British Plastics & Rubber back issues from October 2004:
Die and cooling innovations seek to remove variations in blown film.(Film & Sheet Production)
Oct 01, 2004 ... DR-PAck in Hungary is a group involved in both the production and conversion of blown films. It has identified what it thinks of as deficiencies in the established technology for blowing film, and has developed its own way round these deficiencies. This article is extracted from a ...
Direct drive is quieter.(Film & Sheet Production)
Oct 01, 2004 ... The Esde-50-28/31V 50 mm single screw extruder has been introduced with direct screw drive, complementing 25/18D and 35/27D models. The company can also build 70 mm direct drive models. Advantages of direct drive are better ...
PPS can be formed for transport panels and tank liners.(Film & Sheet Conversion)
Oct 01, 2004 ... Commercial methods of pressure and vacuum forming PPS sheet have been evolved by Magee Plastics in the USA. They are based on the use of Ensinger PennFibre sheet made with Ticona Fortron PPS. Nine unfilled, glass filled and impact modified thermoformable grades have been tested. All have a ...
Acrylic mirror and PETG now available from Perspex.(Film & Sheet Conversion)
Oct 01, 2004 ... Perspex Distribution now supplies acrylic mirror and PETG sheet. PDL Mirror 1000 acrylic mirror sheet is intended for use in POP and refrigerated food displays or where a stylish reflective surface is required. It is available in sheets 2.440 x 1,220 x 3 mm thick. Other ...
Hollow PE sheet is heat resistant.(Film & Sheet Conversion)
Oct 01, 2004 ... NEW from Simona in Germany is a range of hollow sheets for use in plant and equipment engineering or the construction industry made of high heat resistant polyethylene. The standard size is 3,000 x 1,000 mm weighing 42 kg. The facing sheets are 6 mm thick, and the overall thickness is 54 ...
Lightweight tooling boosts output.(Film & Sheet Conversion)
Oct 01, 2004 ... Higher cycle rates obtainable with its new Speed-Mould tooling can boost thermoforming output by up to 20 per cent, claims Mould & Matic Solutions. The Austrian company, which makes thermoforming and injection packaging moulds as well as downstream automation for cup and lid ...
100 per cent solids coating at 1,500 m/min.(Film & Sheet Conversion)
Oct 01, 2004 ... A PRECISION silicone coating head for applying release liner for pressuresensitive labels has been introduced by Polytype Converting. The five roll coater is intended for solventless 100 per cent solids coatings and can run at 1,500 m/minute with a coating width of 1,700 mm ....
Flexo printer in line with film blowing.(Film & Sheet Conversion)
Oct 01, 2004 ... A UTECO flexographic printer has been installed by Dunstable-based Palagan in line with its MAM three layer blown film extruder. High performance PE film, layflat and gusseted tubing is produced for bag and sack applications. Film is carried from the extrusion line directly into ...
Robots can bring cost savings to thermoforming.(Film & Sheet Conversion)
Oct 01, 2004; ... Thermoformers can halve labour costs, improve the working environment and shorten changeover times with a new series of robots developed by ATM Automation. ATM's technical manager Sabir Hirji explains. THE TM robotic stackers have been designed for use with popular models of ...
Hot melt applied intermittently to prevent jamming.(Film & Sheet Conversion)
Oct 01, 2004 ... Intermittent hot melt application is possible with a new Optimation tape applicator for bagmaking machines. This is said to prevent contamination of the machine by adhesive, a major cause of jamming and downtime. The applicator can be set to run according to whether the film ...
Technical former designed for maximum flexibility.(Film & Sheet Conversion)
Oct 01, 2004 ... THE new Ecoline 20/10 technical thermoformer from FRIMO-Huber of Germany has been designed for maximum flexibility in operation. It has a fully modular design so it can be tailored to requirements and also to allow for simple and fast upgrading with additional optional assemblies or ...
Pneumatics replace hydraulic needle valve control for economy and simplicity.(Reaction Processing)
Oct 01, 2004 ... CANNON has introduced a fully pneumatic system for control of the needle in the head of its ReCo foam injection equipment. The company says that hydraulic systems, as previously supplied, have complex management, are expensive and require valuable space for a control panel. The ...
In the booming water cooler market Alkam is having a ball.(Blow Moulding)
Oct 01, 2004 ... WATER COOLERS are big business and getting bigger. According to specialist drinks consultancy Zenith International there were 1.66 million machines in Western Europe by the end of last year, with 1,300 million litres of water going through them. European growth in 2003 was 11 per cent in ...
Gas loading added to BaseLine.(Reaction Processing)
Oct 01, 2004 ... HENNECKE now offers a low to medium gas loading device for its BaseLine high pressure foaming machines. Gas loading is used in the manufacture of rigid internal skin foam to create an extremely large number of gas nuclei to ...
Robotic mixing to 100 per cent accuracy.(Reaction Processing)
Oct 01, 2004 ... A METHOD of using a Cartesian robotic linear actuator to dispense mixed two part reactive chemicals to 100 per cent accuracy has been developed by TM Robotics, systems integrator AMT and Failsafe Metering. The process, already being used for vehicle spoilers and door sealing ...
Polyol from reclaimed PET.(Reaction Processing)
Oct 01, 2004 ... An aromatic polyester polyol has been developed from post-consumer PET scrap by Rampf Ecosystems of Germany The company describes Petol as 'reasonably priced' and says it compares in quality with conventional products. It can be ...
New adhesive grades and approvals for TPEs.(Engineering Materials)
Oct 01, 2004 ... TWO TPEs formulated for adhesion to other materials have been introduced by SOF.T.ER of Italy. The new 665 grade added to the Forprene range of PP-EPDM compounds allows injection moulding adhesion on glass, suitable for car glass encapsulation. The new 8K1 grade in the Laprene ...
New polymer chemistry behind improved TPVs.(Engineering Materials)
Oct 01, 2004 ... NEW high performing thermoplastic vulcanisate elastomers from Teknor Apex in the USA are the result of novel polymer chemistry that creates a dual network morphology. Conventional TPVs usually consist of ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer rubber domains dispersed in a ...
Medical-grade TPE.(Engineering Materials)
Oct 01, 2004 ... VITA Thermoplastic Compounds has introduced a range of medical-grade thermoplastic elastomers under the brand name of Mediprene. They are produced by Vita in France and are seen as an economic and superior replacement for silicone and natural rubber materials. Advantages include ...
Softer TPV for seals and grips.(Engineering Materials)
Oct 01, 2004 ... A NEW thermoplastic vulcanisate from Zeon Chemicals is softer than existing grades without losing resistance to oils and high temperatures. Zeotherm 100-70B combines a 75 Shore A durometer with continuous (3,000 hour) resistance to temperatures of 150 degC. The material can tolerate ...
Food contact approval for sulphone polymers.(Engineering Materials)
Oct 01, 2004 ... INDIAN polymer producer Gharda Chemicals has gained food contact approval for its three of its Gafone sulphone polymers. Gafone PPPSU, Gafone PES and Gafone B 2300SP have all been certified by the Swiss agency RCC for food contact applications ...
Ticona technology on the road.(Engineering Materials)
Oct 01, 2004 ... Ticona's latest series of free seminars covers the design, use and processing of engineering polymers and provides an update on developments in the industry. The new programme includes practical case studies of real automotive, healthcare, industrial and fluid handling applications. Other ...
High performance claims for conductive compounds.(Engineering Materials)
Oct 01, 2004 ... IONPHASE of Finland has developed a range of new conductive polymer materials known as IPE (Ionomer PolyElectrolyte) which can be blended with 'all conventional base polymers" and processed using 'any traditional industrial technique'. The company claims a number of unique ...
New PC and ABS compounds from Italy.(Engineering Materials)
Oct 01, 2004 ... POLIFOR is a new series of polycarbonate-based compounds from SO.F.TER of Italy incorporating electrically conductive, high density and sound deadening grades. The electrically conductive materials are filled with carbon black and other conductive products; the high density ...
More conductive compounds from Whitaker.(Engineering Materials)
Oct 01, 2004 ... WHITAKER Technical Plastics has added several new grades to its line of standard conductive compounds. PEC1041 is a low density polyethylene film grade, free of vinyl acetate and with a low sulphur content. It is intended for use where contact with sensitive electronic ...
Standard ABS is electroplatable.(Engineering Materials)
Oct 01, 2004 ... BASF has demonstrated that its standard Terulan GP-35 ABS is also suitable for fast electroplating. This grade can be acid etched quickly--in just 2 to 4 minutes at 68 degC. The time saving can be invested in a more thorough washing ...
Coex package for coolant hoses.(Engineering Materials)
Oct 01, 2004 ... DEGUSSA has developed a system package for coextruded vehicle coolant hoses. It combines a Vestamid nylon 12 outer layer with a polypropylene inner and a tie layer between in a wall thickness of 1-1.5 mm. The outer nylon layer gives it low-temperature impact strength and resistance to ...
Rotomoulding polyethylenes 'outperform any others'.(Engineering Materials)
Oct 01, 2004 ... NOVA Chemicals claims that its new polyethylene rotomoulding grades outperform any that are currently available. They are produced by Nova's Sclairtech technology, using a proprietary single-site catalyst. Surpass RMs539 is a high flow grade for custom applications. It combines ...
Polypropylenes can be blow moulded on PET machinery.(Engineering Materials)
Oct 01, 2004 ... BP Amoco Chemical Company has introduced a range of polypropylenes designed for injection stretch blow moulding on standard reheat-blow machinery used for PET. These Acclear HP I-series grades are distinguished by a rapid heat-up that allows them to match PET production rates ....
Slip additive for closures gets low odour endorsement.(Additives)
Oct 01, 2004 ... CRODA Chemicals developed its Incroslip C torque release additive specially for caps and closures where low taste and odour is an important requirement. Now forced ageing testing by independent Belgian laboratory Certech has confirmed the high oxidative stability and low odour of the ...
Intumescent flame retardant for polyolefins.(Additives)
Oct 01, 2004 ... COMMERCIAL-scale production is being planned inside and outside of Japan for a new intumescent flame retardant for polyolefins from Asahi Denka. The new material is said to minimise the disadvantages of conventional halogen-free intumescent systems, to be highly resistant to ...
Improved coloration for PP masterbatches.(Additives)
Oct 01, 2004 ... A NEW dispersing agent for the production of pigment masterbatches has been introduced by Degussa subsidiary Goldschmidt Industrial Specialties. Tegomer P141 was developed to colour polypropylene micro ...
More light stabilizers from BASF.(Additives)
Oct 01, 2004 ... BASF has extended its Uvinul line of light stabilisers for plastics. There are six new products suitable for both polyolefins and engineering plastics. Five are benzotriazole types and the other is a ...
Higher performance for new and upgraded talcs.(Additives)
Oct 01, 2004 ... THE new range of Jetfine ultrafine talc products from Luzenac is intended for compounds used for automotive components. They have a very high aspect ratio and ultrafine grind, and are recommended for semi-crystalline polymers such as polyolefins or polyamides and all engineering plastics. ...
New light shed on clarity.(Additives)
Oct 01, 2004 ... MILLIKEN has undertaken market and technical studies that will interest the packaging industry. The market study was carried out for Milliken in the USA by Research Inc. It established that consumers of soft drinks and bottled waters prefer clear closures to opaque ones ....
New clarifying agent brings improved optical properties.(Additives)
Oct 01, 2004 ... THE new' ADK STAB NA 21 nucleating/ clarifying agent for polyolefins from Adeka Palmerole of France is said to give far better optical properties than its predecessor NA 11, and in many cases to improve on the performance of sorbitol-based clarifying agents. NA 21 enhances ...
Research into anti-microbials pays off for AddMaster.(Additives)
Oct 01, 2004 ... CONTINUING growth in infection and death from the hospital super bug methycillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus--or MRSA--has boosted sales ofAddMaster's BioMaster MRSA combatant masterbatch to past those of 2003 in only the first half of this year. The statistics surrounding ...
Additive reduces ATH level in cables.(Additives)
Oct 01, 2004 ... NANOFIL is a new organic modified bentonite nanocomposite additive developed for use in cable compounds by German research organisation Sud-Chemie. It reduces the ...
W & P adds extruders for reactor and general compounding.(Compounding)
Oct 01, 2004 ... THE new ZSK-NT two-stage compounding extruder from Coperion Werner & Pfleiderer has been designed for compounding bimodal polyethylene from the reactor. Bimodal PE has short polymer chains for good processability and chains of high molecular weight for good functional properties. During ...
Vacuum drying beats blowing water off the strands.(Compounding)
Oct 01, 2004 ... THE Qualconvey Vacuum Air Knife aims to achieve the driest extruded plastic strand possible for granulation. Traditionally, water droplets which remain on strands after the cooling bath are removed by blowing them away in a positive pressure air stream. However, because the ...
Latest Leistritz for Colour Tone.(Compounding)
Oct 01, 2004 ... COLOUR TONE Masterbatch has installed a Leistritz ZSE 18HP extruder, the first of its type in the UK and the sixth Leistritz at the company. The machine cost 50,000[pounds sterling] and is chiefly used to meet small orders in batches of 10 to 15 kg. The company says that users are reducing ...
Screw design tailored for micro pellet production.(Compounding)
Oct 01, 2004 ... A UNIVERSAL blowing agent screw was developed by Berstorff for an extrusion line delivered to Addicell Additive of Germany to make chemical blowing agents in the form of micro pellets. Until now powder-like compounds have mainly been supplied, or agglomerates to avoid dust ...
Uprated replacement barrels extend extruder life span.(Compounding)
Oct 01, 2004 ... XTRUTECH in Stoke on Trent is now supplying screws, screw shafts and elements, barrels and heater bands for corotating twin screw extruders made by Baker Perkins, APV, Theysohn, Werner & Pfleiderer, Leistritz, Marls, Berstorff, B & P, Prism and Clextral. Any screw element from ...
More PET preforms, and from smaller machines.(Injection Moulding)
Oct 01, 2004 ... EVEN more PET problem output is claimed by MHT Mold & Hot Runner Technology of Germany which has introduced new moulds with higher cavity density, and for smaller machines. MHT now makes more than 50 mould types for horizontal and vertical production systems and now makes ...
Load cells for electric machines.(Injection Moulding)
Oct 01, 2004 ... VARIOHM now supplies Lebow 333610 compression flat load cells, made in the US and chiefly intended for electric injection moulding machines. The units have high frequency response and 0 to 10 VDC output via a concealed amplifier. Various capacities are available. The 200 kN unit ...
Diagnosing defects.(Injection Moulding)
Oct 01, 2004 ... UPM has equipped a two machine cell for the production of medical components with a handling system incorporating diverter plates to reject defective mouldings. The plates are activated by the machines' SPC systems and only good parts are counted and transferred to a swan neck conveyor ...
Feeding process changes back into part design.(Injection Moulding)
Oct 01, 2004 ... ONE thing that has restricted the optimum design of a moulded part has been the lack of information about process-related material properties--that is, properties such as anisotropy due to fibre orientation that the part acquires during the moulding process. The orientation of the ...
Purging compound given a push for extra efficiency.(Injection Moulding)
Oct 01, 2004 ... POWERPURGE is a novel system developed by Spirex Corporation of the USA to purge an injection unit without the need for disassembly and cleaning. A new non-return valve is fitted to the machine and its controls integrated for automatic operation. The valve is a three piece ...
Sankey spends 1 m+[pounds sterling] on wheelie bin line.(Injection Moulding)
Oct 01, 2004 ... MORE than 1 million[pounds sterling] has been spent by Richard Sankey on a Sandretto Mega HESD 2,000 tonne machine and two tools, each weighing more than 20 tonnes, to manufacture Ecomax refuse bins in HDPE at the rate of 1,000 a day on a 24/7 basis. The bins will be made in 240 and 140 ...
Bespoke system for textile insertion.(Injection Moulding)
Oct 01, 2004 ... WITTMANN has developed an automated textile insertion and part removal system in conjunction with Demag Plastics Group of Ohio and Michigan-based mouldmaker pgam advanced technologies. It comprises a model W643 top entry servo controlled robot with dual end of arm tooling and a Demag ET ...
Gas assistance saves energy as well as material.(Injection Moulding)
Oct 01, 2004 ... SAVINGS in energy of up to 15 per cent are possible with external gas assisted moulding compared with conventional methods according to a programme of energy consumption trials sponsored by Faraday Plastics. Research was undertaken by Bradford University consultants working at Cinpres Gas ...
More melt without losing precision.(Injection Moulding)
Oct 01, 2004 ... A WAY of getting more melt through an injection unit without sacrificing accuracy by using a bigger screw has been devised by Billion. Its ISC technology is described as removing the interdependence of shot volume, plasticising rate, injection pressure and precision. According ...
Small machine with built-in mould base.(Injection Moulding)
Oct 01, 2004 ... A 25 tonne machine with a removable built-in mould bolster has been introduced by Industries Deu of Spain. The Deu Mini 250H55 has 270 mm between the tiebars, 450 mm daylight and 200 mm stroke. It has four screw diameter options giving shot weights from 4 to 32g. The ...
Biggest Arburg in Britain.(Injection Moulding)
Oct 01, 2004 ... THE largest Arburg machine yet supplied in the UK has gone into service with Cheshire-based window blind maker Louvre-Lite. The Allrounder 570C2200-675 220 tonne machine with a Multilift H robotic handling system has doubled productivity and halved labour costs in the manufacture of blind ...
Steel sheets glued together to make moulds.(Injection Moulding)
Oct 01, 2004 ... A NEW rapid tooling technique developed by Georg Kaufmann Formenbau of Switzerland is claimed to reduce costs by 20 per cent and enable moulds to be made in from eight to 12 weeks. Moulds are laminated from epoxy-coated steel sheet using a Laminated Object Manufacturing process ....
A cold blast from Canada.(Injection Moulding)
Oct 01, 2004 ... Husky has tied up with Cold Jet of the USA to offer its customers dry ice blast mould cleaning systems, which it says are particularly effective for multi-cavity PET preform tools. The T-2 system is for ...
Bigger and faster six axis robots from ATM.(Automation)
Oct 01, 2004 ... JAPANESE-built six axis robots have been added to the ATM range at lower cost and with higher speeds and payloads than the machines previously sold by the company. They are ATM-branded and are built in two formats, the SC for floor, wall or inverted mounting and the SH for ...
Automation for automotive underbonnet parts.(Automation)
Oct 01, 2004 ... WITTMANN UK has supplied TP Moulding of Telford with an automation cell to make automotive underbonnet components. The system is based on the W633 CNC 6 Dias-Bus linear robot with two bowl feeders for different inserts and independent control of insert picking and part demoulding. ...
New robots and systems software from Staubli.(Automation)
Oct 01, 2004 ... THE latest six axis robot range from Staubli, the TX, can be mounted in any configuration and comprises four models: the TX40, TX90, TX90L and TX90XL. The TX40 is a fast robot with a 450 mm envelope and 2.3 kg payload. It is small enough to be mounted within the guarding of many injection ...
Robot reaches down.(Automation)
Oct 01, 2004 ... A ROBOT capable of being mounted in elevated positions to maximise use of cell workspace has been introduced by ABB. The ABB IRB 6650S Shelf Robot enables large parts to be demoulded with no risk of obstruction or collision. It is intended for injection moulding machines of more than 1,000 ...
New single screw series from Boston Matthews.(Pipe & Profile)
Oct 01, 2004 ... NEW series of single-screw extruders A has been introduced by Boston Matthews. The Logic range has been designed for energy efficiency and is driven by an AC motor with encoder feedback together with a flux vector drive with forced ventilation. Intelligent electronics ensure that when ...
On-the-fly pipe diameter change.(Pipe & Profile)
Oct 01, 2004 ... INOEX is entering the non-stop diameter change arena with its Advantage system which can use existing die heads as the maximum regulating range is 1:2. The system incorporates a guide chamber, calibration sleeve, sealing unit and master control by which all pipe parameters are ...
Greater accuracy in wood-filled extrusion.(Pipe & Profile)
Oct 01, 2004 ... Equaflow II tooling has been developed by Guill Tool & Engineering of the USA to give greater accuracy, more consistent product flow and reduced waste in the extrusion of wood filled compounds. Flow channels are designed to meet requirements dictated by the amount of material in the ...
K-M in steel-reinforced spirally wound pipe partnership.(Pipe & Profile)
Oct 01, 2004 ... KRAUSS-MAFFEI and the Plastream division of Rib Loc Australia have signed an exclusive cooperation agreement to manufacture turnkey machinery for the production of steel reinforced plastic pipe. Along with very high stiffness, Plastream pipes are light in weight and very durable with a ...
Extrusian tooling--designed in Austria, built in China.(Pipe & Profile)
Oct 01, 2004 ... An Austrian company is linking up with a Chinese toolmaker to build extrusion dies in China. Trinity Technology has joined with Tongling to set up Tongling Trinity Technology Co. The company will design the tooling in Austria, build it in China ...