3D Printing/Additive Manufacturing

Automation, sustainability, and 3D printing shape the blow molding’s future.

Using recycled plastics in 3D printing reduces waste and carbon footprint, offering sustainable solutions such as filaments made from pre-and post-consumer recycled materials.

The Polymer Composites (PC) Journal by SPE has selected “Evaluation of Fatigue Characteristics of 3D-Printed Composites Reinforced with Carbon Fiber Using Design of Experiments” as its Editor’s Choice article for December 2024.

Alice Fergerson, along with Emily Davidson’s team at Princeton University, has developed a breakthrough material: a 3D-printable thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) that combines localized flexibility with controlled rigidity.

Plastics Engineering has conducted interviews throughout 2024 to obtain experts’ points of view on different topics related to the plastics industry.

Machine learning (ML) is revolutionizing quality control in manufacturing, enabling faster, smarter, and more efficient processes. By addressing the limitations of traditional methods, ML enhances defect detection, waste reduction, and overall reliability.

Borg-Warner Corporation introduced Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), an amorphous engineering thermoplastic, to the market in 1954. Since then, ABS has become essential across industries for its unique blend of properties. Today, manufacturers produce over 6,000 grades, ensuring its adaptability to diverse applications.

The SPE Foundation needs help to equip students with this valuable hands-on experience in engineering and design, empowering our future plastics workforce to tackle real-world problems. You can still contribute to the Giving Tuesday “Print the Future” campaign at give.4spe.org. 

Selecting the right alloy for mold manufacturing is essential for meeting industry demands for durability, thermal conductivity, and manufacturability.

Thermotropic Liquid Crystal Polymers (LCPs) have emerged as a high-performance engineering polymer, comparable to PEEK and PEI, for 3D printing in space environments.