Plastec West 2018 and a New World in Plastics and its Uses

All eyes will be on the Anaheim Convention Center February 6-8 for this year’s Plastec West, billed as the nation’s largest advanced design and manufacturing showcase. Engineers, executives, and manufacturing experts will all be on the Expo showroom floor, exploring opportunities with plastics suppliers and new wrinkles in areas like injection molding and automation.

Besides coatings and rapid prototyping, the Plastec Expo will be a showcase for new innovations and technology…like tours, demos, and activities focused on 3D printing. Speakers will discuss 3D printing in applications ranging from medical device applications – vaccine delivery vehicles, surgical implants, and stents, for example – to the new Adidas Futurecraft 4D Shoe.

Last year, representatives from 3M, Apple, Disney, and Honeywell were all in attendance. This year, more than 2,000 suppliers will be showing wares from custom hybrid cabling to barcode duplication kits and neural electrodes. Free presentations and interactive exhibits will provide an up-close-and-personal look at tomorrow’s cutting-edge technologies.

What’s trending upward in 2018 for Plastec West visitors? Many are looking for smarter manufacturing strategies and techniques for faster development cycles at lower cost. A Smart Manufacturing Innovation Summit features sessions on collaborative robots, AI, sensing technologies, and related topics. A new 3D Printing Innovation Summit opens up ideas in bioprinting (just to name one example) and how 3D printing is “shaping the future of manufacturing.”

In our niche, premium acrylic is our specialty in Sign Holders, Brochure Holders, and new Cubicle Name Plate Holders. At Plastec West, numerous other specialties could very well be game-changers in surgical robotics…and the next generation in wearable sensor technologies that track the body’s physiological state with real-time feedback for timely intervention. Today’s popular commercial versions just monitor physical activity and vital signs…not “molecular-level information related to the body’s dynamic chemistry.”

By the way, wondering what’s special about Adidas’ Futurecraft 4D shoe? Digital Light Synthesis projects UV light into a pool of resin that hardens immediately into shape…a revolutionary way to take comfort and fit to new levels!