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California Firm Awarded Patent for Zero-Fuel Solar Plastic Molding
Technology
PISMO BEACH, Calif., March 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- LightManufacturing
LLC, a solar thermal technology company, today announced that the
United States Patent and Trademark Office issued the firm US
Patent 8,662,877 covering the use of concentrated solar thermal energy
for molding plastic. The proprietary technology allows low-cost
manufacturing of large plastic objects like water tanks and boats
without the use of fossil fuels. The patent describes the use of
heliostats (sun-tracking mirrors) to concentrate heat in a plastic
molding system.
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140311/PH80567-a
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140311/PH80567LOGO-b
"Our technology eliminates the energy costs of roto-molding or
vacuum-forming plastic parts", says Karl von Kries, LightManufacturing
Founder and CEO, "while offering opportunities to simplify and reduce
the cost of the molding system". The company's Solar Rotational
Molding (SRM@) systems are delivered pre-integrated into 20' ISO
shipping containers, and can be dropped onto unimproved land. No
building, concrete pad, or grid energy connection is required. "This
ease of installation means customers can put inexpensive production
capacity in new markets, or put manufacturing close to customers to
reduce transport costs", says von Kries.
Heat for melting the plastic comes from an array of the company's "H1"
heliostats, and a photovoltaic array on the roof of the container
provides energy to rotate the molds and operate other equipment. The
company estimates that the now-patented processes can be deployed on
over 49% of the Earth's land area.
While many solar technology firms work on methods for generating
electricity, LightManufacturing differs by concentrating solely on
applying solar heat to manufacturing processes. "Enormous
opportunities exist to harness solar thermal energy for industrial
applications", says von Kries. "Many processes that burn natural gas
or other fossil fuels to generate heat is a candidate for conversion
to solar thermal, and the plastic molding processes covered by this
patent happen to be two of the best first applications of our
technology".
The firm describes the process in detail with photos and video
at http://www.lightmanufacturingsystems.com
About LightManufacturing
Founded in 2010, LightManufacturing researches and commercializes
solar thermal technology, including Solar Vacuum-Forming and Solar
Rotational Molding (SRM@). The firm's products include the H1
heliostat and turn-key SRM molding systems. For more information
visit: http://www.lightmanufacturingsystems.com
For more information contact: Darren Sholes LightManufacturing LLC
415-796-6475 x 4 Email
Read more news from LightManufacturing LLC.
SOURCE LightManufacturing LLC
-0- 03/11/2014
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