High-volume manufacturing

There has been an accelerated interest in polymer electrolyte fuel cells within the last few years, which has led to improvements in both cost and performance. Development has reached the point where motive power applications appear achievable at an acceptable cost for commercial markets. Noticeable accomplishments in the technology, which have been published, have been made at Ballard Power Systems. PEFC operation at ambient pressure has been validated for over 25,000 hours with a six-cell stack without forced air flow, humidification, or active cooling (17). Complete fuel cell systems have been demonstrated for a number of transportation applications including public transit buses and passenger automobiles. Recent development has focused on cost reduction and high volume manufacture for the catalyst, membranes, and bipolar plates. 

Medical Many types of medical devices rely on adhesives for assembly. Medical device manufacturing requires that the final product exhibit maximum reliability and performance under many conditions that are not common in other industries. As a result, manufacturers of medical devices require significant testing and verification prior to choosing an adhesive. The standards and regulations in this industry are much different from those of other industries. The nature of the medical device market also dictates that the adhesive be economical and amenable to high-volume manufacturing methods. 

Monomer casting is effective for the fabrication of shaped products in practically all sizes and thicknesses. It also provides economic advantages in low or high volume manufacture. Cast parts can be either produced to size or they can be cast and then machined to strict tolerances as required in accordance with end-use needs. Monomers of the lactam family are used to make cast nylon. They will polymerize under various conditions. 

The cost pressure on all automotive components is high. As a result, low-cost, high-volume manufacturing processes are a necessary prerequisite for successfully introducing a sensor into vehicles. This is the reason why certain technologies, such as silicon-based sensors and microsystems, have been particularly successful recently (see Section 2.3). 

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