Materials Crack Before
Materials Crack Before adding the new additive After adding the new additive Fig. 6 Surface impact test The result after dropping a 500 g iron ball from a certain height 4. Mouldability of new plastic As is shown in Fig. 2, since the viscosity and thus the flow behaviour of the new plastic is improved compared to the former plastic and the conventional ABS plastic, it is possible to create thin plastic parts and reduce the weight of the parts. On the other hand, since polylactic acid resin is a crystalline resin, there are remaining issues such as demoulding and post-shrinkage after demoulding when compared to conventional materials. First successes in solving these issues were reached through collaboration with the manufacturing technology department so that the new plastic could be introduced to manufacture products. 5. Future efforts for new plastic The new plastic was introduced as the improved type of the former plastic to be used for parts inside machines. Research is on-going to further improve its flame retardancy and properties to introduce the plastic to outside parts where flame retardancy rating of 5V (UL 94) is required. Fuji Xerox is also aiming to increase the bio-based resin content in a product. Currently, work is on-going on the environmentallyfriendly design of plant-based plastic parts from the material design phase, the moulding phase, the engineering design phase, and to commercialization by communicating with the related departments. The target is to develop plant-based plastic that is equivalent to conventional plastic in terms of properties, cost, and mouldability through closer collaboration with related members inside and outside Fuji Xerox to expand the use of environmentally-friendly plastic. Fuji Xerox has evolved the new biobased plastic from the materials it developed in 2007 with technical assistance from FUJIFILM Corporation aiming to not use petroleum-based materials. UNITIKA LTD. has also been cooperating in developing the system for mass production. wwwfujixerox.co.jp 26 bioplastics MAGAZINE [01/12] Vol. 7
Applications The biological bearing material Plain bearing made of iglidur N54 Polymer researcher and bearings specialist igus GmbH, Cologne, has developed a plain bearing material that is based on 54% renewable raw materials. About 90% of the material for the new ‘iglidur N54’ plain bearing consists of a partly biobased PA 6.10 which is made from 62% vegetable oil rather than finite crude oil. The company’s mechanically and tribologically optimised biological plastic is suitable for universal use in the low-load range: “Not only at K’2010 we observed a distinctive trend towards biopolymers“ said igus product manager René Achnitz, “so we asked ourselves how we could exploit the potential for the benefit of our customers?” igus thought that bioplastics could be an ideal solution to make environmentally friendly products such as the lubricant free plain bearings even ‘greener’. René Achnitz: “The new, lubricant-free ‘iglidur N54’” material joins our broad range of high-performance materials for general purpose, low-load applications and is a first serious step towards ‘green bearings’.” As well as general mechanical engineering applications, igus mainly sees possibilities in consumer goods markets, for example furniture or other items of daily use. Ecological advantage of polymer bearings The new bio-bearing smoothly fits in with the company’s concept of developing environmentally friendly alternatives for more and more applications that currently work with lubricated metallic plain and roller bearings. On the one hand, ‘iglidur’ bearings help to protect resources and the environment due to the incorporated solid lubricants. Polymer bearings from igus do not require any oil and grease, are lubricant- and maintenance-free, which means no contaminants are released to the environment. In addition, they have a low weight in comparison with metallic options, leading to lower masses and thus reduced energy consumption. Furthermore, the energy balance for the production of plastics is significantly better than for metals. Whereas the energy from 15 litres of crude oil is necessary to produce 1 litre of aluminium, and 1 litre of steel requires 11 litres of crude oil calculated on the same basis, the production of 1 litre of plastic only needs an average of 1.8 litres of crude oil. According to igus, this value is expected to fall even further on account of the major progress currently being made in the field of vegetable oil based polymers. MT www.igus.de New ‘basics‘ book on bioplastics This new book, created and published by Polymedia Publisher, maker of bioplastics MAGAZINE will be available from early April 2012 in English and German language. The book is intended to offer a rapid and uncomplicated introduction into the subject of bioplastics, and is aimed at all interested readers, in particular those who have not yet had the opportunity to dig deeply into the subject, such as students, those just joining this industry, and lay readers. It gives an introduction to plastics and bioplastics, explains which renewable resources can be used to produce bioplastics, what types of bioplastic exist, and which ones are already on the market. Further aspects, such as market development, the agricultural land required, and waste disposal, are also examined. An extensive index allows the reader to find specific aspects quickly, and is complemented by a comprehensive literature list and a guide to sources of additional information on the Internet. The author Michael Thielen is editor and publisher bioplastics MAGAZINE. He is a qualified machinery design engineer with a degree in plastics technology from the RWTH University in Aachen. He has written several books on the subject of blowmoulding technology and disseminated his knowledge of plastics in numerous presentations, seminars, guest lectures and teaching assignments. 110 pages full color, paperback ISBN 978-3-9814981-1-0: Bioplastics ISBN 978-3-9814981-0-3: Biokunststoffe Pre-order now for € 18.65 or US-$ 25.00 (+ VAT where applicable, plus shipping and handling, ask for details) order at www.bioplasticsmagazine.de/books, by phone +49 2161 6884463 or by e-mail books@bioplasticsmagazine.com bioplastics MAGAZINE [01/12] Vol. 7 27
