Plastics

IDTechEx Research has just released new forecasts for the OLED display market.

IDTechEx has been following the printed electronics market for fifteen years. In this article we provide ten brief updates across different parts of the industry.

$1.2 billion of electrically conductive adhesives (ECAs) are already selling each year, and they are becoming increasingly common to replace solders in a variety of functions, applications and industries.

The conductive inks and paste business will generate a demand of 1800 tonnes. IDTechEx Research forecasts that this will grow to 2200 by 2026. This business has come alive again and is now a business where literally everything is changing.

IDTechEx Research projects that the graphene market will grow to $220m in 2026. This forecast is at the material level and does not count the value of graphene-enabled products. In many instances graphene is only an additive with low wt% values.

LG Display is currently the only manufacturer of large OLED panels. But it is not just the rivalry with LG that will drive Samsung to invest in OLED production capacity.

Printed and flexible electronics are beginning to proliferate, with a variety of components and devices coming to market. Several end-user verticals are expected to benefit from the host of advantages these technologies offer and the automotive sector is no exception.

Two of the leading names in thermoplastic filament manufacturing have formed a powerful partnership, hoping to play an essential role in the industry. There are now over 300,000 thermoplastic extrusion printers in the world, with a total annual filament market of $250m in 2015.

Flexible electronic devices are starting to experience significant proliferation, with more and more devices with innovative form factors being brought to market, from small components such as disposable sensors that have been in the market for quite some time now, all the way to new flexible smart phones currently being demonstrated by consumer electronics giants like Samsung and LG.

Today's emerging technologies are varied, vast - and moving at the blink of an eye. Here are the top 10 key trends we'll see at the show that are changing the way the world lives, works and plays.