Hearing aids, dental crowns, and limb prosthetics are some of the medical devices that can now be digitally designed and customized for individual patients, thanks to 3D printing. However, these devices are typically designed to replace or support bones and other rigid parts of the body, and are often printed from solid, relatively inflexible material.

The Italian company Roboze S.P.A. announced that it has realised a skateboard using FFF 3D printing technology, choosing high temperature polymers and composite materials in order to combine lightness and high resistance. According to the company, it used carbon PA, PP, PEEK, and thermoplastic polyurethane to manufacture the skateboard.

DuPont Transportation & Industrial and ExxonMobil Chemical have announced the results of their successful collaboration to develop new Santoprene thermoplastic vulcanisates (TPV) for automotive corner mould seals.

According to KraussMaffei, flame protection requirements for polyurethane foam components are increasing worldwide, both in the automotive and industrial applications sectors and also due to regulatory requirements. At K 2019, the company will present a complete system for the high-pressure processing of expandable graphite for high material and process efficiency and clean production.

Dow announced it will showcase collaborative, innovative and sustainable solutions at K 2019 that reflect its changing company culture and brand. The company said it is looking to encourage debate across the industry at the world’s No. 1 trade fair for plastics and rubber.

Texon announced the launch of Texon Halo, a heel counter material for the footwear industry that contains a minimum of 50 % recycled content. According to the company, the product is a powder moulded reinforcement material that has very good sustainability credentials and can deliver distinct and measurable performance advantages.

According to Covestro, wearable electronic patches (wearables) are already being used in many areas of medicine, including patient monitoring and diagnosis. Market demand is rising rapidly, in line with a growing digitalization of the healthcare sector. The design of these patches allows a variety of applications in monitoring vital parameters. They offer patients more freedom of movement. The wearables must be worn on the skin around the clock for a prolonged period of time so they need to be particularly kind to the skin, comfortable, but also adhere to the skin. In addition, they should be removed as painlessly as possible.

Urethane Coatings announced the launch of its new concrete floor coating range Beton. The coating systems currently available in the range are:

BASF has launched Boldur utility poles that can help disaster-prone countries to strengthen their power grid and recover rapidly after disasters. Produced with Elastolit polyurethane and with a unique filament winding technology, the robust, ultra-light utility poles can withstand the most severe weather conditions and maintain reliable electricity supply in disaster areas. Boldur is now being used by a major utility pole distributor in Japan.

According to the German company Hennecke GmbH, its Elastoline low-pressure metering machines for elastomer casting have been an established, state-of-the-art product range for decades. However, low-pressure casting has one distinctive disadvantage: the loss of material and solvents due to technical reasons. The new Elastoline HP high-pressure elastomer casting machines are said to make these material losses a thing of the past.