Material ConneXion
Every idea has a material solution.®
Texture refers to a material’s surface qualities. Similarly, the term surface finish is used in the practice of design and surface topography is used in science and engineering. In the world of …
Continue about Hot Topic / Textures: Gloss, Matte, Patterned, Etc. →
Solid surface is a material composed of a filler mineral, a color pigment, and a binding resin. Solid surfacing is typically used as a cosmetic surfacing solution in the architecture and interior …
In the world of textiles, stretch can be defined as its fiber’s ability to lengthen a certain amount and return to its original size. Moreover, stretch fabric is a textile that can stretch. There …
Gloss refers to a material’s ability to reflect light in a focused manner. This phenomenon is technically described with the term specular reflection, which states that a material whose surface is …
A product’s lifecycle is the complete track that a consumer product follows, from source to disposal. Historically, consumer products have been used in a linear fashion. In other words, the …
A renewable material refers to a material derived from natural resources that can be replenished at a rate that exceeds its consumption in the market. For example, if five apple trees grow on a plot …
A rubber is a polymer that exhibits viscous and elastic behavior when undergoing deformation. In other words, when a rubber—a collection of long chemical chains—is exposed to some force that causes it …
Continue about Oh, the Products You’ll Make with the Rubber We’ll See! →
Impact resistance refers to a material’s ability to withstand, or absorb the energy of, a sudden impact. Another couple of terms related to impact are toughness and hardness. Toughness refers to a …
A greenhouse (GHG) inventory is the list of emission sources, both direct and indirect, of an organization. Therefore, a GHG inventory is the measurement of an organization’s carbon footprint, whether …
There are two main forms of plastic recycling, mechanical and chemical. Mechanical recycling is the predominant form of recycling and produces the large majority of recycled content used in plastic …
Continue about Speckled + Marbled: The New Aesthetic Paradigm of Sustainable Design →
Dimensional stability refers to a material’s ability to maintain its shape when exposed to environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity. Commodity are known to have low dimensional …
Plaster is a soft mixture of binder, sand, and water, commonly spread thin on a surface to form a smooth, durable coating when dried. Plaster processing follows three steps. First, a dry powder …
