May 1, 2021
Fortify Raises $20 Million in Capital for Advanced 3D Printing Composites Technology
Fortify Raises $20 Million in Capital for Advanced 3D Printing Composites Technology
Fortify has raised an additional $20 million in capital equity to grow its advanced composite 3D printing technology
Fortify, an additive manufacturing startup based in Boston, Massachusetts, has signed a deal for $20 million in capital equity led by Cora Capital with additional funding from Accel Partners, Neotribe Ventures, and Prelude Ventures. With this additional equity, Fortify plans to ramp up manufacturing of its Flux Series 3D printers while growing the company and expanding into high-value application spaces, including injection mold tooling.
Fortify developed their propriety digital composite manufacturing (DCM) to support new advanced materials for the 3D printing market. According to Fortify, DCM, “combines proprietary systems for mixing and magnetic alignment with digital light processing (DLP) to produce composite parts with optimized mechanical, thermal, and electromagnetic properties. The hardware combined with software, materials development, and processing expertise is opening up new additive manufacturing capabilities by tuning material properties for specific applications.”
You can read more about Fortify’s digital composite manufacturing and the additional equity funding here.
Fortify developed their propriety digital composite manufacturing (DCM) to support new advanced materials for the 3D printing market. According to Fortify, DCM, “combines proprietary systems for mixing and magnetic alignment with digital light processing (DLP) to produce composite parts with optimized mechanical, thermal, and electromagnetic properties. The hardware combined with software, materials development, and processing expertise is opening up new additive manufacturing capabilities by tuning material properties for specific applications.”
You can read more about Fortify’s digital composite manufacturing and the additional equity funding here.
May 2, 2021
Stratus Plastics Expanding Jobs at Kentucky Plant
Stratus Plastics Expanding Jobs at Kentucky Plant
Stratus Plastics International is expanding available jobs at Kentucky production facility
Stratus Plastics International (SPI) is expanding their headcount at their production facility in Morgantown, Kentucky. They are currently adding 40 new jobs, with up to 135 new positions planned in the near future. The Canada-based company makes injection molded parts for appliances, consumer goods, and automotive customers, including several tier-one customers, at their manufacturing sites in Kentucky and Windsor, Ontario. These additional positions represent a 500% increase in employees since the 165,000-square-foot facility opened in Kentucky four years ago.
Read more about the new injection molding jobs at SPI here.
For more on injection molding consulting at BHC Associates, click here.
Read more about the new injection molding jobs at SPI here.
For more on injection molding consulting at BHC Associates, click here.
May 3, 2021
Boston Materials' Affordable and Eco-Friendly Z-Direction Composite Films
Boston Materials' Affordable and Eco-Friendly Z-Direction Composite Films
Boston Materials produces patented Z-direction composite materials that are affordable and eco-friendly
Boston Materials, based in Billerica, Massachusetts, is a spin-out from Northeastern University. It was formed in 2016 to produce and market their patented magnetic alignment process to vertically align (Z-direction) milled carbon fibers, with lengths of 0.05 to 0.2 millimeters, into 60-inch-wide sheets using a roll-to-roll process, like the process used in papermaking. The milled carbon fibers can be obtained from low-cost recycled carbon fiber, making the process cost-effective and eco-friendly. According to Kedar Murthy, Boston Materials chief commercial officers, “These film-like materials look like velour or velvet thanks to the vertical fibers.”
Boston Materials is currently producing 800,000 square meters of the 60-inch-wide sheets each year in 3 different lines of products: SUPERCOMP, ZRT, and BIMETAL. In addition to being cost-effective and eco-friendly, the sheets are also process friendly and can be used dry or prepregged and they can also be split into tapes. The fibers increase the impact and delamination resistance of the composite and produce metal-like electrical conductivity, useful for EMI shielding.
You can read much more about this innovative technology and its uses, including its electrical conductivity and corrosion resistance, here.
Boston Materials is currently producing 800,000 square meters of the 60-inch-wide sheets each year in 3 different lines of products: SUPERCOMP, ZRT, and BIMETAL. In addition to being cost-effective and eco-friendly, the sheets are also process friendly and can be used dry or prepregged and they can also be split into tapes. The fibers increase the impact and delamination resistance of the composite and produce metal-like electrical conductivity, useful for EMI shielding.
You can read much more about this innovative technology and its uses, including its electrical conductivity and corrosion resistance, here.
May 4, 2021
EPC's New 125,000-Square-Foot Injection Molding Facility
EPC's New 125,000-Square-Foot Injection Molding Facility
Engineered Plastic Components has purchased a new 125,000-square-foot facility to produce injection-molded parts for automotive customers
Iowa-based Engineered Plastic Components, Inc. (EPC) has purchased a 125,000-square-foot facility in Bessemer, Alabama. The new facility will bring 75 new jobs to the area and will house 10 injection molding machines ranging in size from 200 tons to 3,000 tons. EPC provides thermoplastics and thermoset products for the automotive, appliance, medical, and consumer products markets and currently has 17 locations across the United States. The company plans to invest $8.05 million in the project to support the automotive OEMs in the area.
You can read more about EPC’s new facility here.
You can read more about EPC’s new facility here.
May 5, 2021
PPI Updates Its Building & Construction Division Pipe Design Calculator
PPI Updates Its Building & Construction Division Pipe Design Calculator
Plastics Pipe Institute (PPI) has updated its plastic pipe design calculator for its Building & Construction Division (BCD)
The Plastics Pipe Institute (PPI) has updated its plastic pipe design calculator for its Building & Construction Division (BCD). The version 2.0 update includes a new user interface, updated pipe and tubing selection menu, links to BCD material webpages, and hundreds of new pipe materials and sizes to choose from.
The BCD Calculator is a free software tool that makes material selection easier for applications such as plumbing, fire protection, water service, and hydronic piping of liquids. “This online tool includes five main functions which can be used to select and size the right type of pipe for various applications,” said Lance MacNevin, P. Eng., director of engineering for PPI’s Building & Construction Division. “These are pressure/head loss; pipe weight/volume; thermal expansion and contraction; hydraulic shock; and expansion arm/loop design. This update contains hundreds of new pipe materials and sizes. During the past several years, we listened to input from users of the original version of the calculator, and made improvements plus added new features that make it easier to use.”
To read more about the BCD Calculator and updates, click here. You can access the updated calculator here.
The BCD Calculator is a free software tool that makes material selection easier for applications such as plumbing, fire protection, water service, and hydronic piping of liquids. “This online tool includes five main functions which can be used to select and size the right type of pipe for various applications,” said Lance MacNevin, P. Eng., director of engineering for PPI’s Building & Construction Division. “These are pressure/head loss; pipe weight/volume; thermal expansion and contraction; hydraulic shock; and expansion arm/loop design. This update contains hundreds of new pipe materials and sizes. During the past several years, we listened to input from users of the original version of the calculator, and made improvements plus added new features that make it easier to use.”
To read more about the BCD Calculator and updates, click here. You can access the updated calculator here.
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