The project Kera-Plast aims to re-loop humans and nature by questioning the current systems and ethics through materiality. Human hair, currently considered as waste, functions as the base for the material exploration fabricated through thermo-compression molding. The flexible, short and opaque keratin-fibers get glued together with heat, pressure and water, acting as a plasticizer during the compression molding process. The results are stiff and remind on plastic due to shine and translucency. Aesthetics and function of the resulting material are controlled and designed by traditional textile techniques as knitting, weaving and non-woven processes. The material samples display the potential of Kera-Plast in the categories of 3D surface structures, patterns, shapeability and the influence of light. The findings also provide information about the parameters for designing with keratin fibers through the thermo-compression process. It can be concluded that despite all ethical and cultural factors, Kera-Plast and its fabrication method has the potential to add a sustainable, functional and aesthetical value to the design field and our future material consumption.

December 2011. A thesis submitted to the College of Dental Medicine of Nova Southeastern University of the degree of Master of Science in Dentistry. Introduction: The nasoalveolar molding appliance is used pre-surgically in cleft lip and palate patients as a method of bringing together the lip and alveolus by applying force to direct desired growth.1 It is used in the infant to reduce the pre-surgical severity of the initial cleft and to improve alignment of the base of the nose and lip segments.1 The purpose of this study was to examine the long-term effect of nasoalveolar molding on facial growth and nasolabial esthetics in complete unilateral cleft lip and palate patients. Methods: Sixteen (N=16) post-surgical cleft lip and palate patients who had undergone nasoalveolar molding as infants and twelve (N=12) control patients, treated surgically without nasoalveolar molding, were recalled for a clinical examination including impressions, photographs, and a lateral cephalogram. Dental models were analyzed using the Goslon Yardstick, developed by Mars et al. in 1987.2¬ Photographs were analyzed using the Asher-McDade method for rating the nasolabial appearance in patients with cleft lip and palate.3 Finally, lateral cephalograms were digitized and analyzed using Dolphin Imaging software. Results: Separate ordinal logistic regression models indicated no significant difference between the molding and non-molding groups in Goslon score, nasal form, nose symmetry, vermilion border or nasolabial profile assessments. Generalized linear models revealed one cephalometric variable to be statistically significant between the two groups. The ANB angle was decreased by 2.34 degrees on average in the group who underwent nasoalveolar molding prior to cheiloplasty. Intra-rater and inter-rater weighted kappa statistics were calculated for each variable. Conclusion: Short-term benefits of nasoalveolar molding have been documented in the literature. However, more long-term studies are needed in order to demonstrate the longitudinal effects of the appliance on esthetics and midfacial growth. Due to the limitations of cleft lip and palate studies, it is often difficult to accurately assess treatment effects. Through inter-center studies such as the Eurocleft and Americleft projects, some limitations and biases can be overcome in order to compare various protocols and outcomes.4 In the future, it is the desire of the investigators to include the current sample of nasoalveolar molding patients in the future efforts and expansion of the Americleft study.

One portion of this work was concerned with injection molding pregenerated microcomposites composed primarily of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) as the matrix and HX1000 as the thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer (TLCP). Several factors were examined to maximize the mechanical properties of these composites, including injection molding temperature, matrix viscosity, and nozzle tip exit diameter. In addition, concentrated strands of HX1000/PET (50/50 wt%) were diluted using both an injection molding grade of PET and an injection molding grade of PBT. From this work, it was determined that the best mechanical properties were produced when the microcomposites were processed at the lowest injection molding temperatures, diluted with PBT, and injection molded using a large nozzle tip exit diameter. The pregenerated microcomposite properties were compared against theoretical predictions as well as glass-filled PET. It was found that the pregenerated microcomposites had tensile moduli of approximately 70% of theoretical expectations in the machine direction. Additionally, the comparisons against glass-filled PET revealed that at the same weight fraction of reinforcement, the pregenerated microcomposites had lower properties. Still, the composites were found to have smoother surfaces than glass-filled PET and at temperatures up to 150° C the storage and loss moduli of the pregenerated microcomposites were similar to those of glass filled PET. It was concluded that if the theoretically expected levels of reinforcement could be attained, the pregenerated microcomposites processing scheme would be a viable method of producing light weight, wholly thermoplastic composites with smoother surfaces than are obtained with glass reinforcement. An additional focus of this research was to evaluate the ability to modify the crystallization behavior of a high melting TLCP (HX6000, Tm = 332° C) with a lower melting TLCP (HX8000, Tm = 272°C). It was found that it was possible to tailor the crystallization behavior of these TLCP/TLCP blends by varying the weight fraction of each component, as determined by rheological cooling scans and differential scanning calorimetric cooling tests. Based on the analysis of these TLCPs at the maximum injection molding temperature of 360° C, it was speculated that they had reacted with one another. / Ph. D.

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engcon® är ett företag som arbetar med produktutveckling. Företagets mest lönsamma produkter är tiltrotatorer, vilket kan beskrivas som en handled för grävmaskiner. Syftet med detta arbete var att ta fram ett alternativt koncept för skyddshuv till tiltrotator EC209, då den nuvarande lösningen erhållit klagomål kring variationer och inre spänningar till följd av tillverkningsmetoden. Företaget är även intresserad av en reducerad kostnad och mer slimmad design. Målet var att ta fram ett mer användarvänligt och kostnadseffektivt koncept samt testa mot produktion. Produktutvecklingsprocessen bestod av en nulägesanalys, där kartläggning av nuläget genomfördes. Datainsamling från intressenter som bestod av tillfällighetsurval och deltagande observation. Genomförandet av en litteratursökning för att erhålla information om stål- och polymermaterial samt tillverkningsmetoderna formsprutning och bockning. Datainsamlingen användes för att samla relevanta kriterier och upprätta en produktspecifikation. Utifrån funktionella kriterier generera koncept med en kreativ och systematisk metod där syftet var att erhålla en mängd dellösningsalternativ. Därefter med en morfologisk matris skapa totallösningsalternativ. Val av koncept med hjälp av elimineringsmatris och relativ beslutsmatris. Avslutningsvis genomgå processfasen konfiguration och detaljkonstruktion för framtagning av iterationer och slutgiltigt koncept. Resultatet av detta arbete utmynnades i framtagning och presentation av ett koncept som erhåller delfunktion för att underlätta montage tillsammans med en design avsedd för tillverkningsmetoden, vilken möjliggör minimerade variationer vid tillverkning. Additivt tillverkade iterationer för att testa mot produktion tillsammans med en kompletterande kostnadskalkyl för framtagning av dessa och uppskattad kostnadskalkyl för formsprutning utifrån tät dialog med leverantör Målet med arbetet kunde uppfyllas då studien resulterade i ett slutgiltigt koncept med delfunktion för att underlätta montering och ett reducerat styckpris mot den nuvarande lösningen. / engcon® is a company that works with product development. The company’s most profitable products are tiltrotators, which can be described as a working arm for excavators. The purpose of this work was to develop an alternative concept for a protective hood for tiltrotator EC209, as the current solution has received complaints about variations and internal stresses because of the existing manufacturing method. The company is also interested in a reduced cost and slimmer design. The goal was to develop a more user-friendly and cost-effective concept and test it against production. The product development process consisted of a current situation analysis, where mapping of the current status was carried out. A data collection from stakeholders consisted of opportunity sampling and participant observation. Literature search was carried out to obtain information on steel and polymer materials as well as the manufacturing methods including injection molding and bending. Data collection was implemented to gather relevant criteria and establish a product specification. Based on functional criteria, concepts were generated using a creative and systematic method with the aim of obtaining a number of particular solution alternatives. Then with a morphological matrix good solution alternatives were suggested. Choice of concept was done using elimination matrix and relative decision matrix. Finally, the suggested final concept was configured and detailed construction of final concept was reached through few iterations. Present work resulted in the development and presentation of a concept that facilitates assembly together with a design intended for the manufacturing method, which enables minimized variations in manufacturing. Additively manufactured iterations to test against production together with a supplementary cost calculation for the production of these designs and estimated cost calculation for injection molding based on close dialogue with the supplier were carried out. The goals of the work are met and a final concept helping easier assembly and having a reduced unit price compared to the current solution is presented.

This thesis has attempted to reduce costs associated with wear parts in test equipment at Ericsson’s master and industrialization center (MIC) in Kista. Two different cases have been pursued, and each has been designed to follow a, for the purpose, adapted version of the design research methodology (DRM). The adapted model was presented and its use in both cases was additionally evaluated. Both cases were based on products that already have been launched and are used in production. In order to avoid expensive changes to surrounding equipment, incremental product development was chosen in both cases. The first case focused on test equipment used in the production of digital units for radio base stations. After the wear parts of this test equipment were examined, it was found that a plastic detail was manufactured through milling and as a result was quite expensive. The plastic detail was redesigned so that it could be manufactured using the injection molding process instead. This resulted in an estimated cost reduction of 48 %. The second case focused on wear parts of test fixtures used in the production of radio filters, also used in Ericsson’s radio base stations. A more process-oriented view was adopted in this case and parameters believed to be causing added wear such as positional and angular misalignment were examined further. Tolerance chains for each wear part in the assembled test fixture were calculated to determine the degrees of possible misalignment. The resulting data did however not correlate with each wear part’s individual wear interval, and no concrete cost reductive improvements could be delivered. Instead suggestions which can lead to further cost reductions in the long term were presented. The model used to develop improvements for these two cases was found to have helped the process in both cases, however further research of this model is recommended in order to determine if it is suitable for these types of projects in general

Sensor technology has played an essential role in improving the observability in manufacturing processes and providing input to enabling more effective and efficient product and process design. To analyze an injection molding process, pressure and temperature variations have shown to be the most critical factors that affect quality in the molded parts. The state of sensing in the industry utilizes separate and wired sensors placed away from the mold cavity to measure these parameters, and holes have to be drilled through the mold steel to accommodate the wires. To minimize mold structural modification, which is time consuming and expensive, it is desired to design a miniaturized sensor module that can be structurally embedded into the molding cavity and simultaneously measures the two parameters (i.e. a dual-parameter sensor) in real time, during the molding process. This thesis presents the structural optimization of the sensor and development of a new Fluid-Structure algorithm to analyze the performance of the sensor as in an actual injection molding cycle. Thus, research involves three key tasks. Given a required mold steel thickness, an optimization problem was solved analytically with outer diameter, thickness and number of rings as variables under the maximum allowable pressure and minimum required energy constraints to achieve a minimum volume of the piezo stack. As it is infeasible to test the sensor with different dimensions under the flow to understand its behavior under high pressure and temperature polymer melt, the development of a numerical model is required. A mold-melt interaction algorithm is developed to have a mold-melt interface using finite element analysis, analogous to an injection molding process. The model showed the change in state of polymer melt and its effect on cavity due to change in viscosity with the change in temperature. The model validated the energy output of the optimized sensor when the temperature and pressure of polymer changes and the effect of these parameters on mold and sensor. The voltage output and temperature results were compared with analytical solution. The numerical results of voltage output matched within 0.1% and temperature results matched within 3% of the analytical solutions. Finally a test bed was fabricated to simulate and reconstruct the pressure profile obtained from the numerical model to study the actual output from a fabricated sensor. The aim of the test bed was to reconstruct pressure profiles obtained from numerical simulations to investigate the sensor output from the fabricated injection molding sensor. The test bed evaluated the output from sensor as can be observed in actual injection molding machine. Comparison of the injection molding sensor with a piezo-resistive sensor showed good agreement.

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(工学) / 甲第24642号 / 工博第5148号 / 新制||工||1983(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院工学研究科化学工学専攻 / (主査)教授 大嶋 正裕, 教授 竹中 幹人, 教授 佐野 紀彰 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Philosophy (Engineering) / Kyoto University / DFAM

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(工学) / 甲第24647号 / 工博第5153号 / 新制||工||1984(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院工学研究科化学工学専攻 / (主査)教授 大嶋 正裕, 教授 佐野 紀彰, 教授 山本 量一 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Philosophy (Engineering) / Kyoto University / DGAM

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