Navtar Launches Microextruded Medical Tubing

Tekni-Plex company, Navtar announced the launch of their tight tolerance microextruded medical tubing earlier this year at the MD&M East, a MedTech event in New York. They have produced this tubing for use in neurovascular interventional therapies (working with nerves and blood vessels) and for use in various surgical applications. Navtar’s products are already used in medicine across the world for an array of treatments.

These newly developed microextruded tubes have been made from thermoplastics to make them more cost-effective than previous materials used, such as glass and fluoropolymers. Continue reading →

Posted on July 20, 2017 by Rayda Plastics | This entry was posted in Plastic Uses. Bookmark the permalink. | Leave a comment

CEFLEX to Provide Solutions for Circular Economy

CEFLEX is a project where a number of European associations are working collaboratively to increase the relevance of flexible packaging, which is packaging produced from materials such as paper, plastic, film and aluminium foil. By doing so, they can generate solutions for a circular economy.

A circular economy is a continuous cycle that aims to give us as much use out of materials as possible. It follows the make, use, dispose cycle which can be constantly looped, provided there are adequate recycling opportunities available. Continue reading →

Posted on July 6, 2017 by Rayda Plastics | This entry was posted in Plastic and the environment. Bookmark the permalink. | Leave a comment

Plastic Recycling Strategy Launched by BPF

Generally, recycling has seen significant improvement in recent years due to increasing environmental concerns. Everyday consumers and manufacturers alike are becoming more mindful of how they dispose of their waste product and materials. As plastics are harder to recycle, the plastic recycling industry has had to develop slower as a result.

According to the British Plastics Federation, only 29% of plastic waste in the UK is recycled.  To encourage plastic recycling in the UK, a new strategy has been launched. Organised by the British Plastics Federation Recycling Group (BPFRG), this industry-led strategy will aim to develop the plastic recycling industry and to keep the valuable plastic within the UK. Continue reading →

Posted on June 22, 2017 by Rayda Plastics | This entry was posted in Plastic and the environment. Bookmark the permalink. | Leave a comment

Design Innovation in Plastics competition to ease travel experiences

The Design Innovation in Plastics competition has been organised for design students in the UK and Ireland by the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining and the Worshipful Company of Horners.

The brief called for entrants to create an innovative, original and cost-effective design for a product which will create a travel experience with more comfort and less stress for its users. The product must also be sustainable, robust and safe for travel security checks. Continue reading →

Posted on June 9, 2017 by Rayda Plastics | This entry was posted in Plastic Events. Bookmark the permalink. | Leave a comment

Are Zinc Salts the Answer to Plastic Extrusion Strength?

In plastic extrusion, polypropylene is commonly used, but this material lacks in strength against heat, particularly. Some suppliers have been producing high-melt-strength polypropylene by using a resin. This material is gaining in popularity and is very suitable for foam extrusions.

The new high-melt-strength polypropylene produces low-density foams which are great for food packaging, vehicle seating and sports shoes.  It is also used in large-part blow-moulding and thermoforming, as well as for plastic extrusions. Continue reading →

Posted on May 26, 2017 by Rayda Plastics | This entry was posted in Plastic Extrusion. Bookmark the permalink. | Leave a comment

Recycling Plastic in the Home

Plastic is a material that can be found everywhere and you will almost certainly come into contact with it several times a day. Plastic is an affordable material that is lightweight, durable and has a long life of use which makes it an excellent option for everyday life around the home.

However, due to the durable characteristics and therefore long life of plastic, it does not degrade as easily as wood or other natural materials and it is much harder to recycle at home than say cardboard, metal and wood. As a result, domestic waste has increased dramatically over the last few years and plastic is a main contributor to this. Continue reading →

Posted on May 12, 2017 by Rayda Plastics | This entry was posted in Plastic and the environment. Bookmark the permalink. | Leave a comment

Is Plastic the Answer to Brain Interfaces?

Advances in technology and science have now made it possible to chemically modify electricity-conducting plastics to improve their conductivity and make them more elasticated. Removing the brittle characteristic of these electronics allows a number of advances to be made, particularly in medicine as the electrodes produced can act as a second skin.

These plastic electrodes will open up several possibilities in the future for brain interfaces and other electronic implants. For example, they can send out pulses to shock the brain which can help with several issues such as pain relief and mental health. As the brain increases and decreases in size throughout the day, any electronic implants need to be able to stretch and adapt to these differences in order to keep connections strong, so the focus with this research was to make the existing electrodes more flexible. Continue reading →

Posted on April 28, 2017 by Rayda Plastics | This entry was posted in Plastic Uses. Bookmark the permalink. | Leave a comment

Introducing More Polymer Banknotes

Following the introduction of the new £5 polymer banknotes in 2016, there is set to be polymer £10 notes by summer 2017 and £20 notes by 2020.

The notes are manufactured using polypropylene which is a thermoplastic polymer. Its appearance is transparent plastic film which is printed on by layering ink and can also be left clear to allow for ‘windows’ in the notes. Continue reading →

Posted on April 13, 2017 by Rayda Plastics | This entry was posted in Plastic Properties, Plastic Uses. Bookmark the permalink. | Leave a comment

Plastic Extrusion in the Motoring Industry

Plastic has an extensive number of uses in various circumstances due to its great properties. In the motoring industry, plastic is used widely in production as there are numerous benefits to using the material.

Some of the benefits of plastic extrusion in the motoring industry are listed below:

Cost-Effective

Plastic is cheaper than other materials used in the automotive industry, and is therefore favourable in some cases, particularly where the brand is looking to produce more cost-effective models for their target market. Continue reading →

Posted on March 31, 2017 by Rayda Plastics | This entry was posted in Plastic Uses. Bookmark the permalink. | Leave a comment

The Printer That Printed Itself

Technology continues to evolve at an incredible speed and that theme continues with Hewlett Packard (HP) and their 3D printer (Jet Fusion 3D 3200) that was released at the end of 2016, and has the ability to print itself. 3D printing allows for a variety of three dimensional objects to be ‘printed’ from a 3D digital file by layering thin layers of material on top of each other. The materials used by 3D printers include plastics, metal and ceramics, amongst other things.

Plastic is the material that is most commonly used in 3D printing as it is low cost and easy to work with. A technology called Fused Filament Fabrications (FFF) is used during 3D printing and there are three plastic materials that are the most likely to be used for this: Continue reading →

Posted on March 17, 2017 by Rayda Plastics | This entry was posted in Plastic Uses. Bookmark the permalink. | Leave a comment