Material determination at the touch of a button using NIR spectroscopy
25.09.2024
Plastics industry strives to recycle plastics as comprehensively as possible. However, this is not always so easy – especially when different types of plastic are difficult to distinguish visually. This is when near-infrared spectrometers (NIR) come to the rescue, identifying the types of plastic and thus facilitating further processing.
Digital Recycling Tool: CYCLOPS
03.07.2024
An innovative tool called CYCLOPS – Circularity Optimisation for Plastics has set itself the task of closing the gap between the need for information and the supply of recycled materials. By providing comprehensive data and assessments, it helps companies to make more sustainable decisions and organise their production processes in a more environmentally friendly way.
Foxbase: Start-up with a vision
22.05.2024
The Foxbase platform makes B2B sales processes more efficient. CTO Carsten Dolch and CEO Benjamin Dammertz explain how setting up the software and integrating AI helps improve customer interactions. Various industries, including the plastics industry, benefit from the flexibility and efficiency of this solution. Find out more in the video.
AI in the Plastics Industry: Sustainability & Innovation
11.04.2024
AI is revolutionising modern industry. Thanks to it, complex processes can be automated or efficiency increased. In the plastics industry, AI not only plays a decisive role in the optimisation of production processes and the development of new materials. It also enables more precise waste sorting and therefore better recycling – a benefit for the environment!
Recycling: AI improves sorting efficiency and material purity
03.04.2024
Waste management is undergoing a transformation like never before, thanks to cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. Companies like PolyPerception are at the forefront of this revolution, redefining how waste is sorted and managed to meet the growing challenges of the industry.
Particle foam perfectly distributed thanks to simulation with Ultrasim®
15.12.2023
BASF SE's Ultrasim® simulation portfolio for plastics applications is now also available for manufacturing processes of components made of particle foam components. The application starts with the expanded thermoplastic polyurethane (E-TPU) Infinergy® and expands BASF's proven simulation portfolio for plastics innovations
Digital compass to sustainability: lifecycleValueCalculator analyses economic and ecological potentials
11.12.2023
Profitability and sustainability are not opposites – on the contrary! KraussMaffei's lifecycleValueCalculator proves it: the digital tool calculates the current status of plastics processors' products and shows them their individual potential for improvement. This enables them to increase their production efficiency and achieve their ecological goals at the same time.
Digital meets material: a software transforms additive manufacturing
17.08.2023
ADAM could redefine plastics manufacturing. A big claim, but not without reason: Behind the acronym ADAM is a software called "Advanced Dimension Additive Manufacturing" that caused a real stir at K 2022. The impressive result of this software in action? A high-performance screw extruder controlled by an agile jointed-arm robot.
Circular Collaboration Platform: for more recyclates in food packaging
21.04.2023
The share of recycled material in plastic products is growing. The exception: food packaging. The requirements for the quality of the material for food contact are high, but in the case of recyclates there is still often a lack of corresponding information today. The project COPPA wants to create transparency in this area – with an open digital platform.
LANXESS software calculates carbon footprint for Group's own products
05.04.2023
With the "Product Carbon Footprint Engine" developed by LANXESS, the CO2 footprint can be calculated automatically for the Group's products. With this innovation, the speciality chemicals company aims to help its customers achieve their sustainability goals.
Automated simulation software creates a world map of polymer properties
14.02.2023
"Materials informatics (MI), a new branch of materials research that combines materials data with data science, is gaining traction," said co-corresponding author Yoshihiro Hayashi, assistant professor, Institute of Statistical Mathematics in the Research Organization of Information and Science (ROIS).
Plastics industry meets Metaverse: igus presents products in virtual reality
31.01.2023
Studies show that we are up to nine times more likely to remember something we have experienced in virtual reality. This knowledge can also be interesting for the plastics industry. With the iguversum, igus has created a digital space in which the manufacturer's products can be discovered. In the future, engineering projects will also be carried out there.
EREMA: "PredictOn:Drive", a new tool for predictive maintenance
04.11.2022
Real-time visualisation of process and machine data holds great potential for the circular economy as a whole and for recycling processes in particular. At K 2022 EREMA launched "PredictOn:Drive", a predictive maintenance application for its recycling machines.
Machine monitoring: performance data via app at any time
26.10.2022
Steinert.view® is a flexible and reliable monitoring solution for STEINERT sensor-based sorting machines. Performance data collected is visualized in a web app so that operators can see at a glance whether machines are currently producing, whether there are changes in production, or whether there is potential for optimization.
Material development: getting there faster with co-pilot AI
24.08.2021
General conditions for chemical and materials companies are changing rapidly. But the thorough research, development and commercialization of new materials can be lengthy. AI can accelerate this process.
PRISM – a data platform for the circular economy
06.04.2021
In mid-December, U.S. IT company IBM announced it had joined the Alliance to End Plastic Waste. Together, they are designing the PRISM platform – a unified ecosystem of NGOs, the plastic value chain participants, communities, regulators, and any organization looking to deploy and improve waste management decisions and programs.