APS Elastomers Mentors Henry Ford Academy Student

Dakota Joseph, a high school senior at Henry Ford Academy in Dearborn, Michigan spent five weeks at APS Elastomers fulfilling his final year's required practicum. The Practicum Experience at Henry Ford Academy is a supervised work-based learning experience in which students are placed with a local business to learn in an environment where they make valuable connections outside the classroom. The goal is to enable students to become self-initiating interns by developing their own study plan, choosing research projects that are interesting and challenging to them, outlining procedures and successfully implementing them. Students choose their research project based on career interest or personal passion relative to their future endeavors.

Dakota chose thermo-chromatic pigment for TPU as his project for his final year practicum. Working with APS Elastomer's co-owners, Stephane Morin and Roger Huarng, Dakota learned how to compound thermo-chromatic TPU and mold sample plaques.

Thermo-chromatic pigment reacts to changes in temperature and can be overmolded onto TPU for applications where monitoring heat energy is beneficial - and in some cases, crucial. As the temperature rises, the pigment loses its color; making it ideal for applications such as baby bottles, thermoses, and coffee mugs to prevent scalding, fever patches to detect body temperature, and battery testers to detect energy levels.

Thermo-chromatic pigment reacts to cold

Thermo-chromatic pigment reacts to hot

Dakota created a video demonstrating the results of the thermo-chromatic pigments reaction to hot and cold, which he will use as part of his presentation to teachers and students at Henry Ford Academy of the knowledge gained during his practicum at APS Elastomers.

"I was immersed in many aspects of APS's business; customer service, warehouse operations, thermoplastic elastomer compounding, product testing and analysis, but my favorite was working on the pigment for TPUs, molding plaques, and extrusion" says Dakota.
  
"Mentoring students is part of our social responsibility", says Roger Huarng. "Working with Dakota has been a rewarding experience for all of us at APS Elastomers", adds Stephane Morin.