Happy new year! As everyone says goodbye to 2020 and welcomes 2021, we recognize it is an exciting, yet challenging time for anyone involved in materials science. Our goal at Envalior is to provide you with best practices and application insights to help you stay current with innovations in your industry. To help you prepare for this new year, we created a Top 10 list of our most popular blogs from 2020.   

It’s imperative the automotive industry considers safety requirements of electrical powertrain system components—if not, consumers would likely suffer major drawbacks in the safety of EVs. Safety has never been as important as it is today because the electrical powertrain typically operates at high voltage with currents of several hundred amperes. 

When healthcare professionals come into contact with infected patients, they want to know the protective clothing they wear will keep them safe from infectious diseases. There is a breakthrough technology that offers the highest protection level, along with comfort, in disposable medical gowns. 

Raising awareness of ocean pollution is something two Dutch entrepreneurs, Bernard Werk and Jorrit Niels, set out to do when creating the Gyre SeaCleaner Watch. It was important to them to use a recycled material solution for the watch.

Engineers face challenges when choosing what plastics material solution to use for thermal management system component applications. They need to consider the heat exposure time and temperature of the material, plus, hydrolysis resistance with coolant.

Product designers and manufacturers increasingly rely on thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) material solutions to produce and deliver highly durable and high-quality soft touch parts. Compared to the thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) materials traditionally used for soft-touch components, TPEs offer better resistance to warpage and fatigue, plus better protection against UV, chemical and oil exposure.

During the past 10 years, the food contact industry has become more global—products such as spoons, spatulas, tongs, etc., are developed in a specific region, then manufactured elsewhere—but across the board, safe for use is the priority. Based on a new toxicological risk assessment, the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) recommended for PA66 a specific surface migration limit of 5 mg cPAO/person/day.

Almost all major OEMs are investing in commercialization of fuel cell vehicles, first targeting buses and vans due to the higher relevance of weight and range gains. Of the various fuel cells technologies, in particular the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is preferred.

To address the demand for sustainable lawn maintenance, gardening and commercial landscaping equipment, OPE manufacturers are leveraging material science to create products that are stronger, lighter and much more efficient than gas-powered equipment.

The fast charging time of USB-C connectors is very beneficial. What consumer would not want their smartphone or mobile device to charge as quick as possible? However, this does come with some possible drawbacks, such as connectors collecting contaminants, which can cause them to heat up quickly, destroying the cable and device.

We are making a significant investment to futureproof and expand our high-performance materials compounding plant in Evansville, Indiana, USA. There are many reasons why this project is so important for the North America region.

To learn more about any of these topics, or to connect with one of our subject matter experts, feel free to contact us.