A 360-degree look at resin conveying systems: types, operation, economics, design, installation, components and controls.
This Knowledge Center provides an overview of resin moisture and the drying process, including information on the best drying practices for your manufacturing facility. handwash bottle making machine
Combat the skilled labor shortage using this comprehensive resource to train your own plastics processing experts.
Deep dive into the basics of blending versus dosing, controls, maintenance, process integration and more.
This Knowledge Center provides an overview of the considerations needed to understand the purchase, operation, and maintenance of a process cooling system.
Learn about sustainable scrap reprocessing—this resource offers a deep dive into everything from granulator types and options, to service tips, videos and technical articles.
Second quarter started with price hikes in PE and the four volume engineering resins, but relatively stable pricing was largely expected by the quarter’s end.
While the major correction in PP prices was finally underway, generally stable pricing was anticipated for the other four commodity resins.
Despite price increase nominations going into second quarter, it appeared there was potential for generally flat pricing with the exception of a major downward correction for PP.
First quarter was ending up with upward pricing, primarily due to higher feedstock costs and not supply/demand fundamentals.
Despite earlier anticipated rollover in prices for most of the volume commodity resins, prices were generally on the way up for all going into the third month of first quarter.
While price initiatives for PE and PVC were underway, resin prices had rollover potential for first two months of 2024, perhaps with the exception of PET.
Resin drying is a crucial, but often-misunderstood area. This collection includes details on why and what you need to dry, how to specify a dryer, and best practices.
Take a deep dive into all of the various aspects of part quoting to ensure you’ve got all the bases—as in costs—covered before preparing your customer’s quote for services.
In this collection of articles, two of the industry’s foremost authorities on screw design — Jim Frankand and Mark Spalding — offer their sage advice on screw design...what works, what doesn’t, and what to look for when things start going wrong.
In this collection, which is part one of a series representing some of John’s finest work, we present you with five articles that we think you will refer to time and again as you look to solve problems, cut cycle times and improve the quality of the parts you mold.
Gifted with extraordinary technical know how and an authoritative yet plain English writing style, in this collection of articles Fattori offers his insights on a variety of molding-related topics that are bound to make your days on the production floor go a little bit better.
In this three-part collection, veteran molder and moldmaker Jim Fattori brings to bear his 40+ years of on-the-job experience and provides molders his “from the trenches” perspective on on the why, where and how of venting injection molds. Take the trial-and-error out of the molding venting process.
Mike Sepe has authored more than 25 ANTEC papers and more than 250 articles illustrating the importance of this interdisciplanary approach. In this collection, we present some of his best work during the years he has been contributing for Plastics Technology Magazine.
In this collection of content, we provide expert advice on welding from some of the leading authorities in the field, with tips on such matters as controls, as well as insights on how to solve common problems in welding.
Mold maintenance is critical, and with this collection of content we’ve bundled some of the very best advice we’ve published on repairing, maintaining, evaluating and even hanging molds on injection molding machines.
Thousands of people visit our Supplier Guide every day to source equipment and materials. Get in front of them with a free company profile.
NPE2024: Lowering barriers to additive manufacturing adoption in toolmaking.
Allegheny Performance Plastics turned to 1factory's cloud-based manufacturing quality control software for streamlined, paperless quality systems.
To design the best mixers for single screws, you must completely understand how polymer moves through a mixer channel or groove.
NPE2024: Focus is on additives for plastics including PVC and WPC industries.
At NPE2024, Novatec moves to rewrite the rules for material conveying with patent-pending smart-pump technology.
While the major correction in PP prices was finally underway, generally stable pricing was anticipated for the other four commodity resins.
With no minimum order and an impeccable record of on-time delivery, Precision Color Compounds is becoming a force in the color masterbatch business.
Thermosets were the prevalent material in the early history of plastics, but were soon overtaken by thermoplastics in injection molding applications.
After a six-year hiatus, this year’s show was a resounding success, with meaningful technologies on display that will help processors run their businesses more efficiently.
Key factors for the progress are innovative materials, advanced automation and precision engineering.
Topping five other entries in voting by fellow molders, the Ultradent team talks about their Hot Shots sweep.
Serendipitous Learning Opportunities at PTXPO Underscore the Value of Being Present.
Introduced by Zeiger and Spark Industries at the PTXPO, the nozzle is designed for maximum heat transfer and uniformity with a continuous taper for self cleaning.
Ultradent's entry of its Umbrella cheek retractor took home the awards for Technical Sophistication and Achievement in Economics and Efficiency at PTXPO.
technotrans says climate protection, energy efficiency and customization will be key discussion topics at PTXPO as it displays its protemp flow 6 ultrasonic eco and the teco cs 90t 9.1 TCUs.
Shibaura discusses the upcoming Plastics Technology Expo (PTXPO) March 28-30
Line features a single touchscreen for easy setup and operation.
Oerlikon HRSflow’s T-Flow HRS control has launched with three models that are configurable to multiples of six zones.
NPE2024: Dukane’s new Ultrasonic Thin Wall welding system is well suited for welding applications of PP to PP TD25 painted parts.
Series offers higher output, lower melt temperatures and energy savings.
Noting that geopolitical changes require new corporate strategies, European plastics and rubber machinery trade groups announced that incoming orders fell 22% in 2023.
System tracks, controls and saves everything from material recipes to process parameters, operator activity from logging on to start, to emergency stops and more.
Mixed in among thought leaders from leading suppliers to injection molders and mold makers at the 2023 Molding and MoldMaking conferences will be molders and toolmakers themselves.
After successfully introducing a combined conference for moldmakers and injection molders in 2022, Plastics Technology and MoldMaking Technology are once again joining forces for a tooling/molding two-for-one.
Multiple speakers at Molding 2023 will address the ways simulation can impact material substitution decisions, process profitability and simplification of mold design.
When, how, what and why to automate — leading robotics suppliers and forward-thinking moldmakers will share their insights on automating manufacturing at collocated event.
As self-imposed and government-issued sustainability mandates approach, injection molders reimagine their operations.
August 29-30 in Minneapolis all things injection molding and moldmaking will be happening at the Hyatt Regency — check out who’s speaking on what topics today.
Get your clicking finger in shape and sign up for all that we have in store for you in 2023.
Molding 2023 to take place Aug. 29-30 in Minnesota; Extrusion 2023 slated for Oct. 10-12 in Indiana.
Join this webinar to learn about Conair's patented Conveying with Optimizer system, which utilizes artificial intelligence (AI) to overcome resin conveying issues automatically. Conveying with Optimizer uses valves, remote sensors and AI to eliminate conveying challenges that operators face daily throughout the plant. With this new fully-retrofittable solution, interruptions like clogged filters, air leaks, changes in density or distance, moisture changes, and operators making manual adjustments can all be eliminated with Conair's Conveying with Optimizer. Agenda: What exactly is Conveying with Optimizer? What are the benefits of using Conveying with Optimizer? What problems does Conveying with Optimizer overcome? How to upgrade your system
Cooling time is typically the longest step of the molding process. How can you make it more productive? Learn how cooling time can be turned into production time by running two molding processes simultaneously on a single molding machine. For longer cycles, this can mean twice the productivity. In this webinar, you'll learn more about the Shuttle Mold System and how to calculate its potential productivity impacts for your application. Agenda: Learn how the Shuttle Mold System can deliver value to your business See the recent technical updates made to the system Calculate the potential impact on productivity
Discover possible applications in large format printing including layup tools, transport modules, film fixation devices, design components and enclosures. These are used in various industries such as automotive, aerospace, architecture and many others. Agenda: Possible applications in large format printing: layup tools, transport modules, film fixing devices, design components and enclosures. Process reliability and component quality in component production Pros and cons of the technology Sneak peek into current development projects—What will the large format printing of tomorrow look like?
In this webinar, Cold Jet will discuss some of the ways processors use dry ice such as in-machine mold cleaning at operating temperatures, de-flashing or de-burring parts, improving OEE scores, extending mold life, cleaning parts before painting, post-processing 3D printed parts, lowering GHG emissions, and monitoring and reporting the process. Agenda: Cold Jet Overview & Dry Ice 101 Understanding the Process and Fine-Tuning Techniques Case Studies: Applications in Plastics Monitoring the Process Exploring the Importance of Dry Ice Cleaning in an ESG Era
Finding it hard to get technical talent? Experiencing the pain of a knowledgeable, long-term employee's retirement? Learn how plastics processors are training generative AIs on their operations and unlocking the value from their tribal knowledge. Plastics processors are training generative AI models on their operations — from machine manuals to tools, polymers, procedures, maintenance records and engineering projects. Applying generative AI in the right ways can lower plastics processors' costs, improve overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) and upskill teams. In this webinar, you'll learn how to deploy AI technical assistants to your teams, what works and what doesn't, and how to use AI to build an organization that never loses tribal knowledge and fosters inter-team collaboration. Agenda: What is generative AI and how can its cognitive abilities be applied to plastics? Case study: how an injection molder trained a large language model on manuals and maintenance records to reduce downtime Case study: using generative AI in engineering teams to improve product development Live demonstration of a generative AI deep-trained on plastics knowledge Looking to the future: five predictions for an AI-augmented workforce in plastics
Turnaround time can be as low as 24 hours, although two or three days might be more typical. Rapid prototyping like this is especially useful to quickly identify critical end-use part geometries that will work in the molding process. Key components include material choice, 3D printing technology selected, use of adaptable mold bases for the mold inserts and implementation of appropriate injection molding process conditions. This presentation will review work conducted toward the assessment of a high-stiffness, high-temperature-resistant ceramic modified urethane acrylate for injection molding inserts. Agenda: Guide for 3D-printed injection mold inserts Optimization of digital light processing (DLP) printing Compatibility with various thermoplastics Real-world application success stories
Debuting in 2010, the Parts Cleaning Conference is the leading and most trusted manufacturing and industrial parts cleaning forum focused solely on delivering quality technical information in the specialized field of machined parts cleansing. Providing guidance and training to understand the recognized sets of standards for industrial cleaning, every year the Conference showcases industry experts who present educational sessions on the latest and most pressing topics affecting manufacturing facilities today. Discover all that the 2022 Parts Cleaning Conference has to offer!
Presented by Additive Manufacturing Media, Plastics Technology and MoldMaking Technology, the 3D Printing Workshop at IMTS 2024 is a chance for job shops to learn the emerging possibilities for part production via 3D printing and additive manufacturing. First introduced at IMTS 2014, this workshop has helped hundreds of manufacturing professionals expand their additive capabilities.
Formnext Chicago is an industrial additive manufacturing expo taking place April 8-10, 2025 at McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois. Formnext Chicago is the second in a series of Formnext events in the U.S. being produced by Mesago Messe Frankfurt, AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology, and Gardner Business Media (our publisher).
NPE2024: Agr International is showing its newest systems for automated stretch-blow molder control and for measuring thickness distribution of bottles or sheets.
Agr International’s new Process Pilot+ automated stretch-blow molding control regulates PET bottle material distribution. (Source: Agr International)
Advances in automated stretch-blow molder control, precision bottle measurement and laboratory automation are being highlighted by Agr International at NPE2024. The focal point of the booth is one of its newest systems, Process Pilot+ (introduced at K 2022), an enhanced version of its Process Pilot automated management system for two-stage stretch-blow molders. Like the original version, it uses wall-thickness measurements from Agr’s Pilot Profiler inline QC instrument to continuously measure material distribution on every bottle and adjust machine settings to compensate for changes in the operating environment (temperature, humidity), preform quality or the material — especially variations due to the presence of rPET — in order to maintain optimal material distribution. The new version incorporates multiple control loops that regulate slow-response processes like oven temperatures separately from very fast-acting processes like blow pressure and timing. The multiple control loops reportedly can correct process drift as much as 40% faster and enable startups to reach on-spec bottle production up to 65% faster.
In addition, a new Value Performance feature answers the question, “How do I make the best bottle for the lowest cost?” This option enables users to specify a less-than-perfect level of wall-thickness distribution that is acceptable in return for reducing compressed-air usage or energy consumption, or using lower quality preforms.
Agr International is also showing its Pilot Vision+ system for quality management of PET bottles, including those with high percentages of rPET. This system (introduced at K 2019) offers modular defect detection with up to six cameras inside the blow molder to spot randomly occurring defects and color variations.
Agr’s new ThicknessPen combines magnetic and capacitance sensing capabilities for thickness measurement on bottles, sheets, panels and large parts. (Source: Agr International)
Agr’s newest handheld QC device for bottles or flat sheets is the ThicknessPen, a dual-mode unit (also introduced at K 2022) for use on a variety of plastic materials. One measurement mode is magnetic, using a target ball on the opposite side of the plastic object from the sensor. The other mode is capacitance based, which enables single-sided measurement without a target ball. This mode offers a quick “touch-and-go” approach for use on large containers or other parts, as well as sheets or panels.
Agr is also featuring the Gawis 4D automated laboratory measurement system (introduced in 2021). It can create complex job setups in seconds to combine several dimensional or thickness measurements into a single operation. When paired with a robotic handling system, it can measure up to 128 bottles (PET, PP or PE) or preforms fully automatically.
Hamilton Plastics taps into its 30-plus years of know-how in high-barrier films by bringing novel, custom-engineered, nine-layer structures resulting from the investment in two new lines.
Tobe Packaging’s breakthrough was to create its Ecolefin PE multilayer film that could be applied with a specialized barrier coating.
In both flexible and rigid packaging, the trend is to replace multimaterial laminates, coextrusions and “composites” with single-material structures, usually based on PE or PP. Nonpackaging applications are following suit.
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