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The demand for automotive radar is projected to grow rapidly and sustainably at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14 percent for the foreseeable future. Conventional vehicles are increasingly equipped with radar systems to enhance safety. Once autonomous vehicles…

Toray Industries of Tokyo has developed a carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) for advanced aerospace applications. The company leveraged materials informatics technology to swiftly achieve exceptional flame retardance and mechanical performance for the material.   Materials informatics is a technique to streamline…

The BASF Colors and Effects brand has launched Spectrasense Black EH 8082, an organic perylene functional black pigment with improved jetness in solid and neutral color travel in effect shades.   Described as a breakthrough in hue control for white and…

Swiss company develops technology to print liquid crystal polymers  Despite the number of polymers available for 3D printing, a conspicuously absent performance family is liquid crystal polymers (LCPs). That’s changing now that a Swiss startup reports it has solved the…

Air taxis and delivery vehicles—whether piloted or autonomous—could be ready for daily use as soon as 2023, according to some forecasts. If so, this urban air mobility (UAM) market will create growing business opportunities for suppliers and processors of specialty…

Automakers around the world continue to invest billions to advance electronic vehicles (EVs) as sustainable and desirable transportation options. Despite their efforts, two nagging problems persist: how to rapidly recharge a battery—ideally in 5 minutes or less—and extend range beyond…

The Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) has acquired 3Dnatives, a French company that produces a media platform and international events for professionals in 3D printing, additive manufacturing, and their related market applications.

Experts gather in Brussels to discuss developments in additives, pigments, dyes and masterbatches At this year’s SPE Additives and Color Europe conference, industry executives from Europe and other parts of the world came together to talk about the latest in…

80 Years and Counting Exactly 80 years ago, Fred O. Conley of Detroit and two colleagues signed incorporation papers in Michigan and the Society of Plastics Engineers was born. Conley was a major figure in the development of SPE: He…

The writer and humorist Mark Twain observed that “Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence in society.” Twain was speaking in the 19th century. In the 21st century, a similar thought can be expressed about numbers,…