|
contents | europe | ||||
| Material Vision Exhibits Innovative Materials For Intelligent Product By modern design, we understand products that are ahead of their time, that appeal to us through their innovative styling and their feel, and win us over with surprising functionality. Whilst items of furniture or clothing not infrequently achieve cult status because they are by a famous designer or trendy brand, the materials that are used to make them often go unnoticed. Unjustly so. For the new generation of innovative materials is very definitely different from its predecessors. In what ways do contemporary materials reflect our lifestyle, which is increasingly dominated by the need for mobility and flexibility? Composite materials, nanotechnology, photocatalysis, intelligent sensor technology – these are some of the key words when it comes to finishing surfaces – but what do they really amount to? Material Vision from 16 to 18 June 2009 (Hall 4.1) in Frankfurt am Main offers some answers to these and other questions on the subject of materials development and applications. The trade fair and a lecture forum offer an excellent platform for checking out new materials and for making contact with manufacturers and developers.Material Vision will take place for the first time in parallel with Techtextil, the international trade fair for technical textiles and non-wovens. Trends: customised materials design and multi-functionality Whilst, in the past, specific properties and a particular aesthetic character could be ascribed to individual materials groups, the boundaries between ceramics, glass, metals, plastics and natural products are becoming noticeably blurred. Look and technical properties can be combined almost independently of one another, using a customised materials design process, and then given an individual surface. With high-quality synthetic resin laminates similar effects between high gloss and satin finish can be achieved as with satinised glass which, in turn, can be used like a silk screen as a projection surface or a room divider. Specially treated aluminium sheets are now indistinguishable from stainless steel, but do not show those annoying finger marks. If the magic word a few years ago was "functionality", then the latest trend is "multifunctionality". Not only as far as surfaces are concerned; even in three dimensional applications, adaptability, flexibility and individuation are crucial. Metals can now be foamed and can take on almost any shape you like, whilst, at the same time, being light in weight and having a homogeneous structure. Compounds and sandwich structures in plastics even manage to combine apparently contradictory qualities of the component materials in processed materials. There is a semi-fluid, semi-solid PUR gel, which can not only be reversibly adapted to meet the requirements of a bicycle saddle and a substitute rubber seal for the lid of a car boot but, with an appropriately decorative surface, can cause amazement when used for the latest trend in furniture – all without any environmentally harmful softening agents. All-rounders in the textile world Traditionally this is the group of textiles that has always stood out be-cause of their high degree of flexibility in use. For a long time now, fabrics have not just been used for functional apparel. Fibre-glass mesh is used as the basis of fabric-reinforced concrete and can even be superior to conventional steel mesh. Aramid or carbon fibres form the matrix for monocoque structures from racing cycles to space ships. For heated seating and flexible mattresses, three-dimensional interlock lining fabric ensures good ventilation. Thanks to low-emissivity coatings, textiles today are even capable of reducing the energy requirements of large buildings, whilst at the same time improving room acoustics as a result of their open, porous structure - as in the case of Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok. Alongside the creation of highly functional synthetic materials there is also a strong trend towards natural materials. Even bicycle frames have recently been made out of wood. Will it be possible, in the foreseeable future, to offer a wide range of organic plastics made of plant starches, which will make us independent of crude oil? Many of the possible areas of application and design opportunities offered by both high-tech and natural materials have not yet been investigated. Technical invention is only ever a part of innovation; of equal importance are practical applications and the fact that they come at the right time. write your comments about the article :: © 2009 Exhibition News :: home page |