Advance - PP - Safripol (Pty) Ltd

Plastics Technology, 2004-06-30, Plastic-Metal Hybrids" Momentum Is Building
Prospects for metal replacement with plastic-metal hybrid (PMH) structures continue to improve, one advance being the launch of an unconventional PMH process by the British-based Corus Group. A Dutch ...

Plastics Technology, 2005-03-04, Unusual TPOs Displace Other Plastics In Hard and Soft Auto Parts
The advance of TPOs into new interior and exterior automotive applications was the theme of the latest annual Automotive TPO Global Conference, sponsored by the Society of Plastics Engineers in Dearbo...

Plastics Technology, 2005-08-23, Air, Land and Sea: Composites Advance on All Fronts
Part II of our report on the leading international composites show includes news for everything from high-tech aircraft manufacturing to boat building and automotive SMC.

Plastics Technology, 2006-11-07, Dual Gas-Assist Techniques Advance Large-Part Molding
A novel combination of internal and external gas assist is the secret to injection molding a large panel that is both structural and requires a highly cosmetic surface. The process was developed by Ma...

Plastics Technology, 2007-10-03, Auto Glazing: Film, Coinjection & Coating Technologies Advance
The nascent field of injection molded polycarbonate car windows and sun roofs is fostering a proliferation of technological approaches for protective surfacing that provides scratch resistance or addi...

Plastics Technology, 2008-10-08, NPE 2006 News Flash
An advance look at some of the news awaiting you in Chicago next month.

Kunststoffe international, Beyond Human Capabilities
...onalization during the combination of both manufacturing processes (e. g. demolding temperature during injection molding and processing temperature during additive manufacturing) must be quantified in advance. For inline functionalization, a process developed at IKV and commercialized with Yizumi Germany GmbH, Aachen, Germany, is used for processing standard granulate in plasticizing additive manufacturing. IKV already presented this process at K 2016. A screw extruder attached to a jointed-arm ...

Kunststoffe international, Completely Joined to the Host Computer System
...About 40 of them visualize the plastics sector, the remaining 316 are installed in metal operations. Customer-Oriented Development of the Host Computer System “Arburg and Böllhoff have a longstanding partnership that advances both sides,” ‧explains production manager Nikita Kroll. “It was important for us, for example, to depict the degree of utilization in detail and in tune with our requirements. To this end, Arburg picked up on our suggestions and developed their ALS accordingly.” Böllhoff s...

Kunststoffe international, Easily Legible and Durable Inscriptions
Laser marking systems continue to be on the advance. However, using them for inscriptions is not always simple for all applications. In particular, colored or translucent components frequently present problems. These difficulties can be overcome by means of masterbatches specially developed for laser marking. Easily legible and lasting inscriptions are essential to ensure the traceability and identification of products. In many cases, laser marking systems are superior to other techniques such a...

Kunststoffe international, Green Shape Changers
...ce a volume change of about 1 % was expected and the filled filaments had a porous structure in some cases, obvious test methods such as density determination, microscopy or measurement of weight increase in water were ruled out in advance. To draw conclusions as to the swellability of the material, a special method therefore needed to be developed in-house. In this method, granules are placed in water on a suitable scanner platform and scanned at regular intervals (2, 4, 8, and 24 h) (Fig. 1). ...

Kunststoffe international, Protective Coat for Electronics and Body
.... Due to the wide range of possible modifications, manufacturing cost pressure, and particularly the biocompatibility required in medical technology, plastic is a key material for future Smart Medical Devices.For the in vitro field, this technical advance prepared the way to Laboratory 4.0. Hereby, Laboratory 4.0 will be determined decisively by three trends: digitalization, automation, and miniaturization [4, 5]. Electronic in vitro devices belong to the group of Smart Biomedical Devices, which...

Kunststoffe international, Sophisticated Geometry – and Hermetically Tight
...ik in Karlsbad, Germany, and a great number of test and trial cycles (Fig. 3). The cooling behavior of the plastic used played an important role in parameter development: for production, the recommendation eventually was to produce the components in advance so that the material would be available for welding in completely crystallized condition. Otherwise, welding may cause distortion or "trapped" stress inside the component and thus result in leakage. Design of Energy Directors and the Sonotrod...

Kunststoffe international, The One that Shears, Splits, and Folds Material
...chine can achieve for a single application depends on how well its strength profile corresponds to the specific requirements [5]. As systematic investigations have meanwhile shown [6], this suitability can be evaluated in advance by modern analytic methods, if the strength profile of the considered systems is known. The co-kneader has numerous advantages that can be summed up under the headings gentle compounding, high mixing effect, and reliable scale-up. The shear required for melting and disp...

Kunststoffe international, Tightrope Walk to the Show
...g of visitor streams, open-top booths, tables with clear partitions, powerful, constant air-exchange systems, obligatory mouth-and-nose covering (except at seats). The number of visitors per day is limited. Visitors must acquire E-tickets in advance and may only enter booths after the tickets are scanned. On the positive side, this could even make for a more relaxed, less hectic trade-show atmosphere. The alternative is digital shows, as have already been organized by individual companies as wel...

Kunststoffe international, What Can You Do at Fall Fairtime, When There Aren’t Any?
...ilders have concocted various strategies to compensate for the cancellations of the many industry events that have fallen victim to the corona pandemic. In early fall, several companies opened up their technical centers to visitors, albeit only on advance notice and in compliance with distance requirements and rules of hygiene. In addition to selected innovations, visitors could view systems in action that were, in fact, originally intended for display at the Fakuma 2020 in October. These attrac...

Kunststoffe international, Zero-Waste Concept for Carbon SMC
...leading OEM and the component design was optimized for the material. During the product creation, the development partners developed approaches to process and structural simulation. They were able to determine essential process data in advance by means of trial components. This reduces the development work and increases process reliability. As the component topology was optimized at the beginning of the project, the main priority was to adapt the new process to the particular characteristics of ...

Kunststoffe international, “Plastics Play a Key Role in Lithium-Ion Batteries”
... for their contributions to the development of lithium-ion batteries. Kunststoffe interviewed Dr Yoshino about the key role plastics play in these batteries and how the range problems of electric vehicles are being solved. Electromobility is on the advance. Practically all auto manufacturers are investing in both electric vehicles and the charging infrastructure. The brainchild at the heart of electric cars but at the same time their greatest problem child is the ‧lithium-ion battery. It is sti...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, A Comparison of Hybrid Machines
...cording to the type of drive most suited for executing them. An injection moulding machine executes a total of six movements (Fig. 1): - plasticization, - injection, - opening and closing the mould, - operating core pullers, - ejection, and - nozzle advance (drive). The most important of these, in several ways, are plasticization, injection and mould opening. They are highly important for the cycle time, energy consumption and part quality. Core pullers, ejectors and nozzle advance are important...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, A Good Simulation is Half-Way to Production
...equired material characteristics in Moldflow's own laboratories. Implementation of the graphics data for thick-section plastic parts also caused difficulties. Moldflow has since devised a solution for this. Since computer technology and programs advance so rapidly, it may be assumed that simulations with Moldflow software will soon be even more relevant to practice and even more straightforward to use. Fig. 1. Relative sizes of the old (below) and new pricking aids Fig. 2. The gate in the...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, A Home Game for the Italian Plastics Industry: Rendezvous in Milan
... ranges of linear robots. The high-speed Zx-800 robot with a payload of 3kg features high-performance digital motors and is especially suitable for the production of packaging. With the model Gxe- 2500 (Fig.12), Star Automation wants to advance to the production of large parts. The payload of this robot is 35kg. Shredding, Recycling Tria, Cologno Monzese, will be displaying all its seven granulator series. A new addition is the JM series, which has a cutting chamber of wear-resistant steel fea...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, A Keep-fit Programme for Machines
... Iserlohn/Germany developed Win-IPS-db. At user-defined intervals, the user can generate an inspection order for all the defined machine areas, with instructions at a planned date. Work to be performed periodically can thus be planned efficiently in advance. Each completed maintenance measure is documented according to ISO9000, QS9000 and VDA6.1. The machine availabilities, including all servicing, inspection and maintenance times are computed. All the material and labour costs expended are rec...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Additional Quality Control: Integrated Quality Testing for PET Bottle Production
...ast stretch blow moulding machines. This high-speed online system carries out 100% testing of the preforms before they enter the blow moulding unit. Preforms with necks that are incompletely formed, notched or oval shaped can therefore be ejected in advance, considerably increasing the efficiency of bottle production on the blow moulding machine and reducing downtimes (Fig.1). Online Wall-thickness Measurement by Means of PETWall Plus Uniform material distribution is a key factor in the qualit...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, All-plastic Hybrids: Thermoplastic Hybrid Structures
...ave high integration variability with low weight and good economy at the same time. Ralph Funck Markus Steffens Light, lighter, lightest. The use of light alloys and highly specialised steel alloys is natural today. What will be the next innovation advance in lightweight construction? This question arises industry-wide and it concerns interesting cost savings potentials. Which materials, which construction methods will thus be innovative? A key role in highly loaded structure components is cle...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Anisotropic Parts Design: The Right Orientation
... orientation is taken into account, it becomes clear that the base body undergoes substantially less deformation but that the oval shape of the front opening is lost. Here, some design changes would be necessary so as to rule out leakage problems in advance. Like deformation, stress and strain in the part differ critically as regards design. Figure 5 shows the principal elongation determined from the isotropic and anisotropic simulation. Although almost identical results are obtained for the max...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Automatically in the Mould
...n/Germany and Walter Klaus, Schwaig/Germany Back injection, injection compression moulding and back compression of decoration materials in the product part mould has been state-of-the-art for some years. New versions of the procedure make ever more advanced component design possible. For direct lamination automation of the insertion and removal processes is a prerequisite for reproducible quality and good economy. Procedures for direct lamination are now generally accepted particularly for produ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Automating Tape Production
... quality. The Advantages of Automation The Stacodoff and Stacotrans systems allow precisely equal filament lengths to be wound on all bobbins. This allows block exchange in warp and weft during weaving on the circular loom. The operator can see in advance when bobbin exchange will be needed, and has a better overview. In stable weaving conditions, therefore, one person can operate up to 50 % more looms. The increased efficiency of creel bobbin exchange (chaotic exchange involves idle transport...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Automation: Maximum Networking of Manufacturing Processes
... manner. Many can only be executed automatically in any case because the insertion ergonomics can be so complicated. The above-described situation makes it clear that injection moulding operations in industrial countries must exploit technical advances in various fields to remain internationally competitive. Plastics processors are increasingly employing complex mould technology, together with interlinked production lines to make their production more efficient. This presupposes that the plants ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Automotive Conference: Lightweight Construction as Magic Phrase
...he end product are collated and stored in a data warehouse. Intranet portals ensure access by all companies. The next production step is continually analysed with the aid of the data collected so far and thus is already optimised in advance. The model therefore constitutes a proposal for a forward-looking quality strategy that brings the often-quoted target of zero error production one step closer. And that would offer additional opportunities for the use of plastics in the automobile. The Auth...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Babylonian Confusion?
...ision Tool Users who decide to use a CM should regard this article merely as an informal decision tool. CAD performance varies so much that sweeping observations cannot be made. It is therefore important to test the desired software in advance, to ensure that it is compatible with the in-house CAD system. Users must not forget to pay attention to expenses incurred (product costs, license fees). A further source of information is undoubtedly Euromold in Frankfurt. Many software manufacturers wi...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Bank Rating: Corporate Financing in the Shadow of Basel II
...’s rating is useful, but it is not of fundamental importance because – as already stated – the content, structure, weighting and assessment of the rating criteria differ from one bank to another. A rating determined in advance therefore serves at most as a guide for the expected assessment by the bank. A determination of the status quo should also include a survey of any K.O. criteria. Points of departure for improving the rating. The evaluation of the company analysis provides initial indicator...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Boost for the Economy: Becoming More Competitive through Co-operation
...ster team during project planning was important for the balance and prevented, for example, small and medium-sized companies being dominated by large ones. As a result, potential conflict was eliminated in advance. It became very clear that co-operation needs time and dedication. It was also beneficial that the initiative started with simpler, less critical projects before moving on to more complex topics. At the end of it all, there were also far fewer concrete competitive situations than had b...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Calculation of Plastic Parts: Stress Appearance during Creep
.... New approaches point the way forward in this direction. Vladimir Kolupaev Martin Moneke Florian Becker When designing parts, engineers frequently lack trustworthy material data for the simulation calculation. The engineer has no way of knowing in advance whether the models and material data that are available can depict the load case in question in mathematical terms. The research presented here provides assistance in selecting the optimum model. First of all, a material model is developed fo...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Case Study: Hot-Runner Solution for an Electronics Coil
...ould maker and injection moulder, involving the system supplier at an early stage, offer the best conditions for smooth production start-up. For plastics processors it is particularly important to define all the quality and process parameters in advance and closely coordinate the choice of mould components and hot-runner systems with the supplier. Modular solutions and a high degree of standardisation offer the advantage of flexibility and the option of interchanging all hot-runner and nozzle c...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Coinjection of Thermoplastics and Elastomers
...ansfer technology, which is also economically attractive, cannot be used. In many cases, the compatibility of the materials regarding processability, adhesion etc. is a decisive aspect. It is usually difficult to clarify these questions precisely in advance. With demanding parts, it is advisable to include all the project partners in the planning at the earliest stage possible. This permits their experience to be included in the part and mould design. This reduces the outlay for time-consuming a...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Comparative Study: Virtually Equal in Terms of Precision
...t-pressure transducer in front of the screw, and an accumulator for high injection ve-locities of up to 400 mm/s. In the injection phase, the energy stored in the hydraulic accumulator ensures high acceleration; active retardation of the screw advance velocity is provided by the position control of the screw. To achieve optimum melt quality, the studies were carried out with screws with L/D 20 and new quality process units. The machines under considera-tion recognise the changeover point in the ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Compounding: Flexibility for Compounders
...nite element analysis. Several optimisation steps later, the new shaft-hub connection for twin-screw extruders had been created. The new shaft profile (maxxshaft) is the starting point for new areas of output into which compounding extruders can now advance. This technical improvement leads to new specifications for high-performance compounders of the next machine generation: 1. Do/Di = 1.66 2. Md/a3 >= 11 Nm/cm3 3. ns >= 800 rpm The new ZSE Maxx series has a Do/Di = 1.66. Thus, the volume in...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Compounding: Maximising Use of Machine Potential
25 Years of KTP Maximising Use of Machine Potential Compounding. The energy consumption of twin-screw extruders can be determined in advance by simulation calculation. This allows full torque utilisation, so that compounders can maximise use of available machine performance potential. Because of their excellent mixing properties and flexible construction, co-rotating, twin-screw extruders are commercially and technically the most important machine concept for compounding thermoplastics. However,...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Compounding: Throughput-determining
...f torque, of rotational speed, of screw volume and of cooling capacity. All with the aim of maximising throughput. This development aim is also shared by Leistritz Extrusionstechnik GmbH, which kept its new Double-X model compounds top secret in advance of the trade show. The new ZSE-Maxx models will gradually supersede the former HP series in future. The series achieves an input increase of 25 to 35% thanks to an optimised volume-torque ration with a Do/Di ratio of 1.66. The centrepiece of thi...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Compounds and Masterbatches
...nd masterbatch manufacturers) used to be only involved at the end of the product development, practically as an afterthought. In the last five years, however, efforts have been made for the plastics industry to recognise the trends in colouring in advance and to intensify the cooperation with designers. The synergies are obvious: a masterbatch manufacturer that supports its customers, e. g. manufacturers of household articles, in identifying colour trends offers a significant competitive advanta...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Control Engineering: New Technical Beginning in Machine Control
...ler generation. Meanwhile the market penetration with approximately 20000 sold units is correspondingly high. The Future: Even Greater Functionality The Selogica version4, which will come on the market in 2003 at Fakuma, will continue to advance development toward an integrated, efficient controller for modular injection moulding configurations with machines and peripherals. An adapted process editor will provide extended robot system programming for higher usage comfort, which is important fo...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Control Functions with Artificial Intelligence
...ring the machine set up stage are stored as a curve and used as the input value to the control for all the subsequent injection cycles. The preset pressure profile is reproduced from cycle to cycle by corresponding acceleration or delay of the screw advance rate at extremely small time intervals. The filling of the cavity is no longer controlled by two different methods (first the velocity control and, from the change-over point, pressure control), but by only one. This has advantages for the pa...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Cost-effectiveness: In-mould Decoration on Modified Standard Machines
...so the hot runner systems and the ejectors (Fig.4). The production cycle starts with a robot attaching the trimmed decorative material to the moving mould half, the so-called cavity plate. When the mould is closed, the clamping frame is advanced hydraulically and so the decorative material makes contact with it first. The core side of the mould then presses into the decorative material, which is thereby deformed in three dimensions. Four hydraulically actuated cylinders regulate the contact pres...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Custom-tailored Engineering Materials: Polyphenylene Ether (PPE)
...l, modified PPE resins are insensitive to aqueous solutions, cleaners, acids and bases. Many halogenated and aromatic hydrocarbons, however, tend to dissolve or soften the blends. Laboratory data are available to clarify the chemical resistance in advance. However, good results in short-time tests do not guarantee the actual performance under long-term conditions of use in the final application. The effective chemical compatibility of a polymer in the application can only be established by means...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Customer-oriented Globalisation: Process Technology as Strategic Instrument for Developing New Markets
...te. Accordingly, cooperation with the selected partners should be maintained consistently until the objective is achieved (and even longer). Investment in creative freedom: Technological advance through innovation was not and will not be achieved without investment. If R&D is to be efficient and innovative, the necessary freedom must not be constrained by overzealous cost consciousness. Rather, entrepreneurial risk-taking readiness and creative freedom are necessary to assure competitiveness, an...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Development History of Plastics: Growth through Changing Times
...permitted shot weights of up to 10g. A toggle closed the mould and then in a further stroke activated the injection plunger. In the ensuing years, ground-breaking research results and advances in production technology followed thick and fast. In 1933, Röhm successfully developed industrial production of PMMA for casting applications and in 1939 for injection moulding applications. The product was given the trade name Plexiglass because of its glass-like properties. 1930 saw the start of polysty...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Development Strategy and Environmental Protection: DuPont - Growing with Engineering Plastics
...e of the five organisational platforms of DuPont, recorded sales of 5.4 billion USD in 2003, 9% more than in the previous year," according to Terry Caloghiris, Vice-president and General Manager of the Engineering Polymers (EP) Division, at an advance press conference for K2004. EP achieved about half of its sales with product applications in the automotive industry. The remainder was divided between the electrical and electronics industry, general industry and consumer goods. To step up gro...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Die Cutting Equipment for Plastics Processing
...o a large extent by the fundamental design of the system. Not only do modular designed systems include flexibility from the beginning; they also allow the use of replacement modules during regular maintenance. This means that with a minimum of advance planning it is not necessary to take downstream process units out of operation and that for short runs they are always ready for use. In some cases these systems can serve as reserve capacity for normal rotary die cutters while they are serviced wi...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Double Belt Plants: Flexible Production of Various Insulation Panels
...mised by design measures in such a way that the polygon effect that normally occurs is reduced to zero. This ensures very smooth running of the double belt – whereas without this measure fluctuations of up to 2% would occur in the advance speed. This uniform running handles the sensitive surfaces of the insulation panels more gentle, reduces the noise and the wear on the double belt and the vibration tendency. During foaming, lateral sealing chains on the upper and lower belt prevent any foam le...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Driving the Automotive Industry: Engineering Elastomers
...ve Industry. Within the elastomer-manufacturing industry, there is increasing concentration and focus on product groups. Regardless of this, the trend towards relocating production of standard products within the expanded European Union continues to advance. In the future, China and India will also increasingly emerge both as markets and production locations for engineering elastomer products. Werner P. Lauhus The European Union, and particularly Germany, continue to be global leaders in elastom...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Dynamic Frictional Data
...roperties of bulk plastics materials permit even more precise simulation of the processes taking place in single-screw extruders. The design of extruders is often preceded by a computer simulation. This provides an economical tool for assessing in advance how the screw geometry and material properties will affect the final product [1]. The better the material data used in the simulation correspond to real data, the better are the simulation results. The frictional force in the feed zone of ext...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Editorial: Benefiting from Partnerships
...t the 16th International Plastics Fair in Düsseldorf, due to take place from October 20–27, thousands of companies will meet up with their business partners to discuss current and future joint projects. In our “K Special”, we have analysed in advance the economic situation and the markets of our business partners with whom we have enjoyed a trusting relationship for many years: It is above all the companies with foresight, companies that invest in growth markets with trusting partners, have a gr...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Efficient Project Development
...ned by polycondensation of m-xylylenediamine and adipic acid in a conventional polyamide production process [3]. The material used for the brake housings was a glass-fibre-reinforced polyarylamide PA MXD6-GF50 (grade: IXEF 1022, manufacturer: Solvay Advanced Polymers, Oudenaarde/Belgium). This polyarylamide was selected for brake housings because of its unique combination of properties [4] such as: - Surface finish: PA MXD6 compounds are known for their excellent surface finish. The outer layer ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Efficient Warehousing and Shipping Solutions
...nd, with the “Rako” frame construction container (see box), they were able to use plastic’s structural properties and depart from the archetype of the sheet metal container. On the other hand, this business idea was well in advance of the modern philosophy of reusable products. In Schüttorf, 23 injection moulding machines with clamping forces from 350 to 16500kN operate in three shifts (10pm Sunday to 10pm Friday). The production programme extends from small parts such as seals (0.5g) up to larg...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Elastomers: Flexible and Customised
... innovation for compounders by supplying high-viscosity silicone rubber in pellet form. In comparison with conventional masterbatches comprising high-molecular-weight silicone and thermoplastics, the most significant advance offered by Genioplast Pellet S is that it can be processed with any required thermoplastic without compatibility problems. Preferred uses include compounds for cable applications and moulded automotive components. The extremely media-resistant liquid silicone fluororubber E...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Electrifying: Emphatic Confidence
Special Emphatic Confidence Electrifying. At Netstal's advance press conference for "K", CEO Bernhard Merki, now in his second year of office, seemed satisfied with the progress made in the past year. The company will maintain its present course and push ahead with expanding its product ranges and sales network. The highlight was the unveiling of a new all-electric injection moulding machine. The board of Netstal-Maschinen AG, newly elected in 2003, is pressing ahead with its curre...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Electronic Markets for Plastics
...s auction) or at as favourable a price as possible (purchase auction, reverse auction). Additionally the initiator determines the beginning and end of the auction and whether the auction is open to everyone or only to a closed circle of bidders. In advance he determines whether the one who offers the best price always closes the deal or whether after the auction the initiator may freely select from the bidders. The bidders remain anonymous among themselves; only the initiator knows who tendered ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Exhibition Preview: North American and Canadian Products at K 2004
... by both melts and acts as a mechanical tie layer. Low-pressure, injection is used for initial filling, so as not to damage the veil, then high pressure is applied at the end. The first application, in advanced development, is a fuel-system component of acetal and PE-HD. Soft-touch parts of acetal and a TPE are another possibility. In addition, DuPont has new Delrin KM, which contains chopped Kevlar aramid fiber. The abrasion-resistant compound is used in beverage conveyor belts that are self-lu...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Expansion Injection Moulding: Amazingly Thin
...imes higher than the actual data [2]. This allows only one conclusion: - When injection moulding with the support of hydraulic accumulators, it is impermissible to deduce the position of the melt front in the cavity from the injection speed (screw advance). There are several reasons for this deviation between theory and practice: the compressibility of the hydraulic fluid, the elastic deformation of the machine parts and the compressibility of the plastic melt [3]. Only part of the generated en...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Extrusion Technology of the Future
...minating Cooling Limits In the field of pipe extrusion, cooling is the limiting factor in increased throughput. Because of these limits, multi-strand extrusion is an important way of increasing output (Fig. 5). The number of strands is dependent on advances in process reliability and ease of retooling. In pipe extrusion, the modest increases already achieved in recent years can be expected to continue in future. In main window profiles, the current extrusion rate of 6 m/min is more than double ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Filled PU: Solid Metering for Reactive PU Systems
...cessary for mixing the base components and various additives directly in the mixing head. All the valves are arranged in a plane and thereby ensure a reproducible mixing quality. A patented mechanical synchronised control prevents the premature advance of one component by delayed opening of the complementary valve. This is one of the most important aspects of reactive PU processing, particularly for small articles. Fig.1 shows the schematic design of the mixing chamber with the mixing screw. Thi...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Flex-ring Dies: Improved Wall-thickness Distribution of the Preform during Blow Moulding
...r a purely static adjustment can, as shown in Fig.2, also be easily converted into a dynamically controlled production die. In a partial region, the setting screws were removed and are replaced by an actuating motor whose axis executes a linear advance movement. This axis is securely connected to an adjustment jaw, with which the flex-ring sleeve can be locally deformed over a relatively large circumferential area. The adjustment jaw has, distributed across the width, 14 small grub screws (Fig.3...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Foretaste of K 2001
...first two opening hours of every exhibition day see around 30 000 visitors pass through the doors, registering online will help to cut queuing times. It has been possible to make online orders for admission tickets to K 2001 and to acquire them in advance from outlets abroad since April. Back in 1998, visitors were provided, on request, with a form of electronic visitor's card: exhibitors used a scanner to read the visitors' names and addresses and this enabled them to supply information...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, From a Trading Company to an Assembly Supplier
...e also become more elaborate and involve a greater risk, including in financial terms. In many cases, customers require development and mould costs to be financed in advance, with these costs only being charged to the customer with the series-production cost. “And there is no guarantee that a successful product development will lead on to a series-production order”, adds Dieter Goertz. “We are not prototype suppliers, however, but want to be able to plan our annual business on a reliable basis”....

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Full House: Innovative Systems Prove an Attraction
... compression moulding calls for a special machine but gets by with less complex moulds. In particular, it is possible to dispense with the elaborate hot runners with their distributors and control systems. A Rapid Advance to Maturity Water-assisted injection moulding (WAIM) is claimed to hold amazing potential for reducing cycle times. This is why this particular process has made its way into series production so rapidly, even if there are not all that many applications that can be cited by way...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Functional Plastics: Materials Research as Technical Investment
Market and Management Materials Research as Technical Investment Functional Plastics. "The future belongs to the technopolymers and special polymers that will probably be produced in smaller quantities, but are essential for humanity to advance", Paul J. Flory (Nobel Prize winner 1974). Jürgen Stebani Plastics are starting to age. Most of the resins belonging to this material class that we encounter every day are, in the meantime, over 50 years old. This does not mean, however, that pl...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Gas-assisted Injection Moulding: Accurate Determination of the Injection Points
...rom blue to dark red indicate the flow time of the polymer from the gate system in the mould. The position of the post-filled region can then be identified by means of the last-filled cavity regions. Because of the low resistance, the melt advances rapidly into the thick-walled region and only gradually into the connected thin-walled region. This process does not meet the requirement for melt expansion in the gas-assist process. The probability of fingering is very high, as has been confirmed by...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, GIT, Sandwich and Two-component Moulding in Practice and Research: Correct Application of Multicomponent Processes
... individual parts with large similarities. A planned new part is then assigned to one of the groups by comparison of the properties. Empirical data from this group can then be drawn on for mould design. Particular problems can thus be averted in advance, i.e. before construction of the mould. The position of the injection points for melt and gas injection has a decisive effect on the distribution of the gas bubble in the part. These points must be chosen with great care to obtain the desired gas...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Growing Profitably: BASF: "Offering Customers Clear Advantages"
...arn a premium on the cost of capital. BASF intends to push ahead with the strategic development of its plastics business. This was made clear by Dr. John Feldmann, the BASF AG board member responsible for plastics, oil and gas, at the company's advance plastics press conference for K2004 in Ludwigshafen/Germany. "We have already successfully travelled part of the way. We have clearly defined our future business model and organised our businesses accordingly. In this important BASF busi...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Hard-soft Composites with Metal Inserts: New Generation of Plastic-Metal Hybrids
...). Plastics are known for their low density, chemical stability and the design freedom they offer. They can be modified with additives to produce a large number of formulations with tailored properties, and there is an equally wide range of highly advanced technologies available for converting them into innovative parts. Front-ends as the First Series Applications Dura Automotive Body & Glass Systems GmbH, Plettenberg/Germany, drew on its longstanding experience of handling sheet-steel and plas...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, High Cutting Quality
.... Thanks to the simulation, the customer requires fewer test cuts (prototypes), resulting in further cost advantages. Since the design team was provided with an enveloping body for the robot movements, it was possible to discover conflicts well in advance and further reduce programming time by automating the programming process. This new technology allowed the machines to be programmed more easily, and the employees involved could therefore be assigned to new tasks, which are more challenging th...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, High Output or Flexibility?
High Output or Flexibility? Profile Production with Twin-screw Extruders Christian Stützinger, Kronach/Germany In recent years, significant advances have been made in profile extrusion in terms of output and maximum line speed. Pressure on costs and continually increasing demands on production quality and output have led to the development of high-output extruders and various special designs. In development, cost efficiency, easy maintenance and processing flexibility combined with straigh...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, High-performance Machines for Short Cycle Times: New "High-Speed" for Thin-Wall Part
...minates the notch effect of a positive joint. This design of injection unit may increase the length, but it also substantially lowers the mass that needs to be accelerated during injection. As a result, the new in-line injection units deliver screw-advance speeds in excess of 1000mm/s. The injection units have been optimised for the small metering stroke needed to make packaging and thin-wall parts. They generate the injection pressure of more than 2000 bar that is needed for all screw diameters...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, High-quality Recycling
...e corresponding virgin material. The service provided by Leis Polytechnik, however, is not confined to state-of-the-art pelletization and modification of high-performance plastics. Twenty experienced and competent employees discuss with customers in advance all details such as quality requirements and testing so that these can be specified. Test certificates according to DIN EN 102 04 and (since 1997) the quality system DIN ISO 90 01 certify the first-class quality of the product. Here customers...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Hot Runner Technology Today
...any product development include product developers, cost accountants, mould designers, mould builders, mould setters, hot runner supplier and raw materials. These should work together from the outset to identify problems early and to solve them in advance". All in all, the rapid developments in recent years are very interesting. We can look forward to so many more. Acknowledgements We would like to thank the companies which we visited for their frank discussions and the information which t...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Hot-runner Systems: Controlled Conditions
...omparable with one another, even when installed in multiple cavities. Hot-runner moulds, with or without cluster moulds are generally rheologically optimised and “naturally” balanced by the manufacturers. Filling simulations performed in advance also show the simultaneous filling of all cavities (as also expected for individual gating). However, anyone investigating filling of the individual cavities with an actual filling series during production will ascertain that the mould cavities are in r...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Improved Part Properties: Process Control in Injection Moulding
... microprocessors promise dynamic developments in injection moulding machine controls. Measures such as closed-loop control of thermodynamic state variables (e.g. melt temperature), open-loop control of dynamic process steps (e.g. adapted screw advance rate) and the first steps towards open-loop control of the cavity-pressure profile help to make significant advances in product quality and reproducibility of the processes [10]. The limits are set by the methods and tools available to control tech...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Induction Welding of Carbon-fibre-reinforced Plastics
...ed eddy current distribution and resulting temperature distribution in the laminate, which essentially depends on the electrical resistivity of the laminate and the inductor geometry. With the FE model now developed, it is possible - to determine in advance the inductive heating of carbon-fibre-reinforced plastics, - to develop inductors tailored to the particular joint geometry and - to determine process parameters such as the inductor current and distance of the inductor from the laminate. Pre...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Infrared Thermography: Recognising the Optimisation Potential in Injection Moulding
...ing. Major temperature differences were found in the moulded parts. Owing to the high specifications on the quality of the moulded parts, such as optically perfect surface and minimum warping, the influential factors had to be studied exactly in advance of production. In the 2-component process described here, the component passes through various stations. The thermal conditions in each are totally different. Figure 7 is a two-colour picture of the moulded part after mould-opening. Close examina...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Injection Moulding Ceramic Powder
...orming operations for ceramics is shown. From this it is evident that the ceramic injection moulding procedure, a commercially very new forming operation, is suitable for producing large numbers of complex components. Thus ceramic production can now advance into innovative areas that hitherto have been barred to it due to the cost of such constructions. Process Sequence As shown schematically in Fig. 2, in powder injection moulding a ceramic powder is mixed with different polymers (binders) to...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Injection Moulding of Microcellular Foams
...on. This method has already been used for processing PA, TPE, PE, PC, PP and PC/ ABS alloys [6] . Processing of Granules Pre-Charged with Blowing Fluid Not only can the blowing agent be injected into the melt, but the granules can be charged in advance with blowing fluid. Charging takes place in an autoclave and the granules are then processed on conventional machines. The concentration in the polymer is varied by adjusting the charging pressure, temperature and time. After an adequate chargin...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Injection Moulding Simulation: Balancing a Family Mould
...is is what we refer to as the non-balanced state. The further propagation of the melt (in concentric circles around the gate) is essentially determined by the different wall thicknesses: the thicker the wall, the further the melt has advanced at a specific point in time. As a result, it is in sheet 3 that the melt reaches the edge of the sheet first, after a flow path of 20mm. As of this time, the melt can no longer spread out unimpeded, and this also has an impact on propagation in the other ca...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Injection Moulding Technology for the Packaging Industry (1): Pace Setters Reduce Costs
...eed injection moulding machines and innovative hot runner technology for stack moulds. In the early 1970s Husky, in close cooperation with manufacturers and plastic processors in the packaging industry, initiated a dedicated development program to advance the technology for highly integrated and high-output injection moulding cells. System solutions that help the customer control operating costs and remain competitive have always been the focal point of this program. Reduced Energy Consumpti...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Injection Moulding Technology for the Packaging Industry (2): Systems Approach
...turnkey injection moulding cell ready for operation, including all the moulds, automation and handling equipment. The project leader is responsible for coordinating the different suppliers. - Efficient integration: Each system is integrated in advance and optimised to customer requirements according to well established principles and with a clear objective in one of the 75 test bays operated by Husky worldwide in its Technical Centres. - Guaranteed system performance: Husky guarantees the produc...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Injection Moulding under Clean Room Conditions: Machine and Process Technology for Medical Products
... application can be qualified and validated without difficulty with the selected drives. If, however, the processor or recipient requests a higher-grade execution of the machine, there are surely reasons for this decision, for instance, preparing in advance for use of the machine in a more stringent clean room class. Between the hydraulically powered and fully electric machine there are hybrid solutions in which various drive types are possible for the individual axes (Fig.1). The processor can ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Injection Moulding: Compounding Wood Fibres with Plastics
...l moisture and all other volatile constituents are withdrawn. This is followed by a zone to build up the pressure for the granulating process. Because of the specific requirements for granulating wood fibre/plastic composites, a more advanced granulating system from Coperion Werner & Pfleiderer was deployed following the pilot plant trials. The resultant, very uniform cylindrical granules (Fig.3) can be processed without problem on conventional injection moulding machines to produce clean, strea...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Injection-compression Moulding: Plastic Car Windows on the Advance
Injection-compression Moulding: Plastic Car Windows on the Advance Small car windows made of plastic are already being manufactured on the production line. Until now, the economical production of large plastic windows has remained a vision for the automotive industry. A new injection-compression process, IMPmore, has opened the door to the manufacture of large vehicle windows of polycarbonate. The development has come about as part of a three-way project between Battenfeld Spritzgießtechnik,...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Innovation and Efficiency: Bayer: Success by Splitting the Plastics Activities?
...Functional Chemicals, from the Performance Chemicals segment. Lanxess intends to make about 60% of sales – approximately EUR 3.5 billion – with its polymer activities. At a press conference in Cologne/Germany in advance of K2004, Dr. Ulrich Koemm, chairman of Lanxess with responsibility for the company’s polymer activities, explained the strategies and concepts for this business segment. He emphasised that Lanxess will orient its products and services specifically to individual customer needs in...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Innovation through New Processes
...aeronautical engineering and the electrical and communications sectors would be inconceivable without the specifically tailored application of polymeric materials. Material and process development have to go hand in hand here to achieve the required advances. This gives rise to a constant demand for new or modified processing and simulation technologies, which drives the activities of the Institute for Plastics Processing (Institut für Kunststoffverarbeitung or IKV) in Aachen. Selected technol...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Innovations Today and Tomorrow: Polypropylene for Flexible Packaging
...e overall property profile of PP flat film (Fig. 1) over the last decade, it is evident that improvements have been made above all with regard to the mechanical properties such as flexibility/rigidity and impact strength. But significant advances have also been made in the optical, fabricating, barrier and heat resistance properties – although not to the same extent as with the mechanical characteristics. Alongside these milestones in polypropylene development, it is also recognisable that the r...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Integrated and Global
...rvice offerings to fit in with this. Prior to the implementation of new e-business initiatives, Dow conducts pilot programmes in order to test new ideas, channel the feedback from individual customers into the planning process and pinpoint errors in advance. The selective feedback from individual customers at MyAccount@Dow Pilotprogrammes makes it possible to tailor concepts to practical requirements before offering them to all the company's customers. Technologies that prove being successfu...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Intelligent Use of Prototypes
...operties represents an important factor in successful product development. The intelligent application of this knowledge can speed up the development process. Furthermore, it not only rules out unnecessary time delays in the development process in advance, but also excludes errors. The result is an increased rate of innovation. What do producers want to know accurately before the market launch of their products? And how do development service providers use the necessary information? To answer th...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Interface Definition: Design of Fabric-reinforced Thermoplastics
...ressed to the desired geometry. The matrix cools in the mould and the part can be demoulded. Fig.1 shows an example of a successful application, namely the bumper of the BMW M3. This part, which is currently in mass production, was developed by AC.S Advance Composite Systems GmbH and Jacob Composite GmbH, both of Wilhelmsdorf/Germany. Difficult Conditions Simulation of the mechanical behaviour of the parts produced by this process, however, is difficult for two reasons. Firstly, thermoplastics ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Interview: Global Material Flows Present Opportunities
...ise to a hard-fought price war. Therefore, we too have to differentiate ourselves from the competition. Our machines are very heavily tailored to customers’ needs and are discussed in great detail with them in advance. The customer develops new ideas which, in turn, lead to machine innovations on our part. The outcome is partnerships aimed at collaboration on new solutions, from the extruder through to the packaging machine. Kunststoffe: What does the future hold for flexible packaging? Vutz:...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Laser Sintering: Rapid Prototyping on its Way to Series Production
...was delivered with the necessary quality with no compromises, and this was also done more quickly and more economically than would have been possible with conventional methods. Decision Aspects in Laser Sintering Estimating the tool cost in advance is difficult, even for an expert. However, costs for laser sintering can be calculated very precisely from CAD data. Thus, a laser sintering calculation clearly carries fewer risks. But what happens when the real production quantity deviates from the...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Laser Welding: Economically Reasonable Joining
...on welding several alternative processes are available. They include contour welding, simultaneous welding, quasi-simultaneous welding and mask welding. Which of the four processes is used depends on the application and should be specified in advance in close discussions with the customer. For purposes of quality management and to meet legal requirements for traceability, control of production processes is also becoming ever more important. In contrast to alternative joining processes, the laser...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Laser Welding: From Concept to Series
... leakproof tightness in relation to water, air or helium, bursting pressures and optically perfect welding seam processes. Usually the conditions, requirements and external influences that the component must withstand later are already well-known in advance. In particular, these criteria are to be examined constantly for their applicability regarding the suitable choice of materials and the final part and welding seam geometries. Production of product requirement specifications is thus the first...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Low-volatility or Solid?
...vely high flame retardant levels. This is due primarily to the more severe nature of the furniture flammability test versus the automotive test. The new polyol technology, which permits production of inherently flame-retardant foams, is an important advance here. The use of halogen-free flame retardants with lower efficiency would lead to an increase in the absolute quantities of flame retardant employed than currently required. The effect of this on costs and physical properties allows the conc...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Machine Maintenance 2003: State of the Art and Future Trends
...enance enhances productivity and reduces costs. Modern-day maintenance relies on a strategy that combines the prophylactic replacement of wear parts with the ongoing monitoring of process-critical plant components. Maintenance work can be planned in advance – from the point of view of personnel, costs, and downtimes – and can be documented in a maintenance management system. A knowledge of the technical condition and the potential performance of the relevant machines and equipment is needed if –...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Material Characteristics: Material Data Determination and Management
... Increasing pressures on quality and costs in the processing and manufacture of plastics products have greatly increased the acceptance of simulation programs in recent years. One and three-dimensional computational methods can simulate processes in advance or are used for selective problem analysis. However different the individual programs available on the market and their underlying algorithms may be, all have one thing in common: for the simulation, they require series of test results or cha...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Microtechnology: A Question of Detail
...production process. The successful realisation of a project requires close collaboration between the customer and mould maker for the production of injection moulds. This is particularly true of micro-technology. There must be close contact both in advance and throughout the development, design and production. Early, intensive cooperation between the development department, the mould maker and the injection moulding technologist provides significant advantages for everyone involved, and has bene...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Modular Drive Systems in the Spotlight
...om around a third to 40%. Focus on Modular Drive Systems “Modular drive systems” were the major technological topic of this year’s Technology Days. They included the premiere of Arburg’s new special model, the Allrounder 420C “advance”. This model has its technical base in the Allrounder C series and features an electro-mechanical dosage drive, equipped with Arburg’s AES energy-saving system and a position-controlled screw. The machine has its place between the proven fully hydraulic Arburg in...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Modular Systems for Hydraulic Drives: Tailor-made “off the Peg”
... high-performance injection moulding. Manfred Kapfer In every cycle, an injection moulding machine must be capable of performing movement sequences for a total of six functions: - plastication of the plastic being processed, - injection-unit advance and contact pressure, - injection of the melt into the mould, - mould opening and closing, - operation of core pullers, and - ejecting the parts. Plastication, injection and mould opening and closing are termed the primary movements of the inject...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Mould Design: Safely Warp-free
...ver Fig.1. The ski bag allows skis to be conveniently and safely stowed in the BMW7 Series Limousine Fig.2. Panel for the ski bag with cover closed (left) and open (right) Fig.3. Mould filling simulation for the open panel shows the advance rate of the melt fronts Fig.4. Modelling the cooling channels at the stationary and movable halves (each side slide receives an additional cooling circuit) Fig.5. Finite-element-model of the closed panel with modelling of the end film gate

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Mould Management in Injection Moulding Operations
.... The customer, who usually owns these moulds, can be informed at any time about the status of his production property. Big repairs and extensive maintenance work can thus be predicted in time, making it possible to co-ordinate production delays in advance with the customer. The MMM module is very effective for mould adjustments and new designs. With the data from the past and the appropriate storage procedures moulds can be developed to include the correct functions more effectively and more ec...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Mould-making 2000
...ative to the erosion method, but the achievable roughness depth is at present still poorer by the factor of ten, than with erosion. With micro milling, the milling tools are of 150 µm diameter. They run at a speed of 100 000 RPM, with a cutter advance of 5 µm. Examples of injection moulded microparts are sensor housings for implantable hearing aids, or elements for micro-switches. In experimental applications it is possible, for instance, to produce plate elements in polyacetal (POM)...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Multi-component Injection Moulding: New Properties through Rigid/Flexible Combinations
...o ensure that the core did not move during the injection process. Balda managed to do this by first carrying out a comprehensive mould flow analysis that helped to exactly fix the position of the gating point and thus prevent any premature advance of the melt. To stop the core from moving, cones were used to secure it. Apart from that, the depth of the core insert was selected in such a way as to achieve a securing effect and additionally stabilise the core. Complex Slide-bar Technology The PA...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Multi-Material Mould with Rotary Mechanism
...the mould core, because it was not permitted to project beyond the overall wall thickness of the finished part. It could be held only by the pins near the gate and the preload in the second moulding position. Since it was not possible to predict in advance the response of the first shot to overmoulding with the second material - will the first shot remain in position or be displaced - a 1+1-cavity prototype mould was built. Experience showed that the first shot was not held adequately in its pos...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, New Possibilities for the Injection Moulding of Thin-wall Parts
... to 400°C. Process Control with Melt Precompression The process control with precompression of the melt deviates slightly from that of conventional injection moulding. Precompression of the melt takes place with a relatively slow screw advance speed to enable the controlled build-up of pressure. Typical thin-wall articles are produced at injection speeds of between 300 and 700mm/s, but a speed of 100 to 200mm/s is sufficient with melt precompression. As a result of the low speed, exact control...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, No Need for Painting?
...r colour effects, and will thereby support new trends in automotive design. Sollx film technology has been developed from the first generation of self-coloured PC/PBT blends (grade: Xenoy) from GE plastics, which themselves represented a significant advance for automotive designers. The substitution of thermoplastics for metals led to significant advantages. The use of PC/PBT blends not only achieves a weight reduction, but the product also offers new horizons in design and functionality. It can...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Opportunity and Challenge
... laser a mask with the circuit layout is required and with the CO2 laser the diameter of the laser beam is larger, because of the wave length. For the ablating process variants, the structuring speeds lie between 600 and 2000 mm/s. An interesting advancement is a special LDS (Laser Direct Structuring) method from the company LPKF Laser & Electronics AG, Garbsen/Germany, in which the circuit pattern results directly from exposure and activation of the filler in the plastic by means of the laser b...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Optimised Process Control: Laser Welding in Computer Simulation
... obtain a good weld. The resultant melt depth calculates to around 0.03mm. To achieve the same effect with a larger laser beam diameter, it would either be necessary to apply a much higher laser energy or to significantly reduce the rate of advance. For POM (also Fig 4), a weld temperature of 311°C and a melt depth of around 0.03 mm were calculated under the laser conditions given in Table 1 (133W laser output, 2.5mm beam radius). The corresponding data for PA 6 (Zytel 7300, 1.5mm laser beam rad...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Packaging: Injection Moulded Design
...tant variant of multi-component injection moulding because it enables an attractive product design to be achieved while including barcodes and legally required product information at the same time. Injection moulds are therefore often supplied in advance with an IML option, which makes little or no difference to mould price. The handling technology for the production system is generally also geared to IML, so that processors can react quickly to future market requirements. In Europe, this trend ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Passive house: Successful Energy-saving
...applying a relatively modest vacuum in the 10mbar range, the thermal conductivity of these materials drops to one-fifth to one-tenth of the value of conventional insulating materials. This undoubtedly represents an important advance for the passive house and the first applications of these materials in passive house construction have already been implemented. Superinsulated Glazing and Window Frames Superinsulated triple glazing units have been specially developed for passive houses. With a ce...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Perfectly Happy
...ill not fit the vehicle properly. This means that quality assurance is all the more important, and consists in more than just quality control measures. Says Mr. Rettner: “We carry out a failure modes and effects analysis or FMEA in advance. This means we try to identify the failures that could possibly occur and decide on countermeasures.” The FMEA is converted into a monitoring plan and constantly maintained. Rettner and his colleagues then coordinate these test plans with the customer. Natural...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, PET Bottles Success Story: Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)
...as an addition to natural fibres. It is now additionally employed for breathable textiles, cushion fillings, carpets, flame-retardant interior textiles and a large number of other fibre applications. At the same time, films made of PET started their advance, especially for applications such as photographic film, audio and video tapes, embossed film, film for electronic applications, and also packaging film. Midway through the 1970s, the first injection blow moulded PET bottles came onto the mark...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Plastics Handling in Extrusion
...omply with ISO 9000. The integrated serial interface allows a log to be printed out or transmitted to a master computer. Drying If the plastics to be process must meet a specific residual moisture content, it is possible to dry these materials in advance. This is most suitably performed by means of dry-air dryers, since hot-air dryers do not ensure continuity and may even moisten the pellets, at least in hot and humid summer weather. The dryers of the EKO series (Fig. 6) generate dry air with ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Plastics Processing in the Future
...at have proved successful in the past and, if necessary, to adapt them to the task in question. There is no need to keep on re-inventing the wheel. Key Position of the Computer All of us - also in the plastics industry - have experienced the rapid advance of the computer into our lives in the last two decades. The computer has become an indispensable tool, and will be the key to the success of plastics processing in the future. Its importance will increase significantly because it alone is in ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Polyethylene terephthalate (PET)
...ate, and synthetic fibres, while PET packaging is today's preferred package for many beverage, food, and household products versus cans or glass. Likewise, equipment and process technologies in polyester, as well as in textiles and bottles, have advanced with scale, lower unit capital and operating costs, and improved efficiencies. Geographically, fibre production continues to migrate to Asia as the high labour component of textile manufacturing favours the low labour costs of that region. C...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Polyphenylene Sulphide (PPS)
...as well as for flue gas scrubbing, fuel and heating systems. In addition, the superior heat and chemical resistance of PPS is utilised for air ducts and thin wire insulation. Blow moulding applications with PPS are also on the advance, while fibres for highly heat-resistant filters and screens have carved out a share of the market for themselves, too. With new, highly impact-resistant blends and extremely highly filled material grades, work is currently focused on tapping other potential markets...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)
...ns What regards the trends in individual market segments, unplasticised PVC applications, with a good two-thirds of all applications, are the clear winners (Table 2). The only exception here is the bottle sector, in which PET substitutes are making advances. Pipes and fittings still represent the biggest individual application, followed by profiles and rigid sheet, which are showing continuous growth. The profile sector is profiting particularly from the PVC window market, which is continuing t...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Potential for Saving: Cost-efficient Designing
... subsequent optimisation of the production process. "Think before you act" is a saying that pays off in product development, as well. It is crucial to collate as much information about the product, its manufacture and the ordering party in advance and not just to start designing willy-nilly. The design of the components needs to factor in whether they will be produced in a highly automated industrial country such as Germany or in a low-wages country. If the wage costs are low, it might ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Pressure Forming Machines: Take Control of Complex Motion Sequences
...w machine, we have entered the age of speedforming“, according to Reinhold Plot, Marketing Manager at Kiefel, in his description of this new development, which represents a quantum leap in the level of performance and process speed. This advance in a technique that has been known for years makes possible a considerable increase in output. The Roll of the Controls The mechanical design, however, was only one of the challenges to be overcome in order to move into entirely new speed ranges. Select...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Preventive Maintenance of Injection Moulding Machines
...t Costs In this case, the machine undergoes preventive maintenance at precalculated or estimated time intervals. No inspection is carried out. Because the maintenance is carried out at specified intervals, the maintenance measures can be planned in advance. Plant availability is ensured and costs due to loss of output are reduced. However, when viewed overall, this strategy can incur high costs due to premature replacement or maintenance of machine parts and incomplete exploitation of the full ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Process optimisation: Simulating the Injection Moulding of Gas-loaded Thermoplastic Resins
...dels can be used. - The calculation makes allowance for the compressible behaviour of the material. - The pressure equation is solved by the finite-element method. - The volume flows are calculated from the pressure gradients. - The flow front advance is determined by a control-volume approach. To couple the two equations, the change in density due to bubble growth is entered into the continuity equation. The change in the specific heat conductivity and specific heat transfer brought about by th...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Process Variant for Thin-wall Injection Moulding: Injection Moulding with Precompression
...ing of the material (Fig.3) [2]. Because the compression pressure is about the same as the expected injection pressure, the injection begins at maximum pressure. The subsequent expansion of the melt with decreasing pressure counters any further advance of the screw by utilising the kinetic energy (Fig.4). Only in this way can complete filling of the cavity be ensured. If the maximum pressure remains unchanged, the injection time can be reduced and the mould-filling process can be performed with ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Processes and Trends in Injection Moulding
...ts by restricting their criticisms. To conduct FMEA now and again as a form of technical controlling is definitely conceivable and useful. Particularly when complex processes or special processes are involved, possible errors should be ruled out in advance. However, a critical aspect is that many processors still fear frank discussions between experts, the quoted reason usually being that know-how could be creamed off. But frankness is important for making rapid, effective progress when co-opera...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Producing for Medical Engineering
..., as soon as you are dealing with pharmaceutical components or biological ones such as implants and inhalers, there may be two or three years when nothing happens because registration takes that long. So, injection moulders must be willing to do the advance work and then perhaps mothball the moulds for two years because customers might not buy anything from them during that time. But this can also happen with disposables, because a market launch takes this amount of time. It is easier to gauge p...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Product Developments: Polyamides in the Engine Compartment
...e connections, nipples and connection pipes can be added without any problems by means of heated tool welding or vibration welding. Non-Newtonian Polyamide facilitates Welding The development of non-Newtonian polyamide has also permitted advances in intake pipes produced from injection-moulded half shells (two-shell overmoulding technique) by vibration or heated tool welding. This is because the welding behaviour will be all the better, the more viscous the melt is during the welding process....

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Product Marketing: Global Trends in Packaging Design
...surround us all. Processes of innovation or rediscovery in these products have a long gestation time and the costs are not insignificant. It is therefore important not to jump onto every bandwagon. Especially since it is almost impossible to know in advance which are one-day wonders and which will become evergreens. Guidelines for a good, clear design that is in tune with the core brand can be distilled from the quintessence of the trends. These are manifested in the six key rules described belo...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Project Management: Challenge Rewarded
...el management are only involved when project managers and department heads cannot find a common solution. By means of the resource planning operated by project managers, it is possible to recognise requirements months in advance in some cases, and to respond appropriately. Measuring Success What, then, is the best way to measure whether the measures presented have been successful? The choice of criteria is always subjective. A quantitative assessment presupposes that comparative data are availa...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Project “Colorado”: Rapid Prototypes for Rapid Cars
...ssible time. For the most part, the latest aluminium alloys are employed for the SPM moulds, which must be manufactured in a short turnaround time. This method makes it possible to have, well in advance of introduction of plastic products to the market and long before the start of series production, inexpensive plastic parts in the original material that are identical to those from series production for inspection, functional tests, optimisation and quality assurance. For complex parts in partic...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Quality Improvement: Cooling Time as Variable
...ulding temperature is determined not only by the plastic used, but also by the part geometry. Because of the complexity of the shrinkage and warpage processes, and the fact that the mould wall and melt temperatures cannot be determined accurately in advance, it is not possible to accurately calculate the demoulding temperature for an injection moulded part. Only an estimate can be carried out, based on guide values, e.g. from raw materials manufacturers, and the experience of tool setters, since...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Reorganization with an ERP system
...usiness management are available to the company management and controlling department in the form of so-called "balanced scorecards". Like a radar system, the management information system monitors all important statistics and warns in advance of problems that are likely to occur. With the integrated Workflow Management system, the company management can obtain information from their mobile phones via SMS or WAP, even when out of the office. Company portrait DSG-Canusa GmbH & Co. KG o...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Requirements for Manufacturing Products for Medical Technology: Guidelines for Building up a Practical Cleanroom Manufacturing System
...el). The manufacturer is obliged to carry out an appropriate risk analysis and a clinical assessment. The risk analysis, also known as FMEA (failure mode and effect analysis), is the documented proof that potential risks have been discovered in advance and excluded as far as possible, e.g. according to EN 1441. EU guidelines for producing medical products describe “basic requirements”, which all have to be fulfilled. These basic requirements affect the safety, function, performance, storage and ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Retrofits: No Fear of Foaming
...g, since it directly affects nucleation and cell growth. For this reason, physical and thermal homogeneity are important prerequisites for formation of a high-quality foam with a uniform structure. The equalisation processes can be determined in advance on the basis of experimental data and simulation calculations for laminar flow such as that found in injection moulding (Fig.3). In this way, the static mixer can be designed for each specific application. Important boundary conditions for this ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Screws: Plastication in Rapid Time
...me while simultaneously improving part quality. New design methods and tools, such as simulation of mould filling, cooling and shrinking conditions, aid designers in speeding up the process. With computer aids, warpage problems can be understood in advance. In an ideal case, processors can achieve faster demoulding together with higher heat deflection temperature of the parts. These developments permit faster cycles and higher productivity. But, at the same time, they also mean that less time is...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, SEBS Compounds: Extremely Free-flowing
...omers (TPE-S), especially SEBS compounds, were widely used until a few years ago in applications in which special haptic or design criteria had to be met. Further developments, both on the material and on the processing side, however, have seen them advance into technological applications that were previously the preserve of rubber or other TPE materials. Compared with other thermoplastic elastomers, their advantages lie in the selective ability to influence the properties of the compounds. Tho...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Shortened Product Cycles: The Changing Face of Extrusion Technology
... past few years, a marked increase in performance has been evident in counter-rotating twin-screw extruders (Fig.3). Output rates have virtually doubled for the same axial spacing between the screws. A number of factors have contributed towards this advance [6]: - an increase in the acting torque through more powerful gears, - an increase in the length of the processing unit (screw and cylinder), - an increase in the specific output, - a modification of the familiar screw geometries, - an incre...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Shorter Cycle Times with Pulsed Cooling?
...rts be of the same quality. Therefore, the temperatures of the mould surfaces must be the same in the two methods at the end of the cycle (or start of the cycle). This condition can only be met by determining the operating parameters in advance. For the continuous cooling method, the initial temperatures needed to produce a mould-surface temperature of 60°C at the start of the cycle were determined. Figure4 shows two scenarios for the temperature curves of a 1-mm-thick ABS part: 1. The initial ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Simulation and Practice
...rical manifold system. Other manifestations include local segregation of pigments or thermal damage to only part of the material. This greatly reduces the quality of the parts. The following study is intended to illustrate the phenomenon of partial advance of a melt front that occurred in housing parts from the telecommunications sector. The strong advance of the flow front in the outer region (Fig.1 left) led to secondary weld seams and, in the case of some housing parts, air inclusions that a ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Simulation Tools: Vibro-acoustic Design of Composites
...nd layer geometry, are extremely important from a technical standpoint. Such a preliminary acoustic design requires early use of efficient computational methods for virtual prototypes and individual components, since these are available much in advance of the complete system. To date, simulation tools that provide a real-world description of structure-air coupling and the resultant sound emission suitable for plastics have been lacking, especially for the low-frequency range. Vibro-acoustic Sim...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Simulation: Using Models to Describe the Joining Process
...completion of the finished product, in a process sequence is desirable and should be a goal to strive for. In this way, optimum process parameters can be established and possible weak spots in the overall manufacturing process can be recognised in advance through better understanding of the process. The work presented here represents a first step in this direction. Acknowledgement The Institute for Plastics Technology (Institut für Kunststofftechnik) acknowledges the financial support of the ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Software: 3D Injection Moulding Simulation with Pathlines
...his enabled the melt to develop its full flow profile after the colorant was incorporated and before the melt entered the cavity. Injection needles were used for introducing the colorant into the main runner. Their position was determined in advance with the aid of calculations performed by the Sigmasoft commercial injection moulding simulation program from Sigma Engineering GmbH, Aachen/Germany. Among other things, this program can calculate the pathlines of so-called tracer particles, a fact w...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Special Plastics: Household Work Made Easy
...th its good sliding and friction characteristics as well as high rigidity and impact stability the multi-talent also convinced the developers of a new vacuum cleaner brush that takes up dust and dirt close to pieces of furniture. Triumphant Advance Continues Kitchens and households are no longer computer and chip-free zones. Automation progresses in the private sector incessantly. Thus complete cross-linking and/or new wireless LAN technology in the modern house makes it possible to control all...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Static Mixers: Well Mixed
...enerated at the first mixing element is split into two partial streams and forced to rotate in the opposite direction. Consequently, the materials being mixed are thoroughly and continuously mixed, with the degree of mixing capable of being set in advance. Radial gradients in terms of temperature, speed and material composition are prevented. Assessing Mixing Quality The degree of mixing generated by a static mixer for laminar flow can be expressed in different ways. A theoretical way of depi...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Strategic Reorientation: “Homemade Problems Can Be Corrected”
...ted” Strategic Reorientation. After taking up office in January, Wilhelm Schröder, who holds responsibility for plastics technology on the managing board of the SMS Group, sent out a strong signal at a press conference held at the end of May in advance of the upcoming K trade fair. A detailed package of structural measures was announced to bring the company back on course following a difficult year. The SMS Group made the headlines last year when the Weiss family bought back MAN's stake in ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Strong Composites
...by the market are produced by hot-compaction (Fig.1). This patented process is based on almost 10 years of research work at the Institute for Polymer Science and Technology at the University of Leeds/UK. The starting product is a fabric produced in advance from highly oriented thermoplastic tapes. The individual layers are then consolidated under heat and processed by hot-compaction. The thickness of the semi-finished production is adjusted by varying the number of fabric layers. During the comp...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Styrene Copolymers (ABS, ASA, SAN)
...sed on ASA or AES) and their blends are currently under development. They would be attractive in automotive applications as through-pigmented body parts such as outer mirrors, radiator grilles or trim strips. In the construction industry they could advance to become the material of choice for window profiles. Market Trends Import pressure by Asian manufacturers is continuing unhindered in 2001 in Europe. In Europe significantly more than 100 000 tonnes ABS comes onto the market from the Far Ea...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Synergy Creates New Technology
Synergy Creates New Technology Plastic Carbody Parts are on the Advance The range of technical features and the level of comfort in car interiors have risen considerably in recent years, not least through the use of innovative plastic trim and cladding components. The use of plastics has also increased for exterior body parts. An innovative example of this can be seen at K 2001. Despite the mounting use of plastics for exterior car parts in the recent past, it is really still too early to talk ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Synergy: mpm also Shows its Strengths in Extrusion Technology
...lar extruder and, with this machine, too, is designed in such a way that the screw, after dismantling the cutter plate, can be drawn through the passage of the melt of the pelletiser. Separate dismantling of the pelletiser in advance is no longer necessary. The system is controlled via Berstorff’s own process control system with the aid of the existing PLC and the control unit of the extruder. PET Recycling without Predrying A further subject was the economical processing of non-dry PET with a...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Tailor-made Engineering in Increasing Perfection
Tailor-made Engineering in Increasing Perfection Latest Hot-Runner Trends at Trade Fairs in 2001 Peter Wippenbeck, Aalen/Germany Customised hot-runner solutions are on the advance. Flexibility in manufacture and user friendliness have assumed maximum priority among suppliers. These trends were confirmed following visits to K2001 and Euromold. At the recent big trade fairs and exhibitions, a number of distinct trends were evident among hot-runner manufacturers: Plug-in versions are becomi...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Testing Technology: Inline Measuring and Testing
...y very small defects, even with only weak contrast at very high process speeds. The error data are collected, stored and displayed by a master industrial PC. The system is based on a Windows platform. It warns the operator in advance and thereby prompts him to optimise the process. How to combine physical measurements and film inspection is shown by some companies that are actually known solely for material testing. The extrusiometer from Göttfert Werkstoff-Prüfmaschinen GmbH is suitable for use...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, The Future Role of the Plastics Producers
... plastics account for a much smaller share of overall consumption. Taking the five classical engineering plastics of PA, PC, PMMA, POM and PBT, demand of some 5 million t. is expected for 2000, which should increase to almost 6.5 million t. by 2005. Advanced plastics, such as PTFE, PEEK, LCP and PPS, by contrast, have an exceedingly small share (0.1 %) in terms of both demand and value. In respect of their market value they are, and are set to remain, niche products, despite their attractive pro...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, The Handmaster Project
...th Moldflow MPI Armin Hossinger, Roding/Germany The Handmaster is a rehabilitation device for stroke patients that is composed of 18 plastic parts. Moldflow fusion calculations were used for adapting the mould design and choosing the material in advance. An Israeli start-up company called Ness Ltd. that is engaged in neuromuscular electrical stimulation therapy has developed the Handmaster - a device for stimulating the forearm muscles of stroke patients. The Handmaster uses five electrode...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, The Material Determines the Result
...ktionslaser GmbH has developed LaserSpec. This device enables the permeability of a material to the laser beam (Fig.2) to be measured simply and quickly. Injection moulded parts can be checked before further processing and sorted out in advance, as necessary. The device is available either as an integrated component of the welding equipment or as a separate item of test equipment. It is already being used for final checks by some suppliers of plastic materials. On-line Process Control with Wel...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, The Right Software Brings Success
...and-reinforced carbon fibre material requires a great deal of experience and entails precise rheological studies. Mr. Müller describes the problems: "The core is very brittle because it is composed of a low-melting alloy. The flow front must advance as uniformly as possible around it. Otherwise, transverse forces are generated which shift the core to one side and destroy it. A great help in designing the mould is afforded by combining Procision, which calculates areas of the workpiece under ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, The Right Strategy Mix: Maintenance in Plastics Processing
...e costs in the case of maximum part service life. - Preventive strategy for wear parts: Preventive parts replacement is performed after specified operating times or unit numbers in scheduled maintenance intervals. The downtimes are scheduled far in advance. Parts are not used for the full duration of their service lives. A residual risk of machine downtime remains. - Predictive strategy for parts critical to the process: Parts are replaced on the basis of their condition. This means that their...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Thin-wall Injection Moulding: Miniaturisation of Microplates
... from the start, since the pressure loss was too great even with easy-flow moulding compounds. Figure 2 shows the filling behaviour resulting from the large number of optimisation phases. It is impossible to further improve on the faster advance of the flow front in the edge zone under the prevailing boundary conditions. Even with a three-point gate that was tried out in the first generation of moulds, the film repeatedly started to melt, or melted right through, at the three gating points. The ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Tracing the Cost Factors
...recording in Fig.8 shows, the mould wall temperature is uniformly distributed (DT = 5.0°C). The recording was made with an infrared camera directly after demoulding of the part. Another advantage is the possibility of influencing the flow-front advance during mould filling. Because of the extremely sensitive temperature control within the mould, weld seams can be moved and the size and position of air entrapments can be influenced. Ideally, as here, the optimisation would be carried out during t...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Transparency in Injection Moulding
...d to the entire process chain. So that the high quality requirements can be met, the individual steps in the process must be geared to each other with maximum precision and, where possible, subjected to a Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) in advance. An analysis of this kind carried out afterwards reveals where, on a optical component production line, possible sources exist for the entrainment of foreign particles (black specks) (Fig. 2). This example shows clearly that, with moulding wei...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Trends in Bio-materials: The Signs are Set for Growth
...nvestments made by manufacturers and processors will pay off. For the moment, the products, which are mostly made from renewable raw materials obtained from agricultural production, are still in the early stages of market introduction. However, advances are evident at all levels: Aside from niches that have already been successfully occupied, such as biodegradable agricultural film and compostable organic-waste sacks, BP packaging (title picture) is now also found on many supermarket shelves in ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Ultrasonic Technology: Fabrication of Films and Coated Fabrics
...onotrode 2–5mm wide (depending on the desired weld seam and characteristics of the material) is made to vibrate, melting the surface of the two lengths of material. Through extremely precise control of the contact pressure in conjunction with the advance speed and amount of energy introduced, a perfect connection of the two film webs is achieved in the area of the welding sonotrode. Made-to-Measure Processing An order was received to design a machine for manufacturing protective garments. The...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Unobtrusive, Invisible, Universal
...y the PIM process (Powder Injection Moulding). Such instruments were originally hand-made at Arburg when the company was founded. Through the use of the innovative Powder Injection Moulding process, the circle has, here too, been closed. The Advance is Continuing Unabated These first two examples show that injection moulding materials are working their way largely unnoticed into areas in which many people would hardly expect them. In the fixing and do-it-yourself segment (wall plugs), they are...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, User Report: Quality Assurance as a Continuous Challenge
...ion. This was followed, a short time later, by the integration of the customer deliveries for the ppm assessment and the data for the quality cost assessment. The company now also uses the APQP module of the CAQ system for advance quality planning in order to administer its production control plans, together with the full range of assemblies and individual parts involved, and for automatically generating process flowcharts from these. Having the flowcharts generated automatically eliminates cost...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Water-assist Process Suitable for Mass Production: Outgrowing Experimental Status
...ion. After that, the volumetric flow rate can be increased for rapid formation of the continuous hollow section. With this possibility of profile setting – similar to the way in which this is done in injection moulding by changing the advance rate of the screw – process control can be adapted sensitively to the requirements of different component geometries. And in the inflation process (partial filling of the mould cavity with melt) it is possible to use a specially adapted profile – in this ca...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Welding Crosslinked Polyethylene
...ture of approx. 210°C. A low weld-seam quality at high welding temperatures is the result of the formation of large spherulites, i. e. an unsuitable structure, rather than unfavourable bead formation as is commonly supposed. (This was cut off in advance in the case of welds to PE-HD; with welds to PE-X, it didn't exist.) One may welcome good short-term results and be surprised by the similarity between the optimum parameters for welding "normal" polyethylene and those for welding...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Which Way is the Wind Blowing for GRP?
...al quality specifications laid down for aircraft technology. After all, the good tensile properties cannot be utilised for wind power anyway without a high compressive strength at the same time. Prepregs are on the advance, not least because of the precisely adjustable laminate properties and the low health risk. The infusion processes are subject to constant further development and are also becoming more and more important with the construction of ever larger rotor blades. In any case, the tren...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, ”The Electrical is not Better in Everything, but it is a Viable Alternative”
...lly electro-mechanical machine as a concept study, and at K 2001, it presented the first modular electrical version (Type: Allrounder A), which is just going into series production. Now, at its Technology Days, Arburg showcased its special “advance” model, which combines elements of both hydraulic and electric drive technology (see report). The Kunststoffe-editors Clemens Doriat and Harald Sambale talked to the Managing Director for Technology at Arburg, Herbert Kraibühler, about the subject. ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-30, Retrofit on a Milling Machine: 19 Years’ Service and Better than New
...lling machine before the overhaul and the refit date had to be brought forward. This approach was for good reason – time and again in the months leading up to the overhaul, cable breakages occurred, which were repaired in-house. In advance of the overhaul and modernisation project, which was entrusted to Hellwig Elektrotechnik GmbH, Herford/Germany, a detailed activity and time schedule was prepared. Production was due to restart within seven weeks after shutdown of the machine. The delivery tim...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-12-07, Competition: The Other Chinese
...ocking force, from double-knee lever to two-plate designs and hybrid and electrical machines. We spoke with Jerry Yen, European sales manager at Asian Plastics Machinery (APM), who said that machinery made in Taiwan is on the advance at present because it is a good value for money and because of the wide variety of products available. Asia, which is responsible for about 60% of sales, is unambiguously the core of Chen Hsong’s business activities. But Jerry Yen also regards Australia as a part ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-12-07, Slide Compression Moulding: Producing Fibre Composite Profiles with Variable Wall Thickness
...Trial Phase The first test profile (Fig.2) achieved a laminate thickness of 3mm throughout with a core of heat-resistant rigid polymethacrylimide foam (grade: Rohacell; manufacturer: Degussa). The required compression strength is calculated in advance in order to prevent possible failure. The problem becomes less critical with increasing profile cross-section, because the area/circumference ratio increases. A resin system from MGS Kunstharzprodukte GmbH, Stuttgart/Germany, was employed as matrix...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-01-09, Continuous Fibres: Local Reinforcement of Injection Moulded Components
...The flow forces of the melt front also have to be taken into account here. In trials, the use of spring-loaded pre-stressing elements, slides and clamping pins has proved successful. Spacers can be moulded onto the reinforcing elements in advance (Fig.3c). The complete reinforcing structure can be shaped in a wire bending machine and assembled in a prior process step. If the reinforcing elements are joined to the external connection points by positive-locking (Fig.3b), this facilitates handling ...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-01-09, Plasma Processes: The Functionalisation of Plastic Surfaces
...e are basically the electrical power, process pressure (only with low-pressure units), mass flows of the process gases and, where possible, variations in the position of the substrate (e.g. directly in the plasma or the distance from the plasma) and advance speeds (e.g. when treating profiles and roll material). The manufacturing parameters influence, via complex interactions, the properties of the plasma and its effect on a surface exposed to it. Because of these complex relationships, experime...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-01-15, Mouldmaking Technology at Fakuma und EuroMold: Engineering Lights Comes Out from Under the Bushel
...usually an unwanted pressure drop and thus hesitation of the flow front. If, in contrast, the desired pressure profile is specified for each nozzle in advance, the flow front proceeds continuously.“ Which pressure profile is best can be established with the aid of a special simulation technique. The capabilities of this technique were presented by Martin Kaupert, CAE Manager at Plastic Engineering Group GmbH, Darmstadt: “We can establish the optimum pressure curves for the holding pressure phas...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-01-26, Processing: Continuous Process for Manufacturing Natural-fibre-filled Plastic Boards
...s on pelletising the company’s own materials have been carried out without problems. Spreading and Compacting the Material In the production process according to EPS/TPS technology, the bulk pellet is scattered to the desired thickness on the advanced lower belt of the double-belt press with the pScatt (manufacturer: Schilling-Knobel GmbH, Göppingen/Germany) specially developed for this purpose. To take account of the size, geometry and density of the bulk material, models are available with os...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-01-30, Plastics for Medical Technology: Long Life Ensured
... of Terlux 2802 HD completely constant unless changes to the legislation necessitate some form of modification. Any changes to the formulation needed as a result of this will be announced at least 24 months in advance to give the user enough time to adjust. The promise made by BASF is of considerable importance for users, and it also extends to BASF’s suppliers. They, too, have committed themselves to keep the quality of the additives they contribute to the formulation absolutely constant. A co...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-02-22, Cockpit Surfaces: Workplace and Living Room on Wheels
...e upper surfaces of instrument panels and door trim are manufactured using this technique. Since a trend away from the time-tested PVC/ABS films toward TPO films has been observed in recent years, there appears to be little further advancement regarding this approach. The reasons for this surely include the effort associated with laminating, costs and emissions, which are stopping the trend toward TPO. A serious handicap versus skin-forming methods is the flattening of the texture (or grain) in ...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-02-22, Mathematical Model: Economic Stabilisation
... in automotive manufacture contain small quantities of highly priced stabilisers. These protect plastic parts over their lifetime from the harmful effects of UV and heat. The additional costs incurred by stabilisation can be limited by estimating in advance the actual quantities required for the specific components using a mathematical model. Alexander Lichtblau Additives are incorporated into plastics for various reasons. A long service life and compliance with high component requirements can ...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-03-23, Food Packaging: To Each Yoghurt Tub, Its Own Polystyrene
... Dalton) = unit of molecular weight) Fig. 6. Birefringence: Flow-induced birefringence of the three polystyrene grades was determined and observed using the Cambridge Multipass Rheometer (die geometry: L = 10mm, D = 1mm; piston advance 0.5mm/s, shear rate 23.6 1/s; T = 190°C (PS 1, 2), 180 °C (PS 3); flow direction from top to bottom) Manufacturer: BASF AG Communication Plastics D-67056 Ludwigshafen Tel. +49 (0) 621/60-43348 Fax +49 (0) 621/60-49497 www.basf.de/plastics

Kunststoffe international, 2006-04-21, Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA): Thermomechanical Application Limits for Plastics
...nly in the linear viscoelastic region because of the limited loads possible, with the heavy-load DMA (Eplexor 500, manufacturer: Gabo) available at the Plastics Engineering Department it is possible to apply a dynamic force of up to 500N and thus advance into the region of non-linear viscoelasticity when using small test specimen cross-sections. The measurements were evaluated using the hysteresis measurement technique to determine the temperature-dependent stiffness and damping values. It is al...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-05-23, Phyllosilicates: Targeted Modification of Properties
...(PA+PP) blend. The (PA+PP+NC) blends exhibit greatly improved barrier characteristics with respect to water vapour. It was possible to reduce the water vapour permeability to 1/30 of the initial value of pure (neat) polyamide and thus advance into a region otherwise reserved for pure polyolefins or coextruded PA/PO films. By using only 15% PP, water vapour permeability values significantly below those of a high-tech (PA+PP) blend currently on the market were achieved. The (PA+PP40+NC) blends ar...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-05-24, Chromogenic Plastics: Thermally Switchable Polymers Open up New Fields of Application
... of the NIR and IR radiation is reflected at the same time. So the incident heat radiation itself initiates the changes in these systems that lead to heat reflection. The principle of “reflection instead of absorption” offers a further advance over absorbing systems. Absorption always causes systems to heat up at the same time, while reflection leaves the heat outside. Colour Switching by Heat. Thermochromic systems are also switched on by temperature change. The visible effect is a colour chan...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-06-29, Fluoropolymer Processing Aids: Particle Size and Activity
...ed until recently. The latest insights from DuPont Performance Elastomers regarding the formation mechanism of the PPA film have lead to the development of improved products: PPA utilising Z technology. The present article summarises the most recent advances in this field and describes the reasons for the growing acceptance of process aids utilising Z technology in the market. Larger Particles are Faster-acting. To understand the mechanism of PPA film formation in the die, it must be borne in mi...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-06-29, Quality Planning: From Customer Requirement to Industrial Mass Production
...w development tool, which is finding increasing use in large, complex projects is DoE (“design of experiments” software). With this method, raw material and property relationships are identified in advance using a reduced experimental plan and the “theoretical optimum in the experimental environment” is determined. The first projects have already been conducted using this software. The Authors Dipl.-Ing. Gerhard Berger, born in 1968, is responsible for development of thermoplastic elastomer com...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-07-04, Custom-engineered: Mobile Workplace Protection for Production of Fibreglass Parts
...his results in a largely laminar flow of air downwards from above (Fig.3). Ideally, the air flow entrains the styrene generated by the workpiece and conveys it to the exhaust vents in the floor with minimal turbulence. The air flow was modelled in advance by the Institute for Ventilation and Air Conditioning (Institut für Luft- und Kältetechnik), Dresden, in order to obtain information about optimum flow conditions on the basis of as many boundary conditions as possible. Ventilation System Move...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-07-12, Automobile Interiors: Soft Skin, Hard Core
... more. The art is to select materials that combine well with each other from a rheological standpoint, and then to modify the mould and processing concept to accommodate the part.” Developed in Advance of Customer Requirements. The very first project, the mat for the Ford Focus, met with success. A major insight was that the Monosandwich process would work with a conventional mould. “As early as this phase, we asked ourselves: ‘How far can we go?’ and expanded our investigations with the Cadmo...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-08-02, Thermal Balance: Conformal Cooling on the Advance
Special Conformal Cooling on the Advance Thermal Balance. Increasing complexity of the geometries of injection moulded parts and stricter specifications for dimensional stability are putting increased cost pressures on injection moulders and intensifying the already difficult feasibility problems. Conformal, segmented mould cooling is a key technology for confronting this pressure. Reiner Westhoff The experienced injection moulder knows three techniques for tackling the heat flux in the mould ...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-08-06, Optically Perfect: PVD-coated Plastication Screws
...and nitrogen are used, which form a ceramic coating system. Higher Optical Part Quality To study how strongly the plastic melts adhere to the CrAlON coating developed by IOT, a cycloolefinic copolymer (COC, type: Topas 5013-S04, manufacturer: Topas Advanced Polymers GmbH, Frankfurt/Germany) was used, among others. The methodology described below refers to this polymer. A contact angle measuring instrument is used to assess the strength of the adhesion of the melt to the PVD coating system. Afte...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-09-10, The Quandary of Making a Selection: Which Fluid Injection Technique is Appropriate?
...ts. The medium determines the effectiveness of the cooling inside the moulded part. Thus, the achievable cooling time and possible cost savings represent the major differences between the individual processes. Cooling Times Can be Calculated in Advance. The cooling times to be expected with the individual processes can be calculated using analytical methods based on thermodynamics and heat transfer. For this purpose, a few simplifications are made, such as assuming that all processes take plac...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-09-27, Integrated Module: From the Interior Trim to the Door
Tooling From the Interior Trim to the Door Integrated Module. Suppliers to the automotive industry can thank the tool and mould making sector for a major advance in production. BMW’s decision to collaborate with the Magna Group’s Magna Closures and Intier Automotive Interiors UK in manufacturing the door module of the new Mini from glass-fibre-reinforced PP should not be regarded as just a substitution of sheet metal. The new door concept offers signifi-cant advantages to the design-loving and...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-09-28, Development Trends in Automation: Robots and Humans: A Good Team
...ration with an Emergency Strategy High availability can be achieved through the easiest possible operation and a sophisticated error and emergency strategy – the latter must be integrated into the plant concept in advance. The user interface must allow the operator to shut down an affected part of a plant while allowing production to continue – with the exception of the missing operation. If, for example, the blade of a sprue cutter breaks during the night shift, the bottleneck machine must stil...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-09-28, High-tech in a Holiday Region: With Clockwork Precision
...t a price reduction of up to 5% every year, and that is getting difficult. We are constantly seeking solutions to offset this - through automation, for example. These endeavours naturally mean that we advance further, of course. Although you are looking at a successful company here, we have also gone through very difficult times, when the very survival of the company was jeopardised. Our ambition has always driven us on, however. We were still employees and obtained loans from the banks to finan...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-10-30, Development Project: A Concept that Fits
...the same time, which when provided with a pre-stressed net fabric makes possible substantially better seat comfort than the conventional, solid plates. However, the seat framework is thereby subjected to a continuous stress, which in advance could only be measured badly. After definition of the junction points of the individual chair parts among themselves – here fixed connections and screw con-nections or bonding and contact connections are distinguished, which can separate under the loads – th...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-10-30, Injection Moulding: A Mirror Finish with no Visible Weld Seams
...ment of the monitor frame. This achieved: - calculated choice of gate points, - analysis of the effects of flow aids, - reduction of the filling pressure by 20%, and - localisation of the expected welds. With a reliable definition of the melt-front advance, the Weber engineers were able to take calculated measures to minimise the weld on the high-gloss monitor frame (Fig.2) In practice, no significant weld occurred between the two gate points. In the region where a weld was unavoidable, the coo...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-11-15, Editorial: Generating Added Value
...el and BASF have adopted a new approach to cooperation, developing a bumper component to protect pedestrians in a relatively short period of time through the use of a virtual model. In this way, it is possible to make precise statements in advance on the complex stress states that prevail in the component exposed to the crash impact. These and other innovations are covered in this issue. Interested readers can download the entire Special from our website under www.kunststoffe.de/KunststoffeAut...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-01-22, Differentiated Market Working for Customer Proximity
...eep each other up to date." The potential points of contact in respect of the technologies employed can be illustrated by the example of polylactic acid (PLA) processing. PLA is a plastic based on natural raw materials, which is on the advance in the USA and has also attracted a great deal of attention in Europe. John G. Fleischer explains: "We were one of the first companies to get into PLA business in the US. This is why we hold a pioneering position here. This raw material has very go...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-01-22, Simulation of the Heating Cycle during Thermoforming
...dow. The temperature profile of the radiative heaters can be used to influence the desired post-forming wall thickness distribution and the necessary temperature profile for the individual heating elements can be determined through calculations in advance (Fig. 1). Infrared radiation is preferred for the heating process. The heating elements used are ceramic, quartz and halogen radiators which differ in respect of their service temperature, control and the spectrum of the emitted radiation (long...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-02-13, Filling of Flexible Packaging
... conducted during the development phase resulted in significant subsequent modification of the geometries employed in the port cap. Incorporation into Production The welding in and functioning of the individual port components were tested in advance under near-production conditions with the aid of a small-scale production system for welding and a pilot system for filling. The production equipment, a layout of which is shown in Fig.10, was designed using the data obtained directly from the port...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-02-13, From Three-dimensional Cell Cultures to Contour-matching Mould Temperature Control
...is way 3D computer tomography provides an ideal tool for use in the genesis of a product from the initial idea through to volume production. An Ideal Method for Medical Technology Specifically in medical technology this method represents a huge advance in quality assurance because in this field the requirements which components have to meet are particularly demanding. Inherent weaknesses such as inhomogeneous areas, voids or microcracks were frequently only detected in the past in the course o...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-02-13, Process for Quality Moulds
...e, enables several designers or planners to work on the same mould at the same time. This is the only way for Four-Tec designers to settle orders for 200 highly complex moulds per year. The company is now reaping the benefit of the advance spadework as regards mould standardisation, new mould concepts and meticulous process definition. The company also exploits the advantages of paperless production. All planning data, including the NC programs for milling or electrode manufacturing, are transmi...