You can download this magazine in sections with all editorial and advertisement web addresses as live hyperlinks.
Other downloadable back issues.
Contact addresses for the Factfinder reader enquiry numbers in this month's magazine
INJECTION MOULDING
Download this section (2,706 KB)
Open your process window and let profitability back in.
Niall Marshall of Sasol Wax: Polymer Additives in South Africa describes how his company's EnHance process aids can increase flexibility and reduce energy costs in injection moulding.
Sumitomo adjusts shot density for repeatability.
Sumitomo's new SE-DU series of all-electric machines from 18 to 180 tonnes clamp size augments the revamped mid-sized machine range from 220 to 550 tonnes that was introduced late in 2005. It has new lower-inertia servo-motors made specifically by Sumitomo for use on its moulding machines and tie bar clearances extended by 50 mm horizontally. A clamp force feedback system using a tie bar sensor provides real-time feedback to the mould space motor to constantly maintain set clamp by adjusting the machine's mould height to allow for tool expansion.
Negri Bossi relaunches its electric machines.
The Elma all-electric machine from Negri Bossi has been redesigned and re-launched as the Canbel VE series, with the range extended to 850 tonnes - making it probably the biggest European-built all-electric machine.
The Canbel is built on the same frame as the Canbio hydraulic series, and uses the same toggle clamp.
Sandretto now sells machines from Taiwan.
Machines from the biggest manufacturer in Taiwan are now available in Britain from Sandretto UK. The company has taken on the agency for Fu Chun Shin, better known as FCS Machinery, which builds around 2,800 machines a year at two factories in China and one in Taiwan. The range stretches from 30 to 3,500 tonnes.
Demag adds new model in China.
Demag Plastics Group's new Chinese operation has brought a new machine to market, the Ergotech Dragon 200 with a 200 tonnes toggle clamp.
CoMo keeps its eyes on cavity pressure.
A compact integrated system for monitoring cavity pressure for good part/bad part discrimination, machine control and production documentation has been introduced by Kistler.
Production monitoring for the first time user.
An entry-level production monitoring/scheduling system for plastic injection moulding which has 'scheduling and production reporting features found on much more expensive products' has been introduced by Syscon International. QuickShot is pitched at first time users.
PlantMaster improves production management for RPC.
A Barco PlantMaster real-time production monitoring system has been installed by RPC Containers in Blackburn as a replacement for a 10 years old system.
Gas assisted injection moulding of engineering polyamides.
Gas assisted injection moulding is well-established for normal engineering polymers, but high performance materials may present some problems, with tool temperatures in excess of 100 degC, melt temperatures of more than 260 degC and high levels of reinforcements. Johan Billiet of Solvay Advanced Polymers describes a study into the processability of Solvay's IXEF semi-aromatic polyamide using the short shot GAIM method.
PP + PA makes water-cored automotive cooling channels.
A two component system for moulding automotive coolant pipework using water injection moulding technology has been developed by PME fluidtec of Germany, with Eaton of the UK the latest processor to take it up.
The pipes are made of 30 per cent glass filled PA66 on the outside for temperature resistance and 20 per cent glass filled PP on the inside. A major benefit of using PP in contact with the coolant is that it is not prone to hydrolysis.
Foamed cable insulation in tune with 3G requirements.
A faster, cheaper and more effective method of removing residuals from silicone rubber components is claimed by Danish company Nanon. It involves washing the components in liquid carbon dioxide, replacing the traditional 4 hours tempering at 200 degC with a 40 minutes pressure washing process. The Cold Tempering process is said to reduce dramatically the free silicone oil content in babies' dummies and similar products and to save 75 per cent of post-curing time and 15 - 35 per cent of costs.
Foamed LSR.
Arburg has developed ancillary equipment for physically foaming liquid silicone rubber.
Fluidised bed furnace clears contamination fast.
A horizontally-loaded Schwing fluidised bed cleaning furnace has been installed by Boddington Technical Plastics to meet height restrictions without compromising the need to clean screws up to 2 m long.
DVDs moulded in less than 2 seconds.
At this year's Media-Tech Expo Netstal will be running an all-electric e-Jet optical disc moulding machine making DVD-9 discs in under 2 seconds.
Stork on the move.
Dutch machine manufacturer Stork Plastics Machinery will be moving into new premises in July.
Stack moulding eases mix and match door panel production.
Four Husky Quadloc Tandem 1,350 tonne machines running stack moulds have been supplied to Johnson Controls at Melfi, in the south of Italy, to produce two-colour interior door panels for the Fiat Grande Punto. The panels are the first in Europe to be made in 10 colour combinations. Stack moulding allows left and right panels to be moulded simultaneously.
In-mould processes add soft touch polyurethane coatings.
Two processes for adding a soft touch polyurethane coating to an injection moulding are being championed by Bayer MaterialScience. One involves a second shot from an add-on reaction injection moulding unit while the other is soft-touch-on-a-roll, a polycarbonate in-mould applicable film carrying a polyurethane surface.
Needle shut off gives dosing security for medical mouldings.
A customised moulding machine and hot runner system were developed by German medical moulder B Braun for making infusion solutions at its Melsungen Leading Infusion Factory Europe plant.
Hot runners for packaging applications.
New Hasco Z201 Value Shot hot runner nozzles have been produced for packaging component applications in 25, 32 and 45 mm diameters and lengths of 50 to 125 mm.
Conductive core pin range extended.
The Hasco Z494/... steel/copper core pin range has been expanded with new sizes adding diameters between 7 and 12 mm. These pins have a hardened steel casing and copper core, giving heat conductivity up to 10 times better than with tool steel.
Seal material stops inserts flashing.
A sealing material to prevent melt flashing past metal inserts is now available from Hasco.
Valve gates maintain glass fibre length.
Hot runner system valve gate cylinders intended to retain maximum glass fibre length in moulded parts have been developed by Synventive Molding Solutions.
Pressure sensors are easier to install and maintain.
Mould pressure sensors from Kistler now include indirect measurement and single-wire devices, and the ability to operate at 200 degC. The connecting cable can be replaced on-site by the user, simplifying installation and reducing service costs.
Nylon rivets 'stronger than spot welding'.
Joining sheet metal components by through-injection with nylon can be more effective and economical than spot welding, according to Lanxess. The company has carried out tensile fatigue tests on specimens of steel 'riveted' together with 30 per cent glass fibre-reinforced PA 6, which it says showed that the resultant hybrid assembly points had higher resistance to sustained loads than comparable welded points.
Netstal to display 192 cavity PET system at Chicago.
Netstal says the PET-LINE 6000-6600 R it is planning to show at the NPE exhibition in Chicago, USA, will be the largest PET system ever seen at a trade show. It will be equipped with a 192 cavity mould, to produce preforms at well over 90,000 per hour.
TOOLING
Download this section (403 KB)
Delcam and Pathtrace to unveil new CAM systems.
New versions of Delcam's PowerMILL and Pathtrace's EdgeCAM will be released at the Mach 2006 exhibition at the NEC in Birmingham on May 15 - 19.
Standard modular system for sliding core moulds.
Meusberger Standard Mould Bases of Wolfurt in Austria has introduced a new standard modular system for sliding core moulds consisting of standard parts available ex stock.
DMS helps WHS produce its largest ever mould.
Sutton Coldfield tool maker WH Smith and Sons has built the biggest mould in its 60-year history to a tight deadline with the collaboration of DMS-Diemould. The mould, which is now in full production, produces a boot liner for a UK car manufacturer.
AUTOMATION & ROBOTICS
Download this section (463 KB)
Package deals on six-axis robots.
A complete six-axis robot cell package is being offered by Totnes-based Barr & Paatz from £35,000. The package includes a Stäubli or Mitsubishi robot, moulding machine interface, customised gripper assembly, guarding and specific programming software.
Kuka integrates injection moulding functions.
Kuka Robots has introduced a package to allow users to integrate Kuka KS shelf-mounted six-axis de-moulding robots with injection moulding machines from 100 to 6,000 tonnes.
K-M beefs up its automation business.
The Neureder automation company, which Krauss-Maffei bought in 2002, has been renamed Krauss-Maffei Automation and the company plans to expand it into a major business activity.
Off-line programming for multiple robots.
New RobotStudio5 software from ABB enables robots to be programmed off-line so that production need not be halted to programme robots for new or modified parts. Virtual trials and development can be performed in parallel to system build and up to four virtual robots can be run from one MultiMove controller.
RECLAMATION & RECYCLING
Download this section (672 KB)
Brother moulds from 100 per cent WEEE scrap.
Office equipment manufacturer Brother has successfully trialled production of a fax machine ribbon component made from reclaimed electrical and electronic equipment scrap. The trial was done with material from post-consumer waste reclaimed by Axion Recycling.
Dealing with non-packaging post-consumer scrap.
The ability to dry scrap rapidly with its Infra Red Dryer has brought UPM into co-operation with Sims Group, reckoned to be the world's leading metal recycler. Sims has developed a plastics recycling line whose purpose is to separate contaminating non-plastic material before upgrading the remaining plastics into a more saleable product.
Plastics recyclers claim misrepresentation of European reclaim rates.
The European Plastic Recyclers organisation EuPR has reacted angrily to the publication by PlasticsEurope of what it says is the wrong data on European plastics recycling, and for publishing it in haste. PlasticsEurope has apologised for jumping the gun.
Electrostatic sorting 'is too complex and expensive'.
Experiments with electrostatic sorting of rigid post-consumer plastics waste have been carried out in Ontario, Canada, and showed that it was probably beyond the capability of the agencies needing to do it.
Large screenless granulator range extended.
A large-scale screenless granulator with a third shaft to draw in material has been added to the Wittmann range.
Forced feeding for granulators.
Herbold has a patent pending on its forced feeding device for granulators. Instead of relying on gravity to feed the grinding chamber, Herbold is using motor-driven feed screws to transfer scrap material such as crushed PET bottles from a large storage tank beside the granulator.
Tria completes large granulator redesign.
New equipment at the heavy duty end of the range has been introduced by Tria.
Big and small options for in-line film reclaim.
The Omega, new to Plasmac's scrap-to-pellets range, has been designed to reprocess rigid, thick, blocked or loose material without the need for primary size reduction. Alternatively, it can accept high-speed in-line trim with simultaneous recycling of off-spec rolls.
Film reclaim consultancy offers refurbished machinery.
Oxplas, a consultancy which offers advice on film and in-line edge trim recycling, is now also able to supply refurbished recycling equipment.
Waste recycling 'begins at home'.
Send your waste plastics to us, not to China, is the plea from Liverpool-based recycler Centriforce Products. The company makes industrial products from recycled plastics but says its expansion is hampered because its supply of materials is either being diverted to China, or goes into landfill.
RWM returns - bigger and better.
RWM, said by organiser EMAP Maclaren to be the biggest and best attended show for the recycling and waste management industry, will be returning to the NEC in Birmingham from September 12 to 14, with more space and a new look.
REACTION PROCESSING
Download this section (413 KB)
Hennecke moves forward on three fronts.
New developments in machinery for high pressure PU processing, PUR-CSM (PU composite spray moulding) and rigid integral skin foam production have been made by Hennecke.
Flame resistant PU foams silence electrical appliances.
Polyurethane flexible moulded foams from Bayer MaterialScience have been used for years in vehicle interiors to reduce noise. Now the company has developed flame-resistant grades of Bayfit Tec to do the same job for electrical appliances such as vacuum cleaners and dishwashers.
Induction-heated tooling tested for long fibre PU injection.
The Cage System tool surface heating technology is being evaluated by Krauss-Maffei as a cost-effective method of manufacturing light-weight, glass-fibre reinforced polyurethane parts with a good surface appearance using its LFI long fibre injection process.
COMPOSITES
Download this section (413 KB)
RTM/VRTM machine designed for simplicity.
A range of resin transfer and vacuum resin transfer injection machines being introduced by Composite Integration has been designed with a high level of automation to meter, mix and inject resin and catalyst with the minimum maintenance and operator intervention.
BLOW MOULDING
Download this section (413 KB)
The most automated PET beer system in the world - probably.
Beer is now being shipped in bulk in PET with a new non-refillable keg system developed for Carlsberg by KHS Till in Germany.
PolyOne adds lab machines for customer support on colorants and additives.
PolyOne has boosted its European blow moulding support with two new machines, a coextrusion machine at its Cergy site in France and a stretch blow machine at its Assesse colour laboratory in Belgium.
PEN takes the pressure for foam dispenser.
A pressurised dispensing pack for personal care products has been developed by Graham Packaging and SeaquistPerfect Dispensing. The pack has a dispenser in the base and is blow moulded from polyethylene naphthalate to withstand high internal pressure and maintain integrity throughout a long shelf life.
Bottle barrier from South Africa.
An oxygen barrier coating for PET and polypropylene bottles said to give barrier protection 30 times higher than untreated PET has been developed by South Africa's Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. The Oxyplete coating is applied by spray or dipping after a surface modification step using oxyfluorination, corona discharge or plasma treatment.
Sidel to expand Malaysian output.
Manufacture of Sidel blow moulding machines in Malaysia is to be increased. Sidel Malaysia assembles low and medium-output rate PET machines that are identical to those made in France.
Graham opens Dutch hole-in-the-wall bottle plant.
Graham Packaging has started up an on-site bottle-making operation with Royal Numico in the Netherlands.
ENGINEERING MATERIALS
Download this section (367 KB)
New light shines on developments at Bayer.
Bayer MaterialScience has turned a technology which generates light from an electroluminescent film into a separate company with the start-up of Lyttron Technology.
Mobile phone casing made from 'highest biomass plastic yet'.
Plant-based fibres are being added to plant-based plastics in Japan to mould a mobile phone casing that has a biomass ingredient ratio of around 90 per cent - higher than any other plastic used in electronic devices, according to its developers.
New PE for injection moulded pressure pipe fittings.
Borealis has developed an injection moulding grade of polyethylene specifically for PE100 pressure pipe fittings.
Petroplas opens the door to Biesterfeld.
Materials distributor Petroplas of Reading has linked with German-based trans-European distributor Biesterfeld Plastic in a 50:50 joint company.
First ElectriPlast licensee named.
The ElectriPlast technology for highly conductive plastics has its first licensee.
PACKAGING MATERIALS
Download this section (367 KB)
PE improved by irradiation without cross-linking agents.
A method of improving the properties of polyethylene by irradiating it but without using cross-linking agents which might create gels and hamper recycling has been devised by an American irradiation specialist.
PET reheats quicker without loss of clarity.
A PET grade intended to shorten reheat times in the reheat blow moulding process, but without the drop in clarity that this has meant before, has been introduced by Eastman.
Distrupol adds Innovene materials in Ireland.
Disrupol Ireland has added Rigidex high density polyethylenes to the materials it distributes for Innovene.
FINISHING
Download this section (367 KB)
Labelling technology set to breathe new life into EPS containers.
The IMage EPS cup decorating technology which Nova Chemicals bought from Autonation of the Netherlands last October is about to go commercial in Europe.
FILM & SHEET CONVERSION
Download this section (577 KB)
Light filtering glazing and improved panelling for public transport.
Discoloration of fabrics and other materials inside public transport vehicles is combated by new Lexan Margard MR5 sheet from GE Structured Products, which absorbs ultra violet and infrared light in the 780 - 1,400 nm wavelength range.
Also in the public transport sector, the GE/PPG joint venture Azdel has developed a new grade of its Rail-Lite thermoplastic composite made from GE Plastics Ultem PEI to make acoustic ceiling panels for the cabs of passenger locomotives.
Test fluids last longer in the light.
Production capacity for surface tension test fluids, dyne pens and silicone rubber sleeves has been increased by Schleising Consultancy to meet higher demands.
Multi-manifold dies apply coatings in combination.
Extrusion Dies Industries has introduced multi-manifold slot dies for coating fluids on to web substrates. These enable one die to be used to apply two or more coatings simultaneously to achieve higher productivity and avoid the risk of oxidation and contamination between coating stages.
Hot air welder for restricted spaces.
Precision welding of sheet in restricted spaces is facilitated by the new Leister Fusion 2.0 hand extruder.
PROCESS CONTROL
Download this section (468 KB)
Entry-level machine interface unit.
A new low-cost machine interface unit from Mattec Corporation automatically monitors machine production and downtime, while allowing manual entry of downtime reasons, scrap counts and scrap causes. Transferring information between ERP systems supplied by CMS Software and the ProHelp EPM production and process monitoring system from Mattec Corporation will now be simple and seamless, thanks to a partnership agreement between the two companies.
Double barrier between emitters cuts maintenance.
The new 3850 static eliminator bar from Fraser Anti-Static Techniques has a double barrier to separate the negative and positive emitters which the company says improves performance and reduces maintenance.
Dewpoint transmitter for demanding applications.
Measurement trends and a history up to a year can be monitored and displayed on a large numerical and graphics display with multi-lingual user interface on the new Vaisala Drycap Series DMT340 dew-point transmitter.
MATERIALS HANDLING
Download this section (468 KB)
System control can be from anywhere in the plant.
New features of the Wittmann M7-Touch network control for materials handling systems eliminate need to operate from a fixed station. The operator can move freely around a plant at any time, view the status and operate the desired handling components.
Bulk solids pumps range expanded.
New bulk solids pumps from K-Tron are designed to provide gentle and precise feeding of free flowing granules, flakes and powders.
Summit adds metal fabrication.
To increase control and cut costs of the metal fabrications needed for customised materials handling systems Summit Systems has bought a metal fabrication company.
TEMPERATURE CONTROL
Download this section (609 KB)
Climaveneta offers lower taxes and free cooling.
The latest Enhanced Capital Allowance (ECA) Scheme approved chillers from Climaveneta of Italy are now available from ICS Cool Energy, while another Climaveneta distributor, Powermaster Products, is offering a free-cooling module.
Rhoss chillers 'more than meet' ECA criteria.
New Z Power R134A 750 to 1,285 kW air cooled chillers from Coolmation were developed by Italian manufacturer Rhoss in partnership with Udine University and are claimed to have the best European Efficiency Ratio performances available, more than meeting the Enhanced Capital Allowance criteria for chillers in this range.
TESTING
Download this section (375 KB)
Tension and flex testing in one package from Instron.
Instron has introduced a complete plastics testing package for tension and flexural tests. Described as 'affordable', the system consists of a testing machine with tensile wedge grips, flex fixtures, a PC with 17 in LCD flat panel display and materials testing software.
Dilute polymer viscosity measurement is automated.
A new solution viscometer from Viscotek Europe automates viscosity measurements for dilute polymers. The Y501 Automated Relative Viscometer measures solvent and sample viscosity simultaneously, avoiding errors due to temperature fluctuations and solvent variations.
Accelerated oxygen permeability procedure for PET.
Flavour ingredient manufacturer Rudolf Wild has developed an accelerated oxygen permeability test for PET containers which provides oxygen permeation figures for several months of typical storage from a test procedure that takes less than three weeks.
Lloyd extends 'Plus' range of testing machines.
Lloyd Instruments has added two models to its Plus Series of materials testing machines exending the range to nine models with capacities from 1 to 150 kN.
Universal impact tester for plastics.
Zwick has introduced a universal pendulum impact tester for Charpy, Izod, tensile impact and Dynstat tests on plastics to ISO and ASTM standards. ASTM recommends the use of the lightest standard pendulum whereas ISO prefers the heaviest standard pendulum. Zwick's new tester exceeds the requirements of both international standards.
Mecmesin tests child-resistant closures.
A testing system for child-resistant closures has been introduced by Mecmesin. It simultaneously measures the downward force and the release torque applied to a closure.
Automated measurement of powder transportation.
Freeman Technology's FT4 powder rheometer tests wall friction to establish how a powder will process in a given plant.
SOFTWARE
Download this section (742 KB)
The mixed mesh shape of things to come.
Modelling flow in an injection moulding is dependent on part geometry. But allowing for the most difficult simulation penalises simple tasks, unless you can strike a compromise. Clive Maier looks at how the analytical mesh that represents a component may soon be defined according to the job in hand.
Your portal into everything plastics.
The Plastics Web is the new name for IDES.com and the company calls it 'your portal into everything plastics'.
Moldflow updates Plastics Advisers and launches on-line community...
Moldflow Corporation has released version 7.3 of its Moldflow Plastics Advisers software and launched an on-line community for MPA users and all plastics part and mould designers.
...and meets on Mondays.
Once a month it is Moldflow Monday at the Orpington office of Moldflow UK. This is an opportunity to use Moldflow software on your own project, and to discuss and review the results with company experts free of charge.
Materials and process teaching resource is upgraded.
Granta Design has released CES EduPack 2006, a new version of its teaching tool kit for materials and process education in engineering.
ON-LINE
ON-LINE Home
You can download this magazine in sections with all editorial and advertisement web addresses as live hyperlinks.
Transferring information between ERP systems supplied by CMS Software and the ProHelp EPM production and process monitoring system from Mattec Corporation will now be simple and seamless, thanks to a partnership agreement between the two companies.