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ENGINEERING MATERIALS
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Plastics: the new enabling materials for electronics
A new age is dawning in electronics with concepts once the stuff of science fiction poised to become commercial reality, and polymers making fact of the fantasy.
Thermally-conductive plastic is bio-sourced
NEC Corporation's continuing search for bio-sourced plastics for its electronic equipment components has brought it into the area of heat conductivity. The company has formulated a PLA composite with carbon fibres that it says has heat conductivity higher than that of stainless steel.
New technologies in EPDM are unveiled by DSM
Despite being the global market leader in EPDM and second worldwide in thermoplastic rubber, DSM Elastomers has decided to re-present itself to the market, and is doing so with two emerging technologies and plans for a new plant.
Polyscope SMA goes on sale
Sales of styrene maleic anhydride from the former DSM plant at Geleen in the Netherlands have started with the introduction of the Xiran series. The plant was revived by a new company called Polyscope last year.
INJECTION MOULDING
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Tandem + MuCell cuts cycles by more than half
Savings from two innovative moulding processes have been combined in a collaboration between the Erwin Quarder Group of Germany and Trexel of the USA. Quarder builds moulds using the Tandem Mould technique from T/Mould of Germany. Trexel is the developer of the MuCell microcellular foam technology in which a gas in supercritical state is used to foam thin-walled articles.
Trexel gets back microcellular patent rights...
Microcellular moulding developer Trexel, which owns the MuCell process, has successfully appealed against a decision to revoke its European patent.
...while Cinpres asserts its gas injection position
Volkswagen is specifying Cinpres gas injection technology where appropriate in its plastics components and Cinpres is emphasising the need for moulders to buy a licence.
Water injection is faster than gas for automotive hose
Most injection moulded nylon coolant hoses for underbonnet use are moulded using gas injection, but one for BMW 4 cylinder diesel engines by Heyco of Germany is made with water injection.
Sulzer introduces pin mixing screw tip
Static mixer specialist Sulzer has moved into dynamic mixers with an injection moulding screw tip.
Servo-driven pump 'gives electric machine performance' but at lower cost
Nissei Plastic Industrial has added three mid-size machines to its Hybrid FNX series, which uses a servo motor controlled pump that runs only when it is needed, reducing energy consumption.
Arburg invests 'eight figures' in customer care
Work has started on a new customer centre at Arburg's headquarters at Lossburg in Germany, emphasising that although the company has opened sales and service centres around the world, it plans to build all its machines at Lossburg.
LSR expansion at Arrow Medical
Liquid silicone moulding is part of a £200,000 investment by Arrow Medical at its Kington, Herefordshire site to increase capacity for moulded components for sterile medical devices.
Toyo adds all-electrics and twin shot machines
The new Si-IV range of fully electric injection moulding machines from Toyo spans six models from 50 to 230 tonnes. The company has also introduced two Si-IIIRW two-component/colour machines with vertically rotating platens at 130 and 230 tonnes.
DVDs in under 2 seconds
Netstal has demonstrated its e-Jet electric machine cycling at less than 1·8 seconds producing DVD substrates.
£1 million+ order is part of Thumbs Up second stage expansion
Garden products and housewares manufacturer Thumbs Up of Bury has placed an order in excess of £1 million for seven Billion machines with Sytrama robots and a comprehensive package of ancillary equipment.
Arburg injection moulds leather
Injection moulded leather? Arburg showed it is a possibility at its recent technology open days in Germany by moulding a desktop pencil holder in a compound called Kollamat made by vehicle trim specialist Bader of Germany.
D-M-E adds off-the-shelf stack mould gear systems and higher accuracy ejector pins
D-M-E has introduced what are claimed to be the first off-the-shelf packages for helical gear systems for stack moulds. Also new are ejector pins with an 'unprecedented' tolerance, chiefly for medical and electronics tooling.
Turnkey tooling - just add cores and cavities
A mould production concept which leaves the toolmaker responsible for the cavity and little else has been devised by Hasco of Germany.
Temperature and pressure monitoring gets smaller, hotter and simpler
Improvements have been made to the cavity temperature sensors from Kistler by adopting the single cable interconnect system used for the company's pressure sensors. Kistler has also added a new calibration system which can calibrate up to six piezoelectric pressure sensors at any temperature from ambient to 250 degC and developed two new cavity pressure sensors which combine high pressure and small size through the use of PiezoStar grown crystals, developed and grown in-house by Kistler.
Husky plans open day on medical moulding
Husky Injection Molding Systems is holding a 'medical and health care day' at its European headquarters in Luxembourg on May 31.
Latest Roboshots on show
Fanuc Roboshot UK is planning an Open House in June to show the new B Series electric machines.
Plan ahead to control sinking
Sink mark visibility on the counter-surface of reinforcing ribs can be very subjective, and is often dependant on factors such as lighting, surface texture and less tangible factors such as experience/expectation of the observer. The degree of sinking can be predicted by process simulation software and consultant Keith Hague of Imtech Design has put together an assessment of the effects of different degrees of sinking using Moldflow.
Temperature controllers for multi-cavity hot runners
Hasco has introduced the Z1230 Multi-Zone temperature controllers, chiefly intended for multi-cavity hot runner moulds.
Convert to injection blow and back again
A bolt-on package to convert an injection moulding machine to an injection blow moulding machine has been developed by SRL Technologies, a subsidiary of M&H Plastics (Holdings) of Redditch.
Automating moulding 'essential for long term competitiveness'
Shimizu is a moulding and assembly company supplying automotive tier one companies. It has a policy of automating any production process where it can be shown to return a benefit to its customers and itself, and has moved from three-axis unloading robots to six-axis robots to handle post-moulding operations.
RECLAMATION & RECYCLING
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Force feeder increases throughput or cuts power consumption
Herbold's new SB series granulators are finding application in both the recycling of PET bottles and as secondary granulators where shredders cannot achieve the required granule size. The SB has a horizontal screw force feeding device which enables it to reach the throughput of much bigger machines.
Bottle-to-bottle recycling of HDPE milk bottles
Milk bottles containing recycled HDPE have gone into production in the first trial of a WRAP-funded project.
Rosehill recycles rubber round the clock for railways
Recycled rubber railway crossings are boom business for Rosehill Polymers. HoldFast panels are made from rubber granules recycled from vehicle tyres in a process developed to save energy.
More efficient metal detection
Improved control is now being fitted to all Colortronic Protector, MFE, GF and DLS metal detection and separation units.
New premises to match increased demand
Metal detection and material sorting equipment specialist S+S Inspection has moved to bigger premises in Fareham.
Electrostatic separation removes contaminants other methods won't touch
A problem with reclaiming PVC from scrap window frames which conventional separation systems such as colour sorters could not achieve was solved using electrostatic separation.
Air Wash cleans the dust out of regrind while it's being conveyed
A cyclone system for removing dust from regrind as it is conveyed away from a granulator has been assembled by Kongskilde from its standard materials conveying equipment.
Retrofit combination unit replaces PET crystalliser/dryer installations
A single piece of equipment replacing the crystalliser and dryer on a PET line, and potentially yielding food grade PET from reclaim, has been developed by Erema.
TOOLING
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DMS-Diemould CAD files now downloadable from website
DMS-Diemould, which reckons to be the UK's largest manufacturer and distributor of injection and die-casting standard mould components, is making downloadable CAD files available for all of its 12,000 product lines.
Sodick launches world's first hybrid wire EDM
A combination of EDM and water jet cutting is heralded as the world's first hybrid wire EDM machine.
FILM & SHEET
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Soft touch films can be recycled with ABS substrate
Two alloys for soft touch films have been introduced by Lanxess as alternatives to TPU/ABS and vinyl textured systems. Both materials have been designed primarily to be used in applications where they are co-extruded or laminated over an ABS substrate, to give a low gloss look and soft touch feel.
Peerless protects PET at New York handbag emporium
The protective coating of PETG sheet for an architectural application was complicated by the unique nature of each panel, but Peerless Plastics & Coatings coated the balustrade panels on both sides to make the PETG both chemical and abrasion resistant.
Customised forming features to become standard
Designing a thermoforming machine specifically for 'just in time' vacuum forming specialist Circle Plastics of Welwyn Garden City, has led Ridat to develop machine features which will be incorporated in future models.
Lab film line is dedicated to biodegradable film
Research into the production of biodegradable films is to be stepped up at Novamont in Italy with the installation of a dedicated coextrusion blown film line.
TEMPERATURE CONTROL
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Tricool bought out of administration
Chiller supplier ICS Cool Energy has bought competitor Tricool Engineering, which went into administration on March 27.
Thermocouple calibrator reaches high temperatures
The latest in Techne's range of portable temperature calibrators is a high-temperature model with a top temperature of 1,200 degC.
FINISHING
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Solvent-free PU dispersions for coating plastics
The Coatings, Adhesives and Sealants business unit of Bayer MaterialScience has extended its range of solvent-free products with the introduction of two Bayhydrol polyurethane dispersions specially developed for coating plastics.
Buy-out at plastic staking equipment company
Hot stake assembly systems manufacturer Phasa Developments has been bought by a management buy out team. The company will now trade as Phasa Ltd.
Universal adhesive can seal to IP68
Intertronics claims that its Adhere IRS 2125 adhesive 'sticks most things to others'. It is a black epoxy resin system originally developed for cable harnesses and fixing cables into connectors but often solves problems where other adhesives are unsuitable.
Calibration tool improves laser marking accuracy
A laser calibration tool from Alltec enhances positional accuracy, meeting demands created by small components that need to be laser marked on either plane or curved surfaces.
MATERIALS HANDLING
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Diverter valve leaks less than other types
The Wye line diverter for vacuum or dilute phase pneumatic conveying systems loses almost 2,000 times less air through leakage than a flapper type, claims Vortex Valves Europe.
TESTING & QUALITY CONTROL
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Automated system handles three tests at once...
Zwick has developed a robotic system that performs tensile, flexure and notched impact tests in a single move.
...while notch cutter takes 12 at a time
Also new from Zwick is a notch milling machine that can handle packs of up to twelve specimens at a time.
SATRA expands fading and weathering testing
New investments totalling almost £100,000 have enabled SATRA to expand its fading and weathering test capacity.
Is that a laboratory in your pocket?
Testo has launched a 10-strong range of pocket-sized measuring instruments for every day use.
BLOW MOULDING
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More energy-efficient PET grades from Eastman
A PET grade described as 'the first and only reheat-enabled PET for still-water bottles' has been introduced by Eastman Chemical.
Machine manufacturer Kautex is sold again
German investment company Adcuram has sold blow moulding machinery manufacturer Kautex to Steadfast Capital, a private equity company based in Frankfurt.
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
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More interest-free funding for energy saving
Energy-saving specialist Powermaster has set up FundEnergy to help finance power-saving projects in areas not covered by the Carbon Trust.
Software predicts true cost of ownership of processing equipment
Software to help predict the true cost of ownership of plastics processing equipment has been developed by RECIPE (Reduced Energy Consumption in Plastics Engineering).
SOFTWARE
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Adviser gets wiser
Moldflow is the grand daddy of injection moulding process simulation but is still sprightly enough to learn new tricks. Clive Maier looks at what is new in the latest incarnation of its Plastics Adviser.
Shop floor control system for extrusion and thermoforming
The latest - v7.1 - release of Mattec Corporation's ProHelp EPM shop floor control software system provides the ability to monitor continuous-process machines such as extruders, compounders, thermoformers and blown film machines.
Delcam cuts the cost of moving from design to manufacture
Delcam has reduced the cost of transferring models from its PowerSHAPE-e CAD system into formats suitable for prototyping and manufacturing.
Software-based tool kit for materials and design
The latest release of Granta Design's CES EduPack software-based tool kit for materials and process education supports courses in areas including general and mechanical engineering, manufacturing, materials science, aerospace, eco-design, polymers, and architecture.
Mattec gets more ERP back-up
CMS Software, the Canadian company that took over plastics manufacturing execution software developer Mattec last year, has joined with a British enterprise resource planning software company, XKO Software.
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