Respond - TPV - Solvay Engineering Plastics

Kunststoffe international, Correctly Assessing the Energy‧Efficiency of Heating Systems
...forgotten that, in addition to the volume of water in the temperature control unit, the entire surface, material thickness and insulation on the unit have to be heated as well. This confers a further advantage on tank-less systems, namely they respond much faster to set-point changes. HB-Therm knows from experience with its Series 3 units that the advantages of indirect heating outweigh the disadvantages in many respects, especially as regards their vulnerability to failures and the outlay on ma...

Kunststoffe international, Superficial, Yet Demanding
...o cleaning of the molds needed for manufacturing the plastic parts – the challenges are fairly similar: plant technology needs to be continually improved to keep up with individualization, the ever-rising demand for flexibility and a desire to respond rapidly to customer needs. A further emerging major trend is the possibility of integrating or networking machinery into existing processes. The aim of interconnecting various plant parts with each other is to boost productivity and efficiency with...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Automation: Maximum Networking of Manufacturing Processes
...ticularly in Asia, has caught up strongly in recent years. That means that the quality screw is continuing to tighten, while production in these countries is still more cost efficient. The only way companies in the “old” industrial countries can respond to this situation is by keeping the execution of complex manufacturing processes at their sites while at the same time integrating different production sequences into manufacturing cells. Efficiency thus becomes the determining factor in protecti...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Bank Rating: Leadership – An Important Rating Factor
... leadership are concerned, experts such as Lutz von Rosenstiel rightly point out that there is no such thing as a "best leadership style" [1]. Instead, managers are expected to have a broad spectrum of leadership behaviour to allow them to respond appropriately to every conceivable situation. - In terms of target achievement, a specific leadership approach may be successful with one employee but not with another. - It is quite conceivable that one situation may necessitate authoritaria...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Blown Film Extrusion Today
...ed film is evident. In addition, the market requires high production flexibility on the part of film manufacturers. As a result of this, new requirements have arisen in relation to plant technology, to which the machinery manufacturers are having to respond. The most important developments in machine technology involve new designs for extrusion dies, cooling rings and film guide systems and user-friendly plant control systems. Production plants for the manufacture of blown film must meet a var...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Case Study: Hot-Runner Solution for an Electronics Coil
...ses production downtimes for maintenance. An important role is played by the supplier’s service network. It is only if the article and mould designers, mould makers and injection moulders can receive competent on-the-spot support that they can respond rapidly to problems that crop up and thereby ensure smooth production start up. Requirements and Boundary Conditions of the Manufacturing Process Finder SpA, based in Almese near Turin/Italy, is a manufacturer of high-quality electrical parts, re...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Complete Automation: Articulated-arm Robots for Difficult Assembly Operations
...deposition units, these robot kinematics offer the possibility of flexible manufacturing. After a mould exchange, we can produce different parts on the same line and still ensure a reliable and constant manufacturing process. This allows us to respond rapidly to a variety of customer demands. The biggest advantage is the concept of cell-integrated secondary operations that we have implemented together with Reis. A robot assembles the parts produced together with supplied parts directly at the in...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Continuous Growth: Polyarylether Ketone (PAEK)
...s being reported in the use of high-performance plastics from the PAEK family in all sectors of industry. The balanced and high-grade property profile of this material enables developers and designers to come up with innovative solutions and thereby respond to the constant call for cost reduction, functional optimisation, weight reduction, a longer service life and optimised safety and comfort. Wolfgang Reimer Horst Sandner The company that produces the highest tonnage of polyarylether ketone w...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Convertible Roofs: Targeting the Fresh-air Fanatics
... components had to be incorporated. With the aid of the latest production control techniques and thanks to the well-established teamwork, our employees have met the logistical and manufacturing challenges. As a result, we are still able to respond flexibly to the varying demand for the various Mini models.“ From Convertible to Full-fledged Automobile The challenges at Oasys are also demanding. Open Air Systems GmbH, the full name of the company, was founded in 2002 and is owned equally by Webas...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Conveying, Dosing and Mixing
...plied units can be easily integrated into the system by means of additional couplings and by extending the conveyor line as necessary. If the range of processed materials is extended, a conveyor line for each further material must be led past the corresponding supplied units, and equipped with the appropriate couplings. The disadvantage is that material shoots beyond the branch leading to the machine to be fed, and there are undefined residence times of the material in the conveyor line. This re...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Cost Efficiency and Innovations
...ried Baumgartner, Head of the Engineering Plastics division, forecasts, sales of more than EUR 2 billion are to be achieved this year with the ABS plant that has come on stream in Mexico and with Ultra plastics in the USA and Malaysia. In order to respond to the growing markets in NAFTA and Asia (Fig. 2), BASF is endeavouring to achieve a uniform distribution in the regions over the medium term. World-scale polymerisation facilities for ABS are being built in Mexico to this end, together with pr...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Drafting Tolerances for Moulded Parts
...y appropriate corrections to the mould. Such problems may be avoided by distinguishing on the drawing between production and functional tolerances. Only the production tolerances are of relevance to the production of moulds and parts. Since polymers respond in different ways, the same tolerances cannot be specified for all of them. In addition, a distinction needs to be drawn between precision injection moulding and standard injection moulding. DIN 16901 classifies all polymers into tolerance gr...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Effects of E-Business on the Automotive Supplier Industry
..., e. g., delivery schedules, deliveries and billing of the customer at any time. When deviations exceed a definable threshold, alerts can also be sent by email or in SMS form. All participants are therefore kept informed in real-time and are able to respond appropriately. The resulting flexibility not only creates scope for the process participants to improve the production process but also enables them to respond quickly to breakdowns in the supply chain (e. g., delivery problems). The key to t...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Engineering Network: Additional Knowledge Instead of Competition
...gineering network currently comprises plastics processing companies, a firm of consulting engineers and a joint tool-building and development centre. This puts the individual companies in a position to rapidly and competently respond to complex product enquiries which touch on a number of technologies. Each company conducts its own business independently. The company partners are: - Manfred Jacob Kunststofftechnik GmbH: manufacturer of thermoformed parts - com_posite consultants: engineering con...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Foaming: Automatic Gasketing in a Five-second Cycle
...status. EDF also met Brungs + Koch’s specification, to program new parts themselves as easily as possible, and to switch over between the individual metering and CNC programs depending on production requirements. Brungs + Koch employees can now respond flexibly to their customers’ just-in-time delivery demands by feeding the injection-moulded backcaps to the metering and mixing system according to volume and batch requirements. At the insertion/removal station, an employee lays the parts onto th...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Gas-assisted Injection Moulding: Accurate Determination of the Injection Points
...p indicates the desired part filling in the thick-walled region. The flow-front advance in each of the gas-channel geometries present in a part should have the same ratio l/ltotal at each instant of part filling. The designer can therefore respond to any occurring gas channel cross-sections by varying the degree of filling without impairing the required proportionality of the post-filled regions. The first simulations did not provide satisfactory results, so that a constructional change of the p...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Gas-assisted Injection Moulding: The Cross-section is Crucial
...bubble, and how parameters can be set to avoid fingering. Process Fluctuations Disturb the Reproducibility of the Gas Bubble The studies to determine the melt and gas injection points demonstrated that the post-filled volumes of the cavity must correspond to the desired gas bubble volume. Vpost filled = Agas bubble x Lgas bubble The part’s geometrical dimensions determine the optimum gas bubble length. The initially injected melt volume and resulting gas-bubble cross-section must be matched to...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, High-Grade Film Production
... of use for extrusion plants, and - material and energy savings. Apart from improving the quality of the final products, there are also calls for the production process to be improved in respect of reducing or avoiding production waste. In order to respond to these demands, it is essential for processors to make the correct choice of raw material, to have the right design of plant at their disposal and to ensure that the corresponding production parameters are observed. While films of different ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Improved Part Properties: Process Control in Injection Moulding
...aterial under consideration. After computation of the local temperatures in the part as a function of time by means of a differential process, the setpoint pressure curve in the mould is determined and transmitted to the machine by means of corresponding control functions [9]. The very limited computing power is a source of much debate here. However, the emerging microprocessors promise dynamic developments in injection moulding machine controls. Measures such as closed-loop control of thermodyn...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, In-line Production Control: Film Inspection – A Question of Location
...up. The system administrators have the task of managing the system and, for example, defining the recipes for various products with certain customer specifications. The staff who operate the system, on the other hand, only need to know how to respond to the various alarm warnings. The extent of the time and personnel costs for looking after the system will depend on the level of integration. If, for example, the development department uses the measurements to evaluate new recipes and new raw mat...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Laser or Camera?
...e time, these systems open the door to introducing a new product strategy: Through certification of the products, companies can classify their products as A, B, C or D quality, which means they can apply a differentiated price policy to specifically respond to the requirements of the film and sheet market. Summarizing, in-line inspection systems - reduce costs resulting from complaints and - prevent the company from denting its good image or losing follow-up orders due to inadequate product qual...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Market and Concept: Self-colouring of ABS
...d cutting the number of internal transport operations. Because of the simplified procedures in purchasing, production and logistics, the processor becomes more competitive. By colouring the ABS himself, the customer can respond to new colour trends quicker and also improve his ability to deliver. This optimises the time to market, because it shortens the response times to the customer’s wishes and thereby enhances the flexibility of the company as a whole. The Author Dr. Fred Baumgartner, born ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Melt Pressure Control: Process Optimisation for Special Tasks
...cial Tasks Melt Pressure Control. Balancing a hot runner system with a large number of identical cavities or several different cavities is a fine art: The system is bound to the set parameters. A PID melt pressure controller in the feed channel can respond immediately to fluctuations in the system and guarantee individual injection profiles for each nozzle. Hans-Jörg Schreyer The quality of plastic mouldings is, as far as the injection moulding process is concerned, significantly influenced b...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Modular Clamping Force: Why a Mould Maker Needs His Own Injection Moulding Machines
...these machines is also increasing. The machines are usually equipped for multicomponent injection moulding, and provided with various technology modules, to allow companies like Sauer Product to respond flexibly to present and future challenges in mould making. The Authors Jürgen Sauer is CEO of Sauer & Sohn KG, division Sauer Product, Dieburg; jsauer@sauerproduct.com Ing. Franz Starzer is division head of technical development at Engel Austria GmbH, Large-Machine Plant, St. Valentin/Austria; ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Panorama Roof for the Opel Zafira: Promising Technology
...benefits – beyond that of weight savings – that plastics offer in automaking: They offer enormous design freedom and permit designers and engineers to integrate many functions in a single component. In this way, automakers can respond more specifically to customer demands. In family and lifestyle vehicles in particular, the additional storage capacity at roof level is appreciated – even if it only replaces storage compartments in the cockpit that have been lost to additional airbag systems. On ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Pedestrian Safety
...he experience currently available with airbags, there are still many questions surrounding their use on the exterior of vehicles, e.g. regarding the reliable tripping of the release mechanism. Sensors are required that respond quickly and reliably before the actual impact. As an estimation: with a passive system the energy conversion is already complete about 20ms after impact. An airbag would therefore have to respond much faster than this. There is also no satisfactory solution to integrating ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Plant Tuning: Increase in Capacity of Existing Polyester Plants
...ity increases in existent pipelines can be observed in the polymer industry. Although the plants and their components were originally engineered for a defined volumetric delivery, extension (retrofitting) of present plants is appropriate in order to respond to market demands quickly and economically. A frequently overlooked obstacle to this are discharge pumps under evaporators or finishers. Discharge pumps are designed to extract the melted polymer, which is free of solvent and frequently extr...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Plasticising in Critical Areas
...it also means that twice the amount of material must be processed during the same cycle time. Because of the limitation on the injection pressure, a larger screw diameter is barely possible, with the result that engineers generally respond by extending the metering stroke. The popularity of multi-daylight moulds also makes significant demands on the output. The machine has to plasticise twice the quantity during the same cycle time. Although the specified output can be achieved with a relatively...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, PMMA Successful in More and More Fields of Application: Polymethyl Methacrylate (PMMA)
...ng as the vehicle and withstand UV light, moisture and fuel – an ideal field of application for PMMA. Well-known car manufacturers are increasingly employing light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as a new light source. A life-saving benefit is that LEDs respond 70ms faster than conventional lighting systems. An additional plus is the reduced power consumption, resulting in improved fuel economy. The high transparency of PMMA offers benefits here as well. The taillights of some luxury-class automobiles pr...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Processing Technologies: Processing Fibre-reinforced Plastics
...essible external preform side. Resin Injection Technology: To meet the increasing requirements for reproducibility and process monitoring, a flexible injection control system is an advantage. Such an injection control system must be able to respond to malfunctions and associated changes in the injection process. Malfunctions in the injection process can have their origin in a number of factors. Preform production tolerances, uneven binder application, draping, handling, etc. may be considered a...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Project Management: Challenge Rewarded
...of such an order would have a direct effect on the company’s result. Procedures must therefore exist for notifying the company management about significant risks at as early a stage as possible, in order to allow them to respond. A reporting system was therefore built up, which regularly presents information about the current status and the expected conclusion of all orders. While every order is itemised in detail at the lower management level, information to the company management is compressed...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Protective Control of Hot-Runner Systems
...ters for small nozzles. Each control card includes important safety functions. Apart from alarm displays for defective fuses and temperature sensor failure or pole reversal, it also includes a double safeguard for each control zone and a fuse relay responding to the failure of the main control circuit. A continuous earth leakage measurement not only helps to respond quickly to disturbances, but also prevents secondary damaged from critical leakage currents. It also responds to numerous other dis...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Rationalisation Benefits: Fully-automatic Manufacturing Cell for In-mould Decoration
... Boy 35 VV injection moulding machine with a vertical clamping and injection unit shows efficient in-mould decoration (IMD). The aim of this project was to produce high-quality, decorated display disks with a three-dimensional surface. In order to respond to these requirements and to be able to make flexible changes to the design of the display, the project management opted for in-mould decoration using film printed by the screen-printing process. If the coloured layer is placed between the fi...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Reading by Laser
...ssible in CD production, compared with over 20 s at the beginning of the eighties. The introduction of the DVD with half the substrate thickness and reduced pit structures led to a new challenge to polycarbonate manufacturers. Bayer was the first to respond, presenting Makrolon DP1-1265 in 1996, a product specially tailored to DVD production. It offers excellent flow properties, reduced birefringence compared with standard CD-grade polycarbonate, and a wide processing window. Depending on the ma...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Small Injection Moulding Machines - Great Performance
...ally lessen the demands on process control. Often, it is experience which dictates that restrictions be placed on the number of cavities. This is the case irrespective of the costs of maintaining machines and mould or the advantages of being able to respond more flexibly to downtimes and other imponderabilities. So it is that Bosch has had good results from using two cavities for co-injection applications. Fast Mould Changing at Dallmer Small processors that do not use hundreds of injection mo...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Testing Technology: Inline Measuring and Testing
...asured values and statistical data. To output the measured results and trigger an alarm, a TCP/IP interface and process interface are available. The system can be coupled to an in-house network or to the internet. The automatic die control can respond to the process and adjust it to the lower tolerance limits. Raw materials savings of up to 5 % can be achieved in this manner. With very soft or tacky films, contact sensors can cause tearing of the bubble. This year, in contrast to K2001, several ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, The Italian Plastics Industry
...kaging represents the largest applications sector for plastics. Absolute figures for imports and exports of plastic products are shown in Table 3. World-wide, the packaging sector accounts for approx. 30 % of total consumption [4]. In Italy, the corresponding figure was 45.8 % in 1999 (Fig. 2). Consumption grew by 6.2 %, divided into flexible packaging (+7.7 %) and container packaging (+4.3 %). The rise in flexible packaging is mainly due to greater consumption of stretch and shrink film, here g...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, The Market for Standard Plastics
...ity utilisation and to an increase in profit margins attainable in the market. Production bottlenecks, concerns about loss of market shares and optimistic demand extrapolations stimulate new large investments and lead to typical pork cycles with corresponding effects on future plant utilisation, sales prices and profit margins. Development of Demand for Plastics in 1999 In 1997 world-wide consumption of plastic materials (excluding dispersions, fibres, thermosets and the like) amounted to 129 ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, The Market has Narrowed
...n plant in Estarreja/Portugal, has supplied 90 000 instead of 75 000 tonnes of this isocyanate. In America through capacity increases and a plant to be built about 250 000 tonnes of MDI should be produced starting in 2004. Huntsman expanded their corresponding capacities in Geismar, Louisiana/USA, by about 130 000 to 380 000 t/a now. Production of the preproducts nitrobenzene and aniline are fully integrated, which makes very cost-efficient plant operation possible for the enterprise. Meanwhile ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Ultrasonic Technology: Fabrication of Films and Coated Fabrics
...method of high-frequency welding can be dispensed with. Furthermore, the optimization of offcut reduction leads to considerably lower material consumption and less waste. The main benefit, however, is the greater flexibility and the ability to respond more quickly to customers' wishes. The Authors Bernhard Longerich and Bernt Claußnitzer are the Managing Directors of CompMess; B.Longerich@CompMess.de Title photo. Sample piece fabricated by the ultrasonic system Fig. 1. Fabricating un...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Vacuum Systems for Polymer Degassing
...justed in a speed range of 1:3 by means of a frequency transformer without modification of the drive motor. By means of the control chain comprising the pressure transmitter, programmable controller and frequency transformer, users can automatically respond to different formulations or quality fluctuations. Comparison of Operating Costs The vacuum systems presented here are compared by means of the example of the extrusion of PS with a throughput of 800 kg/h. This process can be carried out wi...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-30, Retrofit on a Milling Machine: 19 Years’ Service and Better than New
... mainly carried out to customer orders. These special jobs range from the manufacture of a single part, based on a drawing, to prototype and mass production. Nearly 70 employees ensure that production is highly flexible and can respond quickly to customer orders, usually with only two weeks’ notice. The client expected two effects as a result of the modernisation: easier operation and higher true-running accuracy in circular milling. But the fact that tolerances could be halved from 0.4 to 0.2mm...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-12-07, Interview: Successful Transition to the Next Generation
...tomers, providing them with support from the idea through the finished product. Project business now accounts for 10% of our sales. We started off on a small scale here and are now expanding the department so as to be in a position to better respond to customer wishes. This is one of the reasons why we need extra employees. Kunststoffe: What, do you feel is the reason that you are able to take on new employees contrary to the prevailing trend? You are, after all, operating in the same economic ...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-01-13, Materials Handling: Centralisation Complete
... parts was also totally revamped. Unlike previously, the employee no longer has to fetch the skeleton container, remove the parts he needs and return it to the shelf. Nowadays he is lifted by a narrow aisle truck directly to the corresponding skeleton container, removes his part and then drives to the next skeleton container (Fig. 4). And the small parts are brought directly to the employee by a material shuttle at the touch of a button. New departures are also being made in the hiring of new em...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-06-30, UTECH 2006: PUrists Together
...recently unveiled to the public, presented its cell control technology for slabstock foams. Using this technology in practice expanded foams having cell sizes of 8-100 ppi can be profitably and reproducibly manufactured. This allows the processor to respond rapidly to changing requirements in slabstock foam production. Moreover, a revised version of the high-pressure "BaseLine" metering machine was presented. This has been equipped, inter alia, with increased delivery power and with an i...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-07-12, Editorial: The Customer's Always Right!
...eing transferred to independent company units, both in Germany and abroad. And there are plenty of examples to prove this. BASF, for instance, realigned its styrene specialities on the basis of a new, globally-oriented business model so as to better respond to its customers’ needs. And the Lanxess company acquired leaner and hence more flexible structures when it was hived off from Bayer. Where business is no longer worthwhile for the big players, the compounders, with their even greater custome...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-09-28, A Personal Opinion: Has Injection Moulding been Fully Exhausted?
...re is no substitute for basic research at universities and working out fundamental discoveries, which are then applied in a wide variety of technical solutions. Calling Current Methods into Question I would like to respond to frequently heard argument that the injection moulding machine and process have reached the end of the road. That is something I cannot accept at all. If we had passively accepted such assertions in earlier days, we would probably still be driving at 20mph on our roads, wou...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-09-28, An Attempt at Defining the Status Quo: Injection Mouldmaking in 2006
... savings are not just restricted to the moulded part: the weight of the moulds is also reduced by using a combination of cast aluminium and steel. “One of our formulas for success is that we respond to the market conditions of our customers and jointly determine the most suitable mould range. The advice that we give has to be focussed on our customer’s economic success – otherwise they will not continue to be our partners for many years to come”, Josef Ebner summed up. High-performance Moulds ...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-01-22, Market Niches are Becoming ever Larger
...customers, while the sales and distribution partner, Albis for example, tends to the needs of medium-sized and smaller customers. Today it is obvious that this has taken on a much more modified form than the business model: things have evolved. Correspondingly, the activities of Albis are much more wide-ranging and collaboration over the entire value-added chain is much more complex with more interlocking parts (Fig. 2). Kunststoffe: In which countries do you have production sites and distribut...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-02-13, An Eldorado for New Developments from Plastics
... the companies. They spend most of their time with us but can convey current project knowledge immediately back into their respective companies. That works better than exchanging information at project meetings every four weeks and the companies can respond more speedily. We have found that this model works very satisfactorily. Above all the pressure on marketing is very much higher. This in turn is passed on to us, i.e. in the development we avoid at all costs slipping too far into blue sky thi...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-03-15, Promoting Innovations with a Focus
...suppliers had withdrawn from this activity. With your new Technical Centre, you present evidence to the contrary. Liman: As a raw materials supplier, we have to be active in all branches of industry, present new developments everywhere and respond to current requirements. In the past few years, the Bayer group saw continuous realignment in all areas to better focus on our core products. The new Technical Service Center and our TechniKomm is a visible expression of this process, covering faciliti...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-04-17, Forming and Assembly in One Process
...can be integrally joined to one another by chemical modification (e.g. copolymerisation) or physical surface treatment (e.g. plasma). In this way the range of materials available to be mated with one another in joints is extended so that users can respond more flexibly to requirements encountered in practice. Interesting combinations of materials result from the desire to save costs or to set defined physical properties. Processes already developed show that it is possible to combine the low-cos...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-04-17, Multiple Personality
Multiple Personality Highly Varied Range of Tasks for Six-axis Robots In the plastics processing industry, articulated arm robots are handling increasingly complex tasks. Robot manufacturers respond flexibly to the processors’ demands with appropriate specifications. This is not the only reason why the robot business is booming in this sector. Complete processing of injection moulded parts, component handling with integrated quality assurance, use for CNC machining, fully automatic cleaning ...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-06-18, Dynamic Temperature Measurement as a Prophylactic Against Rejects
...cts Hot-Runner Balancing The capabilities of modern sensors, together with smart system technology, open up new possibilities for meeting the requirements made on the injection moulding process. Cavity-temperature-based closed-loop control systems respond in real time to natural fluctuations in the process. As they improve part quality in this way and demonstrably reduce reject quotas, the use of such systems also pays off economically. Erwin König The increasing complexity of injection mo...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-06-18, Formwork Panels Made of Plastic
...acing layer thickness into account, the abrasion resistance determined with a Taber unit [3] is more than 10 times higher than that of the wooden reference panel. Resistance to External Influences Other trials investigated how the panels respond to external climatic influences. Polypropylene does not absorb moisture and, as a result, experiences no change in properties or characteristics. In contrast, the moisture uptake of multi-layer plywood formwork panels leads to severe local swelling and...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-08-14, Vision Works – Today and Tomorrow
...itate the market introduction of innovations. In the Polycarbonates Business Unit, BMS has begun the "Makro Color" project, with the aim of establishing modern, more streamlined structures in order to become even more efficient and respond better to markets and customer needs. To better realize customer needs, BMS has created a worldwide network of research and technology centers, and thereby further expanded its innovation centers, and other facilities. Centers have been opened in Lever...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-11-21, New Boost for Plastic Parts
...islation were the real drivers behind the innovations and technologies. The ongoing debate on CO2 emissions and fuel consumption, for example, is providing a new boost to lightweight design and construction. Numerous suppliers have been quick to respond, presenting solutions at the IAA that show where the future lies. To keep at least some of the associated auxiliary costs down, process and method innovations are at the center of attention. For example, cockpit subcontractor Johnson Controls, Mi...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-12-17, Throughput Counts
... constructed in the form of barrier screws and are said by Heimann to be capable of processing all common raw materials at a melt temperature reduced by 15–20°C. The 3- and 5-layer film blowing dies supplied by the manufacturer were correspondingly adapted to the low melt temperature by central air circulation. At the exhibition Reifenhäuser demonstrated the production of a 50µm metallocene film built up of five layers. Using a 350mm die and a single-decker cooling ring throughputs in the range ...

Kunststoffe international, 2008-01-15, Complete Solutions Sought
...g of material flow is becoming increasingly important. Complete documentation of the material flow from a central or beside-the-press hopper through metering and mixing gives the processor the ability to detect potential error sources early and respond to them. Access to processing parameters is possible from decentralized locations or from a central location via networked computers. The latter approach is finding increased use among manufacturers of medical products and is required of suppliers...

Kunststoffe international, 2008-01-15, Elastomer Industry Has Understood
...lastomers. But increasing cost pressure, not least as a result of imports from eastern Europe and Asia, is now compelling the rubber industry to rethink. By compiling standard ranges from the overabundance of formulations, it is possible to respond rapidly and efficiently to diverse customer requirements. According to Klaus Ahnert, Director Advertising & Promotion at Gummiwerke Kraiburg, this strategy has already paid off in successfully safeguarding established business sectors, even in so-call...

Kunststoffe international, 2008-02-17, Growth in Specialties
...ka Palmarole, Saint Louis, France, is marketing a phosphate-based, halogen-free flame retardant under the name ADK Stab FP-700. In addition, the company has developed the intumescent flame retardant systems ADK Stab FP-2100J and FP-2200. Adeka has responded to the market demand for chemically inert HALS light stabilizers with a new NOR-HALS, known as ADK Stab LA-81. In the area of nucleation, the company has a nucleating agent in its range (Adeka NA-71), which can be used for modifying polypropy...

Kunststoffe international, 2008-05-10, The Rapid Aspect is not the Decisive Factor
...at the start. This was before it proved possible to achieve the same range of functions with two laser-sintered plastic parts – without requiring any advance investment in molds or inventories. In addition, the customer can respond to spontaneous requests for modifications on the part of the person who has placed the order. It is precisely this that constitutes the point of departure for a new business model. Kunststoffe: Even though a single laser-sintered part is considerably more expensive t...

Kunststoffe international, 2008-07-15, Predictive or only Perceived Quality?
...are cost drivers. Kunststoffe: What measures do you propose? Behrens: Even quite simple measures can improve effectiveness. For example, optical signaling of a defect with warning lamps at a central point in the factory would allow the management to respond quickly; or systematic integration of the water cooling circuit into the control system. The pressure, temperature and flow of each individual cooling circuit in the mold must be monitored. Often people don't even know how much water is ...

Kunststoffe international, 2008-08-14, Transparency in Production
...es during the injection molding cycle). One click on the appropriate machine icon in the graphic representation of the production floor is enough to call up the respective data. In this way it is possible to initiate preventive measures or respond to production interruptions. The collected data can be analyzed statistically, displayed graphically or in table form over different periods of time, or be exported to other programs. These data also provide the basis for long-term analysis. For in...

Kunststoffe international, 2008-09-23, Software Solutions also Automate
...ces, e.g. molds, machines, material, test facilities and NC programs. In this way the planner can plan the optimum deployment of the machines and molds and in doing so reduce the setup and handling times. Simulations make it possible for the user to respond flexibly to short-term customer requirements such as brought-forward or additional orders and to record the consequences. Moreover, especially in the field of injection molding, Hydra affords new functionalities for mold maintenance and for p...

Kunststoffe international, 2008-09-23, Tailor-Made for Complex Applications
...01D; with optimized tip geometry. New machine series are aimed at leaving minimum gate marks even with fast cycles. On the temperature control front, the trend is toward adapting to specific requirements of individual customers to which the builders respond with modular design and highly configurable control and cooling systems. Also in the area of mold configuration, the builders are expanding their product ranges and adapting their standard units to special applications. At the same time, thes...

Kunststoffe international, 2008-10-17, PET in Beverage Packaging
...s. An additional polyesterbased two-component system (ValOR A300) has been announced by Valspar, Pittsburgh, USA. Additional materials are under development or going into initial applications (e.g. Colormatrix, solO2 and HyGuard). Corresponding materials include MonoBlox from Artenius, Mendig, Diamond clear from Constar, Philadelphia, USA, and BicoPET from M&G. Very good barrier values are achieved when active and passive barriers are employed simultaneously. In this case, th...

Kunststoffe international, 2009-02-17, Learning Controller as a Guarantee of Quality
...nsole or panel. Arranged in two rows below the display are 20 keys for choosing the most important operator pages (14) and for operating (six, e.g. page turning, printout, help function). Since the keyboard no longer contains any mechanical parts corresponding defects are eliminated and the well illuminated display makes reading easier even when lighting conditions are not very good. The design of the screen interface feeds the information in user friendly manner – areas of the screen of no sign...

Kunststoffe international, 2009-07-16, A Breath of Fresh Air in the Crisis
...be expected in the telecommunications and electronics sectors, which are driven by consumer demand. Neumann does not anticipate that the volume of past years will be achieved again even in the medium term. The company has already responded to the current in orders through introduction of shorter working hours and agreements to end employment; 400 employees are now in a labor foundation (staff support company) or on unpaid leave for further training, and further adjustment of the number of person...

Kunststoffe international, 2009-07-16, Accustomed to Change
... particularly hard in the fourth quarter of 2008. Demand for plastics collapsed suddenly. Year on year, the sales volumes in the fourth quarter fell off dramatically in many cases – by almost 30 % in November and December alone. Plastics producers responded quickly by adjusting production capacities and bringing forward maintenance work. In some cases they temporarily shut down plants. Cost reduction programs that had been running for years were stepped up and adapted to the critical situation. ...

Kunststoffe international, 2009-07-16, Automatically Optimizing Profile Dies
...mulation of particular criteria. This procedure allows many questions to be clarified virtually on the computer, greatly reducing the number of start-up trials. Thanks to the time gained and the lower costs for start-up trials, mold makers can respond more flexibly to customers’ requirements. FEA Simplifies Mold Design The almost limitless complexity of the possible profile cross-sections makes it very difficult to produce the dies dimensionally true and economically [1]. Determination of a comp...

Kunststoffe international, 2009-07-16, Packaging on Target
... throughputs and improving the melt’s homogeneity. Additionally, a chopper disk mixing unit was integrated at the screw tip, in order to mix the plastics melt and the added masterbatches effectively. The maximum screw diameter is 90 mm, corresponding to a throughput of 140 g/s (for the case of polyethylene and polypropylene). Thanks to the plasticizing unit’s swivel arm, the user can easily replace wear parts such as the backflow valve. Larger Space, Higher Flexibility So as to enable workers to...

Kunststoffe international, 2009-10-14, A Fascinating Foray
...ed and the needle forms the channel for the soft component. After retraction of the inner core – another mold specialty – there is space for molding the gasket. Then the needle retracts to the position corresponding to the outer contour (Fig. 12). Pipe fitting molds have always been special designs due to their complex core pullers. It is surprising that a specialist in this field has mainly moved to mechanical core pullers without hydraulic cylinders and is constructing such molds for pipe diam...

Kunststoffe international, 2009-10-14, Batch Size Is Everything
...s only had time to concentrate on their core business, i. e. the manufacture of machines and their conventional processes. Important new developments in automation and process optimization were seldom implemented. Only occasionally did manufacturers respond to the individual requirements of end customers. The difficult situation in almost all areas of the plastics industry has led to a considerable decline in demand for new machinery. The industry must adjust permanently to a lower business volu...

Kunststoffe international, 2009-10-14, Continuous Forming
...rers is the new Speedformer KMD 60 B automatic pressure forming unit from Kiefel GmbH, Freilassing, Germany, which is setting new standards in molding speed. In dry running, it achieves up to 80 cycles/minute. A sheet monitoring system automatically responds to changes in the sheet thickness, ambient temperature and initial temperature. A constant processing temperature in the material can achieve a constant quality of the parts. A great deal of development work is being carried out in the field...

Kunststoffe international, 2010-08-19, Emerging Strengthened from the Crisis
...ing planning, control and development work together with partners and suppliers, and managing key accounts. Market Trends in Blown Film Extrusion The easing global economic crisis put strong pressure on German machine manufactures, and correspondingly also on extrusion line manufacturers, forcing them to concentrate their activities. That led machine suppliers to react in two main ways: Because of declining margins for standard products, demand from film processors arose for 3-layer extrusion li...

Kunststoffe international, 2010-08-19, Ready for the Upturn
...significant rise in order income, and hopes to soon reach the turnover figures of 2007 (EUR 230 million). Like most machine manufacturers, Battenfeld and Cincinnati suffered a 50 % decline in sales between 2007 and 2009. Both companies responded early with an adjustment of their workforces and reduced working hours. With a global workforce of 700 employees and production plants in Bad Oeynhausen, Vienna, Kempen, Germany, McPherson, KS/USA and Shunde, China, battenfeld-cincinnati is now in an exc...

Kunststoffe international, 2010-09-24, Bonding Required
...which form the contours of the plastic substrate parts (Fig. 5). Infrared radiators offer the advantage that the heat is supplied contact-free and selectively for the time and at the place required. The short-wave infrared radiators used respond very rapidly to control commands. As a result, the radiator must only be switched on when the heat is required. That saves energy and costs, particularly when the heat is only required for a few seconds in very short cycle times. Besides conformal cont...

Kunststoffe international, 2010-09-24, On a Westward Course
...nd the Middle East (9.5 %). Even Africa (5.6 %) ranges before North America (3.5 %). Since until now Haitian has been a stronger player in Eastern Europe and Turkey, the choice of this location sounds like they’re saying, “Go West”. This corresponds with the announcement that, as of July, 2010, Haitian Europe has taken over the activities of their previous sales partner, HT Deutschland GmbH, and intends to expand both sales and technical competencies in what is “probably the most demanding marke...

Kunststoffe international, 2010-11-25, Limits to Instability?
...o-pronged Approach To eliminate interfacial instabilities or take them into account already when designing the die on rheological principles, the flow conditions and stresses present in the die channel are calculated and compared with corresponding results from practical experiments. The flow and stress calculations employ the finite-element analysis (FEA). In these simulations, the viscoelasticity of the melt is taken into account during modeling by incorporating appropriate material models and...

Kunststoffe international, 2011-05-12, Packagings Doing the Balancing Act
...ortant – variants of reclosable seals. Report on interpack Exhibitors In the following, preliminary reports will be given on some selected exhibitors, to show how the producers of packagings and machinery respond to the identical challenges posed by the market. Nordenia Deutschland Flexible Goods for Consumers and Constructors Nordenia Deutschland will present its Flex-ZiBox, NorSpoutBag, and NorVenting, all of them examples of state-of-the-art flexible packaging solutions. The Flex-ZiBox is due...

Kunststoffe international, 2011-11-18, Flood Coatings
...ods industry in respect of heat resistance and UV resistance. If the substrate has not been UV-stabilized, a UVabsorber system can additionally be incorporated in the coating so as to provide the necessary resistance. It has also proved possible to respond to discerning demands of the automotive industry’s calls for more scratch-resistant surfaces through the provision of an appropriate system. If the coating were to be scratched as a result of an exceptional stress, its self-healing properties ...

Kunststoffe international, 2012-04-20, EVA Sheet – A High-End Product
... The twin-screw extruder offers a further economic advantage by virtue of its ability to process individual components instead of expensive pre-compounds. This gives the sheet manufacturer more control over his choice of recipe and allows him to respond flexibly to different needs. High Transmission – Even for Recycled Material Besides ease of processing, the most important quality criteria for the manufacturer of photovoltaic modules to meet are low shrinkage and high transmission. Moreover, it...

Kunststoffe international, 2012-09-17, Integrative Simulation of Hybrid Composite Parts
...entation and, as a consequence, large volumes can be embedded in the thermoplastic matrix. They can be arranged in parallel (unidirectional) or at right angles to one another (orthotropic or balanced). In composite sheet hybrids, the fiber length corresponds to the part length. The mechanical performance of the part increases when the continuous fibers are aligned to the flow of forces. To manufacture a hybrid part, a composite sheet is deformed thermoplastically (draped) and subsequently has ri...

Kunststoffe international, 2012-10-15, Caught Between Efficiency and Functionality
...usting Feedblock Ultraflow V from Extrusion Dies Industries LLC (EDI), Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, USA, for multilayer structures adjusts the layers automatically and eliminates the need for operator intervention. This allows the feedblock to respond more rapidly to changing production conditions. In addition, polymer streams which create instability due to their effect on flow as they converge at the central flow channel can be specifically controlled. In the field of layer-multiplier technology...

Kunststoffe international, 2012-10-15, Converting Waste into Useable Material
...ss. In addition, specially tailored drying processes with an optimum energy balance can then be deployed. Conclusion The solutions and examples of systems set out above illustrate the endeavors being undertaken by industry to respond to society’s demands for handling the material of plastic on a sustainable basis. By expanding the added value chain it is then possible to generate increased benefit from the material of plastic, which is already highly versatile. Whereas, in the past, recycled pla...

Kunststoffe international, 2012-10-15, Energy-Efficient Production “Just in Time”
...n order to conserve the floor space needed for production. In the field of coextrusion in particular, factors such as the positioning of the extruders plays an important role. It is thus incumbent on extrusion die developers to respond flexibly to the different conditions faced by existing systems. Depending on the resins to be processed and their processing temperatures, it is still necessary, despite sometimes very complex die geometries, to ensure thermal separation of the individual coextrud...

Kunststoffe international, 2012-10-15, Flexibly into the Future
To respond flexibly to product and material changes, packaging manufacturers need access to systems that are flexible enough to meet these requirements. For the manufacture of hollow articles with volumes up to 10 liters, Bekum Maschinenfabrik GmbH, Berlin, Germany, with the xBlow series, presents a machine range that is supplied with both all-electric (E) and hydraulic drives (HY) (Fig. 1). The clamping unit is based on a wear-free and stable C frame, which allows targeted force transmission in...

Kunststoffe international, 2013-06-19, Continual Interchange between Workpiece and Machine
...ernet. It is also conceivable to couple different MES systems together for the purposes of continuous product documentation. Flexible and Mobile Decentralized processes in manufacturing require employees who can respond very flexibly. Mobile devices and the corresponding MES applications make all the data available precisely where they are required. A practical example of this is smart maintenance. The smartphone informs a maintenance engineer about a machine stand-still. Using the same device, ...

Kunststoffe international, 2013-08-19, Machine Manufacturers Tool Up for K2013
...g, packaging and medical industries at the Engel booth in Hall 15 – and a further thirteen exhibits at our partners’ booths – we will not only demonstrate state-of-the-art technologies at K2013, but also respond to the challenges of the future. For example, visitors will gain an insight into our current research projects in the field of lightweight automotive construction. We have never achieved such a high concentration of innovation at a trade show as at K2013. What will you leave till last as...

Kunststoffe international, 2014-04-14, Quality Control: Bolted Joints Protected from the Elements
...tem (ALS) for order planning and quality documentation purposes. This comprehensivce tool was installed at the end of 2007. Christian Kotzur describes its application range as follows:“In order to respond quickly to our customers – occasionally we have several unplanned incoming orders that must be processed within a few days – we first use ALS as a production planning system. It shows us which periods within the production schedule are still free, so that we can fit in the unexpected orders. Ma...

Kunststoffe international, 2014-05-07, Restructuring: Understanding Customer Requirements
...d spraying technology and in-line inspections in the siliconization process ensure consistent syringe function. A modular assembly concept increases production capacity and makes it possible to respond flexibly to customer requirements. Complete dimensional control ensures the syringes’ filling processability. Automated in-line inspections guarantee consistent quality. All production lines are operated under clean room conditions, which further improve product hygiene and safety. We want to be i...

Kunststoffe international, 2014-11-26, Cutting with Water
...1). They should be of slender dimensions so that the spacing between them is as small as possible to generate less swarf. The pure water jet cutting heads specially designed for this application operate with very high pressure cycles and therefore respond very fast. The time saving is particularly apparent with workpieces having many indents, e. g. seals with many small internal contours. Perndorfer pure water jet cutters have been developed specially for these requirements, being engineered for...

Kunststoffe international, 2014-11-26, Mold Makers Are Raising their Game
...ooling times in the mold can be reduced.It is undisputed that the innovation drivers of the mold making industry deliver first class quality and enjoy an unsullied reputation. However, this is also associated with the corresponding costs, which cannot always be justified with respect to the series size. After all, the first-class molds, which are designed for low wear, offer long service lives. This is particularly advantageous in the case of long-lifetime products, such as those typically found...

Kunststoffe international, 2014-11-26, Non-Destructive Testing of Fiber Composites
... defect types and what defect sizes are only just permissible in a component has not yet been finally settled for all CFRP-based components. For this reason, the requirement profile on non-destructive testing processes is partly still open and, correspondingly, the safety margins to allow for aging and fatigue are very high. The driver of the developments – the occurrence and behavior of the different defect types in dynamically loaded components – is, in the legally regulated field of NDT, clea...

Kunststoffe international, 2014-11-26, The Right Changeover Point for Each Shot
...rocesses, too, are subject to a variety of disturbances, such as fluctuations in batches, production breaks and compounding in of recyclate and masterbatches. With the innovative technique of adaptive process control, it is possible to automatically respond to fluctuations still during injection. As a result fewer interventions by the user are necessary – the process can be started up faster and is robust to disturbances. Without APEWith APCmavg = 149.83 gmavg = 149.79 gmmin = 149.41 gmmin = 149...

Kunststoffe international, 2015-07-20, Quality Rarely Comes Alone
... overfeeding. To simulate this behavior, two polypropylene grades with different flow properties were mixed in the ratio 4 : 1.The machine was first started up with the unmixed polypropylene without control by Priamus, and the corresponding reference viscosity values were stored. Then the mixed material was processed and the viscosity control was activated. The Priamus control system (type: 7080A Fillcontrol Control P) controls the viscosity of the melt cycle for cycle by automatically adapting ...

Kunststoffe international, 2015-10-12, Less Energy for More Performance
...anking on all-electric machines, having presented the all-electric KBB series (Fig. 2) at all of the sector’s major trade fairs (K 2013, Interpack 2014, Chinaplas 2014). This product series provides maximum design freedom, allowing the operator to respond flexibly to the accelerating changes in the demands of market. It also features optimized performance and energy consumption. Downtimes have been reduced and productive time increased by accelerating the transport, opening and closing movements...

Kunststoffe international, 2015-12-17, Copying Nature’s Mechanisms
Materials respond automatically and in an analog manner to stimuli from their environment, such as heat, pressure, humidity or magnetic fields. Designers could exploit these effects to construct future structures as efficiently as nature, and to achieve optimum functions with low input of materials and energy. A number of projects have now been performed to investigate the potential offered by adaptive and sensory structures of plastic. Ever since ancient times, people have recognized and used t...

Kunststoffe international, 2015-12-17, Electronic Waste as a Challenge
...s, it would have a positive impact on long-term development processes. The more demands buyers will make, e. g., for an increasing percentage of recycled plastics in their consumer products, the more likely it will be that the IT industry will respond to these demands. Companies are highly sensitive to such feedback loops, and usually adjust their developments accordingly.In connection with electronic waste, consumer awareness of the consequences of their actions must increase. A consistent infr...

Kunststoffe international, 2015-12-17, Focusing on the Ancillaries
...l when changing from a pneumatic to a servo picker.Rapid PositioningWith the new "active vibration control" function, the viper linear robots from Engel Austria GmbH not only recognize their own vibration behavior, but also respond to vibrations initiated by external influences. By actively compensating the vibrations in the running process with the aid of 3-D motion sensors, the positioning accuracy increases, which is important, e. g., for placing inserts or for transferring pre-moldings. The ...

Kunststoffe international, 2016-03-08, The Future of Automotive Interiors
...o make a disproportionate contribution to the growth of the automotive industry.As for the auto makers, their chief concern is part costs. At the same time, the needs of global manufacturing and marketing call for greater flexibility in order to respond faster to changing customer wishes. Added to which, new developments and designs are needed so as to provide differentiation from the competition and to attract customers. All this must take place against a background of tightening legislation on...

Kunststoffe international, 2016-04-08, Compressed Air Dryers in the Cleanroom
...sidence time expired, material can be removed," "residence time not yet expired" as well as "fault" and also signal when the octabin is empty.To prevent overheating of the material, the dryers contain monitoring sensors, which respond when the air throughput is too low, or the temperature too high. The drying temperatures of the dry-air dryers, currently comprising twelve, are set at the centralized operating panel. The entire system can be operated and monitored via the Linknet2 visualization i...

Kunststoffe international, 2016-05-18, Modular Design Supports Laser Welding Ergonomics
...small batches during process ramp-up – the latter via our associate company LaserMicronics.Kunststoffe: How does the incorporation in a larger company affect your Business Unit?König: It enables us to respond flexibly to the widest possible range of demands from our customers, thanks to the know-how within the entire company. Here in Fürth, our 150 employees are not isolated – we are backed by the expertise of some 800 employees at LPKF. And we don’t have just 30 technicians at our site here; we...

Kunststoffe international, 2016-09-23, Standardized Production Concept Guarantees Quality
To respond to different and rapidly changing market requirements as a medium-sized compounder, all production ranges must be compatible. To achieve this, a complete, globally standardized concept for flexible compounding was developed in partnership with a machinery manufacturer. Increasing pressure on order lead times, consistent finished-product quality, growing product diversity, and global availability at competitive prices characterize the business environment of compounders. The key to mee...

Kunststoffe international, 2016-09-23, The Fast Track to Customer’s Needs
...equirements. High-performance plastics, on the other hand, score in areas with extreme requirements. Consumers of engineering plastics put pressure on material manufacturers with new regulations, extreme demands and special wishes. The manufacturers respond to targeted demands and present new, optimized materials. But there is a different way. With continuous new developments and enhancements, material manufacturers offer to implement new possibilities, product ideas or improvements for their cu...

Kunststoffe international, 2016-10-17, Polycarbonate (PC)
...d Africa (EMEA), jointly accounting for slightly more than 20 %. The NAFTA region including Latin America accounted for a share of over 15 %. The biggest sales increases are expected in the Asia-Pacific region over the coming years. Corresponding figures for Europe and the NAFTA region are much lower. Restructuring and ConsolidationHowever, good prospects for PC in Asia should not mislead one to assume that these are "easy" markets. A lot of restructuring and consolidation has been seen over the...

Kunststoffe international, 2016-11-30, A Treasure Trove of "Industry 4.0" Technologies
...t both the Hanover trade fair and Automatica. For the production of a key fob with integrated smart chip and personalized top cover, the order was entered and the product was transported individually and highly dynamically to the corresponding processing steps. The product and control parameters were controlled by the SAP Manufacturing Execution Suite (Title figure).Here, all the IT and automation devices and the SAP system communicate with each other via OPC UA standardized SOA services, i. e. ...

Kunststoffe international, 2017-02-23, It Couldn’t Be More Hybrid
...ial-specific properties of caprolactam, PU or epoxy resin – as regards, e. g., corrosiveness or viscosity. KraussMaffei has exclusively produced the pumps in house since 2011 (currently around 600 units per year), in order to be able to respond flexibly in terms of equipment and quantities. The pumps, which operate in a wide variety of different material temperature ranges and at viscosities from 4 to 3000 mPa s, are designed individually for the properties of the material to be processed – for ...

Kunststoffe international, 2017-05-22, Adaptive Process Control – What Is It for?
...ocesses, too, are subject to a variety of disturbances, such as fluctuations in batches, production breaks and compounding in of recyclate and pigments. With the innovative technique of adaptive process control, it is still possible to automatically respond to fluctuations during injection. This has a range of advantages. Injection molding machines today achieve a high precision in the movements of all axes. The screw movement during injection, in particular, is precisely controlled and characte...

Kunststoffe international, 2017-07-19, Becoming Part of the Solution
...and electrical/electronic industries. Constant material quality is very important here. Such products are rather to be used in the packaging or textile industries. However, we currently don’t operate in these sectors.How do your customers respond to your commitment to WFO?We approach the issue proactively and have received positive feedback. There are frequently debates and TV reports about marine litter. We want to sensitize people to the fact that not the material but rather its incorrect hand...

Kunststoffe international, 2017-07-19, Plasma Detectives
...lasma, Diener electronic GmbH & Co. KG, Ebhausen, Germany, has now developed an indicator tag for atmospheric plasma which operates on a totally different principle. One of the challenges faced during development of the tags was ensuring that they respond to plasma only and not to other influences such as heat or light.Indicator Tags for Low-Pressure PlasmaLow-pressure indicator tags are adhesive tags which are coated with a carbon polymer and can be glued onto a component or a dummy. The tags c...

Kunststoffe international, 2017-08-21, "No Cool" Molds, Properly Simulated
...e used in smartphones highlights a prime advantage: heat pipes are very compact, fast-acting heat-exchangers.They work autonomously, require no maintenance, transfer heat over long distances much faster than copper rods of equivalent dimensions and respond more dynamically to temperature changes than aluminum due to their low mass. Inside the heat pipe is a liquid which vaporizes at the warm side (heat source) and so removes the heat from the environment. The vapor flows across an adiabatic tran...

Kunststoffe international, 2017-09-20, The New Process for Lightweight Foaming
... pressure is built up in the cavity before the start of the injection phase. To prevent the melt from increasing the pressure further as it flows in, thereby causing filling problems, the control valve of the pressure control module has to respond quickly and keep the counter-pressure constant to the end of the flow path by releasing gas. Here the correct location of the valves and/or venting channels is important in addition to the pressure control module.ConclusionToday’s industrial enterprise...

Kunststoffe international, 2017-10-13, À la Carte Input
... on the fast-paced global PET packaging market calls for a high degree of versatility on the part of plastics converters. For this reason, it is necessary to have lines which have a short process chain capable of producing good quality and which can respond rapidly to different requirements. In terms of sheet-surface area, the European market for plastic sheet is set to grow by 2.4 % in the years ahead. This is the view of the GVM Gesellschaft für Verpackungsmarktforschung mbH in Mainz, Germany,...

Kunststoffe international, 2017-12-21, "Service Requires Trust"
...smiles) The market is really very, very good. In 2017, for the first time, business has not been affected by any cyclical fluctuations. Demand has continued to rise and naturally we’ve been doing our utmost to respond to this. We didn’t even have the summer slump we generally get in Europe. This year, we expect volume growth of around six percent in the European plastics sector. Neither do we foresee any real decline in demand up to the end of the year. Things will continue to go well and we and...

Kunststoffe international, 2018-09-19, Produce In-House or Buy in?
...en demand exceeds the company’s own capacity (swing production). In addition, improved plant utilization is an advantage of toll or contract manufacturing. Many large companies have specialized in large-volume business and accordingly installed corresponding extruder lines. By outsourcing smaller lots or specialty products to contract manufacturers, they can better utilize the capacity of their own plants. Toll or contract manufacturers are often equipped with similar or equivalent production te...

Kunststoffe international, 2018-11-09, Hot Runner Balancing Enters Production
...rature of the nozzles and manifolds and for ensuring that automatic hot runner balancing is working properly. For this reason, it is advisable to optimize these in advance (Fig. 4). Were this aspect to be ignored, the heating zones would respond too slowly or overshoot by too much, and that would reduce the performance, even in a static application. Optimization is all the more important for dynamic applications, where the nozzle temperatures are continually changed to compensate for fluctuation...

Kunststoffe international, 2019-04-25, Reaching the Customer Faster
...siness." By subordinating its own production processes to a digital end-to-end architecture, the customer wants to ensure that its products reach the customer faster. The customers will benefit from shorter delivery times and themselves be able to respond faster to trends in consumer behavior and changing market demands.Pilot Manufacturing CellHow that will work was explained by Jean-Christophe Witz, Director of Digitization at Husky, with the example of a special mold component. A process that ...

Kunststoffe international, 2019-07-04, Multifunctional Material Analysis
... way have direction-dependent (anisotropic) mechanical properties. It is therefore very important to characterize the properties of the material used, e.g. how the material reacts to tensile or torsional loads. The way the properties of the material respond to temperature changes is also crucial. Since additive manufactured components are to some extent replacing conventional ‧injection molded parts, studies on anisotropic mechanical properties are all the more important. Mechanical properties s...

Kunststoffe international, 2019-09-17, Efficient, Flexible and Sustainable Thermoforming
...cts. Increasing requirements for the productivity and demands for material and energy efficiency, as well as system integration, require continuous advances in machinery and ancillary equipment for thermoforming systems. It is just as important to respond fast and flexibly to changing customer wishes and production requirements as to be able to network plant components within Industry 4.0 in order to allow the plants to operate more efficiently. Increasing importance is attached to saving materi...

Kunststoffe international, 2020-02-12, Using Breathing Signals for Process Optimization
...f needles open. These are highlighted in the chart by vertical dotted lines. Clearly, the signals returned by the OptiCheck sensors vary with their position in the mold. While the “center top” sensor responds markedly to the opening of the various shut-off needles, the “center bottom” sensor further away from the needles barely registers at all. This illustrates the importance of proper sensor positioning. For example, if the “center top” sensor had been omitted, the pressure peak upon opening o...

Kunststoffe international, 2020-08-11, “You Can See What Is Happening in the Mold”
...fe observations back to engineering. This of course makes it difficult to see how well the results were realized on the injection molding machine. When people observe how well reality and the simulation results correspond if the settings match, the benefit becomes clearer. And this will continue to increase adoption of using simulation as a tool. As a result, we will eventually go way beyond the 25 percent usage rate that I just mentioned. There is still an incredible amount of untapped potentia...