When it comes to 3D printing, the sky is the limit. As 3D printing technology continues to advance, applications can be as far reaching as airplane and automobile parts to medical devices and even anatomically correct, biocompatible models. Although 3D printing technology is developing at a rapid pace, the technology itself is not new. It emerged in the 1980s as a means of creating rapid prototypes. In recent years the applications for 3D printed models have evolved with the available hardware, software, and printable materials. Evolving technology, paired with the creative and innovative minds of scientists, engineers, and physicians, has been the launching pad for developments within 3D printing technology specific to healthcare. One way 3D printing technology is poised to create better patient outcomes is in creating an anatomically and patient-specific models to aid in surgery and medical procedures. With the capability to 3D ...
The market for the conductive polymers is expected to grow by almost 11% a year until 2017, reaching a market of $1.6 billion, according to a market research company.
The growing demand for high-performance, lightweight, and inexpensive products is driving the growth and potential for conductive polymers, reports Virtual-Strategy Magazine. Their dimensional stability, flexibility, and high temperature and chemical resistance and strength are in growing demand by manufacturers.
A member of the plastics materials family, conductive polymers are pliable, lightweight, and inexpensive plastics that conduct electricity. They are a type of shape-changing plastics that protrude, shrink, and bend when stimulated by electricity, the magazine says.
Conductive polymers could, in the long-term, be an alternative to silicon. Opportunities exist in display materials, chip packaging, plastic transistors, sensors, and ultracapacitors, says the report from global industry analysts.
Increased use of radio-frequency ID tags is especially expected to grow in the medium term because a growing number of chipless tags are moving away from silicon-based microchips to conductive polymer chips. In the longer term, the photovoltaic industry will be a potentially lucrative market as performance and efficiencies are moving polymer solar cells closer to commercialization.
The telecommunications industry is expected to generate substantial demand for organic light-emitting diode (OLEDs) displays over the next few years. Conductive polymers, such as polypyrrole, polythiophene, and polyaniline, are increasingly preferred over conventional electrical conductive additives in making OLEDs, the report says.
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