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Bethesda, MD, June 2, 2008 - Eight leading edge organizations were recognized by RadTech -- The Association for UV (ultraviolet) and EB (electron beam) technologies, at the group's recent biennial Conference in Chicago. "UV and EB offer manufacturers advanced tools to not only improve their processes, but to create new methods and new products," says Petra L'Abbe, of PPG and President of RadTech. "Our award winners are top examples of product and manufacturing breakthroughs made possible by the use of UV and EB." "The broad array of applications and processes of our award winners is a tribute to the enabling and practical benefits of UV and EB," says Peter Weissman of Quaker Chemicals, and Chair of RadTech's Emerging Technologies Committee. "Each of these applications of UV and EB makes a significant contribution to the advancement of process technologies."
Among the award recipients is Objet Geometries, a pioneer in the manufacturer systems that jet photopolymers as an ultra-thin-layer, high-resolution 3-dimensional printing solution for rapid prototyping and rapid manufacturing. Objet's latest innovation is based on "PolyJet Matrix(TM)" technology, which offers the simultaneous jetting of multiple UV curable materials to create composite materials on the fly. This is the first technology enabling the manufacture of 3-D parts using several different materials at the same time. The technology allows the design and formation of unlimited combinations of UV-curable materials. For example, if one of the component UV-curable materials has a white color and the other a black color, materials with varying gray tones can be produced during a single building process. Alternatively, if one of the component UV-curable materials is soft and elastic and the other is rigid and brittle, intermediate or varying mechanical properties can be produced. In addition, because the materials are not simply a homogeneous combination of two different materials, but composite materials, where each component material keeps its own properties within a microscopic phase range, their properties are not just the average of the properties of the component materials, but may even surpass them. This capability enables the user to test prototypes that are very close to the desired end-user part in terms of mechanical properties and material combinations (e.g. over-molding and double injection), and thus aiding in selection of the end-materials that will make up the final product. This rapid process saves days of simulation and the preparing of complex and expensive molds for double injection. In addition, it eliminates the need for silicon molds and preparation of different end-product materials for testing. Other award recipients include:
UV and EB are high value, rapid throughput processes offering the virtual elimination of harmful emissions and lower energy consumption compared with traditional methods---providing manufacturers with a safe, fast and efficient pollution prevention technology. As a result, the industry continues to grow at over twice the rate of traditional methods. More information at: http://www.radtech.org.
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