Hy-Bar - PE, PE-LLD, PP - Huntsman

Plastics Technology, 2007-12-06, Hot-Fill Packaging: OPP and "Panel-Less" PET Bottles Grab the Spotlight
Improved clarity and cost competitiveness, added to its inherent heat resistance, are reviving OPP"s prospects in hot-fill barrier containers. But hot-fill PET containers are raising the bar with...

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

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

Kunststoffe international, Foam Beads in Gliding Flight
The particle foam crowd cannot complain about a lack of interest by potential users. At least as far as demand for products with high-quality functional and optical surfaces is concerned. However, development has stagnated since the joint research project SamPa sponsored by the German Federal Ministry of Education and ‧Research reached its conclusion. There is an urgent need for action. One year after the status report “Schaumperlen im Aufwind” (Kunst‧stoffe 2/2019, pp. 21–28, only available in ...

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

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

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

Kunststoffe international, Recycling that Gets under the Skin
Process technologies for manufacturing multilayer and multicomponent products offer great potential for using reprocessed plastic wastes even for plastic parts that are subject to strict requirements for surface quality, product protection or consumer safety. The key: to place the recycled material in the interior while the surface is made of virgin material. Engel has developed a variant of sandwich injection molding that allows high proportions of recycled material to be used even with complex...

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

Kunststoffe international, Runway Lights for the Seat Belt
Ambient lighting has captured the car interior – and facilitated orientation for the passengers. There is no need for anyone to fumble for the seat belt buckle in the dark in the Audi A7, as an integrated light guide shows the way. Kunststoff Helmbrechts produces the 3-component part and also developed the tool concept. The trick: a so-called twin-turn tool which rotates on both sides. The company was awarded the GKV TecPart Innovation Prize for it at the K 2019. The article itself does not appe...

Kunststoffe international, Sanitary Prototypes with High Requirements
In order to minimize the development time for new products, Geberit International AG manufactures many prototypes using 3D printing. Since 2016, the Swiss company uses a Sintratec S1 for design optimization and material testing in its prototyping laboratory. A visit to Switzerland. The Geberit Group, the market leader for sanitary parts in Europe, operates 29 production plants in over 50 countries. Before the Group releases a new product for market launch, it must meet a variety of requirements....

Kunststoffe international, The Invention of Plastics Recycling
The reuse of plastics waste began also with the industrial production and processing of polymer materials in the early 1950s. At first it was limited to single-variety production wastes. In the course of a few decades, ‧processes were successfully developed to recondition even strongly contaminated and used plastics wastes into high-quality secondary raw materials. Plastics have been a whipping boy ever since “marine litter“ was discovered. The general media report almost daily about the materi...

Kunststoffe international, The Role of Chemistry in Plastics Recycling
Today plastics recycling is usually only classified as being either mechanical or chemical. This view ‧ignores the fact that the main difference between the two is whether physical or chemical reactions are taking place. However, precise differentiation is crucial for any assessment of the possibilities and limitations of plastic ‧recovery processes and whether materials are actually being recycled or merely their raw materials recovered. Plastics recycling has been enjoying a considerable boom ...

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

Kunststoffe international, Zero-Waste Concept for Carbon SMC
Composite materials are often the key to lightweight design for many applications. However, these hybrid ‧materials face a major challenge where recycling is concerned. There is still no solution to the recovery of long and continuous fiber-reinforced materials. Where it is possible at all, only downcycling has been feasible until now. Four research partners have therefore set themselves the goal of developing a new press forming technology as part of a zero-waste project. Whether for automotive...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Anisotropic Parts Design: The Right Orientation
Simulation The Right Orientation Anisotropic Parts Design. In the engine compartment, die cast aluminium parts are increasingly being replaced by injection moulded articles made from heat-resistant thermoplastics. One example of this is the glass fibre-reinforced PA exhaust gas return valve discussed in this article. When designing structural mechanical parts, the designer must factor in the fibre orientation, as otherwise the parts will be useless. Reinhard Haag Thomas Brinkmann As a way of ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Automated Gasket Application
Automated Gasket Application Mixing and Metering Equipment for Fully Automatic Lamp Production Peter Fischer, Cologne/Germany and Walter Michelberger, Tettnang/Germany Fully automatic direct application of the gasket compound to the part saves costs as a result of shorter production times and reduced stockholding. A new automation concept for a mixing and metering unit allows the application of gaskets to more than 1.2 million batten-type lighting fixtures per year with only one operator. ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Automatically in the Mould
Automatically in the Mould Automatic Injection Compression Moulding and Back Compression Reiner Jensen, München/Germany and Walter Klaus, Schwaig/Germany Back injection, injection compression moulding and back compression of decoration materials in the product part mould has been state-of-the-art for some years. New versions of the procedure make ever more advanced component design possible. For direct lamination automation of the insertion and removal processes is a prerequisite for reproducibl...

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

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

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Bonding of Plastics
Bonding of Plastics An Overview Werner Gruber, Korschenbroich/Germany Bonding technology is growing particularly in importance for lightweight designs. The use of two-pack adhesives will continue to increase in the future. Elastic PU adhesives and PU hotmelts are forecast to grow at the fastest rates. To date, the use and growth of plastics has been and still is linked to the demands on the part of the processors to be able to join these materials during processing by suitable techniques...

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

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Case Study (4): Hot-Runner Solution for a Spectacle Case
Tooling Hot-Runner Solution for a Spectacle Case Case Study (4). The question of whether a high-quality designer surface can be obtained in injection moulding depends on a variety of factors. The design of the part, the choice of polymer, the mould concept, the gate system and the injection moulding process all have an effect on the surface quality. The project described here gets to the bottom of the interrelations. Dirk Paulmann Injection moulded plastic parts are now replacing metals and o...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Coating Carpets
Coating Carpets Lower Energy Consumption and Improved Recyclability compared with Latex Composites Jürgen Miethlinger and Alfred Mayr, Lenzing/Austria The extrusion coating process permits composite carpets to be produced in a single operation. The only brief, unilateral thermal stressing that prevails preserves the pile fibre and ensures good dimensional stability over the entire carpet structure. Final widths of 4 and 5 m can be achieved on an extrusion coating plant thanks to the variab...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Colourmatch-capable Film Technology: A Technology Waits in the Wings
Exterior Parts A Technology Waits in the Wings Colourmatch-capable Film Technology. With this process, in contrast to previous ones, the surface is decorated in the vehicle body colour before the component is manufactured. After thermoforming and backmoulding with an LGF-reinforced thermoplastic, we end up with a finished part for the outer skin having a Class A surface. Daniel Zulkarnain Ulf Schlotterbeck Henning Gleich Thermoplastics cannot be coated online by conventional painting proce...

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

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

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Complex Handling: Fully Automatic Production of Door Trim Panels
Complex Handling: Fully Automatic Production of Door Trim Panels For the production of door trim panels, the plant operator uses two standard robots and three shelf-mounted robots positioned on the machines. In a sophisticated job-sharing process, the panels are provided with a piece of open-weave fabric (scrim), threaded bushes and labels, and then machined in a laser-cutting unit. Jürgen Warmbold Mürdter GmbH is a company that manufactures door panels for an airbag system on behalf of a ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Compression Moulding: Highly Precise and Fully Automated
Trade Fair Report Highly Precise and Fully Automated Compression Moulding. In the area of compression moulding and technology, the innovations presented at K were to be found in the details. Thus, presses are becoming ever more precise and the processes have now evolved from the development stage to series application. Dieffenbacher GmbH & Co. KG presented a plant for the so-called LFT-D-ILC process, which compounds continuous strand-reinforced thermoplastics in line by the direct method. Fir...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Continuous Monitoring of Quality Parameters
Continuous Monitoring of Quality Parameters Inline Monitoring in the Extrusion Process Using Ultrasonics Ingo Alig and Dirk Lellinger, Darmstadt/Germany, Richard Lamour and Jürgen Ramthun, Leverkusen/Germany An ultrasonic technique for inline measurement of the velocity and absorption of longitudinal waves during the extrusion process was developed. For PS it was possible to differentiate between the different melt-flow indices. For the PE/glass bead composite a significant dependency of b...

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

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

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Cost Consciousness: Modern Technology is More Economical than Low-spec
Injection Moulding Modern Technology is More Economical than Low-spec Cost Consciousness. Injection moulding machines built to Central European standards give moulders an economic advantage over simply equipped machines from Asian manufacturers, so-called “low-spec” machines. An analysis of the manufacturing costs for various injection moulded parts showed: it is not the purchase price of the machine, but rather its availability and performance that are decisive regarding efficiency. Gerd Lieb...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Crash Simulation: Computer Modelling
Safety Computer Modelling Crash Simulation. With a newly developed numerical model, fibre-reinforced plastic components can be simulated far more realistically than with previously known methods. This will considerably improve virtual vehicle development. Stefan Glaser Andreas Wüst To achieve safe crash behaviour is one of the most challenging tasks in modern vehicle development. In addition to protecting just the occupants, increasing importance has been attached in recent years to protecting ...

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

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

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

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

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Ecological Beneficial Composites
Ecological Beneficial Composites Reinforcing PMMA Thermosetting Resins with Flax Fibres Gunter Hieber, Schorndorf, Robert Kohler and Rainer Alex, Reutlingen/Germany Especially high quality materials can be produced using domestic natural fibres. Therefore existing procedures and formulations are being adapted to the requirements of natural fibres. It has thereby been possible to achieve the characteristics profile of glass fibre reinforced plastics and sometimes to even exceed it. Especi...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Economical in Long Series
Economical in Long Series Centrifuged FRP Pipes with Thermoplastic Matrix Max Ehleben, Wolfsburg/Germany, und Helmut Schürmann, Darmstadt/Germany A newly developed procedure based on centrifugation technology makes it possible to manufacture continuous fibre-reinforced precision pipes with thermoplastic matrices. The centrifuged pipes are almost free of eccentricity and have outstanding internal and external surfaces. They are therefore particularly suitable as drive shafts, bearings or hyd...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Economical Production of PU Parts
Economical Production of PU Parts State of the Art of Polyurethane RRIM Technology Karl-Heinz Dörner and Hans Joachim Meiners, Leverkusen/Germany, Hans-Joachim Ludwig, Sulzbach/Germany The RRIM process provides the polyurethane industry with a technology for meeting the automotive industry's basic demands of cost and weight reduction together with high quality standards. PU RRIM parts can now be produced at competitive prices with high process stability. The RRIM (reinforced reaction...

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

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

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Electrifying Novelties from the NPE
Electrifying Novelties from the NPE Drive Engineering in the Focus of the Machine Manufacturers Johannes Wortberg and Thomas Kamps, Essen/Germany A large number of different injection moulding machine makers exhibited their new products at the NPE in Chicago. The field of electromechanical drive engineering was notable for several innovative concepts. As expected, in the field of drive engineering, there was a marked tendency towards electromechanics among the Japanese machine manufactur...

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Extremely Fast
Extremely Fast Tailor-made Polyurea Systems Matthias Sikorski and Holger Cordelair, Hamburg/Germany By using newly developed isocyanate prepolymers and modified diamines, the reaction profile and physical properties of polyurea products can be adjusted in a systematic way. Users can therefore tailor the system to suit their specific requirements. Polyurea systems are used in the construction industry and automotive engineering because of their useful combination of properties. Their feat...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Extrusion Technology: Reifenhäuser in the Right Direction
Special Reifenhäuser in the Right Direction Extrusion Technology. Reifenhäuser closed the business year 2003/04 ending in June with a group gross revenue of EUR 245 million (+12.4%). Incoming orders amounted to EUR 280 million. Thus the Troisdorf family business 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...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Extrusion: Automation – Right Down the Line
Extrusion: Automation – Right Down the Line Highly automated extrusion lines are nowadays needed for the production of profiles, pipes and cables. Consequently, a number of different control systems must be built into the overall automation arrangement. A new concept enables simple control and operation of all the components of the extrusion line. Werner Eberlein Following several years of development and close coordination with customers, Siemens AG is now offering a complete automation p...

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

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

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

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

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

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Formwork Elements: Building System with High Future Potential
EPS-Processing Building System with High Future Potential Klaus Unterleutner Alexander Doskocil Formwork Elements. Insulating concrete forms are special components made of expanded polystyrene that are put together on the building site and filled with concrete afterwards. They show good insulating characteristics and have a high market potential. The migration of the production locations of internationally active enterprises in the consumer electronics range towards the east continues to pro...

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

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

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Fully Automatic Colour and Mould Changing During Running Production
Fully Automatic Colour and Mould Changing During Running Production To produce plastic parts for the “Hausrein Wiper Cover Press” for Leifheit AG, Nassau/Lahn, Engel developed a fully automatic injection moulding cell. With this interlinked system comprising two tie-barless injection moulding machines and three injection units, the moulds are exchanged fully automatically while production is running. For the phased colour change that was necessary, the machine is designed as a two-colour mac...

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

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

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Gas-assist Injection Moulding: GAIM: From the Design to Successful Application
Gas-assist Injection Moulding: GAIM: From the Design to Successful Application Systematically-processed empirical knowledge and well-thought-out moulded part design and process control constitute the key to the successful production of moulded parts by gas-assist injection moulding. Prior to implementing the part, it makes sense to conduct a suitability test: which geometric requirements does a moulded part have to fulfil for GAIM? The answer is obtained from a detailed catalogue of criteria, ...

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

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, HALS Light Stabiliser: Light Stabilisation and More
Additives Light Stabilisation and More HALS Light Stabiliser. In addition to the primary stabilising action of HALS compounds, secondary effects often play a key role in selecting the best stabiliser for a given application. The lower the interaction with other additives or substances in the processing or end-use environment, the better the stabilising and processing properties can be. Alban Glaser Simon Schambony The range of oligomeric HALS (Hindered Amine Light Stabilisers) compounds is almo...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Heavy Door Trim Panels . . .
Heavy Door Trim Panels . . . . . . are Things of the Past Karl-Willi Fries, Sankt Augustin/Germany, Henry Müller, Hubert Leyrer and Stephan Russ, Vilsbiburg/Germany The low density of natural fibres can be exploited to produce lightweight door panels. Economical production techniques will allow such parts to become established in the automotive industry. At the Geneva Auto Show 2000, Audi presented the A2, a series vehicle with all-aluminium body. This type of construction has reduced th...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, High Fitting Accuracy
High Fitting Accuracy Moulds for Aircraft Components Made of Prepreg Materials Thomas Nägeli, Güttingen/Switzerland, Reinhold Krause, Burgdorf/Switzerland, Karl Heinz Sprenger and Gerhard Musch, Vaihingen/Enz, Germany In the course of the work carried out in the aviation industry to increase performance, very specific aerodynamic and structural improvements have to be made to the individual components used in aircraft construction. This results in correspondingly high demands on the manufa...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, High-grade Bath Concepts: Pampering the Senses
High-grade Bath Concepts: Pampering the Senses Many people dream of having a bathroom in which they can really spoil themselves. Luxury baths with a high-grade plastic finish appeal to the senses. Two different composite concepts that give such bathtubs the necessary stability owe their success to an invisible composite partner: polyurethane. Polyurethane provides excellent adhesion to other materials, makes them easy to process and affords adequate reinforcement even without glass fibres. P...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, High-Performance Drives
High-Performance Drives PEEK Parts for Automotive Pumps Ralf Weidig, Hofheim/Taunus, Germany With the increasing performance of automotive pumps, demands for weight and cost reduction are also growing. PEEK, with its balanced range of excellent properties is ideally placed as a substitute for metal parts. Among the most important components of automobiles are the pumps in various systems and modules. They feed fuel, engine oil and gear oil, and coolant, and help to control the injection ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, High-performance Machines for Short Cycle Times: New "High-Speed" for Thin-Wall Part
Injection Moulding New "High-Speed" for Thin-Wall Parts High-performance Machines for Short Cycle Times. A highly dynamic toggle clamp system plus a fast high-performance injection unit make for an injection moulding machine with very short cycle times. The six new high-speed machines from the "Engel Speed" series cover the clamping force range of 1250 to 6500 kN. They will mostly benefit manufacturers of thin-wall parts. Gerhard Dimmler Georg Steinbichler Hans Wobbe Time is ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Hyperelastic Elastomers
Hyperelastic Elastomers Dimensioning of Cast Silicone and PUR Elastomers Eberhard Köhler, Chemnitz/Germany, and Udo Berthold, Dresden/Germany It is rare that there is sufficient data available for computational analysis of cast elastomer parts. This article describes simple methods for determining the material characteristics and indicates their range of validity. Cast silicone or polyurethane-based elastomers are used, for example, as potting compounds for electronic assemblies or machi...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Improved Efficiency and Quality
Improved Efficiency and Quality Trends in PVC Profile and Pipe Extrusion Hans-Peter Schneider, Munich/Germany Pressure to reduce costs while increasing product quality is driving the process of continuous innovation, and thereby forming the basis for new investment decisions. For machine manufacturers, this means a continuing trend towards ever better efficiency of production technology, and represents a permanent challenge. An important factor in the economy of an extrusion line is output perfo...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Improved Part Properties: Process Control in Injection Moulding
Special Process Control in Injection Moulding Improved Part Properties. The process control presented here permits direct closed-loop control of the cavity pressure in both the injection and holding pressure phases. As a result, the process is more robust to disturbances and thus ensures improved quality constancy. Walter Michaeli Christian Hopmann Juan Gruber The German plastics machinery industry is the world leader – not least because of the excellent basis created by German research inst...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Industry-oriented Software Solution: Company-wide Networking of Injection Moulding Operations
Software Company-wide Networking of Injection Moulding Operations Industry-oriented Software Solution. In April 2001 HTP High Tech Plastics AG, located in Burgenland/Austria, made a decision to use the enterprise resource planning (ERP) software b2 from bäurer GmbH as a company-wide solution for its injection moulding operations. During the decision-making process, the quality of the software and the support from bäurer were decisive. HTP justifies its decision in favour of bäurer and b2wincar...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Inflow Behaviour in Single-screw Extruders
Inflow Behaviour in Single-screw Extruders Filling Level in Feed Zone Affects Specific Throughput Helmut Potente, Tim Pohl and Thomas Vinke, Paderborn/Germany Analyses of solids conveying in single-screw machines often neglect the inflow property of polymer pellets into the first screw flights. At high speeds, the inflow can determine the throughput of the entire plasticating unit. There are various ways in which the mechanical engineer can influence the filling level in the screw channel ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Infrared Thermography: Recognising the Optimisation Potential in Injection Moulding
Infrared Thermography: Recognising the Optimisation Potential in Injection Moulding Unit costs and thus the economics of moulded-parts production are determined essentially by the design and construction of the injection mould. It is therefore a mystery why injection moulders will occasionally neglect the thermal aspects of mould design. IR thermography reveals design deficiencies. Willi Steinko Experience shows that it is ultimately the mould that determines the overall costs of injection...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Injection Moulding and Crosslinking
Injection Moulding and Crosslinking Economical Processing of Polyester BMC and Thermosets Dietrich Hunold and Hans Wobbe, Munich/Germany Thermoset plastic moulding compounds are still associated with outdated processing techniques. Huge innovations in thermoplastic materials, particularly their heat resistance, have even led to predictions of the early demise of thermosets for large-scale plastic applications. However, thermoset processing has caught up. It is now a highly economical, state-of-t...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Injection Moulding Metal and Ceramic Powder
Injection Moulding Metal and Ceramic Powder PIM is Not a Job Just for Specialists Michael Bayer, Gersthofen/Germany Despite the many advantages that injection moulding of plastics offers, limits are set by the material properties. Powder injection moulding permits the combination of a thermoplastic moulding process with ceramic or metal materials. In this article, the smooth integration of powder injection moulding into a plastics injection moulding plant is described. Thermoplastic moul...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Injection Moulding Microstructured Functional Surfaces
Injection Moulding Microstructured Functional Surfaces Correct Temperature Control is Half the Battle Walter Michaeli and Alrun Spennemann, Aachen/Germany Precise temperature control is crucial to obtaining accurate reproduction of surface detail when injection moulding microstructures. The choice of material is also important for dependable moulding. Studies by the IKV confirm that dynamic temperature control is the most effective and best solution to this problem and show which materials...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Injection Moulding of Long-Fibre-Reinforced Thermoplastics
Injection Moulding of Long-Fibre-Reinforced Thermoplastics Process Parameters Influence Fibre Length Martin Metten and Markus Cremer, Darmstadt/Germany Fibre reinforcement improves characteristics of plastics such as strength and stiffness. To make full use of the strength of a fibre its length must be above a critical value. The influence of different processing parameters is described. Plastics are reinforced with fibres to improve the composite material by making use of the high stren...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Inline Compounding of Long-glass-fibre-reinforced Thermoplastics
Inline Compounding of Long-glass-fibre-reinforced Thermoplastics Direct Process Increases Output and Cuts Costs Richard Brüssel and Heinrich Ernst, Eppingen/Germany Frank Henning, Pfinztal/Germany Compounding of long-glass-fibre-reinforced thermoplastics (LFT) with variable glass contents leads to higher output and cuts costs by up to 40 %. PC line control ensures an optimised processing operation with comprehensive process control. The result is a long-fibre-reinforced plastic extrudate w...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Inner Pressure Measurement During Injection Moulding
Inner Pressure Measurement During Injection Moulding Data Management in Quality Assurance In injection moulding processes quality depends not only on the processing parameters of the injection moulding machine and the quality of the tool per se. Current data from production must influence the production process via a feedback system. The starting point for internal pressure monitoring of injection moulding is the sensor. Today sensors with diameters of 2,5 and 4 mm are usually used. They are...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Innovation through New Processes
Innovation through New Processes Walter Michaeli and Edmund Haberstroh, Aachen/Germany Many technical developments in the automotive industry, aeronautical engineering and the electrical and communications sectors would be inconceivable without the specifically tailored application of polymeric materials. Material and process development have to go hand in hand here to achieve the required advances. This gives rise to a constant demand for new or modified processing and simulation technologi...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Integrated CAE Solution: Proper Simulation of Fibre Reinforcement
Construction Proper Simulation of Fibre Reinforcement Integrated CAE Solution. The methodology and corresponding software presented here enables local anisotropy to be taken into account during the design of parts injection moulded from short-fibre-reinforced thermoplastics. Comparisons with experiments on parts confirm very good agreement between simulated deformation and actual deformation for the pump housing studied. Higher demands on greater strength and rigidity nowadays mean that therm...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Interior Trim Parts made of Plastic: Common Ground between Automotive Technology and Design
Injection Moulding Common Ground between Automotive Technology and Design Interior Trim Parts made of Plastic. Technical perfection and high safety standards are only one side the medal when it comes to deciding on a new car. Now a harmonious design that addresses the senses in each detail is at least just as important. For this task high-quality interior components made of plastic are used ever more frequently that fulfil technical and optical requirements equally. The organisation of the inte...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Less Water
Less Water Polyamides with Lower Water Absorption Jose Poch Parramon, Iserlohn/Germany When incorporated into polyamides, thermosetting plastics reduce their water absorption and improve their rigidity. At the same time, the polyamides retain their normal processing properties. Among engineering thermoplastics, polyamides play a key role, with a consumption in western Europe of some 650,000 t/a. The automotive industry in western Europe alone uses around 250,000 t/a of this material, and...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Lightweight Construction: LWRT Technique for Car Underbody Covers
Automotive – Compression Moulding LWRT Technique for Car Underbody Covers Lightweight Construction. Compared with glass mat-reinforced thermoplastics (GMT) and direct long fibre-reinforced thermoplastics (D-LFT), the material concept of low weight reinforced thermoplastics (LWRT) can yield a lower weight per unit area and an increased flexural strength. LWRT technology has been developed by Seeber AG to suit mass-production and will be used during the production of the new BMW 5 and 6 models Man...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Machine Control: Better Quality and Productivity
Blow Moulding Better Quality and Productivity Machine Control. For consistently high product quality in blow moulding, it is necessary that the most essential production steps be controlled via closed loop instead of open-loop control. This method results in high reproducibility, consistent quality, process acceleration and, in turn, enhanced productivity. Harald Kronemeyer The last generation of the TMC-4 machine control produced by the Moog GmbH, Böblingen, is designed for all types of bl...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Many Variations
Many Variations The Biaxial Orientation of Expanded Films Martin Wolf, Johannes Sänze and Klaus Stopperka, Siegsdorf/Germany The importance of industrial films is increasing. For holographic and semi-permeable films, foamed films, synthetic papers and blend formulations, growth rates of 15 % and more are forecast. It has now become possible for the first time, using a new process, to biaxially orientate expanded films with functional layers. Biaxially oriented films that can be produced ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Material Data Determination: Crash Simulation
Simulation Crash Simulation Material Data Determination. Simulation of the mechanical material behaviour of unreinforced thermoplastics under crash loads presupposes an appropriate material description. A computer-aided optimisation process based on reverse engineering is an efficient way of calibrating a strain-rate dependent elastic/plastic material model. Ernst Schmachtenberg Markus Brinkmann As plastic parts are manufactured with increasing complexity and quality, they are finding ever mor...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Materials with Multiple Functions
Materials with Multiple Functions Plastics in Telecommunication and Information Technology Gerhard Gotzmann, Vierkirchen/Germany The importance of polymeric materials in telecommunication and information technology continues to increase. Although originally not conceived as conductive materials they currently fulfil functions as electrical conductors and semiconductors as well as light emitters. Based on this characteristic potential, new electronic components like organic light emitting d...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Medical Technology: Quality Begins with Material Handling
Material Handling Quality Begins with Material Handling Medical Technology. Assuring the production quality of modern injection moulding systems always begins with material handling. It is particularly important to reliably eliminate contamination with organic or inorganic particles. The article describes a fully automatic material handling system that meets the strictest quality requirements. Rasmus Wieczorek Dieter Bethke The final product can only be as good as the materials it is made of. Th...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Melt Filtration: Making Nonwoven Fabrics from Bottle Flakes
Melt Filtration: Making Nonwoven Fabrics from Bottle Flakes Impurities disrupt melt spinning processes significantly and reduce the lifetime of the spin packs, particularly when processing reclaim material. This contamination can be reliably removed through the use of a fully automatic filtration system. Monika Gneuss The increasing use of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) for bottles and the steadily improving collection system are resulting in a growing supply of PET in the form of bottle...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Micronising Polyether Imide
Micronising Polyether Imide Producing PEI particles by the PGSS process Bernd Nienhaus, Frankfurt am Main/Germany Very small polyether imide particles can be produced by a special process which also gives a very narrow particle size distribution at the same time. The material which has so far been produced on a pilot scale is now to be produced in larger quantities, to tighter specifications. High-performance plastics made of polyether imide (PEI) are noted for their high strength and he...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Mixing Technology for Hot Runner Systems: Improved Melt Homogeneity
Mixing Technology for Hot Runner Systems: Improved Melt Homogeneity Insufficient melt homogeneity is often the main cause of quality variations in shaped parts. A patented system steers the melt in the hot runner into several spiral channels and thus mixes it further. The result is improved part quality, more balanced material properties and faster colour changes. Abdeslam Bouti A determining factor of part quality during plastics processing is the homogeneity of the melt supplied to the m...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Modular Clamping Force: Why a Mould Maker Needs His Own Injection Moulding Machines
Modular Clamping Force: Why a Mould Maker Needs His Own Injection Moulding Machines Processors nowadays expect their mould makers to take responsibility for the process reliability of a new mould. It is therefore becoming increasingly important for mould manufacturers to test the mould under production conditions on their own injection moulding machine, which should be as general purpose as possible. Jürgen Sauer, Franz Starzer To practise his trade, a competition-hardened mould maker need...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Modular Drive Systems in the Spotlight
Modular Drive Systems in the Spotlight Arburg’s Technology Days Feature Several New Engineering Highlights The fascination of plastics machinery construction continues unabated, even several months after the “K”. This was certainly the impression gained during a visit to Arburg’s Technology Days, which drew unexpectedly large crowds. Interest focused above all on the newly presented modular drive concept. 3,000 visitors from 29 nations came to Loßburg/Germany from March 21 to 23 to see for...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Modular Drive Technology
Modular Drive Technology Part 1: Practical Advantages for the Manufacture of Fast Cycle Products Ansgar Jaeger, Andreas Kübel and Frank Schuster, Schwaig/Germany Thin-walled, high-precision mouldings require not only a high plasticising capacity, but also dynamic injection characteristics and accurate reproducibility. A high-speed machine equipped with electric drive systems for plasticising and mould movement plus a hydraulic high-speed injection system demonstrates the advantages of modu...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, More elegance . . .
More elegance . . . . . . with injection moulded door frame finishers Günter Bagusche and Matthias Pfeifer, Morsbach/Germany Plastic door frame finishers gives vehicle designers more freedom of design. With suitably chosen colours and surface properties, door frame finishers can make vehicle interiors look and feel more like "home" and improve acoustic properties. In addition, door frame finishers offers automotive manufacturers promising potential for cost reduction, because it el...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Morphology and Mechanical Properties: Blends of Polyamide 66 and Syndiotactic Polystyrene
Blends Blends of Polyamide 66 and Syndiotactic Polystyrene Morphology and Mechanical Properties. Blends of polyamide 66 and syndiotactic polystyrene only display enhanced mechanical properties if good compatibility exists between the two materials and an optimum morphology can be achieved. Different compositions of these blends were investigated in a study employing a compatibility enhancer. Materials of this type are attractive for the production of automotive components that are exposed to hi...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Mould Filling during Magnesium Injection
Mould Filling during Magnesium Injection Simulation Helps to Save Money Andreas Dworog and Andi Steinscherer, Duisburg/Germany, Dierk Hartmann, Simmerath/Germany, and Erik Hepp, Aachen/Germany The processes occurring in the mould during thixomoulding are very complex. Little is known about the flow behaviour of thixotropic magnesium alloys. A new software module enables filling studies to be made that show good agreement with practice. Pressure from Southeast Asia is forcing companies an...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Mould-making 2000
Mould-making 2000 Tailor Made - Versatile - Innovative Reinhard Bauer, Schwertberg/Austria Over the past 10 to 15 years, mould-making has seen the transition from the craftsman style to industrial production. Practical examples of six Austrian mould-makers - leaders in their different fields - demonstrate the up to date state of art for mould-making and the performance of innovative injection moulding tools. In the final count, this results in an indication of mould-making's position i...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, MuCell Process: Microcellular Parts from the Injection Moulding Machine
MuCell Process: Microcellular Parts from the Injection Moulding Machine The MuCell1 process was originally developed for and employed in the extrusion process. Certain recent applications are indicating that this process can also be used on an industrial scale for injection moulding. Bernhard Rief ,Jürgen Gundrum Almost all well-known injection moulding machine manufacturers [1] are cooperating with Trexel Inc. (USA) to market injection moulding machines adapted to the MuCell process. One ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Multi Mould-carrier Technology: Equipping the Injection Moulding Machine with Two Moulds
Multi Mould-carrier Technology: Equipping the Injection Moulding Machine with Two Moulds Tandem injection moulding machines offer three advantages for large-scale production. They almost double production capacity. Investment and production costs are reduced, and the machine has a much smaller footprint than single-mould machines. As the full clamping force is available throughout the cycle, parts with high-grade surfaces can also be produced. Karl-Heinz Höfert The basic idea is simple. An...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Multi-component Injection Moulding: New Properties through Rigid/Flexible Combinations
Multi-component Injection Moulding: New Properties through Rigid/Flexible Combinations Being a parts supplier to all major international mobile phone manufacturers, Balda AG also manufactures various components for outdoor phone models. Constant new designs, increasingly complex mould technology and ever shorter marketing cycles have led to the development of new practices and procedures within the company that effectively exploit synergies between design and production. Reinhard Mettenbrink...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Multi-component Moulds: More Colour and More Functions
Multi-component Moulds: More Colour and More Functions Multi-component injection moulding makes it possible to combine the properties of different plastics or incorporate more than one colour in an individual moulded part and thus produce multi-functional parts in a single operation. The wealth of soft-touch mouldings that have emerged over the past few years have more or less made it essential to come up with innovations in the multi-component technique. Bernhard Rief Initial ideas and pa...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, New Service Forms
New Service Forms Hybrid Drive System and "Pay-as-You-Use" Scheme for Injection Moulding Machines In 1999, Demag Ergotech GmbH, Schwaig/Germany, managed to maintain its market position in the declining European customer markets. All in all, the company booked orders last year for 2,000 machines. The consolidated sales of Demag Ergotech Group amounted to DM 477 million in the last financial year. Overall, the Demag Ergotech Group was able to consolidate its market position during la...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, No Creasing with a Balanced System
No Creasing with a Balanced System In-mould Lamination of Fabric with Controlled Needle Shut-off Systems Fabric-covered parts in vehicle interiors are increasingly being produced by in-mould lamination. The hot-runner systems required for this must meet special requirements. A model solution is offered by the compact systems from Incoe International, Rödermark/Germany. The cost savings achieved by eliminating post-lamination of fabric to moulded parts make in-mould lamination a highly attr...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Notch Creep Tests: Notch Location Plays a Role
Commodity Plastics Notch Location Plays a Role Notch Creep Tests. Time-to-failure and fracture surface comparison tests confirm it: When investigating crack formation in PE100 resins, different results are obtained not only from full notch und 2-notch creep tests. Even 2-notch tests are not always comparable among themselves. The results depend on the side of the test specimen that is notched. Thomas Kratochvilla Heinz Muschik Heinz Dragaun Cracks in parts, for instance, pipes, can result i...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Online Process Control: Ultrasonic Measurements on Thermoset Moulding Compounds
Reactive Processing Ultrasonic Measurements on Thermoset Moulding Compounds Online Process Control. Ultrasonic sensors in the mould can be used to directly observe the softening and curing of crosslinkable polymers. Deviations in the process are identified immediately and errors eliminated promptly. The targeted optimisation of parameters can greatly reduce the cycle times. Moulding compounds consist of reactive resin/curing agent mixtures and a high percentage of organic and non-organic admix...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Optimised in 60 Seconds
Optimised in 60 Seconds Computer-aided Design and Optimisation of Co-rotating Twin-screw Extruders Helmut Potente, Karsten Kretschmer, Paderborn/Germany The design of co-rotating twin-screw extruders is frequently based on experience and time-consuming trial and error. Simulation of the process through computer programs such as "Sigma" significantly shortens the time involved and also lowers the costs. The route taken by nearly all polymers leads from the chemical production proc...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Optimum Drying of Pellet Stock
Optimum Drying of Pellet Stock An Important Process Stage for Manufacturing High-quality Products Thorsten Schroer and Johannes Wortberg, Duisburg/Germany Processors have a variety of systems available for drying pellet stock. The dryers are often integrated into the material supply line. This article gives an overview of this by no means dry subject. In the processing of high-quality engineering polymers, the moisture content of the raw materials is an important factor in the process re...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Panorama Roof for the Opel Zafira: Promising Technology
Materials Promising Technology Panorama Roof for the Opel Zafira. Complex roof modules can be produced with a Class A surface via in-mould lamination (backmoulding) with polyurethane foam. These satisfy new and increasingly diverse customer requirements. Detlev Mies Reiner Paul Dirk Wegener A substrate of glass fibre-reinforced polyurethane (PUR) can impart such outstanding mechanical properties to a high-gloss thermoplastic film that it can be used as the exterior skin in automotive applica...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Peel Testing of Multi-component Mouldings
Peel Testing of Multi-component Mouldings Quantitative Determination of the Bond Strength of Hard/Soft Combinations Werner Aumüller, Tauberzell/Germany Until recently, there has been no practical method for quantitatively measuring the bond strength of hard/soft combinations of thermoplastic elastomers and engineering thermoplastics. Now, with newly developed test specimen geometry and the use of a test method that can determine peel strength, it is possible to measure and compare bond str...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Pellet Conveying: Water Absorption from Polymerisation to Processing
Compounding Water Absorption from Polymerisation to Processing Pellet Conveying. Between the polymerisation stage and the machine hopper, plastic pellets can absorb moisture at many points. Comparative studies have shown that the Karl Fischer titration method can provide a reliable value for low pellet moisture contents. Bernhard Stark Olaf Hustert Predrying of engineering plastics is necessary to manufacture high-quality products. Residual moisture in plastic pellets has the following effec...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, PET in Packaging
PET in Packaging Prospects and Limitations Horst-Christian Langowski, Frank Welle, Freising/Germany Over the years, no other packaging material has presented the industry with such high growth rates as polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The positive market development is due primarily to the increasing popularity of PET bottles. And the growth is continuing unabated. Now that glass bottles have been substituted to a large extent for mineral water, PET manufacturers and bottle producers ar...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, PET Recycling: Melt Filtration at Constant Pressure
Recycling Melt Filtration at Constant Pressure PET Recycling. Inline compounding of PET bottle flakes on twin-screw extruders is imposing ever greater demands on melt filtration. A newly developed piston-screen changer allows highly effective back-flushing of the filter elements with little pressure fluctuation, even in sensitive applications. Stefan Wöstmann The longstanding trend of substituting PET bottles for glass bottles continues unabated. Consequently, rising amounts of PET recyclate, ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Plant Tuning: Increase in Capacity of Existing Polyester Plants
Auxiliaries Increase in Capacity of Existing Polyester Plants Holger Kremer Plant Tuning. Investment costs can be clearly diminished by installing larger pumps into existing pipelines rather than by piping extension. A precondition for this approach is that relevant installation dimensions have to coincide. In recent years, the worldwide trend toward capacity increases in existent pipelines can be observed in the polymer industry. Although the plants and their components were originally ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Plastic Bodywork: No Steel, No Paint
No Steel, No Paint Plastic Bodywork. The production of in-mould laminated film parts for vehicle exteriors covers a variety of different products and processing stages. This article surveys the materials and technologies used in back-moulding the films. Achim Grefenstein Kaan Kaymak High-gloss film has been used since the mid-1990s for pillar trim, bodyside mouldings, exterior mirrors, roof drip mouldings, wheel covers, door sills and radiator grilles [1]. Prominent examples of this in Europe...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Plastic Spare-Wheel Well
Plastic Spare-Wheel Well Long-Fibre-Reinforced PP in Automotive Engineering Thilo Jud, Ingo Harzheim, Hans-Dieter Meinert and Roland Pettirsch-Tisler, Köngen/Germany Since September 1998, DaimlerChrysler has been equipping its S-Class with spare-wheel wells made of GMT. The use of plastics in this highly stressed vehicle application offers a large number of advantages but imposes very high demands on the material and design. Weight reductions and enhanced design and integration possibili...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Plasticising in Critical Areas
Plasticising in Critical Areas Exhausting the Potential of the Single Screw? Erwin Bürkle, Martin Würtele, Munich/Germany Single-screw injection moulding machines frequently approach their physical limits. For many of these critical “borderline areas”, new constructional alternatives need to be found. The physical limits of single-screw injection moulding machines may be reached in various ways: - exceptional stress, - batchwise operation, - effective screw length in relation to homogen...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, PMMA - A Substrate for DVD
PMMA - A Substrate for DVD Rudolf Blass and Michael Zietek, Darmstadt/Germany High light transmission, low birefringence and good surface hardness are the qualities that make polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) a suitable material for the production of DVDs. Besides its use for DVD 5 and DVD 9, which are ready for mass production, it is now being discussed as a candidate for recordable compact discs (CD-Rs). With a capacity of 17 gigabytes, the digital versatile disc (DVD) is capable of storing...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Polycarbonate instead of Glass: Large Car Windows from an Injection Moulding Machine
Injection Moulding Large Car Windows from an Injection Moulding Machine Polycarbonate instead of Glass. Injection compression offers designers design freedom for automobile windows and the technical variety of the world of plastics. A new moulding technique from Engel called "Glazemelt" provides the necessary process reliability. Advances in automaking are undoubtedly coupled with the continually increasing amount of modern plastics in automobiles. Replacement of glass in windows with...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Polyethylene (PE-LD, PE-LLD)
Polyethylene (PE-LD, PE-LLD) Inken Beulich and Mike Cook, Horgen/Switzerland The family of low density polyethylene resins (PE-LD) includes both homopolymers and copolymers produced by the high-pressure process (PE-LD) as well as linear copolymers (PE-LLD) which are polymerised at low pressures. While the consumption of PE-LD shows only a moderate growth-rate of 1 to 2 % p. a., the linear product family continues to enjoy growth rates of more than 10 % p. a. The original polyethylene, high...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Polyethylene Tanks: Contaminated Plastics in a Closed Material Loop
Commodity Plastics Contaminated Plastics in a Closed Material Loop Polyethylene Tanks. A consortium of eight companies and four research institutes has developed a process for channelling the material used for heating oil tanks and automotive plastic fuel tanks into a closed material loop in a research project sponsored by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The soiling caused by the penetration of hydrocarbons is removed in an environmentally-compatible and cost-efficient m...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Polymer Design and Modification: Polypropylene (PP)
Trend Report: Commodity Plastics Polypropylene (PP) Polymer Design and Modification. With ever-larger production facilities and a decreasing number of producers, polypropylene continues to show its versatility. From catalysts to construction, producers and processors are always working on new solutions with this material, which has made rapid advances since its discovery in 1954 and initial production in 1957. Overall consumption of polypropylene in Western Europe amounted to 7800kt in the ye...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Polymer Electronics: From Polymer Transistor to Printed Electronics
Special: Electronics From Polymer Transistor to Printed Electronics Polymer Electronics. Printed electronics based on new kinds of organic conducting and semi-conducting plastics will in future enable electronics to be put on to virtually any product. It will be done not through the substitution of today's widely used standard electronics based on silicon semi-conductors, but through the generation of electronic intelligence on products that at the moment have no electronics whatsoever. ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Polypropylene-Cellulose Compounds
Polypropylene-Cellulose Compounds High Strength Cellulose Fibres Strengthen Injection Moulded Parts Peter Weigel, Johannes Ganster and Hans-Peter Fink, Potsdam-Golm/ Germany, Jochen Gassan, Nentershausen-Dens/Germany, and Kurt Uihlein, Obernburg/Germany Under certain conditions high strength cellulose fibres can replace glass fibres as reinforcing materials for polypropylene. They have weight, abrasiveness, recyclability and disposal advantages. Presently there is an intensive search for...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Polyurethane Gel: High-tech Gel Relieves the Back
Polyurethanes High-tech Gel Relieves the Back Polyurethane Gel. The furniture industry is one of the main outlets for polyurethanes. Outstanding comfort is promised by cushions made from a polyurethane gel with an exceptional combination of good mechanical, thermal, optical and, above all, tactile properties. Kristin Mädefessel-Herrmann We sit on it at the office, lounge around on it to watch television and sleep on it at night: polyurethane (PUR) furniture ensures our comfort the whole day l...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Possibilities with Plastics: Sports Applications
Sports and Leisure Time Sports Applications Possibilities with Plastics. If we look at sports stadiums, equipment and clothing, we quickly see that almost nothing can be done without plastics. What’s more, without polymers, some sports would hardly be possible at all, and mass sports would hardly be affordable. This article uses selected examples to give a brief overview of the possibilities and advantages that polymers offer in the modern sports arena. Jörn Korte Sports shoes can be adapted to...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Potential for Saving: Cost-efficient Designing
Product Development Cost-efficient Designing Matthias Schmuck Jürgen Gäbelein Potential for Saving. Eighty percent of product and product follow-up costs are defined during development. Product development therefore offers the greatest scope for savings. Practical examples from a development service provider illustrate the salient aspects of cost-efficient designing in plastics. Production outsourcing has now become one of the most common phrases in the headlines of the economics sections o...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Precise Masterbatch Metering: Self-colouring with Gravimetric Metering
Precise Masterbatch Metering: Self-colouring with Gravimetric Metering A new feed system combines the advantages of gravimetric monitoring and control of throughput with the advantage of volumetric metering into the main flow of material. Practical tests at processors reveal lower material consumption, improved quality and easier set-up. Georg Bolder, Thorsten Just Direct feeding of masterbatches or additives on injection moulding machines is particularly important for practical and econom...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Process Integration: Fibre-reinforced Sandwich and Profile Structures in One Step
Compression Moulding Fibre-reinforced Sandwich and Profile Structures in One Step Process Integration. An interval hot pressing process has been developed for in-situ production of fibre-reinforced sandwich and profile structures in one step. With this process, it is possible to produce sandwich structures of any length. In addition, production of the cover layer as a separate manufacturing step is eliminated. Stefan Giehl Peter Mitschang Continuous fibre-reinforced thermoplastic composites h...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Product Marketing: Global Trends in Packaging Design
Product Marketing: Global Trends in Packaging Design Successful product marketing is closely linked to consumer-oriented packaging design. This gives the product the opportunity to explain itself. A clear, unmistakable design is timeless and accessible to everyone. Its goal should be to signal pleasure or added value to the purchaser. Roman Klis Trends are trends because they are innovative and ahead of their time. They are also trends because they are sometimes only appropriate to one nic...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Product Protection: Active Packaging – Trends for the Future
Product Protection: Active Packaging – Trends for the Future Active packaging is one of the innovative concepts that are being developed as an answer to changing consumer desires and market trends and that are on the way to conquering also the European market. It controls and reacts to conditions inside the packaging in order to extend the shelf life of the product and/or improve its quality. Horst-Christian Langowski, Gertraud Goldhan In many markets world-wide there is a clearly recognis...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Quality Assurance: Controlled Laser Transmission Welding
Special Controlled Laser Transmission Welding Quality Assurance. Although laser transmission welding is highly reproducible, the welding quality can be adversely affected by the upstream processes of compounding, injection moulding and the like. Users can now avail of a wide range of process-monitoring methods for ensuring consistent product quality. Alexander Hofmann Stefan Hierl While laser transmission welding of plastics was regarded merely as a replacement for many an ultrasonic welding...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Quality Assurance: The Cavity Pressure Profile Must Be Right
Injection Moulding The Cavity Pressure Profile Must Be Right Quality Assurance. A systematic fault analysis at a large automotive supplier shows that strategies based on cavity pressure measurement not only increase the part quality and process capability. Injection moulding machines may even be operated with different settings – provided that the cavity pressure curves are identical. Jürgen Stahl Frank Koch The Babenhausen site of Siemens VDO Automotive, one of the world’s leading suppliers ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Quality of Dispersion: Standardised - the Filter Pressure Value as an Evaluation Tool
Extrusion Standardised: The Filter Pressure Value as an Evaluation Tool Quality of Dispersion. In the wake of increasingly stringent demands on the dispersion of colorants in plastics, methods for determining the degree of dispersion such as the filter pressure value are becoming more and more significant. The new EN 13900-5 standard establishes this testing approach as a fully approved assessment method, thus providing the first common denominator for customer-supplier communication. Volker ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Quality of SMC Surfaces: Paintability Enhanced
Exterior Parts Paintability Enhanced Quality of SMC Surfaces. Body panels that have been produced with a new, tough SMC material exhibit fewer hair-line cracks under load. The formation of paint pops in coated parts is avoided as a result. Michael J. Siwajek Body panels manufactured from Sheet Moulding Compound (SMC) provide many advantages over steel and other materials; high strength-to-weight ratio, lower tooling cost, and design flexibility to name a few. The OEMs have recognised these advan...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Reducing Cooling Time with Water-assisted Injection Moulding
Reducing Cooling Time with Water-assisted Injection Moulding Advantages over Gas-assisted Injection Walter Michaeli, André Brunswick and Christian Kujat, Aachen/Germany The water injection technique (WIT), developed at IKV, Aachen/Germany, is a further variation for producing injection moulded hollow articles. Recent trials show that, due to the superior cooling effect of water, cooling times can be considerably reduced compared with the gas-assisted injection moulding (GAIM). Whe...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Reliability in Processing
Reliability in Processing Quality Management System Ensure High Standards in Plastics Processing Jürgen Wasem-Gutensohn, Munich/Germany The division Manufacturing Units of the Gardena group in Heuchlingen/ Germany produces 250 million plastic parts of different sizes and weights per year. Gardena is well known as a supplier of garden care products. For some months all quality management testing at the Heuchlingen location is done using a solution based on CAQ=QSYS Professional from IBS AG....

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Safeguarding the Economic Viability of Production Sites: Adding Value through Innovation in Injection Moulding
Injection Moulding Adding Value through Innovation in Injection Moulding Safeguarding the Economic Viability of Production Sites. Debate about the location of production sites usually focuses on wage costs, but it is important at the same time to find new approaches for tapping innovation potential and gaining value-adding benefits. Intelligent process combinations, new machine drive concepts, high-performance applications through extended specifications and the multi-component technique are jus...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Sealing under Extreme Conditions
Sealing under Extreme Conditions PEEK for Gaskets and Seals in Automotive Construction Ralf Weidig, Hofheim/Germany Productivity increases, technological progress and the high cost awareness in the automotive industry are placing ever higher demands on the gaskets and seals used there. In automotive transmissions, engines and steering, the high-temperature material polyetheretherketone (PEEK) provides an attractive range of properties. Seals and gaskets have always been of central import...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Sheet and Film Extrusion: Precision by the Metre
Trade Fair Report Precision by the Metre Sheet and Film Extrusion. The trend towards customised extrusion lines is continuing. Machine manufacturers regard comprehensive customer service as the most important benefit they have to provide. Complex multilayer barrier films are gaining in importance. The first manufacturers therefore already supply 11-layer blown-film dies (Battenfeld Gloucester Engineering Inc.). Manufacturers of these plant technologies quote reduction of raw materials costs as t...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Shopping the Modern Way
Shopping the Modern Way Modern Innovative Injection Moulding and Mould Technology Enable New Supermarket Logistics Reinhard Bauer, Schwertberg, Austria The metal shopping cart will soon be seen only in museums. It will have been replaced by one made completely of technical plastics: ergonomic, light, stable and in particular well suited to commodity management in 21st century department stores. It will be made using injection moulding in combination with the gasmelt technique. Since such l...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Simulation right through to Failure
Simulation right through to Failure Crash Simulations with Plastic/Metal Hybrid Parts Frank Lutter, Michael Münker and Martin Wanders, Leverkusen/Germany Structural parts for the automotive sector are being increasingly produced by hybrid technology. Newly-developed computation methods developed specially for crash simulation assist the design engineer with part design. Crash simulations provide a means of assessing the deformation behaviour, load-bearing behaviour and energy absorption ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Software: The Optimum Screw Diameter at the Click of a Mouse
Injection Moulding The Optimum Screw Diameter at the Click of a Mouse Software. Selecting the right screw diameter is guaranteed to give high-quality parts. All the new ScrewSelection software requires to do this is a few items of basic data and a few clicks of the mouse. August Burr Andreas Müller Martin Hetschel The residence time of the moulding compound and the metering path are the key criteria when it comes to selecting the correct screw diameter and hence determining the quality level...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Special Injection Moulding Processes in Practical Application
Special Injection Moulding Processes in Practical Application Applications in the Electronics, Automotive and Medical Sectors Walter Michaeli, Oliver Pfannschmidt and Andreas Franz, Aachen/Germany Automotive engineering, medical technology and electronics are the three markets making the biggest contribution to the development of special innovative injection moulding processes. The demands made by these sectors on the production process differ considerably. The special aspects are illustra...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Special Plastics: Household Work Made Easy
House Technology Household Work Made Easy Special Plastics. Laundering, ironing or cleaning – the toil of everyday life is being taken over by increasingly intelligent household appliances. For example the laundering that previously took whole days and much effort is today accomplished with only a few actions and simple button pushing. Engineering resins provide this comfort improvement. Tilo Vaahs The innovation spiral turns continuously. Household toil is an example par excellence. Around 190...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Sports Equipment: Plastics at all Events
Sports and Leisure Plastics at all Events Sports Equipment. Of course, the ball is still round – but is it still made of leather? No, and it has not been for a long time. Basically, all sports equipment nowadays is made of high-tech materials – plastics. And polymers sometimes almost have to perform miracles if they are to help the athletes to victory. Putting together an ingenious combination of suitable plastic types is the well-guarded secret of all sports equipment manufacturers. Kristin...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Strong Growth in Polyamides: Polyamide (PA)
Trend Report Engineering Plastics Polyamide (PA) Strong Growth in Polyamides. In automotive construction, the electrical/electronics sector and the packaging industry, users and developers particularly value the properties of polyamides. These include high mechanical and thermal stress resistance, excellent low-friction properties and abrasion resistance, good chemical stability, low stress-crack resistance and last but not least good electrical insulating behaviour. Detlev Joachimi The consu...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Structural RIM: Composite Materials for More Robust Automotive Parts
Structural RIM: Composite Materials for More Robust Automotive Parts An automated process for preforming glass mats and subsequent processing of preforms by the S-RIM process stands at the end of the long development chain that was necessary for the production of a lightweight, durable plastic pickup truck box. Antonio Cossolo For decades, the pickup truck has been the most widely used vehicle for agriculture, building and in chemical and other industrial plant. The floor is subject to sev...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Testing Technology: Fully Automated Serial Testing
Testing Fully Automated Serial Testing Testing Technology. Fully automated material and component testing is being increasingly discussed and implemented. The main reasons for this are the high testing frequency, manipulation-free, reproducible tests and cost savings it permits. The real need for automated or semi-automated testing must be carefully considered in each individual case. Marc Bohr Quality standards and above all product requirements are now so high that they make a fundamental re...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, The Case in Favour: Tiebarless – What Are the Benefits?
Injection Moulding Tiebarless – What Are the Benefits? The Case in Favour. The tiebarless clamping system for injection moulding machines developed by Engel offers both technical and economic advantages. These range from larger usable platen areas and lower clamping forces through unobstructed access for robots and even complex automation systems to exact platen parallelism adjustable to one hundredth of a millimetre. Werner Kappelmüller Georg Steinbichler Hans Wobbe Engel has been building in...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, The Hot Line to the Mould
The Hot Line to the Mould Cavity-pressure-based Systems Increase Productivity and Reduce Costs Oliver Schnerr-Häselbarth, Winterthur/Switzerland In recent years, cavity pressure sensors have proved to be the only successful means for fast and direct process optimisation. Current applications have demonstrated that the technology still contains a great deal of potential for saving costs and optimising yields in injection moulding. Productivity increases and cost reductions are the main be...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, The Hot-And-Cold Solution
The Hot-And-Cold Solution Double Shot Mould for Parts Made of Thermoplastic Polymer and LSR Hansjörg Keusgen, Bahlingen/Germany Composites of thermoplastic polymer and liquid silicone rubber (LSR) are fascinating because of the wide variety of applications in which they can be used. Trouble-free processing of these totally disparate materials in one mould requires that the cavities of the semi-finished part be thermally insulated from those of the finished moulded part. Composites of har...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, The Tip Decides
The Tip Decides Avoiding Wear in Non-Return Valves Christian Gornik, Harald Bleier and Wolfgang Roth, Kottingbrunn/Austria Non-Return valves play a critical role in the success or failure of processes. Fundamental studies of wear make it possible to find remedies and to increase the service life through selective parts modification. Non-Return valves are extremely critical parts in injection moulding processes. They prevent the melt from flowing backwards during injection into the mould....

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Thermoforming by Radiation Crosslinking
Thermoforming by Radiation Crosslinking Trials with PE-LD Film Renate Pausch and Klaus Wunsch, Leipzig/Germany Radiation crosslinking can drastically change the thermoforming properties of PE-LD film. Initially, the thermoforming energy and thermoforming distance increase as a function of the radiation dosage. If the dosage is raised further, the stretchability declines again. This means that the thermoforming behaviour can be improved through the specific use of gamma or electron radiatio...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Trends at the IAA: Shop Window for Innovations in the Motor Industry
International Motor Show Shop Window for Innovations in the Motor Industry Trends at the IAA. The mood of the exhibitors at this year's Frankfurt International Motor Show lay somewhere between hope and fear. The hope was that the many innovations can provide the necessary spark for the industry's spluttering engine. The exhibition also featured plenty of new developments on the materials side. Stefan Schlott 122 new vehicles – 80 of which were world premieres (front picture, Fig. 1) – ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Trends in Injection Moulding
Trends in Injection Moulding A Review of Machine Technology and Special Processes Friedrich Johannaber, Lohmar/Germany, and Herbert Thoma, Kenzingen/Germany Injection moulding is a forward-looking technology. European machine manufacturers and processors are developing and producing at a peak technical level. To be successful, it is essential to recognize the trends at an early stage, whether towards fully electric or hybrid injection moulding machines, water injection or external gas moul...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Trends in Laminating Adhesives
Trends in Laminating Adhesives Günter Henke, Düsseldorf/Germany Solvent-based laminating adhesives are still being used in very large quantities even though they have considerable disadvantages. The results that have come from the development of solvent-free laminating adhesives show that converters have plenty of possibilities to seek out the most suitable system from both an economic and ecological point of view, and at the same time to harmonize growth with Sustainable Development. The ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Two-component Injection Moulding: New Hard-soft Combinations of POM and TPU
New Hard-soft Combinations of POM and TPU Two-component Injection Moulding. New hard-soft combinations of POM and TPU (TPE) are being produced by injection moulding. For this application, POM (Hostaform) copolymer grades with different impact modification and TPU (Elastollan) grades with varying degrees of hardness are being combined. The bond strengths of the different hard-soft combinations, as determined in a standardised tensile test, are evaluated and discussed. The results are compared wi...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Two-component Micro Powder Injection Moulding: Three Special Processes in One
Injection Moulding Three Special Processes in One Two-component Micro Powder Injection Moulding. To produce multifunctional ceramic micro-parts, multicomponent, powder and micro injection moulding were combined in one process. This article describes the injection moulding of high-performance heating elements with adjustable electrical resistance. Powder injection moulding allows economic mass production of complex parts of metal and ceramic. Multicomponent injection moulding offers multifunctio...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Ultrasonic Production Control
Ultrasonic Production Control Online Inspection of Reactive Resins Joachim Döring, Wolfgang Stark, Berlin/Germany Ultrasound waves penetrate solid objects without damaging them. Their fields of application range from the imaging of internal organs in medicine, to interior testing of mechanical and chemical engineering components. However, ultrasonic systems can also be used to visualise the way the mechanical properties of reactive resins change during processing in the mould. Reactive r...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Under the Microscope
Under the Microscope What Determines the Oxygen Permeability of PA 6? Angelika Schmidt, Alexander Stroeks, Geleen/Netherlands Polyamide films are frequently used in food packaging because they constitute an effective barrier to oxygen. However, high levels of moisture can cause the oxygen permeability of PA 6 to increase to undesirable levels. Studies of how oxygen-barrier properties vary with relative atmospheric humidity have led to concepts that should further improve the barrier proper...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Viscosity Measurement: Determining Rheological Data Directly at the Machine
Injection Moulding Determining Rheological Data Directly at the Machine Viscosity Measurement. A special die is used to determine the vis-cosity behaviour of the plastic melt directly on the injection moulding machine. Unlike melt flow index (MFI) measurements, this method presents the flow behaviour across a large shear-rate profile. The measurement nozzle can also determine flow anomalies in highly filled plastic compounds. Christian Gornik Viscosity is defined as the ratio between the shear ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Water-assisted injection moulding: Water Increases Productivity
Water-assisted injection moulding: Water Increases Productivity Compared with gas, water offers good thermal conductivity, high heat capacity, incompressibility and low cost as a process fluid. Water-assisted injection moulding (also known as the water-injection technique, WIT) can produce moulded parts with functional cavities more economically than was hitherto possible. It can therefore open up new application areas for thermoplastics. For their part, thermoplastics are being tailored to th...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Which Drive for An Injection Moulding Machine?
Which Drive for An Injection Moulding Machine? All the Facts, All the Trends Thomas Kamps and Johannes Wortberg, Essen/Germany The question as to the most suitable drive technology for injection moulding machines is a controversial and usually emotional one. It raises aspects such as energy consumption, reproducibility, oil leakage and cleanroom conditions. Processors need an objective and factual analysis to help them decide on the right drive technology. According to a Delphi study, 28...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Wood Plastic Composites on the Right Track?
Composite Material Wood Plastic Composites on the Right Track? Wood Plastic Composites. The European market for wood plastic composites (WPC) is developing very dynamically in its own direction with high aesthetic requirements being specified for the finished products. Through systematic optimisation of formulations and processes, manufacturers are trying to find suitable approaches that will lead to the right solutions. Martin Bastian Itana Radovanovic Kersten Kurda The relatively new class of ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Wood-plastic Composites: Influence of Coupling Agents
Composite Material Influence of Coupling Agents Wood-plastic Composites. As binders between the wood fibres and polymer matrix, coupling agents improve the flexural strength, dimensional stability, impact strength and flow properties of wood-plastic composites quite considerably. They also significantly reduce the water absorption of the material. Martin Bastian Itana Radovanovic Kersten Kurda To obtain a good bond between wood fibres and polyolefins, the fibres are either chemically modified or...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Worldwide Demand is Increasing: Polyphenylene Sulphide (PPS)
Trend Report High Performance Plastics Polyphenylene Sulphide (PPS) Worldwide Demand is Increasing. The most important consumers of PPS are the automotive and electronics and electrical industries. The aerospace industry also manufactures ever more parts from PPS for its lightweight construction properties. As energy, transportation and raw materials prices increase, the greatest demand is for reinforced PPS compounds. Gunther Reitzel Gerhard Reuschel Polyphenylene sulphide has been on the m...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-30, Plug-in Connectors: Selectively Metallisable Polymer Compounds
Compounds Selectively Metallisable Polymer Compounds Plug-in Connectors. In the field of injection-moulded interconnect devices, the demand for polymer compounds with the property of selective metallisation is increasing all the time. What is wanted are material combinations with differing metallisation behaviour. This essentially means that, using an electroless metallisation process, metal is deposited with good adhesion on one plastic component but not on the other. Susanne Michler Helmut...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-30, Transparent PP Bottles: In the Overtaking Lane
Commodity Plastics In the Overtaking Lane Transparent PP Bottles. Glass-clear polypropylene (PP) is no longer a distant dream. A combination of new materials with improvements in the stretch and injection stretch blow moulding processes (SBM/ISBM) means that PP is now competing directly with PET in some segments. But PP also offers many advantages in conventional blow moulding (EBM), with transparency and heat resistance being among the most important. Markus Gahleitner Max Wachholder Over the...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-12-07, Case Study (6): Hot-Runner Solution for a Light Guiding Optical Part
Tooling Hot-Runner Solution for a Light Guiding Optical Part Case Study (6). High-performance materials and careful design of the mould layout and manufacturing process permit economical injection moulding of optical parts. The sixth and last part of this series deals with the production of high-quality light guiding optical parts. The choice of the hot-runner system is extremely important. Dirk Paulmann Jürgen Kanzler The illustrated light guiding optical part is an electromechanical part tha...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-12-07, Pipe Extrusion: The 36D Process Concept Opens up New Potential
Extrusion The 36D Process Concept Opens up New Potential Pipe Extrusion. A new process concept increases the melt throughput and therefore the productivity of single-screw extruders. At the same time, thermal and material homogenisation were greatly improved. Significant advantages were achieved by lengthening the process unit. Henning Stieglitz Florian Schneider The cost-effectiveness of a pipe extrusion line principally depends on the efficiency of the individual components. A key componen...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-01-15, A Status Report (2): Versatility for Mass Production in MuCell Injection Moulding
Injection Moulding Versatility for Mass Production in MuCell Injection Moulding A Status Report (2). Following on from the first part [1], this article describes another special MuCell injection moulding process, the gas counterpressure technique, also in combination with precision mould opening. A subsequent cost efficiency analysis shows when and how the MuCell injection moulding process pays off. Foamed parts usually have an optically poor surface quality. They are therefore not usually used...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-01-31, Implants: Plastics with Programmed Memory
Special Plastics with Programmed Memory Implants. Plastics with shape-memory can "remember" their original shape and resume it again on exposure to heat or UV radiation. Multifunctional materials with an unexpected combination of functionalities, such as biofunctionality, controlled active ingredient release, degradability and shape-memory have a special importance for medical technology, e.g. in minimally invasive surgery. Andreas Lendlein Steffen Kelch Karl Kratz Shape-memory means t...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-02-02, Injection Moulding: Perfection in Panels
On the Spot. Perfection in Panels. Injection Moulding. The VarioLineSystems GmbH is the only enterprise in the world that operates large high-pressure injection-moulding plant for the industrial production of integrally foamed plastic panels. Using technology developed by the company itself, the firm is able to define customised panel characteristics such as weight, load, stiffness, colour and UV resistance even before start of production. Clemens Doriat. It is a feat in and of itself to be ...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-02-22, New Applications: Joining with Light
Joining. Joining with Light. New Applications. The use of lasers in production engineering for plastics parts is now an inherent feature of innovative production solutions. Thanks to constant further developments on both the hardware side and the process/materials side, laser technology is gaining an ever-broader range of applications. Matthias Poggel. Arnold Gillner. Ulrich Russek. The underlying basis for machining or processing materials with laser light depends on the way in which the ...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-02-22, Surface Technology: Opportunities for UV Curing
Surface Technology Opportunities for UV Curing Coatings. Driven by the need to cut costs, improve quality and reduce environmental pollution, intensive trials are now being carried out to assess the suitability of new effective painting methods for plastics used in automotive exteriors and interiors. The main points discussed here include the requirements for coating components, recent coating concepts and the advantages and disadvantages of UV curing. Guido Wilke Georg Meichsner Right into t...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-02-27, Automaking: Inspiration in the Interior
On the Spot. Inspiration in the Interior. Automaking. The Visteon plant in Berlin produces primarily plastic parts for automotive interiors. To meet the demanding requirements of the automobile industry regarding the surface quality of moulded parts and the safety of occupants, on the one hand, and utilise the competence of the supplier regarding its ability to provide solutions, on the other, the company employs a number of challenging processes. Clemens Doriat. Mercurial – the company histo...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-03-07, Mass Production: Unlocking the Foaming Process
Foam Injection Moulding. Unlocking the Foaming Process. Mass Production. Shortening the injection moulding cycle time and reducing the weight and warpage of the end product are worthwhile goals for the processor. It requires no more than to foam the plastic melt by feeding a blowing agent. Only shortly after the introduction of the Optifoam process, a supplier to the automotive industry has now implemented the first example of mass production with a technically challenging application. In close...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-03-07, Stack Moulds: Twice the Efficiency
Tooling. Twice the Efficiency. Stack Moulds. Efficiency is work per time unit. The use of stack-type moulds can multiply the result of this simple equation. For the same platen widths and heights, the stacking of the cavities can achieve two, three or even four times the production efficiency. Holger Plegge. Thomas Hartkämper. Stack moulds increase the productivity of injection moulding systems. They multiply the output by two, three or four times, depending on the number of daylights. The stac...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-03-29, Bioplastics: Converting Risks to Opportunities
Packaging Converting Risks to Opportunities Bioplastics. Biodegradable materials and bioplastics have had a very good year. There are many reasons for this. A review of the current state of the art helps provide an explanation. The latest market trends are highlighted as are the influences of legislation and industry views on labelling. Many positive indications provide grounds for optimism that bioplastics innovations will successfully overcome the difficult market launch phase. Harald Kaeb I...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-04-25, Roller Rail System: Heavy Traffic on the Injection Moulding Machine
Special Heavy Traffic on the Injection Moulding Machine Roller Rail System. A new generation of large swivel-platen injection moulding machines produce automotive window panes by injection-compression moulding. Special heavy-duty roller rail systems guide the up to 30 tonnes weight reliably and precisely. Werner Jaris Jochen Mitzler Larger, more precise, more complex: just as in sport, in plastics processing, too, the bar is continually being raised. A major driving force is the automotive indu...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-05-24, Process Development: Versatile Ultrasound
Injection Moulding. Versatile Ultrasound. Process Development. Plastic melts absorb ultrasonic energy, and this increases their temperature and flowability. This effect is exploited to improve on the filling of constricted cavities and the reproduction of fine structures as well as to increase the strength of the bond seam in two-component injection moulding. Ultrasonic vibration is used to eject small parts without them suffering any damage. Peter Bloss et al. Ultrasound (US) is a versatile...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-06-29, Hard-soft Combinations: Perfectly Matched
Elastomers Perfectly Matched Hard-soft Combinations. By combining thermoplastics that are dimensionally stable at high temperature, such as polyamide and PBT, with a crosslinking rubber component, multifunctional parts can be produced economically. Multicomponent injection moulding and the similar fast cycle times of both materials are key factors in this success. Dirk Achten Maik Schulte Hard-soft combinations of a thermoplastic with a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) produced by multicompone...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-08-06, Ergonomic and Intuitive: Touch Screen Cockpit with a View
Injection Moulding. Touch Screen Cockpit with a View. Thorsten Hoes. Ergonomic and Intuitive. With the introduction of the Mosaic operator interface, Ferromatik Milacron documents the transition to a new operating philosophy for its injection moulding machines. The touch screen is mounted on a pivoting arm that permits ergonomic working positions. The control software also contributes significantly to reducing unproductive machine time. At the turn of the year 2003/04, the decision was made w...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-08-06, High-performance Polyamides: Transparency for all Occasions
Title Story Transparency for all Occasions High-performance Polyamides. Transparent polyamides are now finding applications in many hitherto inaccessible areas: examples can be found in household, safety technology and medical applications. Among the reasons for the success are the basic properties of amorphous polyamides, which, thanks to the special monomer structure, achieve the heat resistance of high-performance polymers. Ralf Hala Within the polyamide family, amorphous polyamides, due to...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-08-06, Stabilisers (Part 1): Alternative Stabiliser Systems for PVC
Additives Alternative Stabiliser Systems for PVC Stabilisers (Part 1). The voluntary, but in effect compulsory, replacement of lead stabilisers in PVC applications raises a number of questions. Some answers are given in the first part of this two-part article, which compares currently used stabilisers for PVC in relation to mechanical properties, stability and colour, with special reference to pipes. Michael Schiller Dominic De Souza Henk Huisman Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) has a wide performanc...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-09-08, All-electric Machines: One Shot Like Another?
Injection Moulding One Shot Like Another? All-electric Machines. High repeatability and high speed of all machine movements – attributes like these are used to recommend servoelectric injection moulding machines as “precision machines”. But is that really enough to make “one shot like another” in mass production? Current studies show which machinery and process parameters influence the part quality, and how these influences can be controlled. Georg Steinbichler Hans Wobbe One shot like another...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-09-08, Data Collection: Virtual Development of Crash-stressed Parts
Engineering Plastics. Virtual Development of Crash-stressed Parts. Stefan Glaser, Andreas Wüst, Dirk Jansen. Data Collection. Crash-stressed parts made from short fibre-reinforced polymers, along with the corresponding moulds, can be developed virtually in a short time. Suitable models for this are created on the basis of real stress-strain curves that are determined automatically by high-speed instruments. Virtual parts development in the automotive industry is no longer pie in the sky, but...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-09-08, Injector Technology for Water Assist: The Key to Success
Injection Moulding The Key to Success Injector Technology for Water Assist. In many cases the success or failure of a water-assisted injection moulding technology (WIT) application depends on the injector technology. The injector must introduce the water volume required to form the part-cavity into the molten polymer core in a controlled and leak-tight way. The Institute of Plastics Processing (IKV) has investigated different designs of known injectors for their suitability and developed and te...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-09-10, Sensors: Force Measurement on All-electric Injection Moulding Machines
Injection Moulding: Force Measurement on All-electric Injection Moulding Machines. Bruno Schlaepfer Ralph Keitel Sensors. All-electric injection moulding machines now represent serious competition for conventional machines with a hydraulic drive. The injection force constitutes a key parameter for machine control on all-electric machines. This is best measured with sensors that operate with strain gauges. The installation point and the sensor type determine both the accuracy of the measuremen...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-09-27, Film Extrusion: More and More Layers
Extrusion More and More Layers Film Extrusion. Plastic films have become an important part of our daily lives – 50% of all plastic packaging is based on films. The fact that packaging represents one-third of plastics consumption in Germany underscores the exceptional importance of an everyday product. These facts are not likely to surprise experts. Most consumers, however, have no idea of the many requirements that plastic films must satisfy today. The purchaser in a supermarket is almost com...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-09-27, Processing of Semi-Finished Products: Air or Vacuum?
Thermoforming Air or Vacuum? Processing of Semi-Finished Products. New process variants such as twin-sheet forming and IMG are competing with related production processes. Developments in machine and control technology coupled with a high degree of automation are reducing cycle times and increasing cost efficiency. Thermoforming is the preferred production method for both very thin-walled thermoplastic components at one end of the size spectrum and large flat parts at the other. Simple, fast mat...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-09-28, A Personal Opinion: Has Injection Moulding been Fully Exhausted?
Injection Moulding Has Injection Moulding been Fully Exhausted? A Personal Opinion. So the technical possibilities in injection moulding machine construction have been exhausted? If such arguments had ever been valid, we would still be driving at 20mph on our roads and a journey to China would take three months. Helmar Franz If we review the development of injection moulding machine manufacturing over recent years, we could join in with the hymn of praise about the innovations that are taking p...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-09-28, An Attempt at Defining the Status Quo: Injection Mouldmaking in 2006
Tooling. Injection Mouldmaking in 2006. Reinhard Bauer. An Attempt at Defining the Status Quo. The changes that have come about in the wake of globalisation have affected all the different sectors – and the know-how intensive mouldmaking industry is no exception here. Changes in the framework conditions – drastic as they may be in the individual case – do not, however, just lead to problems but can also be an opportunity for prosperity if the correct strategic approach is adopted. This is bo...