Hi-Point - Crosslinking agents - Addivant

Kunststoffe international, 3D Printing with Pellet Extruded Plastics on Metal
Additive manufacturing processes count as future-oriented manufacturing techniques. Numerous studies and award-winning demonstrators underline the interest of the industry. Nevertheless, up to now there are only a few plastic-based applications with significant quantities. Today, screw-based additive manufacturing is a ‧solution for the economic and technical challenges and has the potential for series production. The debate surrounding the conditions for cost-effective and scalable additive man...

Kunststoffe international, Absorption of Water by Molded Plastics
What does the simulation of a diffusion process have to do with the simulation of a temperature field? Simply put, they share the same differential equation. This property can be exploited in such a way that diffusion processes can be simulated with the aid of finite element programs. Such numerical simulation vividly reveals how such processes take place and how water absorption can influence the design of molded plastics. A body will expand as a result of a rise in temperature. This is a well-...

Kunststoffe international, All about Plasticizing Screws
The required screw diameter can be ascertained on the basis of the shot volume. The formula for the average residence time can be used to estimate the degree of utilization and the thermal load on the material. Last but not least, the maximum injection pressure and the available screw torque are key variables for successful injection molding production – basic principles for the selection of a barrel-and-screw combination, and the starting point for further optimization. Designing an injection m...

Kunststoffe international, An Impact Way beyond its Small Market Share
Although fluoroplastics only make up a very small part of the overall plastics market, they are an indispensable component of many applications. These materials play a central role in today’s megatrends of digitalization, clean-energy generation and modern mobility concepts. In fluoroplastics, the hydrogen atoms of the main carbon chains are completely or partially replaced by fluorine atoms. Because these carbon-to-fluorine bonds are very stable, fluoroplastics exhibit a special combination of ...

Kunststoffe international, Automotive Display: A Matter of Form
Harmoniously integrating displays into the lines of a vehicle cockpit has always been a real challenge. ‧Continental now uses a combination of film insert molding, in-mold decoration and injection-compression molding to produce large, three-dimensionally formed plastic panels. The display increasingly sets the tone of a vehicle cockpit. Most current car models already have two full-color, graphic-‧capable displays. The instrument cluster usually consists of a large display (full digital cluster...

Kunststoffe international, Avoiding Shutdowns
Hammann markets its own developed pulsed flushing process under the name Comprex. The flushing technology is a purely physical process, which does not use any chemicals – just air and water. Its fields of application have been increasingly extended over time. The example of a preform manufacturer shows how well the ‧process works in a practical application in plastics processing. The patented Comprex process stands for intensive mechanical cleaning of water-carrying systems. It works by the puls...

Kunststoffe international, Award-Winning Packaging Solution ‧Increases Productivity
A solution, which is unique in Europe, significantly increases productivity and comprises the production from a 12+12 stack mold with fully automated in-mold labeling and removal with visual 100 % inspection of the parts. The process significantly increases productivity compared to conventional tooling solutions. The Thuringian mold making specialist roth was responsible for the design and construction of the stack mold. Ewikon supplied the customized valve gate hot runner system. Packaging man...

Kunststoffe international, Beyond Human Capabilities
The quality of injection molded parts and the process stability are still heavily dependent on the knowledge and experience of the process technician. However, the ever increasing degree of freedom creates complex interrelationships between part quality and process parameters. At K 2019, IKV and an industrial consortium will demonstrate how algorithms based on artificial intelligence can support machine operators during the process setup by using machine data and quality data. When setting up in...

Kunststoffe international, Bring on Electromobility!
© Hanser/ H. Zett© Hanser/ H. Zett© Hanser/ H. ZettAudi first, and now Daimler – after the job cuts in Ingolstadt, Germany, the Swabian company is now following suit. Around 15,000 are now to be lost, following a significant drop in profits last year. This is due to heavy investment in technical development and electric vehicle production, and to liabilities resulting from the diesel scandal. Daimler is currently paying the price for missing out on alternative drive technologies, and cheating on...

Kunststoffe international, Central Hub for Digitization in Plastics Processing
Because it has not yet been possible to exploit the full potential of digitization in plastics processing, the Institute for Plastics Processing at RWTH Aachen University is building a new application-oriented research infrastructure along the lines of a Smart Factory. Kunststoffe is accompanying the building of the Plastics Innovation Center 4.0 with a series of publications. Part 1 describes the concept and the initial demands on the physical ‧infrastructure. Digitization is now making inroads...

Kunststoffe international, Correctly Assessing the Energy‧Efficiency of Heating Systems
It is often claimed that temperature control units featuring heaters with no direct contact to the heat transfer medium are at a disadvantage in terms of energy efficiency. While this may seem correct at first glance, a different picture emerges when the whole system is taken into consideration. A lifetime warranty on the heater – this promise, which was made by HB-Therm AG, a St.Gallen/Switzerland-based manufacturer of temperature control units and which is unique within the industry, recently ...

Kunststoffe international, Correctly Predicting Creep
An important phenomenon that deserves attention in the use of plastics is the materials’ viscoelasticity. It has the consequence that plastics first deform spontaneously under constant load and then continue to deform over time. Spontaneous deformation can be predicted using the modulus of elasticity (single point value acc. to ISO 527-1/-2 in Campus). The subsequent creep requires more complex material data. For this, Campus provides the customary representation in the isochronous stress-strain...

Kunststoffe international, Crisisproof and Creative
Dr. Clemens Doriat (© private)Dr. Clemens Doriat (© private)Dr. Clemens Doriat (© private)They do still exist, the robust high-tech industries. The ones that are not suffering under a weakening global economy, international trade conflicts or the vagaries of Brexit. According to a survey by the IVAM Microtechnology Network, the majority (81 percent) of European companies in this sector are counting on increasing their revenue in this and the next two years. Around two thirds of them are planning...

Kunststoffe international, Delivering Efficiency Even in Harsh Environments
Across many industry sectors, the quest for enhanced performance of applications and cost-efficiencies is on. In addition to these traditional requirements, societal and environmental trends, such as the need to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and maintaining a healthy and active ageing population, are important needs that must be addressed as well. Due to its high-performing properties polyetheretherketone thermoplastic polymer is being used more and more frequently in many products. In c...

Kunststoffe international, Diverse Shapes and Applications
Styrenics can be polymerized using different technologies and it can be modified with a range of copolymers. The resulting plastics offer a wide range of properties allowing to customize them for different applications. ‧Because of this range of properties they are suitable for many industries. Strong demand is for example driven by the automotive industry, healthcare and the packaging industry. Styrenic polymers are amongst the economically most important plastics. They combine benign processin...

Kunststoffe international, Easier to Reach the Destination
Weight reduction is one of the major requirements of automotive components. Regardless of the vehicles in which they are used. One of the lightest materials that can be considered is polypropylene (PP). With the right reinforcements, it is also suitable for demanding vehicle components. This is demonstrated by its use in ‧vehicles such as the NIO ES8. The industry is undergoing transformation on a scale not seen for decades. Trends such as connected vehicles, autonomous vehicles, powertrain elec...

Kunststoffe international, Everything Keeps Flowing
The filling of injection molds with plastic melt depends, among other things, on the surface quality of the mold cavity. An application-oriented structuring of the cavity surface increases the length of the flow path of the melt by up to 18 %, depending on the plastic material. This opens up the possibility of achieving longer flow paths with existing injection molding technology. Whether display frames or housing covers, front ends or decorative trim – the list of plastic components with long f...

Kunststoffe international, Excellent Resistance at Reduced Weight
The transfer of foam injection molding from thermoplastic to thermoset processing has not yet been implemented in industrial practice. IKV Aachen has investigated this transfer and has precisely analyzed the economic efficiency of the process and the potential for lightweight construction. For years, politicians have been urging the automotive industry to reduce the CO2 emissions of its fleets – and thus above all the vehicle weight – [1–3]. At the same time, a trend towards increased temperatur...

Kunststoffe international, Flexible Guiding Systems for Cooling Air
In order to avoid bubble ruptures during the production of blown film, the velocity of the cooling air is often ‧reduced, which has a negative effect on the plant efficiency. The use of air guiding systems (AGS) can prevent such bubble instability. A novel air guidance system was developed at IKV in Aachen, Germany, using iris diaphragms in order to increase the cooling efficiency of blown film extrusion and thus improve the productivity of an existing plant. The applications of blown film range...

Kunststoffe international, Foamed and Still Extruded in One Step
Foamed polystyrene in window profiles and façade elements can improve their thermal insulation and therefore their environmental efficiency. Simultaneous extrusion of polyvinyl chloride profiles with a PS foam core is challenging due to the different processing conditions and has not been performed before. A trial plant for ‧researching this process has now been set up at the SKZ. The German energy saving regulation (EnEV) of 2014 has placed extra emphasis on the minimization of heat loss and CO...

Kunststoffe international, Formed Pultrusion Profiles
Pultrusion profiles are typically inexpensive, stable – and one-dimensional. Local stretch bending represents a new approach to forming thermoplastic pultrusion profiles. Pultrusion is an inexpensive process for the production of fiber-reinforced composite structures. Cost-sensitive sectors such as the automotive industry therefore have a strong incentive to use pultrusion profiles for the local reinforcement of structural components. In certain cases, it is also conceivable to assemble structu...

Kunststoffe international, From the Roll to the Third Dimension
The company Leonhard Kurz is a specialist in the development and production of decorative and functional coatings for plastics applications, which are applied by means of carrier foils during injection molding. Essential objectives of the company are technology and process development as well as the optimization of the 3D foil forming around corners and the contours of the plastic parts. For this purpose, Kurz operates an extensive injection molding technology center. New in the machinery: two p...

Kunststoffe international, From the Vertical Machine into the Car Door
The integration of individual parts to a multifunctional assembly is one of the important innovation potentials of plastic injection molding, e. g. the production of glass window modules for car rear doors, as practiced at Henniges Automotive. They consist of the glass pane, a web strip, and fastening clips, which are overmolded by a TPE frame to a ready-to-install assembly. For the manufacturing the automotive supplier relies on vertical C-frame injection molding machines from LWB Steinl. The r...

Kunststoffe international, Functional Prototypes for Car Components
Fiber-reinforced plastic components, including those for load-bearing areas, are established alternatives to metals in vehicle construction. It is not just their low specific weight that makes them interesting, but also their acoustic properties, which reduce noise transmission. As development cycles become ever shorter, the scope for protecting and coordinating components in their vehicle environment is becoming increasingly restricted. 3D printed prototypes, however, can help with acoustic ass...

Kunststoffe international, Half a Million More Parts
Mold cleaning is a challenge with a very small, 0.8 g light injection-molded part. The use of an efficient dry ice cleaning system not only increases product quality, but also reduces cleaning time, increasing both equipment availability and production capacity. Diehl Stiftung & Co. KG (see box p. 48) manufactures punched parts and approximately 850 t of fiber-reinforced high-temperature-resistant plastics such as PPS, PBT, PEI, PPA and PA into complex multifunctional parts at the plant in Telto...

Kunststoffe international, Influences on Microdamage Strain Limits
The quality of a part design or a strength proof depends to a large extent on how well the material property in question meets the design conditions. For this paper, information about the influences exerted on the strain limits of “microdamage”, as a criterion for mechanical material failure, was compiled from the literature, evaluated and prepared for application as far as possible. Strength testing of thermoplastic parts proves to be quite simple if it is strain-based and if micromechanical d...

Kunststoffe international, Killing Problem Microbes
An American manufacturer and an invention team from Canada have developed and patented a formulation that can permanently protect plastic surfaces and metals from microbes. The technical active destroys the cell membrane of the germs without allowing them to adapt. It is applied in an online process after extrusion or thermoforming and then cured thermally or using UV light. ViaClean Technologies LLC has developed proprietary thermal, UV and hybrid cure antimicrobial treatment formulations, eith...

Kunststoffe international, Laser Substitute Manual Work
Carbon fiber-reinforced plastics (CFRP) are being used in more and more components. Their production is also becoming more and more effective. In the event of damage, however, business continues to be carried out ‧manually. For this reason, greater automation is desirable when repairing CFRP. Automated laser processes could be one way of doing this. Carbon fiber-reinforced plastics (CFRP) have become increasingly established in lightweight construction. It is used extensively, especially in avia...

Kunststoffe international, Less Is Often More
As part of an energy-saving project, the companies Ejot and RK Kutting looked at mold temperature control in a series application, paying particular attention to mold hoses. The strategic use of thermal insulation effectively reduced heat losses from the overall system and shortened the warm-up time by 40 %. The insulation also provides reliable protection against contact burns. Processing of thermoplastic materials is energy intensive and is accompanied by power losses, especially in the form o...

Kunststoffe international, Maintaining Clarity Long-Term
Transparent plastics are used in medical technology for disposable articles such as catheter accessories, blood/plasma separators, thorax drainage sets, and medical filter and device housings. Since they are being exposed to increasingly aggressive solvents, disinfectants and drugs (for example new cancer drugs), these plastic articles have to be comprehensively tested for their chemical resistance. Plastics in medical technology must be resistant to environmental effects throughout their servic...

Kunststoffe international, Metal Substitution with Improved PA
Replacing metal with polyamides (PA) in components can not only reduce weight and costs, but also offers ‧developers greater design freedom. However, this requires materials with improved mechanical properties. A new PA6 series with greater stiffness and strength meets these requirements, not only as a substitute for metals but also replacing PA66 in components. With their very good mechanical properties and cost efficiency, polyamides (PA) 6 and 66 are widely used in the automotive sector and...

Kunststoffe international, Molded Part Quality Prediction Using Machine Learning
The general aim of quality prediction is to derive statements about the resulting molded part quality based on process data. For injection molded parts, a high level of informative value is generally attributed to the cavity pressure curve. The question arises whether the quality prediction yields more precise results if, in addition to the process data from the machine’s internal sensors, the data from the mold sensor(s) are also included. All plastics processing companies are facing the perma...

Kunststoffe international, No More Weight Problems
HiQ Flow is Wittmann Battenfeld’s answer to the challenge of fluctuating shot weights in injection-molded parts. The assistant system modifies the process parameters in the course of the same shot to counteract viscosity fluctuations caused by batch fluctuations in the material or by the use of regrind. The viscosity of a plastic melt has a significant effect on the part quality of an injection-molded component. Viscosity fluctuations caused, for example, by different batches of material or the ...

Kunststoffe international, Nozzles Regulate Thickness
Wall thickness fluctuations often occur during the production of blown films. Spiral mandrel dies with adjustable nozzles can balance the volume flows and thus deliver more uniform film thicknesses. The Institute for Plastics Processing (IKV) has taken the first steps to develop such a system. Modern film applications require tight thickness tolerances in order to meet both technical and economic requirements. The control of the volume flows in the entire extrusion die is therefore of decisive i...

Kunststoffe international, Paying Attention to Layers in-between
Continuous Compression Molding (CCM) technology can be applied to multilayer solutions and is referred to as Continuous Compression Molding Multilayer (CCMM). In addition to the usual benefits of CCM it offers further advantages over competing technologies. In packaging applications, compression technology makes it possible to use minimal quantities of barrier material, thus combining excellent performance with low raw ‧material costs. The Continuous Compression Molding Multilayer (CCMM) process...

Kunststoffe international, Putting Hybrid Components to the Test
The different thermal expansion of plastics compared with metals makes it difficult to design components that combine both materials. A new test procedure simulates in a time lapse the aging process of plastic-metal hybrid components when temperatures change. Using two contrasting test procedures, reliable information can be ‧derived to assist in the designer. Metal or plastic? Traditionally, many automotive components are made from either one or the other material. But in the field of e-mobilit...

Kunststoffe international, Quickly and Gently around the Bend
Consider this paradox: sensitive PET is particularly demanding when being processed because it undergoes rapid thermal and mechanical degradation, yet when PET preforms are being produced scant attention is paid to designing the all-important hot runner to suit the individual product. Much more often, a manufacturer will use several cold halves and a hot one and produce articles weighing from 6 to 40 g. Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences, Germany, and mold specialist MHT conducted a resear...

Kunststoffe international, Real-Time Process Monitoring in Cleanroom Environments
In the production of plastic parts for the medical and pharmaceutical industry, the requirements for cleanroom environments are becoming increasingly stringent. In this area, not only the demand for all-electric injection molding machines is increasing. There is also an increasing use of electric drives for the implementation of mold movements, which meet the high requirements for cleanliness and reliability. Compared to hydraulic or pneumatic systems, electric drives offer high cleanliness and ...

Kunststoffe international, Replacing Metal in the Gearbox
Anyone seeking to replace a metal component by a plastic one, to reduce the number of component parts from eight to three and simultaneously cut both the weight and manufacturing costs needs to take great care to ‧ensure that all specifications are met – especially if the component is used in a hot gearbox and is subject to high mechanical stress. For developing a new shifter fork, GK Concept and its customer Koki Technik were awarded the 2019 GKV/TecPart Innovation Prize. When drivers of a manu...

Kunststoffe international, Reverse Rotation
The new Reverse Cube developed by Foboha manufactures various components or multi-component parts from varying materials in one step and assembles individual parts into finished products independently from the cycle time using an integrated handling robot. The automated process improves quality, accelerates cycle times by up to 40 % compared to separate injection molding and assembly processes, and thus enables substantial productivity gains at lower costs. The starting point for the new process...

Kunststoffe international, Semi-Crystalline, and yet Thermoformable
Ultra high performance polymers such as polyaryletherketones (PAEK) are typically not thermoformable for thick gauge applications because of their semi-crystalline nature. Specially developed PEKK grades now allow processing in this method. These can be used to produce large semi-crystalline PAEK parts with large wall thickness exhibiting extreme mechanical, chemical and flame retardant properties. Polyaryletherketones (PAEK) are used in technically challenging industry sectors, e. g. aerospace...

Kunststoffe international, Strong in Medicine and Sanitary Applications
In recent years, society’s view of plastics has shifted. The actual material advantages have been overshadowed by the plastics waste debate. Uncommon times, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, remind society of the outstanding contribution of plastics materials. Polyethylene is particularly strong in medical and hygiene applications. Polyethylene (PE) has replaced and continues to replace more traditional materials, (i. e. glass) as it relates to sterile fluid holding containers. Obvious reasons for...

Kunststoffe international, The One that Shears, Splits, and Folds Material
The patent on the operating principle of the co-kneader was applied for three quarters of a century ago. Compared to other extruder technologies, it features a clearly higher mixing effect while it processes the raw ‧materials gently. Current applications for its further development range from reactive, shear-sensitive plastics to the compounding of high-performance engineering plastics. August 20, 1945, the day when graduate engineer Heinz List (Fig. 1) applied for a patent on the principle of...

Kunststoffe international, The Switchover Problem and its Consequences
The switchover process from the injection phase to the holding pressure phase is frequently the cause of ‧reduced part quality in injection molding. An alternative process control concept aims to remedy this by completely eliminating the switchover process. For this purpose, the cavity pressure curve is predetermined and controlled for the entire filling process. The application of the speed-controlled injection phase and the pressure-controlled holding pressure phase has already reached a high ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, "Alliances increase Competence"
"Alliances increase Competence" Bayer Enters Strategic Alliance with Mould Producer With technology leadership Bayer wants to secure future growth in technical plastics for itself in addition to simultaneous global alignment. A current proof of the technology competence of the raw material producer is its alliance with mould producer Innova Engineering that opens completely new productivity potentials to plastics processors. To improve the productivity, economic viability and quali...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, 100 % Web Inspection
100 % Web Inspection How Measuring Systems Can Master the Flood of Data Collected during Film Inspection Rudolf Krampe, Bochum/Germany The only way to pick up and classify every single production fault in film manufacture is to monitor the entire surface area. Modern web inspection systems document and visualize any faults, thus allowing the relevant production parameters to be specifically corrected. In the production of materials such as plastic film, nonwovens and paper, which are man...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, 3D Simulation: How Accurate are Warpage Predictions?
Simulation How Accurate are Warpage Predictions? 3D Simulation. Warpage predictions are an important factor in injection moulding simulations in order to avoid expensive and time-consuming corrections to the injection moulding tool. On the other hand, false predictions can result in high costs and a considerable loss of time. For this reason, it is very important indeed to identify the factors that govern the reliability of a warpage prediction. Tom Bröcher Jakobsen Steen Hermann Henriksen Rei...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, A Comparison of Drive Technologies
A Comparison of Drive Technologies A Practical Comparison of Injection Moulding Machines with Different Types of Drive Johannes Wortberg, Thomas Kamps and Reinhard Schiffers, Duisburg/ Germany A wide-ranging survey was conducted with the aim of providing an objective basis for the debate on electrical and hydraulic drive technologies in injection moulding machines. This investigation is based on measurements on electrical, hydraulic and hybrid drives for injection moulding machines. The ma...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, A Comparison of Hybrid Machines
A Comparison of Hybrid Machines Injection Moulding with a Combined Drive Concept Ansgar Jaeger, Schwaig/Germany Thin-wall, high-precision parts require a high plasticization capacity, high dynamic response of injection and accurate reproducibility. Practical examples show that a drive concept with hydraulic accumulator and electrically driven clamping unit can meet these requirements with low energy consumption. A high-performance injection machine should allow short cycle times, operate...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, A Contradiction in Terms?
A Contradiction in Terms? "Design for Recycling" or Design before Recycling Peter Wiedemann, Neuburg/Donau, Germany The EU End of Life Vehicle Directive is in force. It makes plastics recycling compulsory on a considerable scale. Because of the effects on type approval from 1.1.2005, account must be taken now of the requirements for "design for recycling". With the adoption of the EU End of Life Vehicle Directive, the subject of recycling has again moved into the foregrou...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Acceleration is Not Everything
Acceleration is Not Everything Automation Concerns the Entire System Herbert Hofmair, Dietach/Austria The key to the shortest possible handling time lies in improving the entire system consisting of injection moulding machine, mould and handling system. To genuinely accelerate production, the production cell and the mould must be designed for automation. Judicious synchronisation of individual movements can reduce the demoulding time by almost 50 %. Automation or handling systems have by...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Acute Need for Handling
Acute Need for Handling Example Applications of System Integration of Robots in Injection Moulding Production Hansjörg Zahnd and Simon Bienz, Schwarzenburg/Switzerland The fast development of the plastics processing industry requires a high measure of innovation and competence. Only interaction of the requirements on injection moulding machines, mould requirements and quality and logistics requirements can make requirement oriented automated solutions possible. The increasing complexity ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Adjusted Geometries
Adjusted Geometries Optimising the Build Chamber for Plastic Fuel Tanks Andreas Wüst, Ludwigshafen/Germany Modern automotive development is marked by concurrent engineering. In practice, this means that the boundary conditions constantly change as development work progresses. The geometric design and required build chamber for the various parts of a vehicle change and, at the same time, are highly interdependent. This causes headaches in particular with geometrically subordinate parts that...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Airbus to Fly with PPS
Airbus to Fly with PPS Plastic Composites replacing Aluminium in the Wings Henning Küll, Frankfurt am Main/Germany Glass-fibre reinforced laminates with polyphenylene sulphide (PPS) as the matrix material are being used to substitute aluminium in the wing section of the Airbus A340-500 and A340-600 - a development that is set to continue in the light of the cost and weight savings. Around 40 % of the components for the Super-Airbus A380 scheduled for 2004 will probably be made of fibre-rei...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, All-plastic Hybrids: Thermoplastic Hybrid Structures
Reinforced Plastics Thermoplastic Hybrid Structures All-plastic Hybrids. Light alloy hybrids were yesterday, the future belong to plastic-plastic combinations. Hybrid structures made of thermoplastics with continuous fibre-reinforced reinforcement elements have 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 inn...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, An Interim Judgement on E-Business
An Interim Judgement on E-Business Potentials and Risks When Marketing Injection Moulding Machines and Spare Parts on the Internet Gerd Liebig, Schwaig/Germany Plastics machine manufacturers have initiated a variety of Internet-supported marketing and sales activities for new machines and spare parts. New success criteria and the necessity of an integrated e-business concept are the result of two years’ experience with the technology and user behaviour. In the past two years digital mark...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, An Overview: Innovative Processing Techniques
An Overview: Innovative Processing Techniques In addition to classic production techniques, alternative techniques for processing engineering plastics are becoming established in the automotive industry, often bringing substantial product improvements and savings. Particularly promising examples are outsert moulding, two-component injection moulding, microfoaming and laser welding. Ulrich Haack To be able to survive at an international level, auto makers and their highly specialized suppli...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Analysis of the Campus Database
Analysis of the Campus Database The Use of Characteristic Values in the Design Process Robert Berlich, Ralph Gabriel and Ernst Schmachtenberg, Essen/Germany The Campus database is widely used in the plastics world. Not very much is known about the way in which individual designers work with it, however. The developers of the database took the opportunity to establish the use made of the database and the chief requirements placed on it by means of a questionnaire. The investigations condu...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Antireflection with Moth-Eye Structures
Antireflection with Moth-Eye Structures Injection Moulding of Functional Microstructured Surfaces Benedikt Bläsi, Freiburg/Germany, Kai Aufderheide, Hiddenhausen/ Germany, and Steven Abbott, Wantage/UK Special injection moulding processes allow the production of two-side structured plastic parts. The replication of functional submicron structures involves cyclic temperature control, stampers and in-mould film lamination. Microstructured surfaces can perform a wide range of optical or mec...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Attractive and Robust
Attractive and Robust Protective and Decorative Films based on Polyamides Michael Beyer and Jörg Lohmar, Marl/Germany Films in semi-crystalline polyamide 12 are noted for their high transparency and scratch resistance. With classical or modern designs printed on them, they provide highly-stressed sports articles, such as snowboards or skis, with protection and with an attractive appearance. A large number of new processes have been developed over the past few decades for surface decorati...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Automatically in the Mould
Automatically in the Mould Automatic Injection Compression Moulding and Back Compression Reiner Jensen, München/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 reproducibl...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Automotive Safety Parts: Sophisticated Occupant Protection
Injection Moulding Sophisticated Occupant Protection Automotive Safety Parts. In the interior design of modern cars, safety aspects play just as big a role as a high-quality appearance of the plastic components used. Gentner GmbH, Barthelmesaurach/Germany, has specialised in the production of safety-critical injection mouldings for the automotive industry, in particular in the airbag region. Robert Burzler Founded in the mid-60s by Walter and Paula Gentner, the company was initially a contract...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Back to Nature
Back to Nature Trends in Development and Markets of Biodegradable Materials Harald Käb, Berlin/Germany Products made from biodegradable materials (BMs) are slowly but surely gaining a foothold in the market. While packaging made from BMs can already be found on the shelves of major supermarket chains in England, the Netherlands, Italy and Switzerland, in Germany they are still awaiting the results of a pilot project on biodegradable packaging. These new polymers are also establishing thems...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Back-compression Moulding: Instrument Panel with Integrated Airbag Flap
Back-compression Moulding: Instrument Panel with Integrated Airbag Flap In the space of only 18 months, Peguform und Kaufmann succeeded in developing an instrument panel for the Chrysler Crossfire to production maturity using a new injection-compression moulding process. The foam-backed TPO coverstock used for the part gives a high-quality surface with a soft touch. The development and validation of the integrated passenger airbag took six months. Ali Hassanzadeh, Hans Schirmer, Georg Kaufma...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Bank Rating: Leadership – An Important Rating Factor
Market Leadership – An Important Rating Factor Henry Weber Bank Rating. The performance and commitment of the workforce depend very much on the method of leadership. Staff motivation and staff skills affect the corporate result and thus count as "hard" success factors. Another assessment criterion for the bank rating is the style of leadership, which will affect the future financing of the company's activities. To be in a better position to appraise loan default risks, companies a...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Barely Affected
Barely Affected The Colouring of Polyamide 6 Rainer Schewe, Kerpen, and Giuseppe Lapresa, Cologne/Germany Colourants have very little effect on the processing behaviour or mechanical properties of polyamide compounds. Any negative surface effects such as a change in gloss occur primarily as a result of the presence of glass fibres. For colourists, one of the more demanding tasks is to colour polyamide, because polyamide's chemical aggressiveness to colourants, its high processing tem...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Barrier Screws for a Broad Material Palette
Barrier Screws for a Broad Material Palette Volker Schöppner, Paderborn/Germany In recent years barrier screws, originally used predominantly in the USA, have captured a substantial market share in single screw extrusion. Almost all machine providers use specialised geometries in their extrusion equipment that frequently are only suitable for very limited raw material spectra and narrow operating point spectra. With these product-specifically optimised geometries substantial throughput incre...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Biodegradable Materials
Biodegradable Materials A Status Report Johannes Schroeter, Rosenheim/Germany In the last decade of the 20th century, deliberate use was made of a property of plastics that had hitherto been considered a drawback: biodegradability. On the one hand, biodegradability creates access to a cheap method of disposal, namely composting. On the other, it enables a materials cycle to be built up that imitates Nature. This will probably prove to be the most important aspect of the technology. Stone...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Blow Moulding: More than Hot Air
Trade Fair Report More than Hot Air Blow Moulding. K2004 again served up a number of innovations in the field of blow moulding technology. On balance, the trends are higher output, lower energy consumption and improved blow moulded parts. One trend in stretch-blow moulding is quite clearly in the direction of clearer bottles made from polypropylene. Whereas Sidel and the additives manufacturer Milliken presented a joint concept for PP bottles that have the clarity of PET bottles, ADS offered...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Blown Film Extrusion Today
Blown Film Extrusion Today Versatility and Flexibility are Required Jens Spirgatis and Johannes Wortberg, Essen/Germany Because of the increasing demands being imposed on film products, e. g. in the area of food packaging, a continuing trend towards coextruded film is evident. In addition, the market requires high production flexibility on the part of film manufacturers. As a result of this, new requirements have arisen in relation to plant technology, to which the machinery manufacturers ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Bonding of Plastics
Bonding of Plastics Applications, Training, Trends Otto Diedrich Hennemann, Bremen/Germany Bonding is a joining process that enables high added value to be created. For confidence in the bonding of plastics to be boosted, there is a need to develop adhesives even further, among other things. Plastics Processors will also have to train skilled employees in the future. This will allow the possible applications of this joining technology to be fully exploited in fields with a promising future...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Broadly Based: Berstorff Enters New Markets
Special Berstorff Enters New Markets Broadly Based. Compared with 2001/02, received orders for fiscal 2002/03 were up from EUR 100.4 to 115.1 million, and sales were at EUR 113 million. Received orders for the current fiscal year are expected to run at EUR 137 million. In Russia, received orders rose from EUR 3 million in the previous year to EUR 18 million, and in China from EUR 8.6 to 14 million. The company is aiming for further growth on these markets for the current fiscal year. Exports ma...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Calculation Model: Modelling the Solids Feed Section in Grooved-feed Extruders
Calculation Model: Modelling the Solids Feed Section in Grooved-feed Extruders Used in combination with barrier screws, grooved, forced-conveying feed sections are regaining their importance. With modern metal cutting machine tool machines, helically grooved feed bushings can also be economically produced. Jürgen Miethlinger To design solids feed sections with tapering, rectangular, axial grooves, the equation proposed by Rautenbach and Peiffer [1, 2] is normally used for dimensionless mas...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Calculation of Plastic Parts: Stress Appearance during Creep
Design Stress Appearance during Creep Calculation of Plastic Parts. Finite element analysis is one of the key tools used by engineers today. Calculations of this type, however, require material models which ensure a precise description of the thermoplastics. 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 kn...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Campus - The World Standard for Plastics
Campus - The World Standard for Plastics Ralf Tüllmann, Marl/Germany, Rainer Kurzknabe, Geneva/Switzerland, Bahman Sarabi, Leverkusen/Germany, Knut Laumen, Kelsterbach/Germany, Gerhard Maurer, Ludwigshafen/Germany, and Erwin Baur, Aachen/Germany The true value of Campus lies in the fact that it can incorporate standards with test conditions that are so narrowly delimited as to permit full comparability. Campus has thus established itself as a universally-valid standard for plastics testing. ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Car Production in Germany: The Chances for Germany as a Location for Car Production
Car Production in Germany: The Chances for Germany as a Location for Car Production In competition with other car production locations around the world, Germany can win points not only on cost. For the future of employment at German production centres, innovative force and flexibility are paramount. To safeguard their future, it is also important to secure the financing of the ever faster innovation cycles, which are a problem in particular for the medium-sized suppliers. Bernd Gottschalk ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Cards are Trumps – Chip Card Bodies for the World Market
CircleSmartCard AG in Erfurt Cards are Trumps – Chip Card Bodies for the World Market We all have a smartcard of some kind in our wallet or bag, probably more than one. It might be a phone card, customer card or credit card. By the year 2010, it is expected that there will be somewhere between 20 and 30 billion chip cards in circulation round the world – and they have to be replaced every two years. This makes an annual production of 10-15 billion smartcards, of which the main body is made o...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Case Study (3): Hot-Runner Solution for a Spring Valve
Hot-Runner Solution for a Spring Valve Case Study (3). Automated injection moulding production is often difficult to implement for small parts, since the demand for direct gating of the parts is rarely possible to achieve. Nevertheless, with standards and mini hot-runner systems developed especially for this type of application, and the smallest possible moulds on small injection moulding machines, cost efficient solutions are possible, as this case study shows. Dirk Paulmann In the injection ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Cause and Remedies: Brittle Fracture in PBT
Engineering Plastics Brittle Fracture in PBT Cause and Remedies. Injection moulded PBT parts suffer brittle fracture on a sporadic basis in practice, with generally only a few parts being affected. Nevertheless, the damage suffered by the processor may be immense. The latest studies show that a key initiator of this quality impairment is thermal overheating, both during polymerisation and during processing. Mark Völkel Depending on the type of plastic and the application involved, finished in...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Centralized Supply for 59 Injection Moulding Machines
Centralized Supply for 59 Injection Moulding Machines Drying, Conveying and Mixing System for the Manufacture of Plastics Automotive Parts Thomas Meyer, Ludwigsburg/Germany The production site of FTE automotive systems GmbH in Ebern-Fischbach, which opened at the end of 1999, will ultimately accommodate 59 injection moulding machines, on which automotive supply parts for brake and coupling hydraulic systems will be injection moulded. The basic concept was to centralize material feed, inc...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Ceramic Injection Moulding in Practice
Ceramic Injection Moulding in Practice Masters of the Sensitive Method have Access to an Enormous Market Potential Moritz von Witzleben and Wolfgang Kollenberg, Rheinbach/Germany The authors published a fundamental report on the ceramic injection moulding process (CIM: Ceramic Injection Moulding) in 9/2001 [1]. Here follows a report on production practice that focuses particularly on the injection parameters used in order to point out the differences to conventional plastic injection mouldi...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Characteristics and Costs in Equilibrium
Characteristics and Costs in Equilibrium Measurement of the degree of gelation of PVC window profiles Heino Klingenfuß and Anton Zahn, Würzburg/Germany Using Oscillating Dynamic Differential Thermal Analysis (ODSC) the degree of gelation can be measured anywhere on a window profile. Using the results PVC formulations and their processing as well as the design of extrusion dies can be improved. A lifetime of more than 50 years is expected from a plastic window made of PVC-HI. The mechanic...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Coextrusion: Flexible Production of Multi-layer Pipes
Extrusion Flexible Production of Multi-layer Pipes Henning Stieglitz Coextrusion. In numerous applications, polyolefin pipes are fitted out with coextruded functional layers. A new series of pipeheads makes it possible to produce such multilayer pipes more flexibly and efficiently. Plastic pipes of polyethylene or polypropylene are increasingly being designed as multilayer pipes that are lined on the inside or outside or both with functional layers. For example, PE sewage pipes have a white i...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Colour Variation: Two Components, Four Colours, Five Units
Injection Moulding Two Components, Four Colours, Five Units Colour Variation. A five-component injection moulding machine with an 8-cavity 3-station rotary mould can produce, in a single process, four different coloured toothbrush mouldings with a soft-touch surface, each from two components. The 350 injection unit for the basic toothbrush bodies is horizontally arranged on this machine, and the four 100 injection units for the coloured soft-touch surface are aligned vertically. Christoph Sch...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Colourfast Window Profiles
Colourfast Window Profiles Heat-resistant Combinations of ASA and ABS Florian Hennenberger, Ludwigshafen/Germany For more than 40 years now, impact-modified PVC has been doing outstanding service in the construction industry for profile production, particularly for window frames. Nevertheless, there has recently been an increasing call for alternative plastics for this application. The styrene copolymers ASA and ABS are possible candidates. More than half the windows in Germany are curre...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Commercially Highly Attractive
Commercially Highly Attractive Changes in the Corporate Landscape of Technical Plastics Klaus Kohlhepp, Frankfurt/Main, Germany Manufacturers of technical plastics are exposed to increasing change pressure due to their dependence on the globally aligned automobile industry and the electrotechnology/electronics sector. The resulting processes cause a significant change in the corporate landscape that is at present not yet final according to the opinion of many market participants. Compare...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Compact and Reliable
Compact and Reliable Production Integration and Process Reliability in Laser Welding Stefan Hierl, Erlangen/Germany When a method of joining materials is being chosen, ease of automation and process reliability need to be considered in addition to process engineering. What possibilities does transmission laser welding of polymers offer here? Transmission laser welding adds an innovative dimension to the range of methods available for joining plastics. Its specific characteristics render ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Comparative Study: Virtually Equal in Terms of Precision
Injection Moulding Virtually Equal in Terms of Precision Comparative Study. A study of the copying fidelity and reproducibility of an injection moulded part with microstructure compared the performance of an all-electric machine and two machines with hydraulic and accumula-tor hydraulic drive systems with the high-precision option. The results showed that the potential of hydraulic drive technology has by no means been exhausted. Harald Bleier Thomas Kosthorst For some years, there has been a cl...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Complex Blow Mouldings for the Engine Compartment
Complex Blow Mouldings for the Engine Compartment Branched Polyamides Extend Range of Application Detlev Joachimi, Dirk W. Pophusen and Helmut Schulte, Krefeld/Germany, Roderich Kammerer, Leverkusen/Germany Conventional polyamides with a linear structure can only be used to a limited extent for blow moulding and thermoforming processes. New branched grades of polyamide based on PA 6 and PA 66 with higher pseudo-plasticity have now been developed for these manufacturing processes. In rece...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Component Design: Creep Resistance - A Characteristic Value for Creep Behaviour
Special Creep Resistance – A Characteristic Value for Creep Behaviour Johannes Kunz Component Design. A characteristic value denoted creep resistance is proposed for quantifying the creep behaviour of plastics in simple terms. This is defined as the ratio of the tensile creep moduli at 1000h and at 1h. Under static or quasi-static load, the visco-elasticity of plastics is manifested through a steady reduction in material stiffness. This leads to creep (retardation) under a constant level of...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Compostable Material: Thermoformed Packaging Made of PLA
Compostable Material: Thermoformed Packaging Made of PLA Polylactides (PLA) represent a new group of thermoplastics for packaging applications obtained from renewable resources. In extensive tests, the functional and thermoforming properties of PLA were compared with those of other polymers. Luc Bosiers, Sven Engelmann Polylactides (PLA) represent a new group of thermoplastics for packaging applications obtained from renewable resources. PLA’s properties make it suitable for various thermo...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Compounding: Flexibility for Compounders
Compounding Flexibility for Compounders Compounding. When it comes to developing a new machine series, it is essential to accurately analyse the needs of the market and to use the analysis to devise one's own creative response. Apart from the standard requirements for quality and through-put, there is an increasing demand for flexibility. Richard Steiner In today's world of compounding, there are primarily three factors that decide on success: delivery time, order size and price. N...

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: The Intelligent Alternative
Extrusion The Intelligent Alternative Compounding. Bimodal polyolefins pose a new challenge to compounding lines. The two components, comprising long and short chain molecules, with widely different viscosities, must be homogenised to produce a uniform pellet stock, free of fish eyes. The novel ZSK-NT combination opens up new routes to this difficult compounding task. First melting is carried out in a specially designed twin-screw kneader, and the melt is then transferred to a second twin-screw ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Compounds and Masterbatches
Compounds and Masterbatches Trends at K 2001 Matthias C. Hund, Neustadt/Weinstraße, Germany The large number of exhibitors at K 2001 offering compounds or masterbatches underlines the importance of these industries. They are used for turning commodity polymers into tailored systems. This article picks out certain features and trends from the wide variety of available information. At first glance, the division of responsibilities appears quite simple: polymer manufacturers produce the bas...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Concrete Building: Plastics Replace Plywood
Concrete Building: Plastics Replace Plywood Formwork made of plywood has many drawbacks. A new sandwich system in plastic offers improved surface properties, greater durability and lower repair costs. Ernst Schmachtenberg, Thomas Seul, Carsten Tüchert More than 10000m² of formwork for walls and ceilings were used on the big building sites for the Reichstag in Berlin alone (title photo). The mechanical stressing that acts on this formwork is enormous. Soffit formwork not only has to wit...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Conduits for Fibre-optic Cables
Conduits for Fibre-optic Cables High Growth Rates Require Flexible Machine Concepts Ralf Mickley, Bad Oeynhausen/Germany In underground installation of fibre-optic cables, cable conduits made of polyethylene (PE-HD) are normally used. In the year 2000, 80 million kilometers of fibre were laid worldwide. The fibre-optic cable market for data transmission is forecast to grow by 20 to 30% per annum. For manufacturers of cable conduits this means that high-speed extrusion lines must be availab...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Consumer Protection: Migration Models for the Assessment of Plastic Products
Consumer Protection: Migration Models for the Assessment of Plastic Products The migration of substances from plastics into foods or into the indoor air is a key issue. New software programs provide support in estimating substance migration and help save time and costs. The wide range of properties offered by the plastics that are familiar today is based, firstly, on the different fundamental structures of the polymer matrix and, secondly, on a wealth of relatively low-molecular additives, i...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Control Engineering: New Technical Beginning in Machine Control
Control Engineering: New Technical Beginning in Machine Control Ten years have passed since the responsible persons at Arburg decided to revise the controller surface of their machine controller. The task of making ever more complex machine processes and connections controllable resulted finally in realisation of a controller with new patented features. Before Fakuma it will be extended by some functionalities. Eberhard Duffner From a control engineering point of view the past years have b...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Control Functions with Artificial Intelligence
Control Functions with Artificial Intelligence AI Brings Advantages in Precision Injection Moulding with All-Electric Machines All-electric injection moulding machines have proven that the electromechanical drive concept has advantages over hydraulic machines for the production of precision parts with thin walls and short cycle times. This article describes the capabilities of all-electric machines and where their advantages lie. Michael Kerber, Neuss-Grimlinghausen/Germany The all-elect...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Controlling Movements
Controlling Movements Magnetostrictive Linear Transducers Increase Reliability in Injection Moulding Manfred Münzl, Albert Feinäugle, Neuhausen/Germany and Andreas Becher, Heuchlingen/Germany The control of movements in injection moulding machines requires linear transducers to feed the stroke information back to the controller. Until recently, potentiometric linear transducers were normally used. Now the market share of non-contacting, magnetostrictive linear transducers is increasing bec...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Convertible Roofs: Targeting the Fresh-air Fanatics
Convertibles Targeting the Fresh-air Fanatics Convertible Roofs. Auto manufacturers across the world regard maximum customisation of their vehicles as a magic wand for generating new incentives to buy in a largely saturated market. The convertible segment offers a particularly wide scope in this respect. Stefan Schlott Of the many thousands of individual parts found in a convertible, the top performs a rather ambivalent function. As a rule, when driving with the top down, it is expected to “res...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Conveying, Dosing and Mixing
Conveying, Dosing and Mixing A Survey of the State of the Art Thorsten Schroer and Johannes Wortberg, Duisburg/Germany To prevail on the market, plant manufacturers and plant operators in the plastics producing and processing industry must be able to utilise existing potential for cost saving. Even the choice of processes and equipment for conveying, dosing and mixing can form the basis for successful production. Product cycles on the plastics processing market are becoming shorter, as d...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Cooling in Miniature
Cooling in Miniature Effective Cooling of Particularly Small Areas Improves Production Conditions in the Injection Moulding Tool Siegfried Stitz, Klaus Schink, Manfred Popp, Würzburg/Germany As part of a research project at the Süddeutsches Kunststoff-Zentrum (SKZ), various possibilities were examined for effectively cooling particularly small areas of the mould where the wall thickness or diameter is less than 6 mm. This article describes the second part of the results. The cooling effe...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Cooling Injection Moulds
Cooling Injection Moulds Effective Cooling of Very Small Areas Siegfried Stitz, Klaus Schink and Manfred Popp, Würzburg/Germany The ways and means of cooling mould cross sections less than 5 mm thick are described and compared. Equipment to measure cooling efficiency is available to study the cooling effect of different cooling systems. In medium-sized moulds today, easily accessible mould regions with large cross sections are cooled by cooling channels 8 to 10 mm in diameter that are in...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Cooling Time Reduction by Foam Injection Moulding: It Can Be Done Faster
Cooling Time Reduction by Foam Injection Moulding: It Can Be Done Faster Production time influences unit costs directly. A reduction in the production cycle time represents a cash saving. Processors can achieve this aim in principle by using foam injection moulding. This article presents the potentials of the process and the reasons for its improved efficiency over conventional non-foam injection moulding. Walter Michaeli, Sasan Habibi-Naini, Erhard Krampe If appropriately employed, the ch...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Cost-effective Modifier for Tailor-made Properties
Cost-effective Modifier for Tailor-made Properties Karlheinz Hausmann, Geneva/Switzerland, Bernard Rioux, Paris/France, and Manfred Schinken, Bad Homburg/Germany A new family of ethylene-acrylate copolymers is suitable for improving the impact strength of engineering plastics and as a universal carrier material for masterbatches. The new grades, produced in a tubular reactor, are economical to use and offer high functional efficiency, a combination welcomed by compounders and processors alik...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Cost-effectiveness: In-mould Decoration on Modified Standard Machines
Cost-effectiveness: In-mould Decoration on Modified Standard Machines Back-moulded surfaces for car interiors in the compact class are becoming more and more sophisticated in their design. Although such car series are produced in large quantities, there is little margin for error on costs. When certain modifications are made to standard injection-moulding machines, these can also fulfil the technical and economic requirements for back-moulding decorative surfaces. Ante Vasilj, Martin Schmidt...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Cost-efficient Production: Extruding Plasticised PVC Film
Cost-efficient Production: Extruding Plasticised PVC Film Using a specially-assembled co-extrusion system, it has proved possible, for the first time, to produce film that could previously only be produced by the calendering process. This permits more cost-efficient production with a high quality at the same time. Franz Grajewski, Henning Stieglitz Plasticised PVC films are used in a large number of areas thanks to their outstanding mechanical properties and their high resistance to permea...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Customer-oriented Globalisation: Process Technology as Strategic Instrument for Developing New Markets
Market and Management Process Technology as Strategic Instrument for Developing New Markets Customer-oriented Globalisation. Markets must be identified, defined and then developed with the aid of innovative products. Of greatest importance in this regard for a plastics-processing machine manufacturer is a focused, product-based R & D and well-developed, customer-oriented process technology. The objective is to develop the best-suited raw materials, machines and processes. Erwin Bürkle Matth...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Cutting Foams: Foam-Splitting-Machine with Network Capability
PUR Technology Foam-Splitting-Machine with Network Capability Jürgen Speck Cutting Foams. Complex cutting lines for moulded parts in polyurethane or other foams are made up of a number of separate machines which, in the ideal case, ought to be able to communicate with each other. Data exchange on horizontal splitting machines has now been implemented on the operating unit in a direct and straightforward manner for the first time, via Ethernet. Arm rests and backrests for upholstered furnitur...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Cycle time reduction: Linear Motion Technology Accelerates Production Exponentially
Cycle time reduction: Linear Motion Technology Accelerates Production Exponentially Bosch Rexroth AG substantially accelerated manufacture of thin walled injection moulded parts in its Schweinfurt/Germany works using an automation system from the handling specialist Hekuma GmbH. Hekuma uses Rexroth’s linear motion and assembly technologies as core components for the high-speed unloading robot. Torsten Kirchmann The highest quality and 24 hour delivery capability are crucial competitive adv...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Cycloolefin-Copolymers (COC)
Cycloolefin-Copolymers (COC) Thomas Weller and Detlef B. Schulz, Frankfurt am Main/Germany Cycloolefins are a new class of engineering polymers that have recently become available. The first industrial scale plant came on stream at the end of 2000. This should give an additional boost to their market growth. Manufacturers, Capacities, Production Amorphous transparent polymers with a cycloolefinic structure (COC, COP) are functional materials with special properties that make them suitable...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Data Quality in Commercial Databases
Data Quality in Commercial Databases Consequences to the End User Ralf Tüllmann, Marl/Germany, Rainer Kurzknabe, Le Grand-Saconnex/Switzerland, Knut Laumen, Frankfurt/Germany, Gerhard Maurer, Ludwigshafen/Germany, Ranganth Shastri, Midland/USA, Martin Wanders, Leverkusen/Germany Members of the Campus group recently evaluated commercial database systems to check the material data of their commercial products and found many different types of errors. Some of them may have serious long-term i...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Database: Portal for Natural-fibre-reinforced Plastics
Composite Material Portal for Natural-fibre-reinforced Plastics Erwin Baur Database. A property and knowledge based database for natural fibre reinforced plastics is being developed in a publicly funded project. The database will inform users from different industrial branches about material production, preparation and processing to reinforced products as well as calculation and design of components from these materials. Natural fibres, for example flax and hemp, are used increasingly for rein...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Decoration on the Front, Attachments on the Rear
Decoration on the Front, Attachments on the Rear Producing the Interior Trim of an Automotive Door by Integrated Decoration Compression Moulding Richard Hahnekamp, Munich/Germany, and Georg Kaufmann, Busslingen/Switzerland The very finest in mould technology, production techniques and logistics all go into the production of the different versions of the interior door trim for the convertible and coupé of the 3-series BMW by integrated decoration compression moulding. This article describes...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Degradation Behaviour of Polyoxymethylene (POM)
Degradation Behaviour of Polyoxymethylene (POM) Influence of Multiple-Processing Vasiliki-Maria Archodoulaki and Sabine Seidler, Vienna/Austria, Teja Sczerba and Rudolf Zelenka, Korneuburg/Austria Polyoxymethylene (POM) tends to degrade during injection moulding. Its degradation behaviour is preferably characterised using thermal analysis methods as well as standardised material testing. It has thereby been possible to produce a quality control instrument near to production. Polyoxymethy...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Design for Innovative Materials
Design for Innovative Materials DuPont Awards Design Prizes for Engineering Plastics DuPont, in partnership with the Design Center Stuttgart/Germany, this year organized for the first time a design competition in Germany entitled "Imagineering". Under the broadly based topic "Personal safety and protection", students, young designers and upcoming engineers were invited to submit aesthetically sophisticated but nevertheless inexpensive product designs based on engineering plas...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Designing Injection Moulded Parts with FEM
Designing Injection Moulded Parts with FEM Practical Help and Experience Christian Bonten, Ernst Schmachtenberg and Nazif M. Yazici, Essen/Germany Using FEM to calculate plastics components is still fraught with uncertainties. In particular, considerable experience is needed to calculate the life expectancy. With the aid of the tried and tested approximations described in this article, FEM can be used more effectively for designing plastic parts. When dimensioning an injection-moulded pa...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Development Trends: Extrusion Blow-moulded Automotive Components
Development Trends: Extrusion Blow-moulded Automotive Components Extrusion blow moulding of industrial automotive components is currently undergoing dramatic changes which affect both suppliers and products alike. Suppliers of blown components have to struggle with an increasing cost pressure – product innovations and efficient technologies for a better production efficiency are called for now. Axel Birk More than ever before, suppliers to the automotive industry are compelled to deliver h...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Dies for Multi-Layer Pipe Extrusion
Dies for Multi-Layer Pipe Extrusion Designing Spiral Mandrel Dies Peter Fischer, Troisdorf/Germany Spiral mandrel dies have significant advantages over other systems for the production of multi-layer pipes. In fact, some product developments have only really become possible as a result of this concept. Multi-layer pipes can be produced not only by the coextrusion technique, but also by sheathing with crosshead dies. Here, too, spiral mandrel dies have certain advantages. This article deals...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Dimensional Stability and Impact Strength
Dimensional Stability and Impact Strength (PC+ASA) Blends for Automotive Body Panels Martin Weber, Heiner Görrissen and Reinhard Jakobi, Ludwigshafen/Germany Blends based on polycarbonate (PC) and acrylonitrile-styrene-acrylic ester (ASA) are noted for their good weatherability and processing stability. A new product with improved flowability and toughness has been developed for the field of automotive body panels. Applications in the field of automotive body panels (title photo) constit...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Dimensioning Parts: Non-linear Viscoelasticity
Simulation Non-linear Viscoelasticity Ernst Schmachtenberg Marcel Brandt Dimensioning Parts. Precise description of the non-linear viscoelastic material behaviour of thermoplastics in FEA makes it possible to exploit the mechanical potential of these materials in the best way possible and to optimise the development of corresponding parts. As more and more plastics are used in technical applications, design reliability and parts dimensioning are coming increasingly into focus. Shorter devel...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Diode Lasers in Mass Production
Diode Lasers in Mass Production Flexible Welding Technique Up to now available laser light sources have been too complex, too big and too expensive for welding plastics. However, in this regard modern diode lasers are exceptional: they are compact, efficient and ready for use in industrial mass production. Laser welding of plastics offers advantages compared to other joining techniques. Laser welding is a non-destructive non-contacting process with well controlled local heat application. T...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Direct Compounding: New Directions in Plastics Processing
Special New Directions in Plastics Processing Direct Compounding. Process steps that normally occur separately during compounding at the resin supplier and during processing at the producer of semi-finished or finished goods are combined in direct extrusion and in the injection moulding compounder. The additional effort and expense incurred by the processor are considerable and must be offset by cost savings for the raw materials as well as by the benefits resulting from increased flexibility a...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Directions for a New Used Machine Politics: What is the Worth of Your Used Injection Moulding Machine?
Market What is the Worth of Your Used Injection Moulding Machine? Directions for a New Used Machine Politics. An analysis of the market for used injection moulding machines shows that machine users keep their machines too long after expiration of their write-off times and thereby suffer economic losses as well as a technical step backward and a reduction in product quality. In addition relatively high maintenance and repair costs are associated with the outdated machinery. Otto Altmann There i...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Double Belt Plants: Flexible Production of Various Insulation Panels
Building Flexible Production of Various Insulation Panels Wolfgang Friedl Michael Loferer Double belt plants. Large-size, pre-manufactured sandwich panels with a mineral wool or polyurethane foam (PU or PIR) insulation core have proved particularly successful in industrial buildings and cold store warehouses. Both types of element are produced on double belt lines in different configurations and stacked ready for shipping. The weatherproof, ready-to-use sandwich panels with outer layers made ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Double the Output
Double the Output Tandem Moulds for Standard Machines Christoph Jaroschek, Bielefeld/Germany Overall cost pressure in modern plastics processing makes constant innovation essential. Two directions of development are possible. Either you develop new products with clever technical features to secure competitive advantage (such as the multi-component technique) or you succeed in lowering production costs. This article describes a way of increasing the production output of a machine by up to 1...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Drafting Tolerances for Moulded Parts
Drafting Tolerances for Moulded Parts Software Tool Helps Predict Tolerances Bahri Kiraz, Treuchtlingen/Germany The specification and observation of drafting tolerances is a permanent topic of discussion between customers, developers and producers. When metal parts have to be replaced by plastic parts, different tolerances must be provided for. The software program TolPro makes it easier to predict tolerances. Some Designers of moulded thermoplastic parts are often still influenced by th...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Drive Technology: Direct Drive Provides Benefits in Extrusion
Extrusion Direct Drive Provides Benefits in Extrusion Drive Technology. For some time, Reifenhäuser has equipped certain extruder series with torque motors from Siemens. Initial installations at customers indicate that the benefits appear not only on paper. Karl-Heinz Charles Dieter Thewes Use of direct electric drives continues to gain in importance. The reason for this can be found, above all, in the considerable optimisation potential presented by these drive systems. Since the torque is ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Drive Technology: Reproducibility and Costs Are Primary Concerns
Drive Technology: Reproducibility and Costs Are Primary Concerns To compare different drive technologies, it is not sufficient just to consider energy consumption. The concluding article of this three-part series discusses the reproducibility of process parameters and product characteristics as well as the maintenance costs and oil and water consumption. Johannes Wortberg, Thomas Kamps, Reinhard Schiffers The reproducibility of the injection moulding process and hence the scatter of produc...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Driving the Automotive Industry: Engineering Elastomers
Trend Report Crosslinking Plastics Engineering Elastomers Driving the Automotive 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 Eu...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Dynamic Frictional Data
Dynamic Frictional Data New Findings for Describing the Processes in the Extruder Feed Zone Walter Michaeli, Jochen Hennes and Stefan Quadflieg, Aachen/Germany A special test apparatus allows pressure coefficients and coefficients of friction of plastics pellet stock to be measured for the first time in a dynamic state. The results obtained are relevant for practical purposes, since the pellet stock is in motion in the feed zone of extruders. New findings on the frictional properties of bu...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Dynamic Growth: Liquid Crystal Polymers (LCP)
Special: World Market Liquid Crystal Polymers (LCP) Dynamic Growth. Since their introduction to the market in the mid-1980s, LCPs have experienced rapid growth, with annual growth rates between 15 and 25% to date. According to predictions, the market should continue to grow an additional 12 to 15% until 2007. Ever shorter product lifetimes combined with ever increasing production quantities that must be produced in ever shorter time frames with increasing miniaturisation and the resultant incre...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Easy-opening Concepts: Easy-opening Sterile Packaging
Easy-opening Concepts: Easy-opening Sterile Packaging Packaging for medical devices, operating-theatre apparel, wound dressings and sterile sheets for medical applications needs to be easy and quick to open. No particles or fibres are allowed to become detached from the torn surface, however. Traditional peel concepts already satisfy this requirement, but a new innovative material combination with a spunflash nonwoven is able to offer further benefits. Heiko E. Schenck, Malik Zeniti In Nor...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Economic Compounding: Nanocomposites
Economic Compounding: Nanocomposites Trials on different compounding machines have shown that they are suitable for producing high-quality nanocomposites. The experience gained in the trials can be reliably transferred to production machinery and specified application properties can be obtained economically on an industrial scale. Sabine Schönfeld, Frank Lechner In the production of nanocomposites, far more difficult processing challenges have to be overcome than in the production of compo...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Effect of Structure-borne Sound: Acoustics of Plastics parts
Automotive Engineering Acoustics of Plastics parts Effect of Structure-borne Sound. By gathering material data according to the stressing, and selecting appropriate material models, it was possible to predict the sound emission of technical plastics parts as a result of structure-borne sound using FEA and BEA techniques. There is good agreement between the simulation and experiment. The need for acoustic design of technical parts or systems arises from legal and economic circumstances. The dri...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Effects of E-Business on the Automotive Supplier Industry
Effects of E-Business on the Automotive Supplier Industry Opportunities for Medium-Size Companies Kerstin Geiger, Walldorf/Germany The announcement of different market places for the automotive industry has both unsettled and spurred on suppliers. In order to be able to help fashion E-business, suppliers are founding their own initiatives. Political framework conditions and the achievements of information technology are enabling companies in the automotive industry to increasingly act on...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Efficiency in a Highly Compact Space
Efficiency in a Highly Compact Space Large-Scale Injection Moulding Machines Increase Productivity and Precision Thomas Langer, St. Valentin/Austria and Wolfgang Silmbroth, Ebensee/Austria A high level of productivity in a highly compact space, in terms of both machines and moulds, was the requirement that had to be fulfilled when Steiner Freizeitmöbel GmbH extended its production. Production capacity was expanded by 20 large-scale machines for the production of garden furniture and transp...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Efficient Project Development
Efficient Project Development Polyarylamide Compounds for Cycle Brake Housings Wolf Sanner, Rheinberg/Germany, Robert Olz, Bad Urach/Germany, Vito Leo, Brussels/Belgium, and Thomas Halcour, Kerpen-Sindorf/Germany Light weight, a balanced strength profile, an excellent surface finish and very good slip properties are the most important requirements for cycle brake components. Calculations and extensive laboratory and practical tests confirmed the suitability of polyarylamide (PA MXD6) compo...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Efficiently Packaged Mineral Water
Efficiently Packaged Mineral Water An Eco-Efficiency Tool for Analysing the Suitability of Different Types of Mineral-Water Packaging Peter Saling, Ludwigshafen/Germany Should mineral water be dispensed into glass, PET or aluminium? Is returnable packaging always better than the disposable kind? The BASF eco-efficiency tool sets out to analyse these questions from economics and ecological aspects. What should products look like in the future? How can we prepare our products and processes...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Elastomers
Elastomers Economic Situation and Observed Trends Werner P. Lauhus, Münster/Germany World consumption of synthetic rubber is expected to grow at +2.9% per year by 2005. Of this, China expects to see the biggest growth at +8.4%. In 2000, the synthetic rubbers with most growth in demand were EPDMs, owing to the increased consumption of technical rubber goods, and butadiene rubber, because of increased use in tyre applications. Germany is one of the world’s biggest technology motors in the ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Elastomers: Flexible and Customised
Trade Fair Report Flexible and Customised Elastomers. Thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) are now indispensable for applications ranging from everyday items to underhood components. On the "rubber line", trade visitors were able to assess the merits of special developments in synthetic rubbers, which account for by far the largest proportion of elastomers. The automotive industry remains an essential driving force for the market. After years of strong growth, thermoplastic elastomers – a grou...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Electrical Component Parts: Thermal Metal Spraying of Conductor Lines on Plastic
Further Processing and Finishing Thermal Metal Spraying of Conductor Lines on Plastic Electrical Component Parts. Thermal spraying of metals is a well known process principle for a long time. Its use in the field of selective surface coating of plastic component parts is new. Thick conductor structures for electrical applications can be applied with this technology. Gerhard Reichinger Knuth Götz Martin W. Ott Galvanic or chemical processes are the centre of attention in today's usual pro...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Electrical Engineering: Plastics Go Electric
Electrical Engineering Plastics Go Electric Electrical Engineering. In the globalised electrical industry, plastics are having to meet increasingly stringent, country-specific requirements. Flame-retardant modification plays a key role here. Karl-Michael Reinfrank Ralf Neuhaus Requirements for plastics in electrical engineering are becoming increasingly stringent. At the same time, the market is regulated by a multitude of different standards, which means that very special, flame-retardant-modi...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Electrically Conducting Compounds: New Functional Material for the Automotive Sector
Automotive - Functional Materials New Functional Material for the Automotive Sector Electrically Conducting Compounds. Electrically conducting components used in the automotive sector, are generally made in complicated multi-stage processes. An alternative is offered by a new material in which a low-melting alloy is incorporated along with copper fibres into a thermoplastic matrix. Electrically and thermally conducting components are becoming more important in the automotive sector. Electrica...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Electronic Components and Displays: Intrinsically Conductive Polymers
Special: Electronics Intrinsically Conductive Polymers Electronic Components and Displays. The importance of intrinsically conductive, that is, self-conducting, polymers is growing in many areas of the electronics industry: these materials are already finding use in through hole plating of printed circuit boards and as the counter electrode in polymer-based capacitors. Polymer electronics and polymeric light-emitting diodes (PLED) are being predicted as growth areas for the future. Stephan K...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Electronic Markets for Plastics
Electronic Markets for Plastics E-Commerce Increases Market Transparency Tina Canic, Groß-Umstadt/Germany Everyone can win: the buyers, the suppliers and naturally also the electronic markets. Since the beginning of 2000 four German markets have been bringing the Internet trade with plastics up to speed. They use the Internet to illustrate proven business models on-line and to develop new business models. Opinions on electronic markets switch between euphoria and scepticism. Surely they ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Energy Consumption: How Much Energy Does a Drive System Need?
Energy Consumption: How Much Energy Does a Drive System Need? Injection moulding machines with electromechanical drive systems have lower energy consumption than their hydraulic counterparts. This is a generally accepted fact. But do the energy savings of 50 to 80% as described in older studies also still apply to the new machine generations? And what are the potential savings for a complete production cell? Recent studies provide some answers. Johannes Wortberg, Thomas Kamps, Reinhard Schif...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Energy-saving Hydraulic Drives
Energy-saving Hydraulic Drives A Drive for Variable-speed Variable-displacement Pumps in Injection Moulding Machines Thomas Neubert, Dresden/Germany Variable-speed variable-displacement pumps can increase the energy efficiency of hydraulic injection moulding machines and lower the noise level. A novel method for controlling drive speed and displacement can minimise losses in every working point. The method has been tested out on a mass-production machine whose energy consumption and sound ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Engineering Plastics: Products for Innovative Processes
Trade Fair Report Products for Innovative Processes Engineering Plastics. Product developments tailored to innovative production processes were a noticeable trend in the engineering plastics sector at the K2004 plastics trade fair. Product developers are increasingly focusing on the implications of legislation such as the EU End of Life Vehicle Directive (ELV Directive) and the EU Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE Directive). The engineering plastics group is not clearly ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Enhancing Performance: Fast-Cycle Injection Moulding Machines with Tandem Moulds
Enhancing Performance: Fast-Cycle Injection Moulding Machines with Tandem Moulds The implementation of a new mould concept drastically reduces the “dead times” with injection moulding systems. A precise analysis of these dead times shows that shortening them not only results in an increase in output, it also brings an improvement in part quality due to the additional cooling time. Christoph Jaroschek In March 2002, the Fachhochschule Bielefeld presented its tandem mould development concept...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Enterprise Transparency: Success Factor Business Process Management
Market and Management Success Factor Business Process Management Enterprise Transparency. In recent years it has turned out that controlling business processes is probably the most important factor for entrepreneurial success both in the manufacturing industry and in service industries. The following report describes how a medium-size enterprise organises, structures and supervises its processes. Peter Felber Due to the strong demand for IML technology (see box "In Profile") in the tele...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Escalators Made of Plastics
Escalators Made of Plastics Specially-Tailored Polymer Blend Conquers this Aluminum Domain Eckhard Erlenkämper, Leverkusen/Germany, Horst Beicher, Krefeld/Germany, and Andreas Lange, Bad Salzuflen/Germany Ever since the end of the Sixties, escalator steps have been made of aluminum by pressure die-casting. All attempts to produce the steps in plastic to date have failed on account of the stringent requirements imposed on the dimensional stability of the component and hence on the material ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Even Smaller: Adhesive Layers on a Molecular Level
Surface Finishing Adhesive Layers on a Molecular Level Even Smaller. Adhesion promoting layers for polymer films are already leaving the oft-discussed scale of nanotechnolgy and approaching the next smaller dimension. Molecular monolayers of adhesion promoting amino and amido groups captivate not only because of the minimal amounts of material involved, but even more so because of the minimised costs for the entire process. Peter Palm Panayotis Cocolios Liquid adhesion promoting primers hav...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Everything Revolves Around the Disc
Everything Revolves Around the Disc Storage Medium of the Future? Patrik Gallati, Näfels/Switzerland In the field of optical discs, innovations follow each other very quickly. Consumer electronics excepted, hardly any other market changes at such a fast pace these days. No sooner had we all accepted the CD and afterwards the CD-R as the measure of all things than the DVD format came on the market. The latest product of the DVD family is the recordable DVD, the so-called DVD-R. The compet...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Exhaust-Air Purification in Laser Technology
Exhaust-Air Purification in Laser Technology Catalytic Exhaust Gas Treatment Reduces Emissions in the Laser Processing of Polymers Jens Bliedtner, Jens Haupt, Hartmut Müller and Harry Schreiber, Jena/Germany Unlike metals, polymers and composite materials undergo profound physical and chemical changes under the effect of a laser beam. Equipment concepts that take into account mutual interactions ensure an optimum and stable process that can also be automated. The laser processing of orga...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Expanded Boundaries
Expanded Boundaries Newly Developed PPS Grades for Injection Moulding and Extrusion Benny Mermans, Kallo-Beveren/Belgium The advanced polymer polyphenylene sulphide (PPS) has now succeeded in overcoming critical technological hurdles. New injection moulding alloys and extrusion grades are extending the traditional applications of this previously highly specialized material, and opening up new applications. Polyphenylene sulphide, properly called poly(thio-1,4-phenylene), has a relatively...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Expanding with Demand
Expanding with Demand Compressed Air Generation for Plastics Processing Norbert Barlmeyer, Bielefeld/Germany For the economical, demand-dependent production of compressed air, a concept has been developed in which all the compressors are connected to a single control unit. The German plastics converter, Schwan-Stabilo, is impressed with the reliability of the supply network. No office desk is complete without one: the ’Stabilo Boss’ highlighter pen. Over 22million highlighters and felt-t...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Expansion Injection Moulding: Amazingly Thin
Injection Moulding Amazingly Thin Expansion Injection Moulding. According to the state of the art, thin-wall injection moulding requires the injection unit to be supported by a hydraulic accumulator. But without a hydraulic accumulator greater precision is achieved in the process technology, energy consumption is lower and amazingly thin walls can be produced. The new state of the art is called "X-Melt", the expansion injection moulding process developed by Engel. It is all made possibl...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Experimental Testing: Ring-shaped Reinforcements Made of Fibre-reinforced Composites
Composite Material Ring-shaped Reinforcements Made of Fibre-reinforced Composites Experimental Testing. Ring-shaped reinforcements and strap designs – it is only in these shapes and with unidirectional fibre orientation that all of the benefits of fibre composites over metals become fully available. Testing, however, poses a problem. Marcus Schwarz Helmut Schürmann In the form of ring-shaped reinforcements and strap designs using unidirectional (UD) fibre orientation exclusively, all of the b...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Expert Knowledge is Requested
Expert Knowledge is Requested Injection Moulded Parts for Sight Optics Require High Precision and Strength Frank Mittner, Mühlenbach/Germany A design using appropriate material and professional project planning are preconditions for successfully developing a product technically and economically. As the example of the component presented in the following shows, it is worthwhile for the engineering designer to include external expert knowledge. The task set consisted of the development and...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Extrusion Technology of the Future
Extrusion Technology of the Future New Developments, Trends and Concepts from the Point of View of Machine and Line Manufacturers Wolfgang Studener and Norbert Kreth, Bad Oeynhausen/Germany To remain competitive, extrusion processors must produce ever-higher quality at ever-lower cost. Is the philosophy of zero-defect and zero-tooling time in extrusion technology really feasible or just an ideal goal? Innovation cycles are getting shorter while cost pressures on extruders are intensifyin...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Fast and Reliable
Fast and Reliable Welding Three-dimensional Parts by Laser Edmund Haberstroh, Reiner Lützeler and Jan Schulte zur Heide, Aachen/Germany Contour welding can be used to weld complex part geometries without contact. The welded parts have very low leakage and high bursting pressure. In addition to the frequently used welding processes such as ultrasonic welding, hot tool butt welding and vibration welding, various laser welding techniques have succeeded over the last few years in becoming es...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, FE Method: Design Concept for Stacked-type Spiral Dies
Extrusion Design Concept for Stacked-type Spiral Dies Michael Cretu, Hans-Gerhard Fritz FE Method. A new model-based design concept for stacked-type spiral dies is based on flow simulation, and allows correct design of the distribution system based on optimisation criteria. The design concept has been verified by experimental studies. Flat spiral dies are mainly used in pipe and tubular film extrusion. Because of its many advantages, this die concept has shown strong growth in the field of mult...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Fewer Production Stages, Shorter Cycles
Fewer Production Stages, Shorter Cycles Decorated Large Moulded Parts Made by the One-Shot Process Carsten Brockmann, Bötzingen/Germany Jochen Mitzler, Munich/Germany The one-shot process is the latest buzz phrase in decorative plastics processing. Its goal is to produce decorated moulded parts in a genuine one-shot process on horizontal injection moulding machines - without the laborious processing stages that have previously been needed by the laminating adhesive method. The steadily g...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Fibre Composite Parts: Automated Preform-RTM Production
Fibre Composite Parts: Automated Preform-RTM Production Experience acquired in automated textile engineering and plastics technology, coupled with software developments that can be implemented in different branches of industry, make it possible to optimize automated processes and achieve considerable savings potential. Thanks to the many years’ experience acquired in the mass production of textile clothing and the high market volume involved, these production processes are now run in an exte...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Fibre Reinforced Plastics: Tailor-made Reinforcing Textiles
Fibre Reinforced Plastics: Tailor-made Reinforcing Textiles Textile semi-finished products for fibre composites can be made up by employing conventional sewing techniques. Special mechanical properties can be achieved in sewn and resin-impregnated parts in this way. Kai Klopp, Thomas Gries Due to their complex nature, fibre reinforced plastics (FRP) have a very high potential for solving specific strength problems. Continuous fibre reinforced plastics are employed in aeronautics and aerosp...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Fibre-reinforced Plastics: Naturally Better
PU Technology Naturally Better Fibre-reinforced Plastics. With hemp, sisal etc. in a polyurethane matrix, large-format mouldings can be produced that are on a par with their glass fibre-reinforced equivalents. In the ideal case, the lower intrinsic weight of natural fibres can even achieve weight savings of up to 15%. However, so far there have been restrictions due to the handling of natural fibre mats. The development of the NFI process now allows more economical natural fibre rovings to be us...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Fillers: Improved Properties and Processing
Trade Fair Report Improved Properties and Processing Fillers. The trend that was obvious during the past decade continued at this year’s K-Show. The consequences of the increased price of energy, especially oil, together with developments regarding the exchange rate of the U.S. dollar, have had a significant effect on all materials, but especially the filler industry because of the very high freight costs in relation to the value of the product. Increasing transportation costs, in particular, pr...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Film Extrusion: PET Extrusion without Pre-drying?
Extrusion PET Extrusion without Pre-drying? Film Extrusion. The degassing technology represents a realistic alternative to pre-drying or at least a useful addition to it. Studies show that the processing of undried granules is possible on a single-screw extruder with the aid of degassing. Walter Michaeli Torsten Schmitz The market for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) over the last few years has been characterised by rapid growth. Everyone seems to be talking about the material and, not too lo...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Film extrusion: Predicting the Properties of Blown Film
Film extrusion: Predicting the Properties of Blown Film A statistical process model makes it possible to predict the mechanical properties of a blown film ahead of production using simple dimensionless process values. Walter Michaeli , Friedrich Ohlendorf The tubular film or blown film extrusion process is one of the most important processes for producing film. The mechanical values of a blown film are governed by the complex process state in the bubble expansion zone. The bubble expansion...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Film Processing: Dynamic Control of Roll Temperatures
Surface Finishing Dynamic Control of Roll Temperatures Walter Michaeli Björn Fink Peter Blömer Film Processing. Conventional fluid-based control of roll temperatures has limitations when embossing of microstructures on film. At the Institute of Plastics Processing (IKV), Aachen/Germany, an innovative temperature control technique is being developed to provide different temperatures over the circumference of the roll. In recent years, various surface structures have been discovered that can ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Flame-Resistant GRP Systems
Flame-Resistant GRP Systems Fire-Proofing for the Construction and Rolling Stock Industries Michael Sommer, Wesel/Germany Halogen-free flameproofed SMC systems containing added wetting agents meet the specifications of fire regulations. As the EU proceeds with harmonisation of plans and standards for fire protection in different application areas, the scope for SMC applications is also increasing. As a result of the efforts of the EU to establish uniform fire-protection plans in various ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Flame-retardant Curing
Flame-retardant Curing Halogen-free Flame Retardant Modification of Epoxy Resins Hauke Lengsfeld and Volker Altstädt, Bayreuth/Germany, Stephan Sprenger and Rainer Utz, Hamburg/Germany Flame retardants have until now been introduced into the epoxy resin systems via the resin itself or as additives. However, recent developments use combinations of reactive organophosphorus curing agents, which already have built-in flame retardancy. Advanced composites based on glass, carbon and aramid fi...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Flex-ring Dies: Improved Wall-thickness Distribution of the Preform during Blow Moulding
Blow Moulding Improved Wall-thickness Distribution of the Preform during Blow Moulding Flex-ring Dies. The possibility of varying the flow-channel gap at any position around the circumference of a die opens up completely new horizons for extrusion blow moulding. It not only makes it possible to manufacture even more complex parts, but flex-ring technology also extends the range of applications of dynamic wall-thickness control to all required die geometries. Heinz Groß The geometries of blow-mo...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Flexible and Inexpensive
Flexible and Inexpensive Inline Blending with Long Glass Fibre PP Concentrate Manfred Bär, Raamsdonksveer/Netherlands, Peter Egger, Schwertberg/Austria and Robert Tesar, Tamworth/Great Britain Granules in long glass-fibre reinforced PP (PP-LGF) have been widely used for many years. They can replace GMT, other engineering thermoplastics such as glass fibre reinforced PA or PBT, and even metals. Market demand has so far been primarily for PP with a glass fibre content of 40% or higher. PP c...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Flexible and Precise
Flexible and Precise Machines for Thermoforming Jürgen Wirtz, Aachen/Germany Low moulding expenses compared with other processing methods speak in favour of using thermoforming. Additionally, in recent years the constant advancement of mechanical engineering has led to thermoforming methods gaining in attractiveness also for other reasons. The development targets of the manufacturers of thermoforming machines are varied. They include adaptation of machine sizes to market requirements and...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Flexible Production of Moulded Parts
Flexible Production of Moulded Parts Radically Revised Concept for Automatic Shape Moulding Machines Klaus Baumann, Hasloch/Germany A new generation of automatic moulding machines looks set to provide processors with high flexibility and short cycle times. The most important developments are the design of the clamping unit, the use of two different drives and a user-friendly control system. About 2.3 million tonnes of EPS is processed around the world each year. A wide range of other par...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Flexible Quality Assurance
Flexible Quality Assurance Portable Tool for Measuring Parts and Assemblies Ralf Steck, Friedrichshafen/Germany Tolerances are tight in automotive engineering - both in technical terms and when it comes to finances and time. As a system supplier for roofs and sunroof and door systems, Meritor LVS also has to operate within the tight constraints imposed by the automobile manufacturers. The company, a subsidiary of the US Meritor, uses a SilverArm from Faro for the quality assurance of produ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Fluid Injection Technique: Understanding Residual Wall Thickness
Injection Moulding Understanding Residual Wall Thickness Fluid Injection Technique. The material distribution is one of the most important criteria when using the fluid injection technique. The residual wall thickness has a significant impact on the mechanical properties of the hollow plastic part and, for fluid conduits, directly establishes the area of the flow cross section. In addition to the process parameters and part geometry, the material properties of the polymer used play an importan...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Foam Injection Moulding: It's Not the Bubble Size that Counts
Injection Moulding It's Not the Bubble Size that Counts Foam Injection Moulding. The familiar advantages of the microcellular foaming of engineering thermoplastics have to be set against drawbacks such as a poor surface structure on the moulded parts and a reduction in their mechanical characteristic values. The latest investigations show that microcellular foamed parts even possess poorer mechanical properties than fine-cellular foam parts with an integral foam structure. By foaming the...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, For the Car of Tomorrow
For the Car of Tomorrow Automotive Glazing Made of Rigid Coated Polycarbonate Peter Orth, Thomas Rappelt and Fritz Stein, Bergisch Gladbach/Germany A major step has been taken in the development of polycarbonate glazing for automotive production. A new coating system satisfies the demands imposed on a window surface: scratch resistance and weatherability. Among the goals that automotive manufacturers have set for future vehicle generations are: - Weight savings - Increased vehicle and pa...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Forced Pneumatic Demoulding
Forced Pneumatic Demoulding Two-Component Mould for a High-Quality Travel Box Hansjörg Keusgen, Bahlingen/Germany Design is playing an increasingly important role in our lives, and finding design concepts frequently calls for a high level of competence and a wealth of ideas on the part of the mould builder. The travel box for a washable electric shaver is designed like a shoe (title photo), which made it necessary to find a special solution for demoulding. The travel box is a high-grade ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Foretaste of K 2001
Foretaste of K 2001 More than 2500 Exhibitors Expected Petra Thomas-Hasenzahl, Heidelberg/Germany The International Trade Fair Plastics and Rubber in Düsseldorf/Germany has been the world's most important meeting point for mechanical engineers, raw materials manufacturers and processors in the sector since 1952. At the last K in October 1998, 265 000 experts from over 100 nations attended. This year's K, the 15th, takes place from 25 October to 1 November under the motto "visio...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Framework Principle: New Production Process for Fibre-reinforced Composite Components
Composite Material New Production Process for Fibre-reinforced Composite Components Framework Principle. Economic production of high-load-bearing, lightweight structural components is now possible in a one-stage process. This process is a combination of the established method for producing components from long-fibre thermoplastics with the strategic use of complex multiple inserts of unidirectionally oriented endless fibres. Long-fibre-reinforced thermoplastics (LFT) are now widely used for la...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, From a Trading Company to an Assembly Supplier
Schieffer GmbH & Co. KG in Lippstadt/Germany From a Trading Company to an Assembly Supplier There are not many successful firms that started life as trading companies, before going on to set up their own production facilities and then becoming market leaders in a number of sub-sectors. Schieffer has been consistently following this path since the Fifties and is now a competent development partner and supplier of high-grade technical plastic and rubber assemblies, as well as market leader for ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, From Operating Point to Operating Window
From Operating Point to Operating Window Variable-speed Drive for Large Twin-screw Extruders Werner Kreutzer and Bernhard Stöhrer, Stuttgart/Germany For the first time an override gear for large extruders in polymerisation plants makes it possible to combine an economical fixed-speed main motor with a smaller less expensive variable-speed secondary motor. This results in a variable-speed extrusion drive that until now has not been available at this price performance ratio. For economic r...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Full House: Innovative Systems Prove an Attraction
Market Innovative Systems Prove an Attraction Full House. A high-powered programme, an attractive setting and a clear upwards trend in the number of participants – the VDI’s annual Injection Moulding conference is on the way to achieving its aim of becoming an institution. Wolfgang Kircher The number of participants at the annual injection moulders' conference in Baden-Baden each Spring is generally a good barometer of the economic climate. If a large number of injection moulding experts m...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Functional Design: Acoustic and Design Concepts for the Engine Compartment
Automotive - Design Acoustic and Design Concepts for the Engine Compartment Timo Würtz Silvia Ziolkowski Functional Design. Engine covers must satisfy a number of different require-ments. They have to upgrade the appearance of the engine compartment gener-ally and reduce noise emissions at the same time. Diesel vehicles in particular are a big challenge in this respect. For the engine compartment of the new Golf V, Weber, Dillenburg, has developed – and now manufactures – a range of acousti...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Functional Filler: Precipitated Calcium Carbonate in PVC
Additives Precipitated Calcium Carbonate in PVC Functional Filler. Environmentally unfriendly lead (Pb) stabilisers are being replaced by systems with a low heavy metal content. With a functional filler, application-specific properties of PVC window profiles containing alternative stabiliser systems can be optimised. Marijan Vučak Hein-Dieter Stöver PVC processors use a wide variety of different additives. They include stabilisers and co-stabilisers, lubricants and polymeric auxiliaries ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Functional Integration: Packaging Design Between Economy and Creativity
Packaging Packaging Design Between Economy and Creativity Functional Integration. The packaging of a product plays a substantial role for the purchase decision. Intelligent and multifunctional packaging is increasingly demanded. Here use of plastic fulfils critical tasks. Andreas Unger The topic "packaging" presently has special significance. Today economic success is being re-dimensioned because profit margins are decreasing in most industries. Also the success of packaging is largely ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Gas - Not just because of the Cell Structure
Gas - Not just because of the Cell Structure Economical Structural Foam Moulding for Customised Component Properties Christof Wurnitsch, Rudolf Wörndle and Bernhard Spiegl, Leoben/Austria, Georg Steinbichler and Peter Egger, Schwertberg/Austria Ever greater use is being made of plastic foams due to increasingly stringent weight reduction requirements and tighter specifications on component tolerances. Foams combine improved thermal, acoustic and electrical insulation properties and high sp...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Gas-assisted Injection Moulding: Accurate Determination of the Injection Points
Gas-assisted Injection Moulding: Accurate Determination of the Injection Points In the process design of gas-assisted injection moulding process, the positions of the melt and gas injection points have a decisive effect on the subsequent part quality. Part two of this three-part series uses an FE simulation to illustrate the effect of melt distribution on the gas bubble profile, and shows a way to determine the optimum injection location. Helmut Potente, Hans-Peter Heim, Helmut Ridder Befo...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Gas-assisted Injection Moulding: The Cross-section is Crucial
Gas-assisted Injection Moulding: The Cross-section is Crucial The gas-bubble cross-section has a crucial effect on the growth of the gas bubble in a gas-assist part. For successful application of gas-assisted injection moulding, it must therefore be clear how process parameters affect the developing cavity. Part 3 and end of the series. Helmut Potente, Hans-Peter Heim, Helmut Ridder Two preceding articles on gas-assisted injection moulding (GAIM) described the geometrical influences of the...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Germ-free Precision Pumps: Dosing without Side-effects
Medical Technology Dosing without Side-effects Judith Hein Germ-free Precision Pumps. Preservatives in nasal sprays can trigger allergic reactions and damage nasal mucosa. The alternatives are mechanical, preservative-free dosing systems for repeated application. Despite demonstrable side-effects, such as damage to nasal mucosa and allergic reactions, nasal sprays containing preservatives are still being sold over-the-counter in pharmacies. Adequate alternatives are available in the form of...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, GIT, Sandwich and Two-component Moulding in Practice and Research: Correct Application of Multicomponent Processes
25 Years of KTP Correct Application of Multicomponent Processes GIT, Sandwich and Two-component Moulding in Practice and Research. The article gives a brief survey of gas-assisted injection moulding, multi-component composite injection moulding and sandwich injection moulding. It highlights application problems in practice and potential solutions from research at the KTP. Despite the fact that the term "multicomponent process" is only used in the literature in the context of the injectio...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Glass Fibre Reinforced Components: On the Road to the Composite Car Body
Product Development On the Road to the Composite Car Body Glass Fibre Reinforced Components. The British engineering firm Lotus Engineering and the German supplier Jacob Composite GmbH present “Ecolite“ – a joint research project on fibre-reinforced composite materials that are also suitable from an economic point of view for use in medium series in the automotive industry. Both partners focussed the objective of the Ecolite project (“Efficient Composites – Lightweight and Thermoformed“) on d...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Growth Market for Powder Injection Moulding
Growth Market for Powder Injection Moulding Opportunities for Processors Frank Petzoldt, Bremen/Germany The injection moulding of metal and ceramic powder materials (powder injection moulding - PIM) has become established as a competitive technology for precision parts. PIM's success results from the high freedom of shaping allowed by plastics injection moulding technology combined with the wide choice of materials offered by powder technology. This leads to a dynamically growing marke...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, GRP Parts
GRP Parts FEM Computation of Dynamic Behaviour Stefan Glaser, Ludwigshafen/Germany A special computer method determines the anisotropic stiffness and damping behaviour of short glass fibre-reinforced plastic with very high accuracy. This allows precise prediction of the dynamic behaviour of technical parts. The dynamic behaviour of parts of short-fibre-reinforced thermoplastics is characterised by material anisotropies resulting from pronounced fibre orientation. During filling, the reinforcing ...