Archive for the ‘Design’ Category
Plastics notes from Reckitt Benckiser’s sustainability report
Thursday, October 6th, 2011
Reckitt Benckiser plc, known for its Clearasil, Lysol, Durex and Woolite brands, among others, released its 2010 sustainability report today. Here are some of the plastics-related highlights: The company's very proud of that eliminated all the PVC packaging from its...
Artist builds ‘life’ from PVC pipe
Wednesday, September 28th, 2011
Dutch sculptor Theo Jansen works in an ususual medium: PVC pipe. But when you're creating giant kinetic creatures that appear to be alive, you use what works. Jansen explains his work on his "Strandbeest" website: Since 1990 I have been...
Exercise in technology: 3D-printed Stradivarius violin
Tuesday, September 20th, 2011
By now we've all seen cool examples of 3D printing used to quickly make prototype products from computer drawings. Today let's go old school -- with a fun story about a replica of a Stradivarius violin made from polyaryletherketone on...
Irish molder or TV star?
Tuesday, September 20th, 2011
John Concannon, managing director of Tuam, Ireland-based plastics rotational molder, pipe extruder and recycler JFC Manufacturing Ltd., hasn't had a typical career as a manufacturing company entrepreneur. Concannon became something of a celebrity in 1987 when he appeared on the...
Building products and ‘Extreme Makeover’
Friday, September 16th, 2011
I received a note this week from a vinyl window fabricator that donated product for a deserving family featured on ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." The company, National Vinyl LLC of Chicopee, Mass., said its vendors -- Chelsea Building Products,...
Buyers cite design problems in vehicle interiors
Friday, September 16th, 2011
Defects and malfunctions can be fixed, but design problems are forever. And auto interiors are full of them, according to a new report from J.D. Power and Associates. According to the 2011 U.S. Interior Quality and Satisfaction Study, released today,...
Steve Jobs’ impact on plastics
Thursday, August 25th, 2011
Steve Jobs' decision to resign as CEO of Apple Inc. last night is the biggest story on the business page today. Jobs is one of the rare corporate CEOs who became a household name. Newspaper readers understand that, no matter...
The next brilliant plastic product: Happy Hot Dog Man?
Thursday, August 25th, 2011
New ideas, new products -- they're the lifeblood of many plastics housewares molders. You see them in specialty stores and late-night TV ads and infomercials. Today I discovered an unexpected gem: the Happy Hot Dog Man. The plastic device cuts...
Boeing’s Dreamliner gets more cupholders
Monday, August 15th, 2011
Boeing's 787 Dreamliner has been getting attention for years for its extensive use of lightweight composite plastics. But last week, when the company unveiled the first 787 ready for delivery, it was a pair of "simpler plastic innovations" that caught...
Personal computers turn 30 — is it time for their obituary?
Friday, August 12th, 2011
"Personal" computers have been around since the 1970s -- I worked on a TRS-80 in high school, and let's just say that was sometime before 1980. But today the world is celebrating the 30th birthday of the PC, because the...