Experiment § Bendable transparent silicone
Silica gel has very special properties: the bond energy of silicon-oxygen bonds on the molecular backbone is higher than carbon-oxygen bonds and carbon-oxygen bonds. Silica gel has very special properties: the bond energy of silicon-oxygen bonds on the molecular backbone is higher than carbon-carbon bonds and carbon-oxygen bonds. Therefore, silica gel is not easy to age, and its weather resistance and high-temperature resistance are better than ordinary resins. The paradox is that the force between the molecular chains of different silica gels is very low, so the mechanical strength of silica gel will be worse than that of organic resins with large intermolecular forces. For example epoxy resin or polyurethane resin...etc, their strength is better than silica gel. Figure A shows that the strength of transparent silica gel is not good, and it will break when folded. In order to improve the mechanical strength of silica gel, nano-grade silica is usually added to increase the intermolecular force but the disadvantage is that it will affect the transparency of silica gel (Figure B). By choosing different raw materials, additives and adjusting different composition ratios, we have successfully made a highly transparent silica gel with good mechanical properties, as shown in Figure C, which can be bent without breaking. In addition, we also found that if the adjusted ratio is not correct, it will also cause the silicone to spit oil at high temperature (Figure D shows surface wrinkles and oily surface). How to choose the appropriate composition and ratio of raw materials, additives, etc., is what we need to consider when we study silica gel.
—Author: Mr. Yu-Xiang, Chen
Activity § 2.6L large hoses are beginning to appear
Everwide’s Chemical is well-known for its customized services. The company has about 270 types of packaging materials to meet customer needs. Every time a new packaging material is added, we will have a lot of pre-test operations to confirm the suitable manufacturing process for the new packaging material, such as filling, defoaming and packaging...etc. Everyone is very curious about the newly added 2.6L large hose, and there are talks about it. R&D and process personnel racked their brains to design a set of SOPs, and conduct a debinding test after trial production to confirm the effect of defoaming in the process. At present, the manufacturing process has been planned and the large hose will soon join our shipment ranks. In the early stage, one-component epoxy resin was mainly used, which is more suitable for this kind of large packaging. The weight can be loaded up to about 3kg (depending on the specific gravity). It is applied to customers with large usage and reduces the trouble of frequent replacement of hoses. We will continue to make new attempts to make products more suitable for your needs.
Knowledge § What is a brittle fracture and ductile fracture?
A brittle fracture means that the material exhibits reversible elastic behavior in the process of being stressed, and the work input by the external force is transformed into elastic strain energy. When the material breaks and separates, it purely releases the originally stored elastic energy. Since brittle fracture has almost no plastic deformation, the fracture surface of the material is smooth and flat, at most there are some irregular traces, small river patterns, and the two separated surfaces can be joined into the original shape again, which is the most typical of brittle fracture. In the process of ductile fracture, the molecular chain will slide obviously, plastic deformation will occur, and the work input by external force will be consumed. Plastic deformation will cause empty holes in the material and change the volume and shape of the test piece. Therefore, the fracture surface of the test piece is often uneven, and even rough and tarnished due to the presence of the second phase material. When the two separated surfaces are rejoined, they will not show the original shape, or even deform to the point where they can no longer be reunited, which is the most typical feature of ductile fracture.
Living § Follow-up report on reading
In August 2016, under the guidance of teacher Yu Minghe, we spent two months for all the colleagues in the company to read the book "Goals". Each group discussed the bottlenecks encountered by the company and published them one by one to form the topic of project improvement in 2017. Each group discussed the bottlenecks encountered by the company and published them one by one to form the topic of project improvement in 2017. In the process of project promotion, we often encounter difficulties. For example, the order distribution is unbalanced, and the production schedule is very anxious. In the past, colleagues may have complained: How can there be any way in this way? Can the delivery be delayed? After reading the book "Goals", everyone will discuss our bottleneck together and how to break through the bottleneck? In other words, the pressure of internal complaints has been transformed into an external push. AI artificial intelligence is becoming popular recently, and everyone is focusing on speed and data. What else is unique to humans and worth cherishing? The experience of discussing projects with colleagues has made me discover that the "temperature" generated by interactions between people through body movements and conversations cannot be replaced. Even if artificial intelligence robots can imitate "people" very well and quickly give correct information, how will people perceive it and how do they perceive themselves? Thinking of this, I would rather go through this process of exploration with everyone. Just like the food we eat, relying on the water, air, and soil cultivated by nature is the most authentic. Perhaps AI information and human should be used in combination, so that the problem is no longer a problem, and the bottleneck will not be a bottleneck. This is our future "goal", don't you think so?
—Author: Mr. Ming-Hong, Xiao
