Materials News

Plastics that can remember!

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Parts made of such a plastic can be temporarily reshaped and fixed in this shape. When heated to a certain temperature known as the switching temperature, they "remember" their original shape and return to it virtually unchanged. In the case of the new product DesmopanDP 2795A SMP, the switching temperature is approximately 40 °C.

With this new discovery, both companies agree that its application areas could range from mechanical engineering and the automotive, textile, sports and leisure industries to toy manufacturing and aerospace engineering. Possible applications include the easy repair of damaged bodywork parts using a hair dryer, remote temperature sensors, artificial muscles, hinges, self-loosening screws, packaging and shrink tubing.

The two partners recently submitted a patent application for a possible application in the area of functional film tunnels and self-erecting structures. The new material could also prove useful in product and brand protection applications such as QR codes.