Mark - Antioxidants, Stabilizers, UV-light stabilizers - Galata Chemicals LLC

Plastics Technology, 2007-08-01, Close-Up On Technology - New Technologies Add Zip to Rotomolding
..., a new approach to balancing molds, and a new oven design that trims space and energy requirements mark some of the new developments unveiled at the 27th Annual Fall Meeting of the Association of Rot...

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

Kunststoffe international, Molded Part Quality Prediction Using Machine Learning
... of regression and classification. The regression deals with the prediction of continuous quality characteristics, for example a molded part dimension, while the classification aims at the prediction of discrete values, for example “shrink mark exists” or “does not exist” [8]. In both cases, a learning phase is required before the application of the quality model. Therefore, process and quality data are provided to the learning algorithm. The process data usually have to be provided as scalar va...

Kunststoffe international, Printed Tools for High-Volume Production
...manufacturing and distribution processes of car manufacturers over the last decade. The results are lighter-weight parts, novel designs and, in many cases, reduced costs and faster development and production processes. A study undertaken by Allied Market Research [1] in November 2017 has shown that 3D printing increases the value of existing parts and functionality in all aspects, making it indispensable in the automotive industry. The development of assembly tools for more efficient production ...

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: Hot-Runner Solution for an Electronics Coil
... be expected. All the hot-runner and nozzle parts must be adequately resistant to these types of wear and be easily interchangeable on the regular maintenance schedules. In order that the function of the part is by no means affected, the gate mark should be as small as possible (Fig.1). The low article weight and the narrow processing window of the polymer used require minimum residence time of the polymer in the hot-runner system. This demand involves a typical conflict of goals with the need ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Cause and Remedies: Brittle Fracture in PBT
...y 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 injection moulded parts are seen to suffer brittle fracture in everyday practice, with generally only a few parts being affected. Although all the parts have been mad...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Complex Blow Mouldings for the Engine Compartment
... through higher combustion temperatures and further reduce noise emission by encapsulating the engine compartment, the thermal properties of competitive plastics are likely to gain further importance in the future. Polyamides have already made their mark for the production of intake manifolds. Here, the parts (usually half-shells) are produced by injection moulding and then welded together. For the manufacture of pipes with complex three-dimensional shapes, the industry tends to use the extrusio...

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, Cost-efficient Extruder Degassing
Cost-efficient Extruder Degassing Dry-running, Contact-free Vacuum Systems Mark Redmann, Maulburg/Germany Screw and rotary piston pumps are increasingly being used for extruder degassing. These dry-running, contact-free vacuum pumps cut the operating costs of the whole plant. In the past, vacuum systems with liquid ring vacuum pumps or oil-sealed, rotary slide vane vacuum pumps were used for extruder degassing. Liquid ring vacuum pumps have been preferred to the rotary slide vane types b...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Costs and Benefits: Recycling Plastics from Electrical and Electronic Products
Recycling Recycling Plastics from Electrical and Electronic Products Frank E. Mark Costs and Benefits. Plastics recycling can only be economic if the resulting recyclates are attractive to the market. For this to be the case, they must meet certain minimum specifications at a price that is significantly below that of the virgin material. Conservation of resources, avoidance of landfill disposal and minimisation of environmental impact are the main objectives in the treatment of waste plastics ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Dashboards Meet Highest Requirements
Dashboards Meet Highest Requirements New Market for Slush-moulded Skins Made from TPU Jürgen Hättig, Leverkusen/Germany, and Wolfgang Kaufhold, Dormagen/Germany The requirement profile for dashboards can be roughly divided into the categories of safety, appearance, touch and environmental friendliness. Because of increased requirements, particularly in relation to airbag technology, the use of moulded skins based on thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) is growing in importance. A car dashboa...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Data Quality in Commercial Databases
...general statement for an entire group of products is impermissible. Quality versus Quantity Most companies offering commercial databases like their systems to contain as many products as possible (sometimes 30,000 and more). Table 3 shows the market volume of various plastics grades included in Campus. This begs the question how can the smaller number of materials listed in Campus can represent such a high percentage - especially in Europe and North America - for the most common industrial pla...

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, Exhibition Preview: North American and Canadian Products at K 2004
...o-platen presses, multi-layer PET preform systems, and structural-foam presses. Plenty of new hot-runner nozzles and controls will also debut in Dusseldorf. All-electrics or Hybrids Demag Plastics Group, Strongsville/Ohio, plans to begin worldwide marketing of two different styles of IntElect all-electric machines that have up to now been sold in specific regions. Four models of direct-drive units ranging from 500 to 1500kN, built in Germany and sold up to now only in Europe, will become availa...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Export Champion: Changeover Completed
...ecures relatively high quality at low prices. To the question, why complete plants are not built in China in order to be still more competitive, most exhibitors with production plants in China answered that these machines are not accepted in all markets. However, in China very certainly complete plants are built in order to supply the local market. Special Procedures and Trends in Injection Moulding The fact that the Taiwanese machine manufacturers also offer automated plants is proven by Fu Ch...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Extrusion Technology: Reifenhäuser in the Right Direction
...ss is clearly over the industry average and could further strengthen its position as a world-wide leader among extrusion machine building enterprises. The entrepreneurial success mainly reflects positive developments on the most important export markets. Approximately 85% of the group gross revenue originates from the export trade. In addition, Reifenhäuser could improve its market position on the home market. This altogether positive development is the result of a comprehensive strategic reor...

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, 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, Growth Through Innovations and E-Commerce
...on, with Europe accounting for US$ 1.3 billion of these sales. The company is intending to speed up its logistics and offer improved services to its customers through innovations in the form of a steady stream of new product developments, as well as marketing and consultancy via e-commerce. The company is rapidly pursuing this strategy and believes that it will produce sustainable growth. Sales are intended to grow 20 % via the online marketplace in Europe, and a figure of 50 % is being targeted...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Heat Treatment: Drying with Infrared Radiation
... The tissue’s surface temperature is measured with optical pyrometers. The next step is to intentionally adjust the infrared radiator’s power so that the material may dry optimally without sustaining heat exhaustion. According to a statement by Mark Smith, project engineer at Airbags International, the infrared module needs only little additional space. Thus, it can be integrated into the coating equipment without difficulty. Fire damage, which can occur in other drying systems, is precluded si...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, High Growth Rates: Polycarbonate (PC)
Special: World Market Polycarbonate (PC) High Growth Rates. With an annual growth of between 8 and 9%, polycarbonate (PC) has been one of the 'outperformers' among the engineering plastics in the last few years. The latter have been growing by an average of about 6% p.a. worldwide. Demand for PC will continue to rise at an above-average rate especially in the Far East, which is why manufacturers are currently focusing their investment activities on that region. PC blends will play a bi...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, High-performance plastication: High-speed Screws in Injection Moulding
...cause the melt has higher solids proportion when it reaches the barrier zone and quickly blocks it. Partly filled regions and pent-up solid islands form in the barrier zone, which become visible when the screw is removed (Fig.4). The white lines mark the boundary between solid and melt. It is not always possible to make a clear distinction, because the melt is enclosed by the solid polymer in some regions. This results in pulsing and reduction of output, and overheating of the melt. These observ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Injection Moulding Without Gate Marks
Injection Moulding Without Gate Marks Introducing a New System Richard Herbst, Eching/Germany and Friedrich Johannaber, Lohmar/Germany Injection moulders have been dreaming of sprueless injection moulding since injection moulding was first invented. A new valve system, integrated into the runner system, makes side gating of chip cards possible without gate marks. The valve can also undertake the holding-pressure function and separate side or centre sprues without leaving a mark. Injectio...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Interview: The Benefits of Joining Ranks
Interview The Benefits of Joining Ranks The management of Hennecke on the company's situation following the restructuring of the Bayer Group and on its assessment of the markets in the polyurethane sector. The restructuring of the Bayer Group has repeatedly prompted discussions in the polyurethane market as to the future of Hennecke GmbH, a Bayer Group company engaged in the field of polyurethane technology. Kunststoffe plast europe spoke with Rudolf Brumund, Managing Director at Henneck...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, IP Support: Lightweight Automotive Instrument Panel Carriers
... toughness, rigidity and flowability. Uwe Koch-Reuss, Tom Schenkels, Dagmar van Heur Increasingly high demands are being made on the appearance of automotive instrument panel (IP) carriers in all vehicle classes down to the low-priced end of the market. For this reason, polyurethane foams and polypropylene outer skins, for example, are being used on the surface. These instrument panel carrier designs require the use of very rigid materials for the foam support systems, which ultimately will ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Large Investment Plans: Polyurethanes (PU)
Special: World Market Polyurethanes (PU) Large Investment Plans. The global polyurethanes market is characterised by steady growth, which is currently averaging some 5% per annum. This growth is being driven not only by increasing demand for materials for established applications but also, especially, by innovations and new application possibilities. Polyurethanes – discovered by Otto Bayer nearly 70 years ago – are extremely versatile materials that have been continually developed over the yea...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Laser Marking of Plastic Products
Laser Marking of Plastic Products An Efficient Technology with Many Advantages Volker Pfeufer, Lübeck/Germany Laser marking of plastic products has rapidly developed into an efficient technology. Lasers provide a non-contact, clean and dry, flexible and economical marking technique. Laser marking is durable and counterfeit-proof. Despite the advantages, many product lines are still not fitted with a laser. Lack of knowledge, and therefore uncertainties, on the part of users, are preventing...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Laser-sintering Technology: Series Production in Miniature
... plastic injection moulding. The process can be largely automated and gets by without expensive tools. It is eminently suited to low-cost production with small and medium-sized production runs. German plant manufacturer, EOS – the declared market leader in this field – thus refers to the key technology of e-manufacturing. This denotes the manufacture of products for each phase of the product life cycle directly from the CAD data. Large Numbers yet still Unique Laser-sintering production occupi...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Let’s Ask the Experts!
...les in the injector should be as small as possible or should be avoided completely for the sake of better reproducibility. If the water front pushes an air bubble ahead of it, it could result in an undulating RWT profile and a burn mark at the end of the hollow core. Constrictions can also occur if the water overtakes the air bubble in bends. How do you avoid voids in the residual wall? !Voids caused by water inclusions come about when the water is fed in as a thin jet or in the form of a fan,...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Market Report: Taiwan’s Plastics Industry
Market and Management Taiwan’s Plastics Industry Market Report. How is the situation of Taiwan’s Plastics industry? What are the goals and potentials of this prospering Asian country? Manik Mehta, economic journalist and expert on Asia from New York, provided Kunststoffe with an analysis of the actual situation and put the expectations of domestic industry experts into words. Manik Mehta Taiwan’s petrochemical and plastics raw material producers are upbeat about future demand, thanks to the...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Marking Plastic Products
Marking Plastic Products Which Technology for which Application? Plastic products can be marked by different methods. The important criteria to be used in selecting the most suitable technology can be determined by comparing the different methods. Patric Lamprecht, Stuttgart/Germany There are various reasons why a plastic product is marked. In the first place, legislation specifies, for example, that a plastic product should be marked with the exact polymer designation to facilitate recy...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Materials in Competition
... interior trim made of liquid wood, a regenerating raw material based on lignin reinforced with natural fibres [26]. New Recycling Methods The implementation of life cycle economy on a high materials technology level and thus also on an attractive market economy level is presently impeded by the shredder technology, which is not appropriate for lightweight construction technologies. The unrestricted recyclability of steel will worsen. As micro-alloyed, multi-phase, high-strength martensitic, a...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Moderate Growth: Polystyrene (PS)
Special: World Market Polystyrene (PS) Moderate Growth. With a global consumption of 11.3 million t in 2003, polystyrene is one of the most important plastics in terms of volume (share of total plastics consumption: approx. 6%). In the past three years, however, demand for this plastic has risen at a below-average rate. Worldwide, consumption is expected to rise by 2.9% a year to reach 13.3 million t by 2008. For polystyrene producers, the last three years have been dominated by consolidati...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Nanoscale NIR Absorbers: Permanently Mark Highly Transparent Plastics
Additives Permanently Mark Highly Transparent Plastics Nanoscale NIR Absorbers. Laser marking of highly transparent plastics represents a challenge, since commercially available laser additives have an intrinsic colour and cloud the plastic. Newly developed processes utilising nanoscale metal oxides now permit laser marking of transparent plastics without any loss of quality. Wilhelm Wolff Among the processes for marking and identifying plastics, the still young technique of laser marking exh...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, News
... once again for 2004, the German share of worldwide exports of plastic and rubber machinery technology has now increased to 27.5%, followed by Japan (15.3%), Italy (10.9%) and the USA (5.9%). With the highest growth rate in recent years, the markets in Asia gained even more importance in 2004. Based on an increase amounting to 38.1% and shipments valued at 1.261 billion EUR, these markets exceeded the thousand million mark for the first time. As a consequence, Asia’s share of total German export...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Parts Handling as a Productivity Factor: Mark-free Gripping of Sensitive Plastic Parts
Automation Mark-free Gripping of Sensitive Plastic Parts Parts Handling as a Productivity Factor. Special suction pads made of special materials reliably remove plastic parts from the mould without leaving marks. This is particularly important when high-quality surfaces are involved, or the parts have to be subsequently painted. Kerstin Löffler The mass production of plastic parts is now largely automated – from material feed to parts removal. To exploit, for example, the maximum number of injec...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Plastics - the Material of the 21st Century
...astics in the narrower sense of the word. Coatings, adhesives, dispersions and the like account for about 30 million tonnes. By 2010, total world plastics production will be growing by 5.3 % per year on average and will reach the 300 million tonnes mark. By then, North America will have been ousted by South-East Asia as the most important production area (Fig. 1). The Authors of this Article Martin Balsam, born in 1954, is responsible for plastics market research at BASF AG Ludwigshafen. Claus-...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Plastics Packaging in the 21sup>st/sup> Century
...of polymer development and processing. Multi-layer materials - particularly those produced by coextrusion - have been undergoing optimisation through the selection of appropriate polymer components for a long time. These are in widespread use on the market, predominantly in a large number of flexible packaging applications (Fig. 2), yet also for multi-layer containers, such as for the plastic beer bottles that are currently being tried out by a number of companies [3]. Further developments inclu...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Polybutylene Terephthalate (PBT)
...w paths and short cycle times to be achieved on conventional injection moulding machines. Joining methods such as welding and gluing are also straightforward, and PBT can be printed and painted as well as being suitable for hot embossing and laser marking. All PBT producers have a comprehensive range of product grades achieved through the addition of reinforcing agents and impact modifiers. The grades are individually tailored to the vast number of different requirements that are imposed by the ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Polyoxymethylene (Polyacetals, POM)
Polyoxymethylene (Polyacetals, POM) Mark Noatsch and Frank Reuter, Frankfurt am Main/Germany Polyacetals (POM, polyoxymethylene) have a proven track record in numerous demanding technical applications. This is because of their exceptional combination of high strength and stiffness, good resilience and high surface hardness. POMs also have good processing properties and can be modified to selectively improve their processing properties. By far the greatest proportion of polyacetals - over 9...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Printing Plastic Surfaces Precisely and Economically
...osed ink system and a diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser with actuation and optics for the preparation of cliché on a cliché belt. The arrangement of laser, pad printing machine and feed of the cliché belt permits printing and laser marking in parallel, since the laser unit and printing machine do not impede one another. To change the motif, the digital press belt is simply advanced a stage. A special feature of the dry offset technology is rotary screen printing. In this process, th...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, PU Seat Foams from End of Live Vehicles
PU Seat Foams from End of Live Vehicles Drawing up Quality Criteria within the European Union Martin Brunner, Rapperswil/Switzerland, Frank E. Mark, Horgen/Switzerland, and Axel Kamprath, Wettern/Belgium The physical and chemical condition of PU seat foams from End of Live Vehicles (ELV) was tested to provide an indication of whether they can be economically recycled. A point of interest is whether there are differences between different countries of the European Union. German legislatio...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Reaction of Building Materials to Fire
...s All these products must satisfy certain criteria for safety in the case of fire, either alone or in combinations. Currently, they are tested according to national standards and may be approved under the relevant laws for specific applications. CE Mark for Building Products In future, building products in Europe may only be marketed if they bear a CE mark. The European Commission has set out in its Building Products Directive the essential requirements that apply to all building products. One...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Recording of Process Data in the Mould: Knowing what's Going on Inside the Mould?
...'s Going on Inside the Mould? Recording of Process Data in the Mould. Injection moulding tools have a memory of their own. They never forget high shot numbers, long operating times, control errors, downtimes and repairs – they all leave their mark. But these marks are not easy to interpret. A new black box can now be built into the mould to record, like a flight recorder, all the relevant process data. It can make an important contribution to optimising the production process. Eveline Gepp...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Recovery of Used Plastics from E+E
Recovery of Used Plastics from E+E The Impact and Consequences of the New European WEEE Directive Frank E. Mark, Horgen/Switzerland The upcoming European WEEE Directive (Waste of Electrical and Electronics Equipment Directive) and its transposal to national laws will entail new technical requirements for plastics manufacturers and processing plants and establish new yardsticks. In the future economical recycling principles will be guidelines for research, development, design, production an...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Requirements for Manufacturing Products for Medical Technology: Guidelines for Building up a Practical Cleanroom Manufacturing System
...ng staff, pharmacies, the pharmaceutical industry and research facilities. They all make the justifiable requirement that the effectiveness must be guaranteed, and the possible risks quantifiable. Legal Fundamentals Standards for producing and marketing health care products are formulated in guidelines, standards, ordinances and laws (see note in literature references). All medical products are subdivided into so-called risk classes (I, IIa, IIb and III) according to where, how and how long the...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Roofs of Light
Roofs of Light Transparent Plastic Sheets for Creative Roof Constructions Volker W. Benz, Darmstadt/Germany Polycarbonate's extraordinary range of properties has gained it a growing share of the market for transparent construction sheets. Fire resistance is an increasingly important factor in material selection, particularly in the construction of public buildings. Transparent roofing is subject to extremely high static and dynamic requirements under extreme weather conditions. Roof ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Runner Design for High-Quality Surfaces
...into the mould cavity. This background should be taken into account in the early stages of part design, so as to create the basic prerequisites for good design. There are three aspects that should be taken into account: - The design requires a gate-mark-free article, and gating must be located at a concealed region. - For the raw materials suppliers, the most important aspects are gentle compounding and transfer of the melt into the mould cavity. - The process requires short cycle times, low spr...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Solid Surface Materials
...atories, children's wards and intensive-care wards, as well as for doctors' practices. The material offers exceedingly pleasant haptics and is well-suited to body contact. It assumes room temperature and is thus always comfortably warm. This marks a clear advantage in the medical field, in particular, although it is also beneficial in the kitchen (Fig. 1) and bathroom too (Fig. 2). Since it is exceedingly easy to clean, requires little maintenance and is robust and hard-wearing, this sol...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Special Plastics: Household Work Made Easy
...inclusive of computer control, load recognition and automatic detergent dosage. Ticona has many years of expert experience in using engineering resins for applications in household appliances and also assumes a futuristic thought function in the market. For example, together with the product designer Olaf Barski TiconaMat was developed – a concept study of how laundry washing can take place even more simply and above all with more time saving in future (title photo). Thanks to drums arranged one...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Sports Equipment: Plastics at all Events
...can sometimes decide fractions of a second or centimetre and thus make the difference between victory and defeat, is completely dependent on them. In the world of motor racing like Formula 1, plastics can even decide between life and death. A Market Segment Becomes Emancipated Major sports goods manufacturers like Puma and Adidas have annual sales that run into billions – and they nowadays work predominantly with polymers. The increasing popularity of sports and fitness is thus also reflected ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Surface Inspection: Big Brother for Films
...ng frame analysis data, i.e. complete images and not just individual lines, can be transmitted to the server and stored there. Image analysis is carried out under real-time conditions. Alarm functions can be set. A so-called live image with flaw marking – a real-time monochrome image of the running web without line compression – allows colour marking of flaws and the integration of information on their size. CCD line scan cameras with 2048, 4096, 6144 or 8192 pixels can be selected to suit the a...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Swiss Network: Nanoreplication in a Network
...processes is similar in each case, starting with the design and proceeding via the production of masters and tool inserts, right through to quality assurance. In terms of their dimensions, the structures are already considerably below the micrometer mark and have thus reached the range where the material comes up against its limits. The individual process steps – tool production, replication and measurement – are so closely interlinked here that problems are encountered in quality assurance when...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, The Future Role of the Plastics Producers
...nd their individual interpretation of corporate objectives (vision) and corporate tasks (mission). The nature of the corporate model that is adopted by plastics producers for tackling the competition in future will thus vary accordingly. The Global Market Worldwide production of plastics is continuing with great drive and is undergoing a constant increase (Fig. 2) [3]. A total of 158 million t. of plastics were consumed in 1998, with a share of just under 80 % of these (approx. 125 million t.)...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Trends at the IAA: Shop Window for Innovations in the Motor Industry
...rom auto suppliers, and 1000 exhibitors from 44 countries. If the car manufacturers and their suppliers were to look at the statistics alone, they might well be satisfied with this year's IAA. But the downside is the enduring weakness of the market as a whole. Despite high rebates and all kinds of incentives for potential car buyers, the new car business is not exactly ticking over. Against this background, attending the world's leading fair for the automotive industry turned out, for ma...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Trends in Bio-materials: The Signs are Set for Growth
Biodegradable Polymers The Signs are Set for Growth Trends in Bio-materials. Progress is being made in the market – there is no shorter way of summarising the current situation as regards the launch of biodegradable materials in Europe. Within political circles too, this innovation is finding growing support. This sector report focuses on trends in the European market and progress made in shaping the framework conditions. Harald Käb Innovations are the basis of lasting successful business – the...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Trends to Watch: Roof Systems: Innovation Generates New Momentum
Convertibles Roof Systems: Innovation Generates New Momentum Trends to Watch. Two roof systems are currently redefining the market for convertibles and sunroofs. While the electrically operated retractable steel hardtop is creating a new boom for convertibles, innovative glass roof concepts are opening up new design opportunities for automakers. Moreover, the glass roof of the future need not necessarily be made of glass. Ferdinand Dudenhöffer With the first sunny days of the year, the converti...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Upward Trend Relative to 2002: Edging Towards K 2004 with Cautious Optimism
...ults are thus likely to be more positive than the plastics machine industry had been predicting. Growth of around 5% is also expected for “K” year 2004. Now that the German plastics processing sector is reporting positive results, the domestic market might see a flood of investment in machinery and equipment following years of restraint. At the moment, German machinery makers are successfully drumming up business for the most part in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as in European, non-EU cou...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Vacuum Pumps for Extruder Degassing
Vacuum Pumps for Extruder Degassing Fields of Application and Design Principles Mark Redmann, Maulburg/Germany For a reliable extrusion process, it is essential to choose the right degassing pump technology. If the wrong pump type is used, the final product may not fall within quality specifications. In an extreme case, serious disruption of the production process may result. In many industrial fields vacuum has developed from a process aid to a process parameter. Apart from its use for ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Vacuum Systems for Polymer Degassing
Vacuum Systems for Polymer Degassing Comparison of Maintenance and Operating Costs Mark Redmann, Maulburg/Germany Vacuum systems are essential to many extrusion processes. Vacuum pumps without operating media, combined with suitable traps, can often reduce costs for maintenance and operating media. In the compounding and processing of polymers in extruders, vacuum is a long-established method of removing volatile components from the melt. Since in many cases the composition of the vapour...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, VDI-K Automotive Congress: Progress in Smaller Steps
...owever, coextruded films for in-mould decoration are available. They consist of a support film (ASA or ASA+PC) and a PMMA top layer with high surface hardness. The first large-scale applications have already come onto the market (see also the article on page 37). Class A surfaces can only be produced with the aid of in-mould labelling, especially if the material contains continuous strand reinforcement (which offers the benefit of low thermal expansion). Shorter model life cycles and the trend t...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Which Drive for An Injection Moulding Machine?
...ur years have elapsed since this study appeared and it is now time to take a closer look at drive technology for injection moulding machines. Many advantages have been claimed for all-electric injection moulding machines since their release onto the market. These include energy savings, greater dynamics, shorter cycle times, better reproducibility and variability, elimination of hydraulic oil, reduction in cooling water requirement, less scrap during start-up, lower maintenance, production under...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, World-scale Plant: Polybutene-1 Offers Growth Opportunity
Market and Management Polybutene-1 Offers Growth Opportunity World-scale Plant. With its new polybutene-1 production plant in Moerdijk/Netherlands, Basell is seeking to further expand its polyolefin business and is forecasting enormous growth potential for polybutene-1. Basell inaugurated its new plant for producing polybutene-1 in Moerdijk/Netherlands at the start of May. With a planned annual capacity of 45000t, it is reportedly the largest such plant in the world and therefore testimony of...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-30, Nanoscale NIR Absorbers: 3D Laser Subsurface Engraving
...reached a state of development making it ideal for a number of different purposes. The radiation sources now available can supply the appropriate wavelengths and powers for many machining operations, such as cutting, welding, matting, structuring or marking [1] – all as non-contact processes. For some years, lasers have also been used for subsurface glass engraving to engrave two or three dimensional motifs, logos, patterns and photos into glass. The most astonishing feature is the possibility o...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-30, PTFE Multicomponent Compounds: A Material for Hard and Soft
...y, through the addition of carbon fibres, integrating lubrication. This multi-component compound with its bronze-carbon fibre blend thus combines two properties that were so far contradictory. Seals made from these relatively complex systems mark an important step on the way to permanent seals, e.g. in hydraulics. The Author Erik Peters is Market Development Specialist at Dyneon GmbH & Co. KG, Burgkirchen/Germany. Title picture. Virtually universal chemical resistance: fluoro polymers form th...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-01-15, Market Report: Clouds over Italy
Special Clouds over Italy Market Report. No good news from Italy: The domestic market for the plastics and rubber machinery downright decreased in 2005. Exports, however, which were only slightly lower than in the previous year, prevented worse news. The overall economic situation in Italy remains cloudy for the time being. Alessandro Veronesi A glance at the statistics of Federmacchine, an association of more than 2200 enterprises, incorporating ten business lines, shows the importance of ma...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-01-15, Obligation to Label Products: How to Label Plastics? With Lasers, of Course!
...tenberger Laser equipment is outstandingly appropriate to meet the demands of today’s manufacturing. Its manufacturing quality and profitability, which are both higher than those of conventional procedures, make them the tool of choice in order to mark plastics. Lasers can generate graphic icons from new measuring data very quickly as well as deposit variable text just in time. Flexible in Use Labels featuring firm logos and product names are commonly used to unambiguously identify a product. G...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-01-15, State-of-the-Art and Perspectives: Laser Beam Processing of Polymers
Laser Laser Beam Processing of Polymers State-of-the-Art and Perspectives. From creating nanostructures on surfaces to assembling large lightweight parts, laser beams find use as flexible tools in polymer part manufacturing – new processing techniques that employ highly functional polymers are expanding the field of application for laser technology continually. Arnold Gillner With the possibilities it offers for welding, cutting and modification, the laser technology available today covers a...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-02-22, Surface Technology: Opportunities for UV Curing
...endly mouldings, plastic-adapted paint application technology and finally the development of paint systems specially adherent to plastics. Solvent-based paints were initially predominant but low-emission systems gradually captured their share of the market. For example, coating large car body accessories with water-borne paints that identically match the shade and effect of the car body finish is state-of-the-art today. However, advances in plastics painting are not just confined to vehicles (Ta...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-06-30, Extended Spectrum: High-Tech in Three Dimensions
Market and Management. High-Tech in Three Dimensions. Extended Spectrum. “People, ideas, innovations” was the motto of the summer forum held by Krauss-Maffei in Allach on the outskirts of Munich. All in all, some 50 exhibits from the three segments of injection moulding, PUR processing and extrusion were on show. At the same time, the company also presented its full range of services. Attracting 3500 visitors, the summer forum constituted one of the big events organised by the sector. The Kra...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-07-04, Clean-room Compatible 32-Cavity Needle Valve: Making a Point
...lso be clean-room compatible and require low maintenance. These constraints represent a major challenge to manufacturers of hot-runner systems, since they can result in many conflicting aims. Electrically operated needle-valve systems are a complete market innovation in this area. They have been available from just a few hot-runner manufacturers only since mid-2005. They can generally be subdivided into servo-operated and electromagnetically operated systems. The systems used in practice are sti...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-09-14, Editorial: Divided World
...moulding machines being installed in Asia, and almost half of those in the USA already, are equipped with electromechanical drives. Europe is lagging clearly behind here, given that the proportion of all-electric machines is only approaching the 10% mark at present. In view of the renowned high precision of these machines, their rapid movements and their low energy consumption, it would certainly not be wide of the mark to refer to “old Europe” as underdeveloped in this respect. The fact that Ja...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-09-14, News
...aeronautics, the building industry, land transport, energy and industry, environmental protection, technology, and sports and leisure. The criteria for selection are especially outstanding technical performance, the value chain of the partners, marketing potential, financial impact and originality. Interested firms may present their application documents online at www.jeccomposites.com/innovation; the deadline for application is 3 November 2006. At the JEC Composites Show, six user forums design...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-09-27, Profile and Pipe Extrusion: Precise, Flexible and Fast
...ication unit or increasing the rotational speed [1]. However, many of the new extruders are impressive precisely because of their external dimensions. High-performance extruders with screw diameters of up to 150mm, throughputs above the 2000kg/h mark and pipe diameters up to 2000mm are now state of the art [1 to 3]. In conceiving new ranges of high-performance extruders, another degree of freedom is exploited. Increases in output rates of up to 30% can be achieved by increasing the processing le...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-09-28, A Personal Opinion: Has Injection Moulding been Fully Exhausted?
...r vision, or has injection moulding technology really reached the end of the road? Inspiring Solutions, but no Breakthrough True, some innovative processes such as expansion injection moulding (“X-Melt”) or inline compounding have come onto the market; Injection moulding systems are dominated by extremely interesting, high-efficiency automation solutions – we are enthusiastic about it all, but none of this can be regarded as advances in machine technology. Manufacturers in Germany, Austria, Swi...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-09-28, From Pretreatment to Finishing
...eral major complaints, significant reservations existed in the field of architectural fabrics for some time. As the result of intense efforts to improve long-term stability and durability as well innovative ideas from participating architects, this market segment has enjoyed renewed vigour. Examples include the stadiums used by FIFA for the football world championship. Specially formulated paint systems incorporating fluorine are available also from Rowa GmbH for such situations. By applying a p...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-09-28, Labelling with Laser Beams: Writing with Light
...The development of new laser-sensitive additives, the refinement of laser sources, and the invention of new technologies are constantly opening up new ranges of application or improving upon available methods. Labelling with laser beams – laser marking –has substantial advantages over conventional labelling methods. Since the method’s working principle is contact-free, there is neither tool wear nor an accumulation of consumables. As a rule, even components sensitive to pressure, and positions...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-10-30, Car Electronics: Producing Intricate Parts Economically
Nanotechnology. Producing Intricate Parts Economically. Andreas Eipper, Mark Völkel. Car Electronics. By adding a specially developed nanoparticle system the flow properties of polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) can be distinctly improved. In processing by injection moulding the product considerably reduces injection pressures and cycle times and in this way affords marked cost advantages. These come to the fore especially in the production of components for motor car electronics. Polybutylene ...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-10-30, Hot-Runner Solution for End Caps: Pulling the Strings behind the Scenes
...gh pressure stability, good heat resistance and elasticity. Their thermal conductivity of 0.25W/mK ensures there is only low heat input into the highly cooled gate region, and the gate therefore tears off without stringing. So that the gate mark is as far as possible invisible, gate diameters of 0.4mm and a special melt chamber are used. One factor that has an important influence on the tear-off quality is precisely central gating with an axially aligned tip position at the gate at high temperat...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-03-15, A Billion in the Medium Term
...tically doubled its sales over the past twelve years – to a figure that was clearly in excess of 500m EUR last time round (see graph, explanatory note). This then prompts the question as to when you think you will be passing the billion-euro mark. Neumann: The whole family hopes to achieve this as rapidly as possible. I’m not one to simply extrapolate sales figures but I see this as definitely inherent in our strategic development. We can doubtless achieve this target over the medium term, and b...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-05-14, Uncompromising Eyes
...able imperfections, which are not accepted in final quality control inspection. The same effect can occur with interlayer films wound up in aluminium coils to protect the aluminium layers from each other. As a result of the winding pressure, marks can be left (Title picture). Labelling films and special laminating film are printed with sophisticated motifs. The fish-eyes give rise to blank unprinted dots, which show up particularly in large plain-coloured areas. In addition, in the laminating pr...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-07-18, Serial Numbers for Broken Bones
Serial Numbers for Broken Bones Laser Marking Surgeons are learning their trade on artificial bones from the Swiss company Synbone. The unfinished parts are marked by laser beforehand. Nadine Leimbrink Matthias Fischer holds a thigh bone in one hand. The long bone has a clean break just above the joint: "It’s not only surgeons who use bone saws – we do, too", says the employee of the Argo Stiftung Buendnerische Werkstaetten und Wohnheime für Behinderte. Only the laser-etched number o...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-08-14, Prince Charming
...Kunststoffe: What were the reasons for the separation? Kiesl: We are a company with sales of 32 million euro – compared with mpm’s total sales of 1.3 billion euro at that time. That didn’t fit in with the claim of being number one in every market. I registered my interest at an early stage in the sell-off process, but was actually due to be called back to mpm. The fact that I still received the go ahead was because I was able to say that I would carry it out fast. I believe that gave me the cruc...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-08-14, Turns Waste into Gold
Turns Waste into Gold Recycling At its Open House to mark the official opening of a new plant extension, Erema Engineering Recycling Maschinen und Anlagen GmbH introduced a large PET bottle recycling machine. The event also included a technical symposium. What started in 1983 with a vision and the foundation of a small enterprise was finally bursting at the seams. Following completion of a large-scale expansion project to remedy the situation, the Upper Austrian company, Erema, celebrated ...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-09-19, Tailored to Your Timeline
...he K 2007. This report provides an overview of selected innovations for which information has been made available by suppliers prior to the exhibition. General Trends In the area of additives, more and more suppliers are becoming active in the market and expanding their range of products. Whether and how the price structure and the services offered by the additive suppliers will change, however, remains to be seen. In times of high and even increasing resin prices, fillers are no longer viewed...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-10-19, Low-Density Polyethylene (PE-LD/PE-LLD)
Low-Density Polyethylene (PE-LD/PE-LLD) Different Growth Rates (Trade-fair-pre-report K 2007) PE-LD and PE-LLD have taken very different paths in the past three years. PE-LD no longer displays exceptional growth rates, while the PE-LLD market is much more dynamic. Worldwide, about 35.8 million t of this material were consumed in 2006. The growth is attributable, however primarily to the demand for PE-LLD, which has been growing at a rate of 6% p.a. Nevertheless, PE-LD is not dead yet. Mike F...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-10-21, Complete Control
...able and they avoid fluttering. Sheet guidance is just as essential as a clean environment (up to a cleanroom), since granules for applications such as high-voltage cables have resolutions of down to 5µm, which must be inspected, too. For downmarket raw materials such as polyethylene (PE), standard resolutions are 50µm to 25µm. The process has been optimized for raw material control and it works almost autonomously. Other measurements, e.g. of haze according to ASTM 1003, of additive density and...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-10-21, Liquid Crystal Polymers (LCPs)
...quid Crystal Polymers (LCPs) Demand Exceeds Capacity (Trade-fair-pre-report K 2007) When LCPs were introduced in the mid-1980s, sales were tied to the fortunes of the electrical and electronics sector. The economy nosedived in 2002, but the global market recovered from 2003 on, and has grown strongly ever since. Demand for the polymer is now estimated to be greater than capacity, not least because new application areas are being found for it. Jörg Schottek Chemically, liquid crystal polyme...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-10-21, Perfect Eyes
...sonnel costs – and all while at the same time pressure from suppliers in the Far East is increasing. Pitted against this, there are the customers’ demands for defect-free film and sheet; this is acquiring additional significance due to a growing market for top-quality film and sheet that place the highest demands on production. A high-performance web inspection system will help manufacturers save on costs and raw materials, increase production efficiency and prevent customer complaints. The requ...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-10-21, Polybutylene Terephthalate (PBT)
...ne terephthalate (PBT), as a semi-crystalline plastic with good dimensional stability and excellent mechanical properties, has become established in many different applications in the automotive industry and electrical/electronics sector. The global market volume for PBT, including PBT blends and the PET used as an engineering polymer, passed the 900kt mark in 2006 and has grown at an above-average rate in recent years. Andreas Eipper PBT, like PET (polyethylene terephthalate) or PTT (polytrim...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-10-21, Styrene Copolymers (ABS, SAN, ASA, MABS)
Styrene Copolymers (ABS, SAN, ASA, MABS) Changing Markets (Trade-fair-pre-report K 2007) The market for the styrene copolymers SAN, ABS and the related resins has undergone a stormy development in recent years: ABS has finally achieved "commodity" status. The increased competition has, however, not only lead to a consolidation among suppliers, but also to product diversification. New responses to market challenges have also been developed even among the specialty resins, which include ...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-11-21, Failure Analysis of Elastomers
...extension occurs. In the course of failure analysis, microscopic examinations are employed, along with FEM-based calculations of stress and/or elongation in the part (Fig.3, failure example 3). The example shows diaphragms that exhibit cracks in the marked area. These cracks show the typical features of fatigue cracks (very many small parallel cracks) that are caused by dynamic loads. The parts have been newly developed. The cracks always appear at the same location. All parts failed during rele...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-11-21, Flexible Production of Food Packaging
...designed 2x4 cavity stack mold for containers is modular in structure to allow processors to produce different packaging sizes. Carefully thought-out details ensure its reliability and cost effectiveness over millions of cycles. Thomas Adolph The market is highly competitive; quality demands are putting pressure on designers – to say that food packaging requires a high quality design, food-compatible properties and high transport stability is nothing new – and it is particularly true of premi...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-11-21, Introduction of Predetermined Airbag Tear Lines in Decorative Skins
...n the first instance. The way in which decreasing blade sharpness while knife length remains the same can have quite significant effects on the residual wall thickness achieved will be further explained later in this article. The systems on the market at present, however, have no facility for directly or indirectly determining blade cutting performance. While the NC machines used have adequate path accuracy, the requirements for typical 6-axis articulated robots are at the limits of factory-spec...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-11-21, Lightweight Structures Made of Metal and Fiber-Reinforced Polymers
... on the quality of the bond. A comparison of induction welding and adhesive bonding shows the bond strength that can be achieved today and permits an assessment for potential fields of application, such as in automotive engineering. Rudi Velthuis, Mark Pascal Kötter, Paul L. Geiss, Peter Mitschang, Alois K. Schlarb Due to technological developments, increasing use is being made of lightweight structures, including mixed constructions comprising metal and fiber-reinforced composites. These a...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-12-17, Meeting Application Demands with Accuracy
...der difficult environmental conditions. Process Monitoring and Quality Assurance For instance, Kistler Instrumente GmbH of Ostfildern, Germany, showed the new generation of its CoMo Injection process monitoring system, envisaged for launch at the market early next year (Fig.1). The process control monitor will comprise up to 24 channels (i.e. 16 pressure and 8 voltage inputs), with its user interface improved and made even more comfortable. The system monitors and visualizes the mold inside pr...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-12-17, Still Demand for Innovation Potential
...hicle interiors. For high-stress applications, Ticona offers specialty grades, such as Hostaform LW90 XAP LS, that have specialty sliding/friction properties combined with low wear. Hostaform C 9021 XAP LS 10/9005 is intended specifically for laser marking, and can even be used to permanently mark complex geometries. In addition, a specialty metal effect grade was presented that obviates the need for extensive pre-treatment and post-treatment (painting, coating and vacuum metallization) (Fig. 1)...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-12-17, Under New Colors
... was inevitable: Which changes will follow the purchase? Since then, the takeover has been completed, and the new business Sabic Innovative Plastics has emerged. During the K 2007, Gerhard Gotzmann, Kunststoffe’s editor-in-chief, spoke with Heiner Markhoff, President of Sabic Innovative Plastics Europe, Middle East, and Africa, about the company’s future aims. Andreas Stein Kunststoffe: Mr Markhoff, prior to the takeover by Sabic, you were with GE Plastics part of a large conglomerate. Now y...

Kunststoffe international, 2008-01-15, Make-up for Plastics Surfaces
...ck the ink and doctor blade. The ink containers are mounted on the outside so that the diluting agents and ink can be replenished without stopping the machine. Other components include a sorting unit, a part buffer, safety cladding, a register-mark adjustment unit and an SPC system with a touch screen. Big Wheel is available for an extremely high performance (Fig. 2), printing between 30,000 and 120,000 closures per hour, as a function of the part diameter and the number of print colors. To impr...

Kunststoffe international, 2008-01-15, Small Particles – Big Effect
...ounding off this growing product family. At the same time, a similar trend is also emerging in the polyamide product group. Andreas Eipper Reinhard Stransky Polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) is one of the engineering plastics with above-average market growth, associated primarily with the increasing demand for comfort and electronics in automotive engineering – the chief area of application for PBT. Its annual growth of more than 5% makes this an economically attractive class of materials. Th...

Kunststoffe international, 2008-02-17, Acquisition Poker and Dramatic Upswings
...nstruction The sector can look back on an eventful 2007 – especially as far as the manufacturers of injection molding machines are concerned – with a dramatic upturn in the economy, record sales, radical structural changes in both companies and markets, surprising changes in the holders of key posts and, at the end, an almost euphoric K exhibition. And the New Year has got off to a dramatic start once again on a number of counts. There has probably never been a spectacle like this in the hist...

Kunststoffe international, 2008-05-10, Injection Molding on a Low Flame
...y efficiency program also shows that Arburg is not resting on its laurels. Though it could well do that, since the Hehl Group, the German production company of Arburg with all its legally owned national subsidiaries, passed the EUR 400 million mark (see box) with its 2007 consolidated sales, and thereby exceeded the previous year’s record of EUR 364 million by around 10%. (Final figures not available at time of going to press.) Hehl showed he was more than satisfied with the response to this ten...

Kunststoffe international, 2008-07-15, Predictive or only Perceived Quality?
...ntralized, with the setters at the machines? Behrens: Why not demand quality where it is supposed to be produced? The responsibility for quality must be shared by everyone. Too often, however, the training level of the factory staff is not up to the mark. The machine setter can define quality standards for the process locally. However, he must first be qualified to enable him to do that. Think of a gardener who is supposed to have green fingers. The counterpart in the injection molding shop is t...

Kunststoffe international, 2008-08-14, A New Generation of NIR Absorbers
...need for a laser friendly design of a component. In particular the thickness of the laser transmissive layer and the gap dimensions between the components to be joined are deciding factors for success in laser welding. Additives for Laser Marking Marking plastic parts using laser radiation is gaining ever more significance in industry. Compared to conventional labeling and marking processes laser marking is very long lasting and has very good contrast, particularly on small parts. Laser marking ...

Kunststoffe international, 2008-08-14, Planting without Shards
... and stability.“ This is how Robert Benker, Technical Manager at Geobra Brandstätter GmbH & Co. KG, in Zirndorf, Germany, replies to the heretical question as to why the company doesn’t supply the plastic planters that it brought onto the market a few years ago in the classical look of ceramic planters. And, with a wink, he adds: ”We’ve got a premium product here – we can’t, after all, convert the true terracotta lovers, who derive great pleasure from buying new pots each spring to replace the o...

Kunststoffe international, 2008-09-23, Nanostructures Reveal Pirate Copies
...ronic components up to articles for daily use [1, 2]. As shown in a survey conducted by the Deutscher Industrie- und Handelskammertag (German Chamber of Industry and Commerce, DIHK) and the Aktionskreis Deutsche Wirtschaft gegen Produkt- und Markenpiraterie (Action Group against Product and Trademark Counterfeiting, APM), the counterfeiters’ activities today impact all branches of industry [3]. Surprisingly enough, the automotive and the mechanical & plant engineering ...

Kunststoffe international, 2008-09-23, When Standard is Not Enough
...ith a shot weight of only 0.25 g and produced by the millions of pieces, continue to present a challenge to mold builders, hot-runner suppliers and processors. Efficient, economical production of these items is the prerequisite for surviving in this market segment. Dimensional Stability Not 1:1 Transferable The OEM’s essential reasons for awarding the contract for this mold to Germany were, for one, mold builder Schnurr’s know-how and, for another, the service guarantees by hot-run...

Kunststoffe international, 2008-10-17, Polybutylene Terephthalate (PBT)
...consumption. The largest demand for PBT compounds is found in the Asia/Pacific region. In 2007 this region took a share of just over 45 % followed by Europe with 30 %. The American continent was responsible for almost 25 % of consumption. Of all the markets Asia is also likely to be the one with the highest growth rate for PBT and its compounds in the next few years. Average annual growth rates in China alone are currently more than 10 %. A large proportion of investment has been concentrated in...

Kunststoffe international, 2009-01-26, Contour-Forming Secondary Cooling in Preform Production
... systems employed in mass production, as is the case, for example, in the packaging industry. These packaging products also include PET bottles produced from a preliminary molded part or preform. To date only a few manufacturers have appeared on the market with efficient machines for producing these preforms. Initially, shorter cycle times in preform production were mainly achieved by faster machine movements. Examples include swift robot movements for preform withdrawal as well as impressive sp...

Kunststoffe international, 2009-06-16, Quality Problems during Mold Start-Up?
...ases, so that they can be aligned to different screw diameters and control concepts (e.g. set-point value input via displacements or volume). In the presentation of the cavity pressure curves for the four machines studied (Fig. 4), the bands mark the scatter range over a large number of cycles. It is surprising that the cavity pressure curves of four machines whose condition was as good as new only tally in two cases. And precisely on reference machine D, the melt was injected considerably more ...

Kunststoffe international, 2009-06-16, Writing with Light
In industrial production the laser is one of the favored choices for marking materials. Metals, plastics, ceramics and other materials can be marked by means of laser radiation sources with wavelengths 1,064 nm (infrared), 532 nm (green) and 355 nm (ultraviolet). Used as an instrument the light can individually fit numbers, texts, logos or machine-readable codes, such as the data matrix code with its high information density, on the tightest space and in various batch sizes. In doing so the high...

Kunststoffe international, 2009-10-14, Sustainability of Continuous Production
Extrusion line development is always subject to influences from a range of different markets. The everescalating raw-materials and energy-cost spirals demand their tribute. Thus, systems for coex products with a high recyclate content or foam cores are increasingly in demand. Besides economically advantageous raw materials combinations, materials and cost reductions can also be achieved through machine technology in the form of innovative die technology or increased automation. Moreover, energy ...

Kunststoffe international, 2009-11-19, A Practical Guide
...lti-tip hot-runner valve gate (type: Rheo-Pro M05VG, manufacturer: Mold Hotrunner Solutions Inc., Georgetown, Ontario, Canada) is recommended for very small melt volumes for direct gating of micro parts that require crisp, clean gate marks. The multi-tip distributes the melt evenly in up to six cavities, which are arranged in a compact, circular cluster. For example, an X manifold with four of these tips can supply melt spruelessly to a 24-cavity mold (Title photo). The compact arrangement of th...

Kunststoffe international, 2009-11-19, Light, Inexpensive, and Good for the Environment
In 2006, the number of air intake manifolds from plastics that were employed in vehicles exceeded the 25 million mark. Material volume lies at 50,000 metric tons per year, and keeps on growing at two-digit figures. Glass-fiber-reinforced polyamides (PA), most of all PA66-GF35 or PA6-GF30, have a major share in the market here. Over the past 20 years, these materials have become the most widely used polymers in this area of application. Constant pressures on costs, as well as rising demands, are ...

Kunststoffe international, 2010-01-27, Scratch-Resistant in One Step
...al scratches are made in the specimen by a combination of different styluses and a lever arm with an adjustable weight (Title picture, Fig. 5). The scratch hardness is quoted in terms of the smallest weight to leave a visible, continuous scratch mark after a single rotation of the rotary table. Scratch hardness can be determined from the depth of penetration in addition to inspection. The penetration depth is determined with a Talysurf Stylus Profiler (manufacturer: Taylor Hobson Ltd, Leicester,...

Kunststoffe international, 2010-01-27, Value Creation through Innovation
... built in Abu Dhabi by Borealis’ joint venture Borouge. Developing Polymer Solutions for the Future “I don’t believe that the polymer industry is safe from business cycles, but we were well placed when we went into the crisis”, commented Mark Garrett, CEO of Borealis, adding that it was therefore important to invest continuously in innovation. “We want to recruit the best researchers in the world” is his ambitious objective. The research center will bring an additional 100 employees from 30 coun...

Kunststoffe international, 2010-04-20, Parts Geometry at a Grasp
...rts in short times (Table 1). That is why these measuring systems are being increasingly utilized by the plastics industry for any number of measuring tasks. A laser scanner has been tested against two fringe projection systems in a bench mark. Both systems were subjected to utility analysis according to the requirements of the plastics industry [7]. 50 individual criteria were selected for analysis. A value was calculated for each system (Fig. 6) from the weighting of the individual criteria (T...

Kunststoffe international, 2010-08-19, Vital Contacts
...e. From December 2013 onwards the EU directive for potable water 98/83/EC will reduce the limit to just 0.010 mg/l lead in potable water. 0.025 mg/l are currently allowed. Due to the cost saving potential and tighter regulations there are hardly any market participants today that are not working on full or part polymer solutions. Regional Approvals Materials that come into direct contact with potable water and food have to have appropriate regulatory approvals. The approval depends on the region...

Kunststoffe international, 2010-09-24, Bonding Required
...HG, Dietzenbach, Germany, offers process solutions for ultrasonic, linear and orbital vibration, infrared, heated tool or rotational welding. At K2007, the company presented the world”s first all-electric vibration welding machine, meeting the market”s demands for precision, repeatability and speed together with improved energy efficiency – even at welding forces of 25,000 N. At K2010, besides ultrasonic, infrared and rotational welding products, Branson Ultraschall presents its all-electric mac...

Kunststoffe international, 2010-09-24, Material of the Future
...records a thermographic image (“thermal fingerprint”) from five sides. The evaluated thermographs are used for quality assurance documentation and at the same time for controlling the mold temperature control. The parts are subsequently laser marked. For microinjection molding, two machines of the new MicroPower series, each with plunger injection and screw preplastication, are used (Fig. 2). One of the two applications, the production of a microplug with a part volume of 0.0035 cm3 (see page 99...

Kunststoffe international, 2010-09-24, Output Assured
...D flow simulations. Eta will be introducing new die types for higher throughputs and larger product diameters that extend to larger sizes the 1- to 7-layer dies that have been well-received by the automotive and medical device markets. Additional new development focus on fine centering of mouthpieces and/or sleeves, especially in dies for corrugated tubing and special applications. Hall 16, booth F39 Kreyenborg Melt Pumps for Shear-sensitive Products With the new GPE 03 melt pump line (Fig. 8), ...

Kunststoffe international, 2010-09-24, Two Centuries of Polyolefins
... (Figure 1 shows examples of the wide range of applications that had already been achieved only five years later). And 1958 saw the arrival of the PEHD beer crate, and with it the most important innovation in beer marketing since the standardization of the half liter bottle in the 1930s. Ziegler’s ideas also formed the basis for the work of Giulio Natta at the Politecnico di Milano, Italy, who in 1954 took the next important step with the discovery of the stereospecific polymerization of propyle...

Kunststoffe international, 2011-01-25, Three Steps to a Good Marking Result
Marking a part using a laser as the marking tool is a technically demanding process. The user needs to know the pulse power, the pulse frequency, the beam deflection velocity and the energy settings that are required for the laser in order to refine and optimize the marking result. The wide range of setting options available for the individual parameters on the TruMark meant that, despite the comprehensive training offered by Trumpf, the manufacturers (see box on page 16), those new to laser mar...

Kunststoffe international, 2011-02-21, Plastics for Emergency Medicine
...titution’s or department’s own field. Kunststoffe: But surface coatings with anti-bacterial effect are already available. Müller: Yes, such developments exist and there are also products on the market. However, there is a crisis of faith as to how effective they really are. Nanoparticles have been used in coatings for years. The question always arises as to what the benefits are to the patient and what damage will be done. It’s a bit like the situation for medicines: There is no such thing as a ...

Kunststoffe international, 2011-06-20, Scratchproof Depth Effect in One Step
...mbH & Co. KG, Bruchsal, Germany, processes to produce decorative facings for instrument panels, center consoles or vehicle doors (Title photo, Fig. 1). Every sheet of veneer is unique and is inspected by specially trained personnel in order to mark the zones suitable for further processing. During cutting, close attention is paid to ensuring that the grain is perfectly emphasized in each case for the intended component. Only a deeper understanding of the wooden natural product allows several...

Kunststoffe international, 2011-08-24, Focus on Sustainability
... CNY 40 billion (USD 6.2 billion) of sales value. Export share was almost CNY 6 billion (USD 0.9 billion), with injection molding machines, extruders and blow molding equipment representing 80 % of the production value [2]. Accordingly, the main market for Chinese products is still China. For the time being, most suppliers in Asia assume that their machines and plants are ahead of those from Chinese producers. It may, however, just be a question of time until this “perceived” technological super...

Kunststoffe international, 2011-10-17, Polyphenylene Sulfide (PPS)
The semi-crystalline high performance polymer polyphenylene sulfide was first manufactured in 1972 in the United States and marketed under the brand name Ryton by the Phillips Petroleum Company (now Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC, The Woodlands, TX/USA). Today there are a large number of manufacturers serving the global market. The largest of these are Fortron Industries LLC, Wilmington, NC/USA (a joint venture between Ticona Technical Polymers, Kelsterbach, Germany, and Kureha Chemical I...

Kunststoffe international, 2011-10-17, Polyurethanes (PU)
...ch as visco-elastic, high-resilience (HR) and high load-bearing systems – has now led to the PU foam mattress becoming more popular among end consumers than the classic spring mattress due to its comfort properties. In the meantime it holds a market share of over 50 % in Germany – with an increasing trend – and continues to make inroads also in Southern and Eastern Europe. Apart from the optimization of the mechanical properties, PU foam producers are also working to improve the processing and e...

Kunststoffe international, 2011-11-18, Let Off Some Air!
... but it nonetheless frequently impedes a process-safe production: Air. Therefore, the injection molder’s task is to oust the air from the cavity at least as quickly as the hot plastic melt is injected. Otherwise, there is a risk of air traps, burn marks and deposits that often accumulate close to thin walls. The reason for this phenomenon is that areas with thicker walls fill first, so that the air is trapped close to the thin connecting ribs (Fig. 1). In addition to the energy-saving mold conce...

Kunststoffe international, 2012-02-24, Protecting the Ground and Environment
...tstoff-Zentrum - SKZ), Würzburg, Germany, as an independently accredited testing institute faces considerable challenges in this regard. The standard tensile test calls for conducting tests with a 200 mm wide strip. To test all products on the market in an ideal fashion, the SKZ has the most advanced hydraulic test clamps available on the market. They can apply a clamping force of up to 1,000 kN under a tensile load of 300 kN (Fig. 1). Verifying a Service Life of 100 Years Many earthen structure...

Kunststoffe international, 2012-04-20, “Live” Quality Control
Film inspection systems are increasingly becoming an essential part of film production lines. This is because, firstly, the market demands 100 % quality control for pharmaceutical, medical-grade or food-grade films and, secondly, all film manufacturers want to avoid an excessive reject rate and continuously optimize their entire production process. In view of the high investment costs for a film production line and the constantly rising material and energy costs, film manufacturers require objec...

Kunststoffe international, 2012-06-25, To Bond or Not to Bond
...tical industry in any way. The idea that the manner in which lenses are mounted might noticeably affect the imaging accuracy of a drilled lens is called into question by Michael Oswald, director of product marketing of the German subsidiary of Essilor, a company which claims to be the largest lens manufacturer in the world. This global company is the inventor behind, e.g. plastic lenses (see p. 13) and bifocals, and with 3,500 patents, is a sector heavyweight. Oswald says, “Given the present hig...

Kunststoffe international, 2012-10-15, Service for Fire-Protection
...h to an electric kettle as to relay covers or computer connectors. Tested consumer goods like household appliances and toys, which are increasingly being fitted with electrical and electronic elements, therefore offer increased fire safety. The UL mark of US Underwriters Laboratories has become a worldwide standard that is used not only for branded articles but also by insurance companies and regulatory bodies. UL 94 describes and classifies the flammability behavior of plastic products. Only wh...

Kunststoffe international, 2013-01-28, Programmed to Have a Keen Memory
Athermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) with the product name Desmopan DP 2795A SMP marks the outcome of close cooperation between Bayer MaterialScience AG, Leverkusen, and the German BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Berlin, both in Germany. It is produced by a patented process from diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI), butanediol and ester diols based on polybutylene adipate. This TPU can be used to produce parts by injection molding or extrusion that can be temporarily stabili...

Kunststoffe international, 2013-06-19, Technical Products and Sustainable Production
...uring technique, it is possible to evaluate the geometry of profiles and their surface during the process, as shown by Pixargus GmbH, Würselen, Germany. This information can be used to establish a control loop for process variables or to mark/reject profile segments with defects immediately. Flexibility, Efficiency and Operability As a highly industrialized country, Germany faces many new challenges and must not develop a “fear” of increasing complexity. Extrusion technology still has many new a...

Kunststoffe international, 2013-07-22, Trade Fair Shows Positive Sentiment
According to the Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI) data, in 2012 the Polish plastics market, just like the entire chemical industry, grew faster than the overall industry in Poland. This trend is still continuing. According to the GTAI data, the Polish plastics market achieved in January and February 2013 an increase in production by 7.8 % compared to the comparable months of the previous year. Also further figures confirm a very good sentiment in the industry. According to the Central Statistic...

Kunststoffe international, 2013-08-19, Avoiding Warnings and Fines
As yet, the new CE marking is not subject to systematic surveillance by the authorities. These supervisory authorities are being established at present, though, and one may expect that fines for incorrect CE marking will increase in the future. On June 21, 2012, the German higher regional court, OLG, in Frankfurt am Main, confirmed the jurisdiction according to which non-compliance with the provisions ruling CE marking for product safety are considered as anti-competitive, in general, and can ...

Kunststoffe international, 2013-08-19, More Global Collaboration
...nsions. DuPont therefore positions itself under the brand name “The Global Collaboratory”. The enterprise thus shows to the public that it is involved in intensive collaboration with its partners, in order to find sustainable, innovative and market-driven solutions for the great challenges. “We are driven by market trends and by our clients who wish to offer new and innovative solutions to meet the latest megatrends,” says Hedlund, explaining that there is a global network of eleven Innovation C...

Kunststoffe international, 2013-08-19, Power Ahead
... in reserve, Chinese processors are also preferring to invest in a high-end machine from the outset.” A recent development can also be seen in the strong export of machine engineering from Asia to America. The Asian market is no longer growing, “so they are already looking for export markets,” says Neumann. The slow but steady market saturation in China, and the trend to producing higher quality machines in Asia is also being reflected in the market expectations of the injection molders. Instead...

Kunststoffe international, 2014-01-23, Transparent Plastics: Minimizing Scratch Marks
...he transparent polymers studied here. Moreover, this can be increased as necessary by an additional coating. The scratch hardness test consists in scratching the surface with a diamond stylus (figures: Evonik) Fig. 1. SEM images of scratch marks on PMMA at different magnifications Fig. 2. Oblique-edge scanning electron micrographs of (a) Plexiglas 8N Crystal Clear, (b) PC and (c) PS after the scratch hardness test performed as per ISO 4586-2; diamond stylus applied under a force of 5 N Fig. 3. P...

Kunststoffe international, 2014-10-10, Polyamides (PA)
Polyamides have gone through a remarkable development in recent years. On the one hand, they are under pressure from other polymer materials increasingly entering the domain of engineering plastics. On the other hand, new, highly-specialized PA types are opening up applications hitherto reserved for high-performance materials. Continuous fiber composite materials are experiencing a dynamic development, polyamides from renewable raw materials are constantly on the increase. In 2014, again, polya...

Kunststoffe international, 2014-10-10, Resins and Reactive Systems
...–1,50065 (= HL2)204VE LEO, reinforced with nonwoven glass fabric240–34045 (= HL3)554German composite producers see the general economic climate and their own economic situation as very favorable at present. This was the outcome of the latest market survey conducted in 2013 by the economic association Composites Germany, Frankfurt [1], which was constituted by four leading organizations of the German fiber composite industry. Carbon fiber-reinforced plastics (CFRP) are seen as the main driving fo...

Kunststoffe international, 2014-11-26, Black Gold in a Freefall
...ons for the economy doubtless play a major role. Big fluctuations in the oil price are nothing unusual, however. Over the past ten years the price first spiraled from just above 40 to 140 dollars before briefly falling to below the 40-dollar mark in December 2008 at the height of the financial crisis. The price fluctuations and price exaggerations thus also have a certain regulating function in respect of the cyclical development of the economy. Low energy prices fundamentally have a favorabl...

Kunststoffe international, 2014-11-26, Compensation of Stresses in Intermediates
...ne the free shrinkage of an intermediate:Take several pieces of approx. 100 mm × 100 mm (or 200 mm × 200 mm – or as desired) from the intermediate, measure exactly, record the dimensions on the pieces and mark the cutting direction (for films from the reel the extrusion direction, for sheets the longitudinal direction) with an arrow. Ideally samples should be taken from both edges and from the middle of the intermediate.Heat up the circulating air oven and set it to roughly the forming temperatu...

Kunststoffe international, 2015-02-28, Reliable Designs in Foam
...ize 512 pixels x 512 pixels.A gray pattern was sprayed onto the specimen to enable camera 1 to track deformation in the test area. This allows the strains to be calculated and plotted versus the corresponding loads (Fig. 5). The bright mark helps camera 1 to be aligned more reliably with the test area (Fig. 6).The high-speed camera films the crack initiation and propagation during failure. After the specimen has broken, filming is stopped immediately by hand; as a result, the images of the last ...

Kunststoffe international, 2015-03-17, Bringing Light into Darkness
...cut surface then allows a micrograph to be produced that can be examined under a microscope (Fig. 1). The area ratio of epoxy resin to fibers then gives the fiber content by volume. In order to be able to determine this area ratio it is necessary to mark the areas of the epoxy resin or the fibers and to compare this with the total area examined. Since the differences in contrast between fiber and matrix material are very slight, the fibers have to be marked manually using an image processing pro...

Kunststoffe international, 2015-03-17, Efficient Deflection Mixheads for Very Small to Very Large Outputs
...on appliances. As part of the test operation, two-component mixheads from different manufacturers were closely examined under exactly the same conditions over a period of six months in production. Here, the Hennecke MT mixhead received the top mark for all significant assessment criteria (laminar discharge, mixing quality, leak-tightness as well as susceptibility to faults). WThe Author is head of development and applications technology at Hennecke GmbH. ServiceDigital VersionA PDF file of the a...

Kunststoffe international, 2015-04-20, Continuous Fine Adjustment
Vimar is one of the Italian market leaders for electrical equipment, home automation systems, switches, socket outlets, chronothermostats and thermostats for the private and commercial sector, hotels and ship chandlers. For the production of a 3-component cover plate for a home automation system Ewikon supplied a high precision valve gate solution. The "Arké" series of switches and controls from Vimar SpA, Marostica, Italy, offers a variety of stylish high-quality cover plate versions with the v...

Kunststoffe international, 2015-04-20, Steady Growth through New Manufacturing Processes
...ex and often highly time-consuming, medical technology is one of the most innovative and rapidly growing sectors in Germany. Industry association Spectaris is expecting growth of 1.6 % for 2014. Overall sales would then exceed the 25 billion euro mark for the first time. These sales are achieved by some 124,000 employees in 1,200 companies with more than 20 on the payroll. According to the German Medical Technology Association (BVMed) 15 % of all those employed work in research and development –...

Kunststoffe international, 2015-07-20, Color Marking by Pulsed Laser Irradiation
Colored marking methods represent the next evolution step in the field of laser marking. An approach for this purpose is the local variation of the particle spacing in nanocomposites. The marking of polymers using laser irradiation has attained in the industry an important role. Compared to other labeling methods, this is a non-contact technique, which enables high marking speeds with great flexibility and quality [1]. Reasons for laser marking are cost savings, improved quality and greater secu...

Kunststoffe international, 2015-07-20, When Do Moldings Have Chill Marks?
Chill marks on the molding are caused by localized "chilling" of the heated material before forming. There are a large number of causes of this. Chill marks generally have a negative impact on the molding properties – in the special case of snap fasteners, however, they can also be useful. Chill marks are partially bead-like thick spots on moldings (Title figure). They are generally perceived visually as "unattractive" or "incongruous". Chill marks on moldings always occur unintentionally – with...

Kunststoffe international, 2015-08-17, Integrated Process Chains for Packaging Films Networked Technologies under One Roof
... product range for the production of flexible packaging. During the in-house exhibition Expo 2015, Gerhard Gotzmann spoke with Dr. Jürgen Vutz, CEO and shareholder of W & H, and with managing partner Peter Steinbeck about trends in the film market as well as the company’s strategic orientation. With one cast film and five blown film lines, the Extrusion business unit showed a representative cross-section of current film manufacturing trends. An Aquarex machine produced asymmetric, water-cooled b...

Kunststoffe international, 2015-08-17, PET Recycling in Europe
...agement in Germany for household waste.A multi-cycle (for refillable bottles) rate of 72 % was defined in the Packaging Regulations. An obligatory deposit on disposable beverage packaging was prescribed as a consequence of failing to reach this mark in the future.On several occasions during the years that followed, the multi-cycle rate was not achieved, so that an obligatory deposit was to have been paid on beverage containers from 1 January 2003. Due to a lack of preparation on the part of indu...

Kunststoffe international, 2015-09-18, Regulations, Markets, Trends
...art, been adopted in other parts of the world, such as China. In July 2013, the European Construction Products Regulation became law, thereby replacing the previous Construction Products Directive. This has led to changes in the awarding of the CE mark. The systems and tests for reaction to fire (Euroclasses) have not been changed fundamentally, but rather expanded: Thus a new classification with corresponding tests for reaction to fire (flame spread, heat release, flaming droplets, smoke and ac...

Kunststoffe international, 2015-10-12, Inventiveness Ensures Growth in Machine Manufacturing
...e European Union of Plastics and Rubber Machinery Manufacturers (Euromap), together produced 40 percent by value of all the processing machines manufactured worldwide for the industry in 2014. This represents sales of EUR 13 billion on an overall market of EUR 32.5 billion. The Euromap countries have thus been able to retain their individual shares, despite the pronounced increase in the shares accounted for by China over the past few years. And Euromap’s 50 percent share of world exports has al...

Kunststoffe international, 2015-10-12, Nobel Prize for Injection Molding
Lightweight construction, small batches, and progressive integration of electronic functions: general industrial trends are spilling over into the injection molding industry. Recent years have seen the development of remarkable solutions for meeting all kinds of requirements. Machine manufacturers have not been idle though: precision-regulated processes form the basis for many applications, and now it seems that the self-optimizing injection molding machine is no longer a fantasy. Have you ever ...

Kunststoffe international, 2015-11-23, 3-D Printing for Production
...e still grouped under the term fused deposition molding (FDM) and mainly process acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS). Such systems by other manufacturers are grouped under the term fused layer modeling (FLM). The many 3-D printers for the home market are for the most part filament FLM systems and through their massive boom have helped to increase the familiarity of additive manufacturing enormously.Another group of processes that also processes thermoplastics as the material for the parts is s...

Kunststoffe international, 2015-11-23, Summit of the Special Kind
...rom the industry under its umbrella by acquiring Priamus System Technologies AG from Switzerland. Over the last three years, U.S.-based industrial and aerospace manufacturer and service provider Barnes, whose sales broke the one-billion-dollar mark for the first time in 2005, has acquired an impressive lineup of hot runner and mold specialists, beginning with Synventive in 2012, männer in 2013, and recently Thermoplay in August 2015.Strategy Shift to IPAccording to Patrick Dempsey, President an...

Kunststoffe international, 2015-12-17, More than just Protection
...e new technology to encapsulate flexible electronic devices with functional films and applying the devices directly to the surface of the coated ETFE film (Fig. 1). The vast areas of ETFE-based membrane roofs offer considerable market potential for integrated flexible electronic devices and the associated technologies. WFig. 3. Comparison of the water vapor permeability of ZTO layers on different substratesThe Authors has been a researcher and project manager at the Fraunhofer Institute for Orga...

Kunststoffe international, 2016-02-17, Not for Just Any Price
... a material price per kilogram, alternative and performance-based revenue models are also possible. Increased competition and ever shorter product lifecycles are putting downward pressure on sales prices. To remain sustainable and profitable on the market, companies are forced to innovate, differentiate performance and reflect the added value in the price. Yet according to a global study conducted in 2014 by the management consultancy Simon-Kucher & Partners Strategy & Marketing Consultants Gmb...

Kunststoffe international, 2016-09-23, Increasingly Complex Innovations
... surfaces give the car owner does not remain unblemished for long. In everyday use, these surfaces are exposed to frequent contact with dust, objects such as keys, rings or spectacles, and various cleaning agents, which very quickly leave a mark. The effect of cosmetics, particularly sun cream, which damage the surface, should also not be underestimated.Component producers have tried to counter this problem with ever harder surfaces but this approach also has its limits. A temporary solution is ...

Kunststoffe international, 2016-10-17, Polyaryletherketones (PAEK)
...ng continuous use in temperatures of up to 260 °C. Other features include high strength and stiffness, hydrolysis resistance, resistance to aggressive substances and excellent tribological properties. Manufacturers, Capacities, ProductionAcross key markets, mega-trends support the use of PAEK materials. Victrex plc, Thornton-Cleveleys, United Kingdom, is a manufacturer of PEEK. At its headquarters, the production capacity exceeds 7000 t/a. Its PEEK products comprise granules, composites, coating...

Kunststoffe international, 2017-07-19, Comparing Materials
...ion is used. Materials that have been identified in different searches during one session can be collected in the Pinboard and thereby compared. To make a direct comparison, up to three materials can thus be grouped in one PDF datasheet. To do this, mark the relevant materials using the checkbox and call up the datasheet via "Compare PDF." If these materials have charts, they can also be compared, i. e. superimposed on one another. The curves are superimposed with the "Curve Overlay" function. T...

Kunststoffe international, 2017-07-19, Disquiet before the Storm
...r companies have also discovered this for themselves and so traditional vehicle producers find themselves confronted by large global companies from the IT and software sector and agile startups such as Uber. The latter, for example, has achieved a market relevance similar to BMW in just three years. However, these companies are not seriously interested in building cars in the long term, according to Bratzel. Rather, they want to dominate the customer interface with an ecosystem of attractive ser...

Kunststoffe international, 2017-07-19, Odor and Out
...romatography and the substances which have been separated are smelled and evaluated at the so-called sniffing port by the assessors. A conventional parallel detector is used for identification. Both "traces" are laid over each other to mark the odor-active sections. The compound tests show that a strong sense of odor is possible despite low VOC values measured (Fig. 2a). Odors are, therefore, identifiable when no VOCs are measurable, i. e. the odor-causing substances lie under the detection thre...

Kunststoffe international, 2017-10-13, Understanding Flame-Retardant Grades Better
...FR.Flammability Test according to UL 94 VWhen it comes to the development of flame-retardant plastics in the chemical industry and at compound manufacturers, the UL94 regulations of the American Underwriters Laboratories (UL) usually serve as a benchmark or, at least, their development is steered with a view to passing this test. The UL94 V fire test was initially used by UL to approve plastics in the electrical/electronics sector for the American market. However, as globalization progresses, th...

Kunststoffe international, 2018-02-21, A Cool Mix
...e time distribution, an uneven flow rate and poor self-cleaning. In addition, coolers of such installed length would frequently be unavailable and very expensive. Cooling tubes with attached fins or designed so as to have a type of mixer structure mark an improvement, but fail to resolve the basic problem and are therefore always a compromise solution. Operating Principle Behind the Cooling MixerThe P1 cooling mixer technology from Promix Solutions AG, Winterthur, Switzerland, is the first comb...

Kunststoffe international, 2018-05-15, Power Lies in the Water
...[1] with a functional hollow space, for example media lines. In addition, FAIM is used to reduce melt accumulations in planar moldings with ribs or in moldings with thick-walled regions. These melt accumulations lead to shrinkage and warpage or sink marks, as well as to longer cycle times due to a higher residual cooling time. Elimination of such melt accumulations is an economic advantage not only because it shortens the cycle time, but also since it reduces the part weight, and thus offers an ...

Kunststoffe international, 2018-07-17, Defects Put to Good Use
... can be successfully developed from quality and production monitoring technology. Sophisticated Testing Technology Is the BasisManufacturers of high-quality films today monitor 100 % of production with film inspection systems. These detect defects, mark them, and alert the operator immediately. The process itself, the raw material and the end product are all monitored in this way.Thanks to the development of advanced technology, the inspection systems are now realistically capable of processing...

Kunststoffe international, 2018-09-19, Plastics for the Mobility of Tomorrow
Digitalization, electromobility, energy and resource efficiency are making their mark on future vehicles. These trends were also reflected at this year’s PIAE, the branch’s get-together in Germany. Plastics are an important key to mastering ecological and economic challenges in the coming years. One sure way to save weight is still to reduce the density of materials. That this also applies to foams that are lightweight anyway, was demonstrated exemplary by an instrument panel (Fig. 1) at this ye...

Kunststoffe international, 2018-11-09, Declaring War on Quench Marks
...tic material into areas where thin spots develop during forming when using only compressed air, the material consumption and therefore weight can be reduced while maintaining a consistent component quality, simultaneously reducing the risk of quench mark formation during production. Depending on the product, the cost of materials accounts for up to 90 % of the product costs in thermoforming [1]. This makes the efficient use of materials in production essential. Material efficiency is therefore t...

Kunststoffe international, 2018-12-19, Paying Attention to Resources Everywhere
...k bottles currently contain almost three quarters virgin material on average. Members of the German RAL Quality Association have undertaken to halve this amount by 2022 – at least for all bottles that the association permits to bear its quality mark – i. e. all those containing at least 25 percent recyclate. Higher amounts of rPET, even 100 percent in the case of bottles for still water, are already approved by the European Food Safety Authority EFSA. A high proportion of recyclate can improve ...

Kunststoffe international, 2019-12-18, Electromobility and a Concept Vehicle
...ers showed exciting new developments for electromobility in particular. Sustainability dominated the K 2019 – not only with themes such as recycling or circular economies. Also in the automotive field, various companies had obviously put their mark on showing how plastics can contribute towards reduced carbon footprints. One major focus was on electromobility. Many manufacturers presented new materials that had either been developed specially for electric vehicles or are suited for this purpose....

Kunststoffe international, 2020-02-12, A Varied Menu
For the Institute of Plastics Processing (IKV) at the RWTH Aachen University, Germany, 2020 is an anniversary year in three different ways. The RWTH Aachen University is celebrating its 150th anniversary, and is marking the occasion, by hosting the International Colloquium of Plastics Technology for the 30th time – with special feature on the previous day. A preview of the celebrations. The 30th International Colloquium of Plastics Technology will take place on March 11 and 12, 2020, at the Euro...