Surface coatings for the medical industry - what you need to know

2020-06-16T15:44:34Z

Ansinilimited: Created page with "When Ignaz Semmelweis proposed the practise of washing hands with chlorinated lime solutions to reduce the incidence of puerperal fever (also known as "childbed fever")..."

When Ignaz Semmelweis proposed the practise of washing hands with chlorinated lime solutions to reduce the incidence of puerperal fever (also known as "childbed fever"), the medical establishment largely ridiculed him. That, however, was in 1847, long before terms like “hospital-acquired infection” and “medical malpractice” became mainstream.

Now, the [https://www.ansini.co.uk/sectors/medical/ medical sector] and medical professionals recognise that effective hygiene is crucial to keeping patients safe and plastic surface coatings are playing a key role in the battle against the bugs.

Understanding hospital-acquired infections

Hospitals can be great places for bugs to lurk. They are often warm and dry and filled with people who are ill and/or injured. Some of these people will have weak immune systems (for example older people and babies) and some may have open wounds (an unlucky few may have both).

There are also plenty of people coming in from the outside world, bringing any germs they have with them.

For all these reasons and more, hospitals are continually fighting a battle against bugs and, as the statistics show, it’s far from a knockout victory. At present, about 5% of in-patients in the UK need to extend their stay in hospital because of an HCAI.

According to [https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/10-amr-lon-reducing-hcai.pdf government research], decreasing the incidence of HCAIs by just 10% could release up to £93.1m of NHS funds for other purposes.

Why killing bugs isn’t as easy as it sounds like it should be

You might think that with all the bug-killing products available today, it should be possible, if not easy, for hospitals to blast bugs into oblivion. There is some truth in this. Hospitals can and do kill a lot of bugs.

There are, however, two problems with the process. The first is that it takes time to kill off bugs and that gives the bugs a window of opportunity in which to cause harm and the second is that it is nearly impossible to kill off all bugs in an environment where people are regularly coming in from outside (which is why operating theatres have restricted access).

The practice of catheter insertions illustrates this point. Even though modern catheters have antibacterial coatings, catheter insertions are still the single biggest cause of HCAIs in both the UK and the US.

This is because the bacteria do the damage while the antibacterial coating is doing its work. As a result, researchers are now trying out a different approach.

Instead of trying to kill bacteria which have settled on the exposed surfaces of medical devices, such as catheters, they are trying to stop them from settling on them in the first place.

Making hospitals inhospitable to bugs

Plastic surface coatings act in a similar way to non-stick coatings on cookware. They literally prevent bugs from getting a grip on the surface, hence eliminating the need to kill them.

This second point is important because it avoids the issues currently seen with antibiotics, namely that sooner or later bugs become resistant to them.

As a bonus, these treatments are biologically inert and hence can be applied to devices used internally (such as catheters) without the danger of inflammation or other toxic side effects.

--[[User:Ansinilimited|Ansinilimited]] 16:44, 16 Jun 2020 (BST)

[[Category:Education]]

Thermoforming for the Construction Industry

2020-06-16T15:41:45Z

Ansinilimited: Created page with "[https://www.ansini.co.uk/services/thermoplastic-forming/ Thermoforming] is regarded as one of the most popular methods of plastic part and component manufacturing and has a wide..."

[https://www.ansini.co.uk/services/thermoplastic-forming/ Thermoforming] is regarded as one of the most popular methods of plastic part and component manufacturing and has a wide variety of applications across a multitude of sectors such as aerospace and agriculture.

However, it may come as a surprise that the [https://www.ansini.co.uk/services/thermoplastic-forming/ thermoforming process] is becoming more popular for the creation of essential construction equipment, but what are the advantages thermoforming offers and how can the construction industry benefit from them?

Thermoforming and the Construction sector

The thermoforming process can be executed with a number of different plastics which can be specifically chosen based on their specific properties. This means that [https://www.ansini.co.uk/services/thermoplastic-forming/ thermoformed plastic parts and components] can be manufactured to be strong, reliable and durable making them ideal for meeting the strenuous demands of the construction industry.

The most common use of plastic in the construction industry is machinery and vehicles and can be used to create a number of components such as:

* Engine hoods and bonnet enclosures
* Cab roofs
* Interior trim panels
* Exterior body panels and mouldings
* Mudguards and fenders

However, whilst the thermoforming manufacturing process is used for a range of applications, what advantages does it provide to the construction industry specifically?

The main advantage of thermoformed plastics, as mentioned above, is the versatility of materials that can be used which allows for the manufacture of strong and reliable plastic parts and components ideally suited to the construction industry.

Whilst this is the main benefit, however, the thermoforming process has a number of other advantages for the construction sector such as;

* Aesthetic Finishes – typically construction equipment is primarily focused on functionality over aesthetics yet there is a growing demand for construction equipment, machinery and vehicles to look impressive, whether that be by design, colour or the addition of a logo. The thermoforming process allows for aesthetic and coloured plastic parts and components whilst ensuring that they will function as specified.
* Versatile in Size – Construction equipment, vehicles and machinery is often on the larger scale and large plastic components and parts are often required. The thermoforming manufacturing process can easily accommodate these larger parts as well as traditionally smaller components.

What are the advantages of the thermoforming process?

The specific advantages of the thermoforming process involve aspects such as:

* Time Effective – the thermoforming manufacturing process requires significantly less tooling time relative to other plastic manufacturing processes which can be ideal if parts are required in short periods of time
* Cost Effective – many companies and businesses across a multitude of sectors choose the thermoforming process as it is more cost effective than other methods of plastic moulding.. In fact it is estimated the thermoforming process can be as much as 30% cheaper than injection moulding.
* Reliable – Thermoforming has quickly become a staple of plastic component manufacturing and will remain so for years to come. The process has been tried, tested and adapted, as required, to ensure that it is an effective and safe method of manufacturing plastic parts.
* Design Flexibility – the thermoforming process is easily adaptable to a number of applications and allows for easy customisation of products if required which can be a major advantage depending on the application.

It is due to these specific advantages, as well as many others, that the thermoforming manufacturing process is quickly becoming a staple in the construction industry.

However, it is always essential to analyse your specific requirements as well as what the finished application will be required to do, and select a plastic manufacturing process based on those requirements.

--[[User:Ansinilimited|Ansinilimited]] 16:41, 16 Jun 2020 (BST)

[[Category:Education]] [[Category:Theory]]

Designing Buildings - User contributions [en]

Surface coatings for the medical industry - what you need to know

Thermoforming for the Construction Industry