and mould construction to functional and nano materials. Manufacturers will speak about innovative sustainability concepts and will present constructions based on cellulose plastics and biopolymers.
Whether it is cars or computers, the products we use have become lighter over the years and in many cases this leads to efficiency gains. The conference will therefore address is innovative lightweight constructions such as metallic hollow sphere structures and foam. A new procedure for the manufacture of sheet components will be presented in a small series featuring incremental pressure forming.
Materials in Progress @ Euromold in Frankfurt, 02 December 2010. For programme details please see http://www.euromold.com/index.php?id=413&l=1
Euromold, Frankfurt 01 – 04 December 2010, www.euromold.com