The first phase of the project involved an intensive study by a special Quadrant CMS development team, working in close collaboration with medical researchers at Oystershell and experts from external suppliers. The study involved input on engineering, production, quality control, purchasing and sub-assembly.

managing a total of 16 equipment and parts suppliers and the combination of 14 components (including eight sourced from outside and developed specifically for the Pixie);

The Pixie pen is automatically assembled from 14 components. Of those, Quadrant CMS injection molds six plastic components using five different engineering plastics.

Prototype dispensers were assembled from machined plastic parts that were made in collaboration with another Quadrant company, Quadrant Engineering Plastic Products, also in Tielt. Exactly one year after the start of the project, Quadrant produced the first pen using components it had injection molded on prototype tools.

Quadrant Creative Moulding & Systems (Quadrant CMS; Tielt, Belgium) collaborated with pharmaceutical company Oystershell Laboratories (Drongen, Belgium) in the development of a safe, easy-to-use wart removal device. The Pixie pen, which doses small amounts of nitrous oxide onto the skin from a pressurized container, is automatically assembled from 14 components. Of those, Quadrant CMS injection molds six plastic components using five different engineering plastics, including acetal, polycarbonate, nylon, PMMA and SAN.

For the packaging sector, AIMPLAS presented results of projects that included biodegradable barrier packaging made from food waste, plastic film derived from coffee waste, active packaging that extends the shelf life of cheese and is made from cheese-industry waste, and cartridges for 3D food printing.

Major types of blow-molded plastics are polypropylene, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polyethylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride PVC, PET, and others. Polypropylene (also known as propane or propylene) is a tough, rigid, crystalline thermoplastic derived from the monomer propane or propylene.

The Pixie pen is CE marked and approved for use in the European Union as a Class IIa medical device. All processes at Oystershell and Quadrant have been accredited through external audits under standards equivalent to ISO 13485. Biological and clinical studies indicate that the Pixie pen is superior to various other available methods for the treatment of warts, according to the companies.

Success stories at the seminar included the biodegradability of proprietary bioplastic material; biopolymer solutions for sustainable agriculture; and a method for measuring biodegradation in compost, fresh and waste waters, soil, and marine environments.

Asia-Pacific was the largest region in the blow-molded plastics market in 2021 and is expected to remain the largest through the forecast period.

For instance, in 2020, Comar, a US manufacturer and designer of innovative plastic solutions, announced locating a custom facility in Rancho Cucamonga, CA. The 230,000-square-foot facility is Current Good Manufacturing Practice regulation (cGMP)-compliant, ISO 13485-certified, and FDA-registered, with dedicated injection blowmolding, injection-stretch blowmolding, and injection-molding cells.

The Pixie pen began appearing in pharmacies in Belgium a few weeks ago. Oystershell has licensed the rights for the product to a top-five global pharmaceutical company for the whole of Europe; North American and Asian markets will follow soon.

Producing hollow plastic products from thermoplastic materials is a quick manufacturing solution and offers versatile products with broad industrial appeal. Markets include food suppliers, medical and pharmaceutical companies, and others.

Following prototyping, six injection molds were built for high-series production and the assembly process was finalized. Assembly involves several semi-automated quality control checks done under medical-device-regulated conditions and numerous automated quality checks.

In October 2021, Recycler EFS-plastics Inc., a Canada post-consumer plastics recycler with a focus on processing bales of low-value plastics, acquired Exi-Plast Custom Moulding for an undisclosed amount. Through this acquisition, EFS can directly manufacture finished products with high levels of post-consumer recycled plastic for its customers. Exi-Plast Custom Moulding is a Canadian company that provides custom plastic molding services, particularly in blow-molded solutions for designers, manufacturers, and distributors.

The new facility offers a full-service mold prototyping lab as well as a specialized mold sample and development machine, allowing customers to quickly move from concept through design, prototype, and full production.

“The Pixie pen embodies the fusion of our knowledge in the field of plastics engineering and polymer processing and the knowledge of an external industry expert, in this case in the field of medical devices,” said Jan Claeys, Account Manager at Quadrant CMS.

A key feature of the device is the tip of the applicator, which is made of polyurethane foam. The gas flows through this foam and freezes it. The user places the tip onto the wart, transferring the cold to the wart. The soft foam ensures that contact with the wart is ideal because when it heats up it makes excellent surface contact.

Key components of the device must withstand high pressures, remain gas tight and accommodate an ultra-low application temperature (-80°C) as the nitrous oxide expands from liquid to gas and freezes the targeted wart. Current products for freezing warts at home involve canisters with a dangerous mixture of liquefied propane gas and dimethylether. The Pixie pen, which can be used for up to eight treatments, has an attractive price point and will revolutionize the current market, says Bart Rossel, CSO at Oystershell.

Companies are investing in research and development to produce new industrial plastics to keep up with market competitiveness and meet evolving end-user demands.

The global blow-molded plastics market grew from $89.39 billion in 2022 to $92.93 billion in 2023 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.0%. The blow-molded plastics market is expected to grow to $108.75 billion in 2027 at a CAGR of 4.0%, according to a report published in February by Reportlinker. The market consists of sales coveringcompound blowmolding and compression blowmolding.

Polypropylene is used in a variety of applications, including plastic packaging, machinery and equipment parts, and fibers and textiles. Extrusion, injection, and stretch are the various technologies used in blowmolding plastics for packaging, consumables, electronics, automotive and transport, building and construction, medical, and other applications.