Press releases

Carbon fibers are made from fibrous polymer precursors. Petroleum-based polyacrylonitrile (PAN) is the precursor used for 95 percent of the carbon fibers on the world market. Precursors made from renewable raw materials are currently being developed at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP in Potsdam. A new oven, which generates temperatures of up to 2900 °C, now makes it possible to produce bio-based carbon fibers whose properties partially achieve those of conventional PAN-based carbon fibers. The Fraunhofer IAP will be presenting various innovative precursor materials at the K Trade Fair in Düsseldorf from October 16 to 23, 2019.

A new 3D printing process, which should be clearly superior to the current processes in terms of print quality and speed as well as material homogeneity, is being developed in the research project "Belt deposited, double UV-cured materials for 3D engineering - overcoming the property limits of today's Rapid Manufacturing, BUERMa". Under the leadership of the Polymer Materials and Composites PYCO research division of the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP, Freie Universität Berlin and Technische Hochschule Wildau are two Berlin-based companies working on the key technology of additive manufacturing (AM).

The global release of plastics into the environment must be stopped. The Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence “Circular Plastics Economy” concerns itself with how plastic must be designed so that it can be recycled, degraded quickly and without residues, or, at best, not be released into the environment. At K 2019, the five Fraunhofer Institutes involved are using the example of plastics to present the research approach that should convert energy flows and mate-rial streams in a recycling chain into a circular form of economy. Hall 7, Stand SC1.

Quantum dot-based color filters for micro-LEDs are one of the most promising future technologies for displays. This technology makes displays even more brilliant, more efficient and even thinner, compared to displays with conventional color filters. The Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP and KETI have started working together on the development of printed QD color filters microLEDs in the new research project »CoCoMe«.

A novel splint for immobilizing bone fractures has been developed that can be repeatedly reshaped during treatment, such as, for example, when the swelling subsides. This is made possible through the use of the biobased plastic PLA. After use, the splint can be composted. The bioplastic formulation was developed for the new product by the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP (Potsdam, Germany). The innovative splint, called RECAST, was developed by injection molder Nölle Kunststofftechnik GmbH, based in Meschede, Germany.

A new process for the additive manufacturing of QR codes with shape memory properties has been developed at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP in Potsdam. It is based on the 3D printing of shape memory polymers. The QR codes were mathematically examined at the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM in Kaiserslautern; the print quality and the shape memory effect are very good. QR codes can be produced that are very flat and light, which makes the technology perfect for labels, e.g. as a security device against product piracy. The high-tech polymers can be processed with commercially available 3D printers.

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP are working with Israeli and German partners to develop long-wearing contact lenses that can release medicine. The active ingredient is encapsulated in liposomes and bound to the inside of the contact lenses. This enables it to remain in the eye for longer. Sugars are added to make the contact lens particularly comfortable to wear.

ESJET printing is a new printing technology for large-scale, solution-processed displays of the future. It enables higher resolution and drop on demand printing. The Potsdam Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP, together with its project partners imec and TNO/Holst Centre, has developed this printing technology for solution-processed displays of the future.

Natural rubber from rubber trees is a raw material with a limited supply. Synthetically produced rubber, on the other hand, has not yet been able to match the abrasion behavior of the natural product, rendering it unsuitable for truck tires. But now, for the first time, a new type of synthetic rubber has been developed that achieves 30 to 50 percent less abrasion than natural rubber.

Light emitting diodes (LEDs) provide significant energy savings over conventional light sources. In terms of light quality, however, conventional lighting solutions are still superior to LEDs as the latter are unable to reproduce the entire color spectrum. Most importantly, LEDs lack an efficient red phosphor to produce warmer white light. Four partners have teamed up as part of the EuroLED project to develop a nanoscale phosphor system for white LEDs based on a fundamentally new concept. By generating an energy-efficient warm white light, they hope to increase the public’s acceptance of energy-saving LEDs.