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Over 40 Years with Water Flow Control Today 1976 of Experience Contact Us for More Information! Tel. 860-496-9603 info.us@wittmann-group.com '4D Printing' Academic Project in Collaboration with Stratasys A new process, known as 4D Printing, is being developed via a research collaboration between the Education and R&D; departments of Stratasys, Eden Prairie, Minn., and the Self- Assembly Lab of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Mass. Led by Skylar Tibbits, Self-Assembly Lab direc- tor and trained architect, computer scientist, and artist, the focus of this research focuses on developing self-assembly technolo- gies for large-scale structures. Tibbits' 4D printing project is enabled by Stratasys' Objet Connex multi-material 3D-printing technology, with the added capability of embedded transformation from one shape to another, directly off the 3D printer. The Connex technology works as follows: A single print, with multi-material features, can produce a 1D strand that transforms into a 3D shape, a 2D surface into a 3D shape, or morph one 3D shape into another. The Connex multi-material technology allows the researchers to program different material properties into each of the vari- ous particles of the part geometry and harnesses the different water-absorbing properties of the materials to activate the self- assembly transformation process. With water as its activator, this technique promises new possibilities for embedding programma- bility and simple decision making into non-electronic materials. Imagine, for example, robotic-like behavior without the reliance on complex electromechanical devices. 888-480-3548 • stratasys.com Solvay to Start PEKK Production in U.S. Polyetherketoneketone (PEKK) resin production from Solvay (U.S. office in Alpharetta, Ga.) will soon be underway at the company's Augusta, Ga., site. The new U.S. capacity will address fast-growing demand for thermoplastic composites and 3D-printing materials for aerospace and other markets. To be sold under the trade name NovaSpire, this high- performance PEKK is used in thermoplastic compos- ites reinforced with carbon fibers and in additive manufacturing in a range of industrial applications. 800-621-4557 • solvay.com Husky Will Get a New Owner Platinum Equity announced last month that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Husky Injection Molding Systems International Ltd., Bolton, Ont., from Boston-based Berkshire Partners LLC and OMERS Private Equity Inc., the private-equity arm of the pension plan for Ontario's municipal employees. Berkshire and OMERS acquired Husky in June 2011. Platinum Equity is a NYC-based global investment firm. The Husky transaction is expected to close in the second quarter. 905-951-5000 • husky.co T E C H N O L O G Y A N D I N D U S T R Y N E W S St ar t ing Up