Make: Books indexer extraordinaire Patti Schiendelman sent us a link to this seriously cool UK catalog of “Weird, smart, strange, bizarre, electronic, technology resources and materials.” Hey, that sounds like our market demo!
Shape Memory Polymer (SMP)
The material is a cast thermo-setting resin with extraordinary memory properties. Most polymers have some ‘memory’ but this one can be stretched by up to 200% and still remember its original condition. When heated above 70°C, it softens, and can be shaped by stretching, bending, blowing etc. When cool it retains its new shape, but if the material is re-heated to 70°C, it reverts to its flat sheet condition.
Sheet size is approximately 3mm thick x 100mm x 150mm.
Chameleon Nano Flakes
This material consists of nano-size silicon flakes each covered with a titanium compound. The flakes possess amazing light scattering properties if mixed with clear varnishes or polymers. An object thus coated – e.g., a complete car – will change colour completely according to the viewing angle. The material can be mixed into practically any clear medium to produce optical ‘fireworks’ and colourchanging characteristics.
5g (approx. 20ml) pot (colour shift: red to green).
Polymorph
Polymorph is one of a new generation of commercial polymers set to have a major impact on model making and prototyping. This polymer has all the characteristics of a tough “engineering” material yet it fuses and becomes easily mouldable at just 62°C. It can be heated with just hot water or a hairdryer and moulded by hand to create prototypes and solve manufacturing problems currently outside the capacity of other materials.
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