2024.08.22
New Sensation Material "HUMOFIT®" Becomes Flexible with Body Temperature and Expands and Contracts to Fit the Body
When you think of stretchable materials, you might imagine polyurethane fibers or PTT fibers. A new material that stretches with body temperature has emerged. This is "HUMOFIT®," a breakthrough innovation developed by "Mitsui Chemicals, Inc."
Upon detecting body temperature, this material becomes flexible, stretches when pulled, and slowly returns to its original shape due to its shape-memory property when released. How, then, is such a function useful in daily life?
This time, we spoke with Shigeo Nishikawa, Head of the Functional Film Business Development Office, Functional Materials Division at "Mitsui Fine Chemicals, Inc." to discuss the charm of the new material HUMOFIT®.
PROFILE
Shigeo Nishikawa
Shigeo Nishikawa joined Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. in 1992. He has been engaged in the development of foam sheet manufacturing technology and research and development of various resin-processed products. After working in sales and marketing of functional polymers and functional films, he has promoted various new product development projects such as piezoelectric films. He began developing HUMOFIT® in 2017 and is currently driving the HUMOFIT® business at Mitsui Fine Chemicals, Inc.
A Material No One Has Experienced Before
First, tell us about your business.
Mitsui Fine Chemicals, Inc. is a 100% subsidiary of Mitsui Chemicals, Inc., a comprehensive chemical manufacturer.Our company was established in 1974 as a specialized chemical trading company within the Mitsui Chemicals Group, but now, in addition to our trading functions, we also have manufacturing functions and produce and sell our own products.
We mainly handle chemical products such as hair dye ingredients and agricultural pharmaceutical ingredients, but we established a new department to create the resin-processed goods business, and we transferred the new plastic sheet material HUMOFIT® developed by Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. to this company in April of this year, starting a full-scale business development.
Tell us about the background of HUMOFIT®'s development.
The resin used as the raw material was originally used as an additive to enhance the functions of other resins. One of our sales representatives, out of pure curiosity, thought, "Wouldn't it be interesting to make a sheet out of it?" and asked a related company that makes foam sheets to create a prototype. That's how it started.With a texture that doesn't feel like plastic, I was shocked when I first touched it. Although I had developed various plastic products until then, I had never experienced anything like it. At that time, I couldn't imagine what it could be used for, but I had high expectations that it could open up new fields.
What are the characteristics of HUMOFIT®?
If you place HUMOFIT® in your hand, the material becomes flexible with body temperature and the sheet changes to the shape of your hand. When you release your hand, it keeps that shape for a while but then gradually returns to its original sheet form.
Another unique feature is its high stress relaxation. When you pull the sheet, it stretches like rubber due to body heat. With rubber, you need to keep applying force to maintain the stretched state because it tends to snap back.
However, "HUMOFIT®" has extremely high stress relaxation. While stretching it requires force, the recovery force is gentle. This means it fits your body but with a very mild sense of tightness, offering excellent compatibility with the body.
What is the principle behind "HUMOFIT®" becoming soft and elastic?
In chemical engineering terms, there is something called the glass transition temperature. Imagine an acrylic sheet, which is usually hard. However, at around 70°C, it becomes soft. Thus, there is a specific temperature at which materials transition between hard and soft states. This temperature, just before melting, is called the melting point."HUMOFIT®" has a glass transition temperature of 28°C, so it reacts at body temperature. Usually, materials with a glass transition temperature close to our living environment are avoided due to various inconveniences.
In this sense, "HUMOFIT®" can be said to be a material that significantly deviates from the industry's common sense.
It sounds like a tricky material to handle.
It might be a tricky material to handle. It changes just by touching it and is sensitive to room temperature. It shows different characteristics in summer and winter.This is the same during processing. For example, when sewing with factory machines, it works well at first, but as the machines heat up, the material starts sticking and stretching, making it suddenly more difficult to handle.
Although it's an intriguing material, its high temperature sensitivity makes it challenging to handle. Many manufacturers express interest in using it, so we start by thoroughly explaining its features. From there, we need to create systems that allow any manufacturer to process it.
There are many challenges to overcome to popularize "HUMOFIT®." While it's still not well known, we want to bring this surprising material to many customers.
Share Article
TOP ARTICLES
RELATED ARTICLES
![Behind the Design of Hikaru Utada's LIVE Tour Costumes: “Unknown Threads” Created by Microorganisms [A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE × Spiber]](https://images.microcms-assets.io/assets/1775a3633c8b428d9f011c6a758a8a5c/89761108c3ec4a0bb3fe854a2858c815/spiber_utada_with%20logo3.png?w=200&fm=webp&dpr=2)
CONTACT
If you have any questions or enquiries, please enter your details in the form below.