Prospector

IDES Unveils New Medical Plastics Search

November 18, 2010 - Laramie, WY - The global medical plastics industry is growing at an increasing annual volume, and IDES Inc., the leading search engine provider for the plastics industry, has developed new search technology to help design engineers select medical plastics.

Recent research reports estimate that by 2011, over 3 billion pounds of medical grade plastics will be utilized, growing to over 4 billion pounds in 2015 for the United States. Globally, some 15 billion pounds will be consumed in 2015, as both developed and emerging countries use more medical devices.

"Because of the rapid growth in demand for plastics approved for medical applications and interest from our customers, creating a new and efficient way to access technical datasheets for medical plastics in our Prospector Plastics Database was a clear benefit for the medical design community," said Mike Kmetz, president of IDES.

There are more than 3,400 medical approved plastics listed in Prospector. Datasheets for these materials include property, processing, and supplier contact information. Users can search by ratings like USP Class VI, features like Good Gamma Sterilizability, and uses like Medical Appliances. Access to Prospector's Medical Plastics Search is free.

More information is available at www.ides.com/medical-plastics.

IDES Plastics Database Grows to 83,000 Data Sheets Representing 800 Global Manufacturers

November 2, 2010 - LARAMIE, Wyo. - IDES, the leading informational resource for plastic materials, today announced that 310,000 design engineers and plastics processors using the industry-standard Prospector Plastics Database now have access to 83,000 plastic material data sheets from 800 global resin manufacturers. Engineers rely on the database to save time selecting plastics and referencing property and processing information critical to the success of their products and their businesses.

Prospector Plastics Database by IDES

In addition to technical material data sheets, the Prospector plastics database also includes supplier contact information, phone numbers, website addresses, geographic locations, UL Yellow Cards, Processing Documents, Design Guides, Chemical Resistance Charts, and more. Premium Search Services for plastics in Prospector include; Property Search, Automotive Plastics Search, Curve Data, CostMate® - an Injection Molding Part Cost Calculator, and the Alternative Resin Search that helps plastics buyers replace current in-use plastic.

All technical data is supplied to IDES directly from resin manufactures and IDES employs a team of engineers that update the database every week. Comprehensive updates to entire manufacturer product lines during the 3rd quarter of 2010 included BASF Corporation, Bayer Material Science, Dingjue Silicone, Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corporation, Jam Polypropylene Company, LATI S.p.A., Nizhnekamskneftekhim Inc., Plastcom, SABIC Innovative Plastics, and Ticona.

Prospector is free and grows by 250 new members every day. More information is available at www.ides.com/prospector.

Downloadable images of IDES Prospector are available at www.ides.com/picasa.