The “Extrusioneers Innovation Contest” kicked off earlier this month and submissions are still coming in until the May 14 deadline. This time of year, the contest is about the generation of new and innovative ideas for plastics processing, and is incredibly enhanced by a built-in extrusions community, which acts like a social network in itself. On the Extrusioneers’ website ( http://www.extrusioneers-innovation-contest.com/pool.php ), you can of course submit your ideas to the contest, as well as comment and evaluate those of fellow participants, or just check out the various products, processes and machines being proposed.
Several fascinating innovations have already cropped up, including, but not limited to:
- Sushi-Extrusion, a machine which makes delicious sushi from a simple, low-production-cost extrusion method.
- Spider Braiding Machine, which utilizes a unique innovative method to create clothing. Although it deals with most products that currently use braided or knit elements in its construction, such as rope, sleeves, multi-filament lines, and reinforced hose, the Spider Braiding Machine severely reduces the cost of braided materials so that additional applications can be pursued.
- Solar Computerized Perpetuum Mobile Network, which is essentially an assembly of factories, programmed to manufacture all the items existent on the market, and which runs on entirely on solar energy.
If you are interested in the contest (or just the idea behind it), the following questions should be considered:
What new products can be produced with extrusion?
What new processes or changes can be implemented to the extrusion process?
What new machine developments can be deployed in plastics extrusion?
The contest is addressed to professional engineers, students, hobbyists, designers and everyone who is interested in the topic of extrusion. To learn more about it, visit www.extrusioneers-innovation-contest.com.