Reshapeable plastic remembers original form

Ann R. Thryft

January 30, 2014

1 Min Read
Reshapeable plastic remembers original form
Plastic QR

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Reshape

A new shape-memory plastic that makes quick response (QR) code labels look like Salvador Dali's famous floppy watch could prove useful in product and brand protection. The German Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) has made labels with engraved and colored QR codes out of the new Desmopan DP 2795A SMP, produced by Bayer MaterialScience.

 

Co-developed by both organizations, the new material is made of a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). As is true for all shape-memory plastics, a part made from this one can be temporarily reshaped and fixed in that form, until heated to the material's predetermined switching temperature. When that happens, the part reverts to its original shape nearly unchanged.

 

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About the Author(s)

Ann R. Thryft

Ann R. Thryft has written about manufacturing- and electronics-related technologies for Design News, EE Times, Test & Measurement World, EDN, RTC Magazine, COTS Journal, Nikkei Electronics Asia, Computer Design, and Electronic Buyers' News (EBN). She's introduced readers to several emerging trends: industrial cybersecurity for operational technology, industrial-strength metals 3D printing, RFID, software-defined radio, early mobile phone architectures, open network server and switch/router architectures, and set-top box system design. At EBN Ann won two independently judged Editorial Excellence awards for Best Technology Feature. She holds a BA in Cultural Anthropology from Stanford University and a Certified Business Communicator certificate from the Business Marketing Association (formerly B/PAA).

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