SABIC Wins Two European Plastics Innovation Awards

SABIC has been named winner in two categories at the 2107 European Plastics Innovation Awards ceremony organized by the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) and trade association PlasticsEurope in Brussels on Monday (Sept 18).

The awards acknowledge the work of companies that have used plastics to develop a new idea, a new method, a new product or technology that responds to a societal need, while respecting the ‘3 Ps’ of Sustainability – People, Planet, and Profit.

Out of the eight categories, SABIC was the only company to be honored in two categories. SABIC picked up the top award in the Best Plastic Application Design category for a prototype 3D printed aircraft seat, designed by Studio Gavari and produced by Stratasys® using its Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM®) and filament made from in SABIC’s ULTEM™ resin. SABIC also gained first place in the Intelligent and Smart Plastics category, with a ‘Thin 3D In-Mold HMI (human-machine interface). This was developed with and produced by TactoTek, using an innovative injection molding technique incorporating advanced in-mold labelling (called In Mould Structural Electronics). TactoTek used SABIC’s LEXAN™ clear polycarbonate molding resin as well as LEXAN™ thermoformable hard-coated polycarbonate film.

Ernesto Occhiello, SABIC’s Executive Vice President, Specialties, said: “These two prestigious awards are an important recognition of SABIC’s work in enabling industrial designers and manufacturers to create innovative solutions, which address significant challenges across numerous industrial and consumer sectors. It gives me great pride to see the expertise of our people at SABIC and the collaboration with customers being honored in this way.”

The Best Plastic Application Design award recognizes innovations in materials, process, or tooling technology used to achieve a part with a novel design. SABIC says that the advanced polymer, a breakthrough design and the efficient manufacturing process have come together to enable a lightweight and stylish design that can help save fuel while enhancing passenger’s flying experience.

SABIC licensed a Studio Gavari design for a sleek and ergonomically advanced aircraft seat. Additive manufacturing enabled rapid prototyping without the expense of tooling and demonstrated the potential for part consolidation and manufacturing efficiency. Jignesh Amin, Senior Business Manager Mass Transportation at SABIC, who worked on the project, added: “The prototype seat is created from SABIC’s ULTEM™ 9085 resin, an aircraft compliant material, meeting FAR 25.853 flame, smoke and OSU 65/65 heat release, that offers high heat resistance and mechanical strength.”

Demonstrating the company’s global commitment to advancing additive manufacturing, SABIC recently launched its own portfolio of high performance filament grades including the ULTEM™ AM9085F filament, which can be used for the production of applications targeted for the aerospace industry. Beyond these initial filament offerings, SABIC is focused on the development of differentiated filaments and materials formulated for use in a variety of other additive manufacturing processes, including selective laser sintering (SLS) and large format printing. Leveraging its Centers of Excellence for Additive Manufacturing in the US, The Netherlands and Saudi Arabia, SABIC brings together the resources and expertise needed to create a supportive research environment for continued innovation that can help designers meet specific functional requirements of production applications and solve processing challenges across a wide range of industries.

"The 3D In-Mold HMI part that gained first place in the Intelligent and Smart Plastics category shows that In-Mold Structural Electronics (IMSE) is one of the key enabling technologies for the integration of electronics on curved surface.’’, explained Giacomo Parisi, Marketing Leader High Performance Forms at SABIC. The technology presents a highly intuitive way of enabling the user to communicate with a device or machine, while addressing the aesthetic aspects with equal effectiveness. The concept can be applied to a wide range of application domains – for example in automotive, appliances, home automation, and consumer electronics.

Prototype economy class aircraft seat, produced through Fused Deposition Modelling 3D printing with SABIC’s ULTEM™ resin, won the Plastic Application Design award at the second European Plastics Innovation Awards ceremony organized by the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) and trade association PlasticsEurope in Brussels on Monday (Sept 18).

Rudy Miller, Director High Heat Portfolio SABIC, received on behalf of the Mass Transportation team, the Plastic Application Design award at the second European Plastics Innovation Awards ceremony.

The Intelligent and Smart Plastics award at the second European Plastics Innovation Awards ceremony, organized by the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) and trade association PlasticsEurope in Brussels on Monday (Sept 18), went to the “Saturnus” prototype HMI designed and produced using advanced in-mold labelling by TactoTek. Film and injection molding resin are both in LEXAN™ polycarbonate from SABIC.

The Technology Director for SABIC’s Specialties strategic business unit, Luc Govaerts, received on behalf of his team, the Intelligent and Smart Plastics award at the second European Plastics Innovation Awards ceremony.