Lehigh Research shakes Up Plastics

摘要

A Lehigh University (27 Memorial Dr. West, Bethlehem, PA 18015; Tel: 610/758-3000) professor has developed a simple, software-directed device that vibrates molten plastic in an injection mold to produce stronger, environmentally friendly plastic products.Telephones, TV parts, the computer mouse at your fingertips, parts inside a PC, and other everyday products are made with plastics using a process called injection molding. Only a small amount of recycled plastic is used in the process, says John Coulter, Lehigh associate professor of mechanical engineering and mechanics, because recycled plastic is poor in quality and would reduce the product's strength. But, Coulter's vibration-assisted process enables manufacturers to recycle once-useless and environmentally unfriendly plastic, and still produce stronger products than can be made using virgin plastic that has not been vibrated.