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A Look Back
Further articles will be included under this heading each month, right through to the end of the year.
Polycarbonate – How a High-tech Material Conquered the World and Continues to Do So
Over three million visitors have watched the Football World Cup live in South Africa. Most of them can scarcely have been aware that the modern architectural designs created for many of the stadia would have been virtually impossible to implement in practice without engineering plastics. Among such materials, the high-tech plastic polycarbonate (PC) is now used in numerous stadia for innovative roof and facade surfaces. But this is just one of many applications for PC. Discovered 57 years ago in Uerdingen, Germany, this extremely versatile material is now commonplace in the best sense of the word. Behind polycarbonate lies a material that has been writing its own success story for nearly six decades.
Polyvinyl Chloride – A Many Faceted Polymer
There are few polymers that have so influenced the public perception of organic materials as has polyvinyl chloride. As vinyl or under the abbreviation PVC it has become an iconic and at times hotly debated term.
Black Magic Rendered Reproducible
At the start of its industrial use, ultrasound was employed for cleaning systems in the metal and jewelry industry. In the Sixties, a new technology for joining thermoplastic parts then developed out of this. Walter Herrmann is one of the pioneers.
Reflections on the Emancipation of Polymers
Four pioneers in the field return from the past for an imaginary discussion. At a café in Munich-Bogenhausen near to the English Gardens the gentlemen sit on the terrace for coffee, tea and cigars and talk about 100 years of plastics.
Devoted to the Service of Plastics
Founding a new magazine involves real commercial risk. If, what’s more, that magazine is to address completely new subject matter and target groups, potential risk or success is even harder to assess. And finally, the choice of title requires imagination and vision. When Dr. Richard Escales founded a new magazine with the title Kunststoffe (Plastics) in 1910, neither this German word nor the material existed.
A Material in Good Shape
Plastics were the material of the industrial age – and therefore the material of industrial design. It seems that designers’ attitude towards the material has never before been characterized as much by curiosity and respect as it is today. The article will present a summary of 100 years of history in plastics design.
Covers with Multiple Functions
With their share of over 40 % in the packaging market, polymers are the number one packaging material. At the same time, packaging industry consumes 33 % of all the plastics manufactured, which makes it polymer industry’s main customer. This shows an unprecedented success story, which started no earlier than in the fifties.
Playroom for Architects and Engineers
About 65 years ago, the construction industry started to use plastics in the form of pipe and windows. Over the course of years, this class of materials opened up new fields of application. Today, building with fiberreinforced plastics is its own branch within the construction industry, a branch that allows to realize unconventional and unforgettable ideas.
From Rubber Tires to Plastic Cars
Polymer materials have been used in automobiles since the very beginning. The first motor vehicles ran on hard rubber tires. From here it took a long time to reach the level of use seen in today’s vehicles. This article looks back over the first 50 years, but also casts a glance at current developments and closes with the outlook for future use.
One of Human Nature’s Basic Needs
The archetypal telephone has changed continuously over the decades reflecting developments in materials and processing techniques as well as the available communications technologies. This has been especially true for the cellular phone, which has long since evolved from a purely functional device to an individualized lifestyle object with a high-tech heart. The decisive design factor for these devices is the need for the casing to protect the electronics whilst providing an attractive exterior.
One of Human Nature’s Basic Needs
The archetypal telephone has changed continuously over the decades reflecting developments in materials and processing techniques as well as the available communications technologies. This has been especially true for the cellular phone, which has long since evolved from a purely functional device to an individualized lifestyle object with a high-tech heart. The decisive design factor for these devices is the need for the casing to protect the electronics whilst providing an attractive exterior.
From Burl Wood to Multi-Colored Miracle
Toothbrushes are something that we use every day. But that was not always the case. A good hundred years ago, they were considered luxuries that only the rich and aristocracy could have. It took the advent of plastics to make them affordable to the masses, and to put the sparkle in everyone’s smile.
Excursion through a Century of Children’s Bedrooms
A look back to the early years of the 20th century shows toys made of metal and wood. For the most part they are produced at home, very few can afford machines. Celluloid and over the years other plastics change the face of the toy industry. Today many companies produce their articles on automated machines and in large quantities from plastics.
Emerging from the Shadows
Miele has been in existence since 1899. That makes it just eleven years older than the German Kunststoffe magazine. When Carl Miele and his partner Reinhard Zinkann started their business in Herzebrock, Germany, they had little interest in plastics. But that changed quickly, and with striking results: modern household appliances belong less in a store room than in a design exposition.
On the Way to New Records
In casual sports as well as in high-performance competitive sports, plastics contribute to better performance, more safety and more comfort. The benefits of polymeric materials such as lower density, flexibility and high strength are appreciated by sports enthusiasts across the board.
From Ugly Duckling to Beautiful Swan
Four out of five people questioned in Germany today give high marks to plastics as materials and associate a positive image with them. This has by no means always been the case. In the early 1990s, Germans still gave the plastics industry and its material miserable marks.
From Natural Rubber to High-Tech Material
Only just turned one hundred years old, synthetic rubber raw materials have over the decades been transformed into high-tech materials without which many applications of modern technology would be unthinkable. In contrast to natural rubber, which is set narrow limits in its chemical modification, synthetic rubbers offer a wide range of possibilities for increasing the performance envelope of elastomers. Today the principle of tackling new challenges in the rubber sector at the molecular level is firmly established.
Materials for Pipes – Meeting Changing Requirements
Production of PVC pipe in Bitterfeld, Germany, in 1935 ushered in the use of plastics for pipe production. This required exact knowledge of material properties, life expectancy and permissible loads. This was recognized from the very beginning and pursued systematically.
Development of Quality Assurance for Insulating Materials
The application of plastics in electrical insulation technology and the development of Bakelite at the beginning of the 20th century paved the way for the triumphant advance of polymers. A major contribution to their successful widespread adoption was made by the introduction of quality assurance at the beginning of the 20th century and their labeling with a seal of approval.
Bakelite Conquers the World
In May 1910 the company Rütgerswerke founded its subsidiary Bakelite GmbH in the village of Erkner near Berlin, Germany. Following a patent granted to Leo Hendrik Baekeland a plastic was produced here on an industrial scale for the first time ever.