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Plastics Technology, 2004-03-23, NPE 2000 News Wrap-Up: Extrusion
At this year"s NPE, new processes to put wood flour into plastic were virtually everywhere-several even start with undried flour. There was also lots of news at the show in downstream cooling and...

Plastics Technology, 2004-03-23, NPE 2000 News Wrap-Up: Extrusion
At this year's NPE, new processes to put wood flour into plastic were virtually everywhere-several even start with undried flour. There was also lots of news at the show in downstream cooling and hand...

Plastics Technology, 2004-03-23, NPE 2000 News Wrap-Up: High-Volume Thermoplastics
NPE 2000 offered up new HMW-MDPE and HMW-HDPE film and molding resins with enhanced mechanical properties, plus new VLDPE resins, a hexene LLDPE with improved stiffness/ strength balance, and an LDPE ...

Plastics Technology, 2004-03-24, Renewable PLA Polymer Gets "Green Light" For Packaging Uses
Polylactic acid, first synthesized a half-century ago, has finally arrived as an alternative to PET, HIPS, PVC, and cellulosics in some high-clarity packaging roles. PLA is being used in candy wrap, o...

Plastics Technology, 2004-04-30, Recycled PET/PE Alloys Show Promise In Monofilament, Pallets, Pipe
Alloys of polyethylene and recycled PET were the highlight of the annual SPE Global Plastics Environmental Conference (GPEC) in Detroit in February. In the last 18 months, three European processors ha...

Plastics Technology, 2004-06-01, Thermoplastic Polyesters: It"s a Good Time to Know Them Better
There"s more to TP polyesters than you think. You may know PET, PBT, and PETG-but what about PCT, PCTG, PCTA, and PTT? If you"re not sure what they are, how their properties compare, and who...

Plastics Technology, 2004-06-01, Thermoplastic Polyesters: It's a Good Time to Know Them Better
There's more to TP polyesters than you think. You may know PET, PBT, and PETG-but what about PCT, PCTG, PCTA, and PTT? If you're not sure what they are, how their properties compare, and who sells the...

Plastics Technology, 2005-08-23, Barrier Bottle Technologies Square Off
With single-serve containers raising shelf-life demands, packagers are seeking the barrier with the best cost-performance for PET bottles. Multilayer seems to have the upper hand, but monolayer, coati...

Plastics Technology, 2006-01-04, SPE Blow Molding Conference Shows Ways to Boost Productivity
A rotary wheel machine that sets a new standard for high-volume blow molding of motor-oil bottles was one of the major announcements at the recent SPE Blow Molding Conference in Toledo. Other news fro...

Plastics Technology, 2007-02-01, "As Good as New" Chain Extender Restores Reclaimed Resins
A new additive can re-link polymer chains in reclaimed PET, nylon, and polycarbonate to revive degraded properties.

Plastics Technology, 2007-07-12, New Barrier Options Debut at SPE ANTEC
Innovative barrier technologies to boost the shelf-life of PET bottles were introduced at the May SPE ANTEC 2007 conference in Cincinnati. Among the new barrier solutions is a new PET nanocomposite th...

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...

Plastics Technology, 2008-06-02, Textile Recycler Saved by Carpets
This is a tale of globalization with a happy ending. One of the world"s two largest carpet recyclers got into the business by accident--or necessity--when its fiber reclaim business fell victim t...

Plastics Technology, 2009-02-04, Novel PC/Polyester Blends Combine Stiffness and Ductility
An unusual balance of high modulus and ductile impact behavior is claimed for Xenoy HMD resins, recently launched by SABIC Innovative Plastics. As we reported initially in November, these PC/PBT and P...

Plastics Technology, 2010-03-08, Thermoforming PLA: How to Do It Right
Polylactic acid (PLA) resins are made from 100% renewable resources such as corn, sugar beets, or sugarcane. This clear thermoplastic is fully compostable and biodegradable but has properties very sim...

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

Kunststoffe international, Drivers of Electromobility
The transformation from the combustion to the electric engine entails several imponderabilities for the plastics industry. In part, electric drives have completely different material requirements which are becoming specifically evident with the increasing use of appropriate vehicles. The following article presents an overview of the most important changes. With the move towards electromobility, the automotive industry is facing a radical change. In the transition period, manufacturers will stron...

Kunststoffe international, Food Safe Post Consumer Recyclate
Plastics are among the materials most widely used for food contact applications. While there is pressure to use recycled plastics in packaging in order to combat plastic waste, certain conditions must be met before food packaging can be considered safe. The criteria for what is commonly referred to as “food safe” essentially aim to ensure that substances are not be transferred from the packaging to the food in quantities that could endanger consumer health. The composition of the food must remai...

Kunststoffe international, From the Sea to Electronics
Plastic waste in the sea has been shaping the negative image of the industry for several years. Various ‧initiatives and mergers of companies have therefore launched projects to tackle this Ocean-bound Plastics (OBP). Components made of OBP could become a symbol for a sustainable use of plastics. For many demanding applications, however, such recyclates must also have the necessary flame retardant properties. A recycling project in Haiti shows how these properties can be achieved. According to c...

Kunststoffe international, Open Control for More Efficiency
With the transition to the new Simatic Open Controller generation, Gabler Thermoform is upgrading their ‧machines to provide increased performance and more efficiency. This will represent the first step toward ‧digitalization for the North German company, and a new dimension of customer support. The availability and ‧productivity of machines will be bolstered as a direct result of precisely plannable maintenance work. Situated in Lübeck, Germany, Gabler Thermoform GmbH & Co. KG is one of the gl...

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

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

Kunststoffe international, Sustainable Growth
The central issue in all polyurethane applications is the conversion from the past linear economy into a ‧circular economy, and the use of sustainable raw materials in manufacturing. To do so, manufacturers are ‧taking measures such as using bio-based raw materials, chemical recycling, and CO2 as a synthesis component. Digitalization, electromobility, autonomous driving and the construction industry are also driving PU development. In 2019, global demand for polyurethane (PU) saw a significant b...

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, What Can You Do at Fall Fairtime, When There Aren’t Any?
A year to forget is nearing its completion. To brighten up this dreary fall season without a major event like ‧Fakuma, injection molding machine builders have concocted various strategies to compensate for the cancellations of the many industry events that have fallen victim to the corona pandemic. In early fall, several companies opened up their technical centers to visitors, albeit only on advance notice and in compliance with distance requirements and rules of hygiene. In addition to selected...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, A Home Game for the Italian Plastics Industry: Rendezvous in Milan
A Home Game for the Italian Plastics Industry: Rendezvous in Milan Plast 2003 will be held in the Fiera Milano exhibition grounds from May 6th to 10th. Primarily because of the high numbers of visitors from abroad, it is the second most important plastics show in Europe after K in Düsseldorf. The Italian plastics industry is seizing the opportunity in Milan to demonstrate its innovative prowess to the experts. German plastics manufacturers are still the most important target export group for...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Additional Quality Control: Integrated Quality Testing for PET Bottle Production
Packaging Integrated Quality Testing for PET Bottle Production Additional Quality Control. SIG Corpoplast, Hamburg/Germany, and AgrTopWave, Munich/Germany, Butler/USA, have concluded a contract on two inspection systems for measuring the material distribution in PET bottles. Thanks to the considerable material savings, most applications pay back within a year. The Vision Preform Inspector (VPI) is already used by some customers in Europe and North America in conjunction with SIG Corpoplast stre...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Additives
Additives Trends and Perspectives Walter Hohenberger, Villach/Austria Additives have become an irreplaceable constituent of plastics. They increase the added value of plastics by improving their processability, stability, and appearance, plus a great deal more. They therefore increase the cost-benefit ratio in overall terms. The trend in additives is towards easy-to-handle, environmentally-compatible products. Tailor-made solutions are providing evidence of closer customer proximity on the...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Agglomerating Units: Gentle Recycling
Recycling Gentle Recycling Agglomerating Units. Compacting units are conventionally used for the agglomeration of post-consumer plastics with poor flowing characteristics such as film, fibres or foam in order to improve their apparent density and free-flowing properties. Over time however, these units have also proven useful for processing cleaned post-consumer PET bottles and for drying washed post-consumer film. The „Plastkompaktor“ by Herbold Meckesheim reduces plastics waste in a multi-...

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

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Anniversary: Excellence in Compounding Technology
Market Excellence in Compounding Technology Anniversary. Over the years, Coperion Werner & Pfleiderer GmbH Co. KG, based in Stuttgart/Germany, has developed from a supplier of baking and kneading machines into a manufacturer of innovative compounding systems. Coperion was created in 2001 by a merger between Buss, Waeschle and Werner & Pfleiderer, and is now one of the leading suppliers of compounding technology for the plastics, chemicals and food industries. Petra Thomas-Hasenzahl Werner & Pfl...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, As Good As New
As Good As New Quality is an Important Factor in Second-Hand Machinery Many plastics processors think that trying to buy good quality second-hand machinery is rather like trying to win a lottery. After all, it is very difficult to assess the condition of a machine that has been used in production for several years. And not all second-hand dealers are trustworthy. But, as the following examples show, it does not have to be like this. Garant Maschinenhandel GmbH, Lengerich, was set up as far...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Attractive New World of Packaging
Attractive New World of Packaging Husky Builds on its Strengths in the PET Market PET bottles are the fastest growing market in the packaging segment. Husky, a major globally operating manufacturer of injection moulding machines and tools for the production of preforms for PET containers, is intent on participating in this growth. A report from the company’s European headquarters in Dudelange/Luxembourg. Reliable forecasts for the coming decade predict an annual growth for PET bottles of o...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Beer Bottles - A New Market for Polyester
Beer Bottles - A New Market for Polyester Brigitta Otto and Michael Streng, Frankfurt/Germany The market for PET for packaging is set to grow to approximately 11.4 million t by the year 2008. It is predicted that some 427,000 t/year will go on the production of beer bottles. Beverages in PET bottles (PET = polyethylene terephthalate) are booming. An increasing number of drinks producers are opting for the lightweight and unbreakable alternative to the heavy glass bottle, not only in the ca...

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, Broad Range of Application: High-density Polyethylene (PE-HD)
Special: World Market High-density Polyethylene (PE-HD) Broad Range of Application. Between 2000 and 2003, global sales of PE-HD increased 4.3% p.a. to 25.5 million tons. In Western Europe, demand rose by only 2.7% overall, to stand at around 5.1 million tons. Over the next few years, average growth rates are expected to be approximately 6% worldwide and 3.5% for Western Europe. The Asian market, in particular, is set to experience disproportionately high growth over the years to come. The r...

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

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

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

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

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

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Compounds and Masterbatches: Revival of Research and Development?
Compounds Revival of Research and Development? Compounds and Masterbatches. Once again, over 80 exhibitors presented compounds and masterbatches at the K 2004. The selected strategies of the individual companies are as varied as the challenges facing the industry: tailoring the properties of plastics to their respective applications. For the first time, several global players were not present in Düsseldorf, while family-run companies emphasised that participation in the K-fair was meaningful...

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

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Continue to Improve Productivity and Quality
Continue to Improve Productivity and Quality New Developments in Blow Moulding Peter Gust and Markus Holbach, Bonn/Germany New developments in blow moulding are not limited to process improvements, but are also found in fundamentally new systems such as flat desk processes and horizontal insertion processes. For production of PET bottles cycle times were shortened and coating processes and heating systems were further developed. The new millennium begins with an anniversary for the blow ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Continued Boom
Continued Boom Expanding Demand for Plastics and Rubber Machinery Manufacturers German plastics machine manufacturers will show a successful result for 2000. In the first six months, production rose by 12 %. The growth of about 24 % in received orders can be seen as a boom. This trend is already indicating a positive sales trend in time for K'01 next year. The German plastics machinery industry has prospects of clear growth. Production, received orders and export have shown clear growt...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Continued Strong Growth: PET in Beverage Packaging
Trend Report: Engineering Plastics PET in Beverage Packaging Continued Strong Growth. The raw material of PET has undergone a change. Modified product grades now permit even faster injection moulding cycles and higher cycling rates in bottle production. In addition, the grade of PET (in combination with different barrier materials) and the bottle design have been aligned to the bottled product. Kajetan Müller Frank Welle Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is continuing to show high growth in th...

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

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Custom-tailored Engineering Materials: Polyphenylene Ether (PPE)
Trend Report: Engineering Plastics> Polyphenylene Ether (PPE) Custom-tailored Engineering Materials. Modifications with various engineering resins and reinforcements as well as additives permit polyphenylene ether to be employed as an engineering material for any required application. Even elastic products can be produced in this way and have recently become available for use as wire and cable insulation. Edward N. Peters Mukund Parthasarathy The amorphous thermoplastic poly-2,6-dimethylphenyl...

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, Details of Economic Development: High-density Polyethylene (PE-HD)
Trend Report: Commodity Plastics High-density Polyethylene (PE-HD) Details of Economic Development. The development of the key applications for PE-HD, such as pipes, tapes, hollow articles and packaging, has shown little change in the last few years. Western Europe's share of global PE-HD capacities has decreased as a result of investments in the growth markets of Asia and Eastern Europe. In the period between 2001 and 2004, PE-HD consumption in Western Europe went up by 3.3% to 5.2 millio...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Detecting Contaminants: Product Safety in the PET Loop
Recycling Product Safety in the PET Loop Detecting Contaminants. It takes a powerful analytical system to guarantee the product safety of recycled PET. Specific detection methods enable all kinds of interferences to be detected at high sensitivity. A specially developed online method provides detailed information of the kind specifically needed in the manufacture of recycled PET for critical applications in the food sector. Andreas Mäurer Frank Welle Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) has been...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Determining Wear Mechanisms
Determining Wear Mechanisms Solid-particle Erosion of Plastics Egon Moos, Nektaria-Marianthi Barkoula and József Karger-Kocsis, Kaiserslautern/Germany The solid-particle erosion behaviour of fibre-plastic composites (FPC) is typified by high wear rates. On the other hand, many polymers, especially elastomers, have low wear rates. Studies on the erosion behaviour of selected polymers and FPC were conducted to establish the correlations between material and wear properties. Erosive ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Development History of Plastics: Growth through Changing Times
PE103251 Special Growth through Changing Times Development History of Plastics. Plastics are markers of social change and pacesetters for technological progress. This emerges clearly from a review of their development, which started before the 20th century and has been characterised by steady growth. It all began with galalith, celluloid and thermosets, while today polyolefins and other thermoplastics are the high-volume sellers. The growth opportunities for plastics today still appear to be al...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Drying, Conveying and Dosing of PET
Drying, Conveying and Dosing of PET Material Compounding for Film Extrusion Rainer Riediger, Königswinter/Germany At the Weert/Netherlands site, Klöckner Pentaplast recently brought a new extrusion line on stream. Its ancillary material compounding line is required to meet severe demands. Klöckner Pentaplast is one of the leading suppliers of PET film for various applications in the foods and medical sectors. At its Weert site in the Netherlands, it produces coextruded flat film. The com...

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

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Economical PET Recycling
Economical PET Recycling Production Experience Gained with the Stehning Bottle-to-Bottle Process Given increasing market penetration and with regard to establishing a closed loop recycling industry, it is vitally urgent to discover economical conditioning methods for scrap PET. The highest quality recycling method makes one hundred per cent re-use of the recycled material within the PET bottle industry ("bottle to bottle"). The Stehning process was registered as an international pa...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Economical Production of Barrier Film
Economical Production of Barrier Film The Innovative Films Market Calls for Flexible Machine Concepts Jochen Hennes, Worms/Germany, and Tony Rüegg, Lachen/Switzerland The property profiles of high-grade barrier films are becoming increasingly complex. Extrusion lines must be able to process a greater variety of materials than ever before. This makes enormous demands on the machine components. The ability to supply individual films quickly is nowadays more important than ever, which is wh...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Editorial: Securing Margins
Securing Margins Is this just an experiment or is it an inevitable consequence of the Polymer Age in which we now live? Since 27 May, polypropylene (PP) and linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) have been quoted on the London Metal Exchange (LME), which means that, for the very first time, plastics are being traded at the LME on an equal footing with non-ferrous metals like aluminium, copper and tin. Both plastics producers and ultimate consumers alike are able to conclude forward contracts in...

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

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

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Energy Contracting: Reduced Costs through Energy Efficiency
Energy Contracting: Reduced Costs through Energy Efficiency Taking the example of a medium-sized plastics-processing company, this article highlights the areas of supply engineering that offer what, in some cases, is considerable scope for savings. Isabelle Henkel, Jens Becker Companies which are not of a sufficient size to have an expert at their disposal for each individual area of their energy-conversion plant, or companies which have cut back on staff for their energy-engineering plant...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Engineering Plastics as a Growth Market
Engineering Plastics as a Growth Market DuPont Anticipates Double-digit Growth Rates for Sales and Earnings Even after the strategic realignment at DuPont, engineering plastics will continue to be one of the company's core businesses. With world wide sales of around $ 2 billion, DuPont is the market leader in this field. Its portfolio covers polyamides, polyesters (PBT and PET), polyacetals, polyimides and liquid crystalline polymers (LCP). After its withdrawal from the energy business...

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

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

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Exactly Suited Material Preparation: Reliable Use of PET Flakes
Recycling Reliable Use of PET Flakes Exactly Suited Material Preparation. Economic supply of PET ground stock from beverage bottles offers an attractive potential for lowering manufacturing costs. Drying and crystallisation plants should not be regarded as unnecessary evils, but as important process units for qualitatively high-value production. Michael Zlotos PET finds application in many production processes, be it in the field of packaging for bottle production or production of packaging foil...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Exhibition Preview: North American and Canadian Products at K 2004
USA-Special North American and Canadian Products at K 2004 Exhibition Preview. In Düsseldorf, more than 140 U.S. American and Canadian Companies will present their innovations for the first time to an European specialist audience. The editors of the magazine Plastics Technology have assembled a selection of the most important developments. With this thematically structured preliminary report you can effectively prepare your visit at the K show. Injection Moulding News from includes all-electr...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Export Champion: Changeover Completed
Trade Fair Report Changeover Completed Export Champion. Already at the K2001 Taiwan was the largest Asian exhibitor – the following excerpt from the machinery program of K exhibitors from Taiwan is to show how the country of the cheap supplier of plastic products developed into the serious supplier of plastics processing machines. Already for some years the Asian continent has been the largest consumer of plastic in the world and also in plastic production Asia has presently taken over the lead...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Filled PU: Solid Metering for Reactive PU Systems
Reactive Processing Solid Metering for Reactive PU Systems Filled PU. A process already established in the textile field is increasingly gaining importance for the industrial manufacture of technical articles. A large selection of fillers extends the applications of the reactive processing of polyurethane and opens up scope for new product ideas. Christian Decker Björn Dormann The systems mainly used for the production of polyurethane technical articles are high-pressure reaction casting machine...

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

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Flame Retardants
Flame Retardants Trends and Innovations Jürgen Troitzsch, Wiesbaden/Germany More stringent international fire protection requirements in the construction sector as well as in rail transport, automotive engineering and the electrical industry, coupled with a rise in plastics consumption, are making for sound growth in the flame retardant sector. New flame retardant systems are facilitating plastics processing, and the trend towards halogen-free systems is continuing unabated. Contrary to ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Flat-film Extrusion Lines
Flat-film Extrusion Lines Flexible and Innovative Plant Concepts Ulrich Berghaus, Troisdorf/Germany Flat films, often high-quality films based on PP, are used for packaging consumer goods and in the office, medical, hygiene and technical sectors. Globalization and increasing product quality requirements have changed the market situation in the plastics industry. Machinery manufacturers must react to this in a flexible, innovative way with cutting-edge plant designs and state-of-the-art tec...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Food Packaging: PET Sheet without Predrying
Food Packaging: PET Sheet without Predrying One of the leading Scandinavian manufacturers of packaging materials continues to expand. On its new flat-sheet line, even temperature- sensitive materials, such as polyethylene terephthalate are processed into high-quality thermoformed sheet. Færch Plast GmbH of Holstebro/Denmark produces 1billion plastic trays for food packaging a year. Thanks to its latest investment in a flat-sheet extrusion line from Battenfeld Extrusionstechnik GmbH, Ba...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, For All Eventualities
For All Eventualities Lubricants for Engineering Plastics Eric Richter, Gersthofen/Germany Lubricants can improve the processing properties of engineering plastics exposed to high thermal stressing during processing in many different ways. They frequently act as problem-solvers in respect of flow and demoulding behaviour, as well as with regard to dispersion and nucleation. Engineering thermoplastics have been used as key structural materials for many years now. Accounting for approximat...

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, General-purpose Plastics: Appearance Ever More Important
Trade Fair Report Appearance Ever More Important General-purpose Plastics. Aesthetics could well have been the motto for general-purpose plastics at K 2004. Whether it is a matter of greater transparency and surface gloss for more attractive packaging or flawlessness and improved scratch resistance for automotive parts – appearance would seem to be assuming ever greater importance at present. Alongside this, progress in mechanical and processing properties has not been forgotten either. The p...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Granules and Recyclate: Direct Processing of PET without Pre-drying
Direct Processing of PET without Pre-drying Granules and Recyclate. The direct processing of PET into film or fibres increases product quality, offers significant savings in operating costs, reduces power consumption and cuts logistics costs. The process has proved successful for units of up to 3000kg/h, and can also be used in bottle-to-bottle recycling. Sabine Schönfeld Frank Lechner The consumption of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) has been recording above-average growth rates for many y...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Grown Dynamically: PBT Compounds
Special: World Market PBT Compounds Grown Dynamically. Polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) is a semicrystalline material that is being used with increasing success in the automotive and electrical and electronics sectors, where it is often a substitute for metals and thermosets. Market volume in Europe in 2003 was around 180000 tonnes, up about 30000 tonnes on the figure for 2000. Like PET, PBT belongs to the family of saturated polyesters. Both materials offer an interesting combination of pro...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Guest Editorial: “Constant Innovation is a Key Requirement”
Guest Editorial “Constant Innovation is a Key Requirement” With a share of roughly one-third, Europe will remain a major contributor to global production of plastics into 2010 and beyond. Dr. Günter Hilken, head of the Business Unit Polycarbonates at Bayer MaterialScience and chairman of PlasticsEurope Deutschland, commentates on the current situation and the forecasts for growth in the plastics industry. Dr. Günter Hilken on the future of plastics production in Germany, Europe and the world ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Heating: Natural Gas in Plastics Processing
Heating: Natural Gas in Plastics Processing Nowadays, use is generally made of electrical heating elements to heat machines and equipment in the field of plastics processing. More recently, natural gas-heated units have come onto the market as a viable alternative. In this article, the author explains their advantages and presents some of the latest developments. Jochen Arthkamp In many branches of industry, in commerce and at home, natural gas is used to generate process heat, to heat roo...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, High Density Polyethylene (PE-HD)
High Density Polyethylene (PE-HD) Gerd Beer, Kehl/Germany PE-HD sales in Western Europe will increase by about 0.6 million tonnes during the period from 1998 to 2001, thus between K' 98 and K 2001. Up to the next K in 2004 a further consumption increase by around 0.75 million tonnes is expected. PE-HD is still an innovative and high growth material that continues to open new market opportunities through well-directed product improvement. Shrinking market segments due to structural change...

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

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, High-Grade Film Production
High-Grade Film Production Special Film Properties through Sleeve-Touch Surface Polishing Jürgen Miethlinger, Lenzing/Austria The new Sleeve-Touch technology can be used to produce highly transparent film which is glossy on both sizes, suffers minimum shrinkage and displays good flatness. The process involves two-sided surface polishing and cooling of the melt web. The development and improvement targets being pursued for extrusion plants are characterised especially by the following mea...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, High-performance Polymers: Metal Substitution and Miniaturisation
Trade Fair Report Metal Substitution and Miniaturisation High-performance Polymers. Fuel cells, short-term implants, miniaturised electronic components and even baking moulds – high-performance plastics are to be found almost everywhere. Designers always choose members of this small group of specialty polymers for parts that require high thermal stability or special properties such as chemical resistance, high light transmission or biocompatibility. Visitors to K2004 were able to discover numer...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, High-temperature Thermoplastic Films: Flexible Printed Circuits
Special: Electronics Flexible Printed Circuits High-temperature Thermoplastic Films. Flexible printed circuits (FPC) are growing in popularity. These FPCs are based on polymer films. In addition to the already established materials, the spotlight is increasingly falling on heat-resistant thermoplastic polymer films for this application. Christian Seidel Larissa Zirkel Helmut Münstedt The advantages of flexible printed circuits (FPCs) over rigid circuit board solutions are plain. The relative...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Homogeneous Separation of PET
Homogeneous Separation of PET Multistage Cleaning and Separating of Commingled Plastics Herbert Snell, Aicha vorm Wald/Germany The separation of commingled and contaminated polymers is one of the most important components of a long-term recycling economy. A process based on difference in density with respect to a separation medium has been developed. It has proved effective after two years' testing in different plastics recycling plants. Beverage packaging of glass or composites is i...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, In-mould Foil Foaming with PU: Impact Resistant, Light and Economical
Impact Resistant, Light and Economical In-mould Foil Foaming with PU. In-mould foil foaming technology is in the process of entering the field of vehicle bodies. In agricultural vehicles and construction machines moulded parts made of PU strengthened thermoplastic foils are convincing because of their high stability, their extraordinary bearing strength and their especially good economy. Glass fibre reinforced variants have already become generally accepted in some cases as the easier, more ver...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Influencing Product Properties: Additive Masterbatches for Foam Film
Additives Additive Masterbatches for Foam Film Influencing Product Properties. In addition to the polymer selected and the system configuration, additives have a significant effect on the quality of the final product. In order to be an easy-to-meter masterbatch, the entire system comprising carrier, fillers and processing aids must be carefully formulated to assure an optimum end product that has no undesirable interactions. Jan-Erik Wegner Foam films find application not only in simple applica...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Injection Moulding (1): Innovation at Closer Inspection
Trade Fair Report Innovation at Closer Inspection Injection Moulding (1). To what extent is K2004 a barometer for the plastics industry? Do the exhibits show how the production of injection moulded parts will look in future? An attempt at a categorisation. On a tour of the exhibition impressive realisations of long-proven technologies are obvious first. Often the opinion is to be heard that injection moulding has arrived at a high level and cannot really be invented again. However, the highligh...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Injection Moulding Trends: Increased Complexity and Tighter Specifications
Injection Moulding Trends: Increased Complexity and Tighter Specifications Automation, substitution, specialisation, rationalisation: this is how the author sees plastics processing in the future. Herbert Kraibühler Plastics processing is assuming ever-greater significance on the market. A key role is being played here by new developments in the fields of - drive technology, - automation solutions, - the substitution of traditional materials and production processes by plastics and inje...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Injection-Moulded Packaging
Injection-Moulded Packaging Requirements and the Solutions Provided by New Machine Technology Nikolaus Kudlik, Näfels/Switzerland On the whole, all areas of the packaging market have enjoyed above-average growth in recent years. At the same time, the requirements imposed on packaging have continued to rise. This is particularly true of foodstuffs packaging. Makers of injection-moulding machines and moulds are remaining on the ball through far-reaching developments. The standard of living...

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, Innovations in Flame Retardants
Innovations in Flame Retardants Brominated Flame Retardants: Trends and Environmental Behaviour Rudi Borms, Rijswijk/The Netherlands and Pierre Georlette, Beer Sheva/Israel It is not possible to do without brominated flame retardants in the plastics industry, particularly for applications in electrical engineering/electronics. This is illustrated by constantly new developments in this area and a new life cycle assessment. With a consumption corresponding to more than 2.4 billionUS$ in 199...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Innovative Solutions from VDI-K: Outside and Under the Bonnet
VDI-K Outside and Under the Bonnet Innovative Solutions from VDI-K. The VDI-K “Plastics in Automotive Construction” congress held in Mannheim/Germany is the forum for automotive engineers seeking to learn more about plastics innovations that have proved themselves in initial series applications. The following report from this year's congress deals with applications in bodywork and the engine compartment. Wolfgang Kircher The widely known advantages of plastics, such as weight savings, func...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Interview: Global Material Flows Present Opportunities
Interview In Western Europe in 2004, more than 38 %, or 21 million t, of polymer production was processed to packaging materials. This puts the packaging sector far ahead of the construction industry at the top of the list of plastics applications. Kunststoffe editor Gerhard Gotzmann spoke at Interpack to the managing directors of Windmöller & Hölscher, Dr. Jürgen Vutz and Peter Steinbeck, about the sector’s current situation and innovations in packaging materials. Global Material Flows Prese...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Interview: Quo Vadis Polycarbonate Glazing?
Interview Polycarbonate (PC) has made the breakthrough into automotive glazing. This was the view of experts from Bayer MaterialScience AG at a company press conference. But where is the technology headed, and what are the challenges that it has to face? Quo Vadis Polycarbonate Glazing? Volkhard Krause, head of the Automotive Glazing Team at Bayer MaterialScience, talks about the current state of affairs and future developments. ? For a long time, wear-resistance and weatherability were consi...

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

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Laser or Camera?
Laser or Camera? Surface Inspection Systems Are Becoming an Important Tool in Quality Assurance Guido Wolf, Oerlinghausen/Germany Fresh demands in the plastics industry call for new approaches in surface assessment. Today's inspection equipment is able not only to locate and record faults, it also reduces costs and raises productivity. After many years of successful application in glass and paper production, surface inspection by laser and camera is gradually becoming accepted in the...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Laser Welding A Mature Joining Technique
Laser Welding A Mature Joining Technique Practical Uses Christian Bonten, Ernst Schmachtenberg and Carsten Tüchert, Essen/Germany Laser welding technology is developing at a ferocious pace, especially laser transmission welding. Numerous examples have borne out the practical implementation and application of this recent, yet mature, laser welding technology. The advantages of joining engineering plastic parts by means of laser welding are vibration-free, non-contact warming of the joint ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Latest Materials and Production Processes: 3D-MID Technology
3D-MID Technology Latest Materials and Production Processes. The use of the MID technology opens up fresh potential for the development and design of three-dimensional circuit carriers. It means, for example, that an electronic device can be manufactured in any desired shape, and it offers maximum integration potential at the same time. Klaus Feldmann Andreas Kunze Whereas thermoset materials are generally used to manufacture conventional printed circuit boards, thermoplastics tend to be the ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Machine Technology: Tandem Machine for Large 2K Automobile Components
Injection Moulding Tandem Machine for Large 2K Automobile Components Machine Technology. For production of large injection moulded two-component automobile components in a single operation, Husky Injection Molding Systems, Bolton/Canada, developed a new machine technology with a partner. The result, the Quadloc Tandem Index System (QTI), was just presented to the technical public at Husky’s Technical Center in Detroit. Clemens Doriat Husky recently delivered its first QTI system to the auto...

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, Market Campaign: Push into New Territory
PE103087 Market and Management Push into New Territory Market Campaign. PET preforms have always been the flagship activity of Husky Injection Moulding Systems. Now, the company wants to repeat the success with new products in other fields of application. An important component of this are the company's R&D activities. At the company's pre-K2004 press conference, Volker Neuber, Vice President of Husky with responsibility for service and sales for Western Europe, described business growth...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Market News
Henschel Mixers for China Henschel has reason for celebration: the company will deliver 26 combination mixers for the production of PVC dry blend to Dalian Shide Group of China, one of the largest producers of PVC window and door profiles. This is the largest order for mixers that Henschel Industrietechnik GmbH of Kassel/Germany has ever received. Each combination mixer has a mixing capacity of 20,000 t/a delivered during 7,200 operating hours per year. Combination mixers consist of an FM 1000 f...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Market News
Netstal-Maschinen AG Activities in China Stepped Up Swiss injection moulding machinery manufacturer Netstal has decided to expand its sales and service network in an effort to sharpen its focus on China’s high market potential. The first measure involved the integration of the company’s representation office in Shanghai into a larger, fully-functional Netstal branch office. Moreover, the company will set up a show-room displaying the complete Netstal product range and a centre for training, cust...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Market Report: The Plastics World in a State of Upheaval?
Market and Management The Plastics World in a State of Upheaval? Market Report. What is the status of the raw materials and machinery markets in North America, China and India and how are these markets developing? What are the aims of these key economic regions and what potential do they hold? Manik Mehta, an economic journalist from New York and an expert on Asia compiled an analysis of the status quo for Kunststoffe plast europe and sets out the expectations of native experts on these market...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Market study: Plastics Cycle Documented
Market study: Plastics Cycle Documented On behalf of the plastics industry, the market research company, Consultic, has documented the plastics stream from production through use to recycling and disposal for the year 2001. This provides the plastics industry with data that will make it possible to operate a relevant and effective environmental policy. Claus-Jürgen Simon The plastics industry is one of the most important economic sectors in Germany, accounting for more than 6% of German do...

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

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Materials of the 21st Century: Plastics Producers Remain on Path to Growth
Special: World Market Plastics Producers Remain on Path to Growth Fred Baumgartner Materials of the 21st century. Global plastics production has grown at an impressive rate since the last K-fair in the year 2001. Nevertheless, the plastics industry, and especially plastics production, still faces major challenges. Key words are restructuring, globalisation and pressure on margins. A central challenge for the future will be to obtain reasonable margins in spite of high pre-product prices. Plas...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Medical Technology for the Mass Market
Medical Technology for the Mass Market Tilo Vaahs, Frankfurt am Main/Germany In the medical sector, plastics packaging is gradually acquiring an independent status. Apart from performing a protective function, plastic packs are increasingly taking on the role of the dispenser for the medicaments. Nowadays, when a physician is prescribing medication and has a choice of two products with the same active ingredient, he will probably choose the one which is more comfortable and easier to use for...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Melt Filtration: High-quality Materials from PET Recycling
Recycling High-quality Materials from PET Recycling Melt Filtration. Reprocessing PET bottle flakes into new products places highly stringent requirements on both the material and process engineering. A large number of problems can be solved through the consistent use of melt filters. Ulrich Thiele Stephan Gneuß The extremely rapid growth in the consumption of PET bottles, coupled with improvements in the collection system and changes in European legislation are opening up new possibilities an...

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, Melt Filtration: Stable and Cost-effective Filtration
Compounding Stable and Cost-effective Filtration Melt Filtration. Production processes make continually increasing demands on the purity of polymer melts. Newly developed piston screen changers allow pressure fluctuations to be kept to a minimum, even in sensitive processes. The result is cost savings thanks to the economy of filtration and high operating reliability of the plant. Stefan Wöstmann Polymer melts contain foreign matter and inhomogeneous phases that, if big enough or present in lar...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Mobile Financial Tool: Always Up to Date
Market and Management Always Up to Date Mobile Financial Tool. Now that PP and PE-LLD are quoted on the London Metal Exchange, Carl Hanser Verlag and the journal Kunststoffe together have started a mobile service tool e*broker. The financial pager provides the plastics industry with the latest prices round the clock and in real time. If any proof were still needed that polymers are continuing to establish themselves in areas that were once the reserve of metals, it has been furnished now in a co...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Motor Vehicle Interiors
Motor Vehicle Interiors Ideas, Concepts, Materials Johannes Seesing, Odenthal/Germany “The Fascination of Cars” – that was the motto of the 59th International Automobile Exhibition (IAA) held last year in Frankfurt. Aside from the latest range of manufacturers’ vehicles, there were again numerous design studies on display for the vehicles of the future. However, not only were complete cars exhibited, but suppliers also presented interesting interior studies showing trend-setting approaches...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Mould Design: Advances in Injection Mould Design
Trade Fair Report Advances in Injection Mould Design Mould Design. The trends apparent at the K-Show can be summarised as: combined and optimised technologies, easy to service, compact moulds, and “Fast-to-Market" product strategies. The results of a worthwhile visit. As the individuals who ultimately convert advances in processing into reality, designers of injection moulds are currently in the process of extracting even further benefits for their customers from the technical ideas of t...

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, Moulds: Strategic Partnership
Moulds: Strategic Partnership MHT and MHS have agreed on a strategic partnership for PET moulds and hot runner systems. MHT Mold & Hotrunner TechnologyAG, Hochheim/Germany, and MHS Mold Hotrunner Solutions Inc., Georgetown/Canada, have set up a strategic partnership. It concerns MHT’s high performance injection moulds for PET preforms and MHS’s innovative hot runner systems. The aim of the partnership is to round out the companies’ mutual product ranges and to exploit market and sector knowl...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Nanostructured Coating Materials: High Quality Plastic Surfaces
Nanotechnology High Quality Plastic Surfaces Nanostructured Coating Materials. Hybrid polymers, or nanocomposites that are produced via the sol-gel process from organo (alkoxy) silanes, main group or transition metal alkoxides and other components have become important products of chemical nanotechnology. Surface treatment of engineering thermoplastics represents one specific field of application. Gerhard Schottner Klaus Rose Sabine Amberg-Schwab Chemical nanotechnology represents one of the k...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, New Era in Recycling Packaging Waste
New Era in Recycling Packaging Waste Fully Automated Sorting and Reprocessing Plant at EXPO 2000 Martina Kreck, Köln/Germany The world's first fully automated sorting and processing plant for lightweight packaging waste has started full operation at EXPO 2000 in Hannover to sort and process packaging waste left by the visitors. Sortec 3.0 technology will significantly increase the quality of recyclates obtained from sorting used lightweight packaging and considerably reduce process cos...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, New Material with Potential: Cycloolefin Copolymer (COC)
Special: World Market Cycloolefin Copolymer (COC) New Material with Potential. After several years of intense market development outside their primary market of Japan, cycloolefins have gained a firm market foothold in Europe and North America. Because of its unique properties, the relatively new material has found numerous applications in the medical, optical and packaging market segments. New products, higher quality and more attractive prices continue to fuel growth. In the field between ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, News
IKV Aachen Sidel Is Granted Right of Use The Institute of Plastics Processing (IKV) at RWTH Aachen University has granted the French company Sidel S.A.S., Le Havre, the right of use of a plasma interior coating technique for PET bottles. The application of this technique is suitable for PET bottles containing highly sensitive beverages such as beer. “Actis” coating machines are installed at the company headquarters of Martens N.V. brewery in Bocholt/Belgium. Beverages bottled by this brewery hav...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, News
Demag Plastics Group: Increased Activity in China The injection die casting machine manufacturer Demag Plastics Group has introduced new senior management in its Chinese joint venture Demag Haitian Plastics Machinery Ltd. in Ningbo. Gerhard Massfelder, who is the former managing director of the Demag affiliate in Kuala Lumpur/Malaysia, has now assumed the top managemerial position in Demag Haitian. Stephan Greif, managing director of the distributing company Demag Ergotech China, located in Shan...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, News
Degussa Know-How in PEEK With the aim of reinforcing its expertise in the field of high-temperature polymers, Degussa AG, Düsseldorf/Germany, is acquiring all the know-how and patents relating to polyaryletherketones from Ticona GmbH, Kelsterbach/Germany. The know-how and patents for the manufacture and use of these polymers originated from the Technical Polymers Division of Hoechst AG in the 1990s and were transferred to Ticona when Hoechst spun off its non-pharma activities in 1999. With the a...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, On the Way to Becoming a Systems Supplier
On the Way to Becoming a Systems Supplier Husky as a Universal supplier in the Injection Moulding Industry At the open-house held in Dudelange/Luxembourg, Husky presented several examples of how to change into a systems supplier. For four years, Husky has been carrying out a project to change from being a supplier of niche products and a specialist for thin-section articles and PET applications towards becoming a world-leading supplier of injection moulding equipment and systems. This was ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Optimised Process Control: Laser Welding in Computer Simulation
Materials Laser Welding in Computer Simulation Optimised Process Control. A computer model for calculating the weld temperature, temperature profile and melt depth in the laser welding of thermoplastics was developed and subsequently checked by experiment. It is shown that the software can help to optimise the process parameters if data is available on the material, weld dimensions and welding speed. Sam D. Rostami Ian A. Jones Craig D. Norrey The laser welding of thermoplastics is gaining ...

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, Package Solution: Production System for Screw Caps in China
Injection Moulding Production System for Screw Caps in China Package Solution. Injection moulding machine manufacturer, Demag Ergotech GmbH, Schwaig, and mould builder, Schöttli AG, Diessenhofen/Switzerland, are jointly marketing a new production system for screw caps in China. The package solution, consisting of high-speed injection moulding machines and multi-cavity moulds, not only saves material and energy, it also brings shorter cycle times and a fast return on investment. The "Schöt...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Packaging Surgical Instruments: Easy and Safe to Open
Packaging Easy and Safe to Open Packaging Surgical Instruments. Easy-open peel packaging has long proved successful for food products. Polybutene-1 (PB-1) is used as a component in the sealing layer. From newly developed films containing PB-1, practical peel pouches for surgical instruments and equipment can now also be produced. Peter Stober Harry Rist In the operating theatre, speed is of major importance during an operation – and that is also valid when opening protective packaging for surgic...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Packaging: The Compostable Water Bottle
Injection Moulding The Compostable Water Bottle Packaging. Though not biodegradable, the PLA water bottles that the US company Biota uses to market its products can be composted in municipal/industrial composting facilities. The world’s first compostable water bottle made of a starch-based polylactic acid (PLA) is on the market. Husky worked hand-in-hand with Biota Brands of America Inc., Cargill Dow LLC and SIG Corpoplast to develop a fully compostable bottle for Biota’s new line of premium Co...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Partners in the Market
Partners in the Market The Role of Compounders in the Plastics Industry Hans-Jürgen Ott, Gaggenau/Germany There are unlikely to be many fundamentally new polymer classes in the foreseeable future, and compounders therefore have the job of adapting existing polymers to ever more complex applications and requirements. They therefore act as links between polymer manufacturers and plastics processors. A compound is a thermoplastic polymer whose properties have been tailored by the addition o...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, PBT Compounds
PBT Compounds Michael Geprägs, Ludwigshafen/Germany For years, polybutylene terephtalate (PBT) has been experiencing above-average growth rates. The main areas of application are in automotive engineering and the electrical/electronics industry where PBT compounds are increasingly replacing metals or thermoset materials. In the year 2000, 150,000 t of PBT compounds have been processed in Western Europe alone. The material group of polyesters is becoming an increasingly important engineerin...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Permeation Measurement: Plastic Bottles and Closures
Packaging Plastic Bottles and Closures Permeation Measurement. Permeation of organic substances through plastic bottles or closures can impair the quality of the filled products. Permeation measuring technology therefore plays an important role in packaging development. Johann Ewender Frank Welle By permeation, we mean transport of a substance through the packaging. Permeation can take place both from the packaging into the environment and also from the environment into the inside of the packagi...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Personal Expertise: Trends and Visions in Injection Moulding
Personal Expertise: Trends and Visions in Injection Moulding Whenever there is talk of making injection moulding production economically viable, constructional and engineering aspects have to take a back seat. In the highly competitive landscape of tomorrow, all-embracing expertise in process engineering will be absolutely vital because cost cutting and design requirements will be the future drivers of development. Hans Wobbe Three years ago, in an article entitled “Trends in injection mou...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Perspectives at the Start of a New Millennium
Perspectives at the Start of a New Millennium Delphi '98 and Plastics Kerstin Cuhls, Karlsruhe/Germany, and Anton Weber, Frankenthal/Germany A study of the future of plastics and their markets as viewed from applied-technology and social-science aspects. The Delphi '98 study of the global development of science and technology serves as a starting point for identifying promising areas. Although the name alludes to the Oracle of the Ancient Greeks, the methods involved have definit...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, PET Boom: PET Recycling and Direct Processing
PET Boom: PET Recycling and Direct Processing Growth in German PET production over the last three years has been above 30 % a year. This is attributable not least to an enormous increase in disposable, non-returnable packaging products made from this material. As a result, technical development has been driven at an above-average rate. Walter Michaeli, Torsten Schmitz Under the aspect of conserving resources, recycling is especially important with high-grade plastic products that have very...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, PET Bottles Success Story: Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)
Special: World Market Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) PET Bottles Success Story. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is the plastic that has experienced the biggest growth in demand over the past few years. This development has been prompted by the use of PET as a substitute for glass in bottles for carbonated beverages and mineral water and, increasingly, for beer too. Above-average growth rates are also expected for PET over the years to come. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) has been used...

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 Packaging: Growth Market with a Future
Market and Management Growth Market with a Future PET Packaging. In mid-September, drinktec, the trade fair for beverage and liquid food technology, will open its gates in Munich together with the PETpoint. PET applications will thus play a prominent role at this event. With its outstanding properties, PET has become one of the most important packaging materials for the industry. New areas of application are being developed through innovation, opening up solutions and creating new benefits for ...

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, Planning Future Scenarios: Automotive Applications in the Distant Future
Planning Future Scenarios: Automotive Applications in the Distant Future It’s a long journey from polymer granules to automotive parts. It’s an even longer one for those whose job it is to envisage where plastics will be used in the cars of the future and which market trends providers of raw materials should follow. This is precisely the task of Bayer Polymers’ Creative Center, which has just launched its latest development for the cars of the future, called smart surface technology. Martin ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Plant Construction: The World's Biggest PBT Polymer Plant Goes into Production
Plant Construction The World's Biggest PBT Polymer Plant Goes into Production Plant Construction. A new technology for manufacturing the polyesters PET, PBT, PTT, PEN and their copolymers can utilise raw materials such as DMT, PTA or NDA. The new Espree tower reactor carries out esterification and pre-polycondensation reactions simultaneously. The required PBT qualities are produced in the melt phase in the Discage finishing reactor. Eike van Endert In the middle of February 2004 the turn...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Plastics Packaging in the 21sup>st/sup> Century
Plastics Packaging in the 21st Century Horst-Christian Langowski, Freising/Germany Packaging is becoming increasingly lighter and cheaper, and plastics packaging is supporting this trend with technical developments pointing a long way into the future. Customers are calling for still more, however: convenience packaging, and also reliable indicators for quality and reliability. In terms of overall mass, packaging consumption has undergone a continual decline since it peaked in 1991. This tr...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Plastics Recycling: High Market Potential
Market and Management High Market Potential Plastics Recycling. According to a recent study, the acceptance of plastics recycling among consumers is, contrary to expectations, very high. The survey nevertheless revealed a major deficit as regards people's knowledge about using recycled plastics. Uli Martin As long as the quality is satisfactory, consumers would prefer to buy products made of recycled plastics. This was one of the facts to emerge from a recent study carried out by Ecology...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Plastics Remain a Growth Industry
Plastics Remain a Growth Industry Gottfried Zaby, Leverkusen/Germany Just since the last K in 1998, total global production of plastics has risen by more than 12 % or 20 million tonnes, from 158 million tonnes in 1998 to 180 million tonnes in 2000. Within the European Union, some 47 million tonnes of plastic were produced in 2000. One in every four tonnes of plastic in the world now comes from the countries of the European Union. The industry can therefore embark on K 2001 with impressive pr...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Polybutylene Terephthalate (PBT)
Polybutylene Terephthalate (PBT) Alfred Stern, Geneva/Switzerland The main applications in which the thermoplastic polyester polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) is used are tightly-toleranced technical parts that are required to withstand high mechanical, electrical and thermal loading. Growth is running at an above-average level of 7 to 9% per year worldwide. The driving forces behind this growth include new halogen-free, flame- retardant grades for the electrical/electronics industry, grades ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Polycarbonate (PC)
Polycarbonate (PC) Hans-Joachim Laue and Hartmut Loewer, Leverkusen/Germany The consumption of polycarbonate has enjoyed continuous, above-average growth since the “invention” of this material nearly 50 years ago, attributable in no small part to the discovery of an ever-increasing number of applications for it. This development will continue, so that, after a brief period of stagnation due to the sluggish economy, demand is likely to pick up again in 2002. For the majority of its varied a...

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 terephthalate (PET)
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) Dewey Johnson, Kingsport/USA The polyester and PET market has seen dramatic change over the last 20 years. Polyester fibre is among the most preferred fibres for textile applications with growth in share from cotton, wool, acetate, and synthetic fibres, while PET packaging is today's preferred package for many beverage, food, and household products versus cans or glass. Likewise, equipment and process technologies in polyester, as well as in textiles and ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)
Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) ... For Packaging Karsten Fritsch, Gersthofen/Germany, and Frank Welle, Freising/Germany In recent years, PET has shown above-average market growth and the forecasts are that it will continue to grow. This is primarily due to the favourable properties of PET packaging, such as break resistance, low weight, transparency, brilliance, mechanical strength and barrier characteristics. The success of PET in the packaging sector is being boosted by the build-up of...

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 (PP)
Polypropylene (PP) Anton Wolfsberger, Markus Gahleitner and Max Wachholder, Linz/Austria Polypropylenes (PP) are the most widely used commodity plastic world-wide. The tremendous market success of these materials results, on the one hand, from their great innovation potential for continuous property expansion and, on the other, from extremely wide application possibilities. This trend is set to continue in future. In 2001, PP consumption in Western Europe reached 6.83m.t. Forty-eight perce...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Polypropylene - Tailor-made
Polypropylene - Tailor-made Borealis Producing Bi-modal Polypropylene For a short time now, Borealis has been producing bi-modal polypropylene using the Borstar technology at its Schwechat/Austria location. The company is thus supplying the market with a PP that offers a broad property spectrum and can be processed in a cost-efficient manner. With the opening of a new plant for the production of bi-modal polypropylene (PP) using the Borstar technology, Borealis has reacted to the rapid gro...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Polypropylene Films: Versatile Packaging Solutions
Commodity Plastics Versatile Packaging Solutions Polypropylene Films. In an established field of application such as flexible and rigid film packaging, are innovations still possible with polypropylene? Certainly – because new advances in polymer design are continually giving rise to new combinations of conversion processes and applications. At a time of increasing debate about sustainability and conservation of resources, the use of polyolefins offers advantages. A material such as polypropyl...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Polystyrene (PS)
Polystyrene (PS) Daniel Wagner, Ludwigshafen/Germany With a world-wide consumption of 10.5 million tonnes in 2001 polystyrene is counted amongst the quantitatively most important thermoplastics and continues to be ranked in fourth place after PE, PP and PVC. Also in recent years on the average the dynamic development of consumption was a little greater than that of the gross domestic products of the corresponding countries and it is generally expected that this development will continue. Gen...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Polyurethanes (PUR)
Polyurethanes (PUR) Heimo Lüdke, Leverkusen/Germany, and Stefan Albus, Herne/Germany The subdued economic growth of last year has not left the polyurethane market unscathed. Although the feared collapse never materialised, the industry was characterised by restraint. Technically speaking, too, consolidation was the order of the day. Innovations only occurred in certain important details. Last year, the polyurethane market – like the world economy overall – saw an interruption in its growth...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)
Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Josef Ertl and Ralph Ottlinger, Ismaning/Germany As petroleum prices start to show an upward trend, PVC is becoming attractive again. This is because it consumes half as much crude oil as polyethylene. The other half comes from the sheer inexhaustible reserves of rock salt. The controversy over the ecological consequences of PVC has become more objective. Health concerns about PVC additives such as plasticisers or stabilizers have been scientifically allayed. The curre...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Prevention of Solid Waste: Plastic Packaging Today - A Lightweight Champion
Packaging Plastic Packaging Today - A Lightweight Champion Prevention of Solid Waste. Goods for private consumption are being packaged increasingly in plastic. Many of these packages have short life spans and, as a result, are continually in the spotlight in discussions regarding solid waste management. One aspect, however, receives little attention: Efforts by industry over the years have resulted in ever lighter and thinner plastic packaging, while at the same time providing identical or im...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Process Development: Alternatives in Polyester Processing
Extrusion Alternatives in Polyester Processing Process Development. As consumption of PET increases, interest is growing in alternative methods that are more energy-efficient than the standard process on a single-screw extruder with preliminary drying. It must be considered that the product defines the choice of raw materials, the plant equipment and process parameters. Frank Pöhler Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) has gained great importance in extrusion in recent years. Measured against wor...

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, Reaching a Critical Size
Reaching a Critical Size Trends in Commodity Plastics Martin Balsam, Ludwigshafen/Germany, and Claus-Jürgen Simon, Frankfurt/Main, Germany With the need to attain a "critical size" on the global market, manufacturers of commodity plastics are being forced to pursue a policy of progressive concentration. This trend will continue in future. Further developments and technological innovations are further promoting their substitution for traditional materials. In 2000, commodity plast...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Recycling and Granulating: Material Cycle Closed
Trade Fair Report Material Cycle Closed Recycling and Granulating. The multitude of new developments in the recycling sector reflects the growing sensitivity regarding this subject, so that in the future improved quality and a wider range of applications can be expected for recycled materials. In order to produce high-quality products from recycled material, single-resin fractions are generally required. With its Peelomat system, Untha Recyclingtechnik GmbH, Karlstadt/Germany, employs a paten...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Recycling of PVC/PET Composites
Recycling of PVC/PET Composites Production of Pure and Homogeneous Recyclates, and Process Monitoring Udo Knauf, Andreas Mäurer and Wolfgang Holley, Freising/Germany, Monika Wiese and Hermann Utschick, Alzenau/Germany Selective extraction is suitable for preparing high-quality recyclates from mixed post-consumer wastes and composites. The intermediate and final products can be characterized by thermogravimetric analysis with event-controlled heating. PVC/PET composites are used amongst o...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Recycling: Drinks from the Detergent Bottle
Recycling: Drinks from the Detergent Bottle PET bottles are finding increasing use outside of the foodstuffs sector. A research project was conducted to establish whether such non-food PET bottles are safe for food-contact applications after they have been recycled. It is not just the drinks sector where PET packaging is growing rapidly. This packaging plastic is also being used increasingly for applications in soaps and detergents, drugs and industrial dispensed goods. This is evident from ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Replacing Established Plastics. . .
Replacing Established Plastics. . . By PP/Flax Compounds Impact-Modified with PET Fibres Günther Pflug and Stefan Reinemann, Rudolstadt/Germany The toughness of polypropylene/flax and polypropylene/-flax/wollastonite composites can be increased using a hybrid construction involving ductile, high-strength PET fibres. The prerequisites are optimum composition and gentle extrusion conditions. To date, natural fibre/polymer composites with notched weak points at edges and walls are greatly l...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Requirements and Markets: Polymeric Flame Retardants
Additives Polymeric Flame Retardants Requirements and Markets. Reactive and polymeric brominated flame retardants offer many advantages over conventional systems, as they themselves are polymers or become part of the polymer. They do not bleed, provide highly effective fire retardancy, are heat-resistant and easy to process. They are gaining increasing market shares in polyurethane foams and engineering plastics. Rudi Borms Pierre Georlette The market for brominated flame retardants has suffer...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Roll Systems: Precision is Everything
Extrusion Precision is Everything Roll Systems. According to whether a product is to be rolled, polished, calendered, calibrated, laminated and/or embossed, different machine systems are used in plastics and rubber processing. This overview shows which machine concept is applicable to which product. Georg Reisswig Bernd Poltersdorf Adolf Seide The first continuous sheet vulcanising machine system (Auma) was completed by Berstorff in 1929. Today over 500 Auma machines have been sold world-wide, ...

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

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Saving Costs
Saving Costs Highly Crystalline PP for Modern Packaging Anton Wolfsberger, Manfred Kirchberger and Paul de Mink, Linz/Austria, Hervé Crozier, Rönningen/Norway A highly crystalline polypropylene offers major processing and cost advantages for injection moulding, extrusion and downstream processes as well as enabling the properties of packaging to be tailored. For example, thermoforming can result in cups that are 30 % lighter than usual. The new Borstar process developed by Boreali...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Screw Concepts: Influence of the Plasticising Unit on the Processing of PET
Screw Concepts: Influence of the Plasticising Unit on the Processing of PET The production of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles can lead to the formation of acetaldehyde. Because acetaldehyde has a significant influence on the taste of the contents, it is important, when manufacturing bottles of PET, that the plasticising process should proceed very gently. The decisive factor here is the stress to which the material is subjected, because a local increase in temperature encourages the f...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Shear Punching of Thermoplastic Film
Shear Punching of Thermoplastic Film Comparison of Different Films and Punch Parameters Olaf Jacobs, Heiner Demenus, Klaus-Peter Wolf-Regett, Walter Dalock, Lübeck/Germany With the thermoforming/punching process, the larger the number of cavities the greater the economic benefit. On the other hand, the cutting length and thus the punching force also increase significantly. A study of the punching forces therefore has a decisive influence on profitability calculations. With the aid of the...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Somewhat Cooler in the South
Somewhat Cooler in the South Lower-than-expected Growth by the Italian Plastics Industry Italy's plastics industry did little to help the general upswing in the country in the year 2000. Hikes in raw materials prices also made life difficult for Italian processors and drove them to increasingly use recycled materials. The largest applications area - packaging - posted much lower growth than expected. The Italian plastics industry did not grow as much last year as the growth in gross do...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Special Aspects of PET Film Extrusion
Special Aspects of PET Film Extrusion Special Polishing Method Ensures High Film Quality Peter Rieg, Bad Oeynhausen/Germany PET is a material which everyone immediately associates with blow-moulded bottles for soft drinks and mineral water. Due to its outstanding material properties and, not least due to falling raw material prices, PET is also gaining increasing importance in other sectors. PET film, in particular, which has low permeability to water vapour, oxygen and flavourings, in add...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Special Grades Required: PET Compounds
Trend Report: Engineering Plastics PET Compounds Special Grades Required. PET compounds account for approximately 1 % of the overall tonnage of PET in Western Europe. They are used, in particular, to substitute metals for small electrical housings in automotive engineering. Monika Taut There is no other established plastic for which it is so difficult to gain a clear overview of the market as for PET compounds. Different grades of base polymer are required for PET compounds and PET bottles ye...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Statistical Pitfalls: Packaging - The Plastic Industry's Largest Customer
Packaging Packaging - The Plastic Industry's Largest Customer Statistical Pitfalls. Publications from the Federal Statistics Office list a number of performance figures for the plastic packaging sector and plastic production. These figures must be interpreted with great care because of the risk of, inter alia, counting factories twice and because without deeper analysis it is not possible to unambiguously categorise the products as sheet, film and hollow bodies. Haimo Emminger Plastic ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Stepping into the Breach
Stepping into the Breach Eastman Intensifies Investments in Specialities In stronger developing and launching speciality or engineering plastics, the Eastman Chemical Company is another firm hoping to occupy a product area that has stable margins and no cyclical dependence. The company wishes to grow organically in this market. The Eastman Chemical Company intends to split into two independent public companies. Specialty Chemicals & Plastics will be responsible for the activities of its co...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Strong Upturn: Polycarbonate (PC)
Trend Report: Engineering Plastics Polycarbonate (PC) Strong Upturn. Following a period of subdued growth from 2001 to 2003, during which prices dropped dramatically, the global market for polycarbonate has been growing strongly since mid-2004. Thus, consumption is outstripping growth in capacity. Polycarbonate blends and film are becoming increasingly important, especially in the IT and automotive sectors. In 2004, some 15 million t of engineering thermoplastics were consumed worldwide. Arou...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Styrene Copolymers: Both Tough and Transparent
Packaging Both Tough and Transparent Styrene Copolymers. Interest in transparent materials is growing and demand for crystal-clear, brilliant products is exceptionally high. An important application segment for these materials is food packaging. Styrene-butadiene (SBS) block copolymers have been established in this market for 20 years. Nevertheless, they still have potential for innovation and can be continually improved. Daniel Wagner A combination of high transparency and brilliance with goo...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Styrene-butadiene Block Copolymers: Combining Haptics and Design
Special Combining Haptics and Design Styrene-butadiene Block Copolymers. In a large number of sectors, transparent plastics are used as a means of product differentiation. Employing a styrene-butadiene block copolymer, for instance, it will even be possible to achieve transparent rigid/flexible composites in the future. Robert Huber The reasons why transparent plastics are used in packaging, housings and a large number of household, sanitary and cosmetics applications, as well as in electrical ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Successful Conversion to 3D
Successful Conversion to 3D CAx in Injection Moulding of Plastic Bottles Eberhard Rademeier, Heiligkreuzsteinach/Germany Conversion to a 3D system does not happen overnight. Employees must be trained and established methods restructured. But the investment pays off in the end with increased quality, higher process reliability and shorter throughput times. Alpla of Hard, Austria, a manufacturer of blow-moulded bottles and containers (see box), had installed a 2D/3D system in 1988 but used...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Synergy: mpm also Shows its Strengths in Extrusion Technology
Synergy: mpm also Shows its Strengths in Extrusion Technology For the first time, Krauss-Maffei Extrusionstechnik, Munich/Germany, and Berstorff GmbH, Hanover/Germany – both of them part of the mannesmann plastics machinery Group (mpm) – staged a joint Extrusion Forum in Munich. Gerhard Gotzmann With the presentation of a large number of innovative exhibits and a high-calibre lecture program, the forum attracted around 1200 participants. It was also attended by thirty partner companies as ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Technology and New Dimensions
Technology and New Dimensions The injection moulding machine manufacturer Arburg was the first company in Germany this year to stage its Technology Show. The company, based in Loßburg/Germany, concentrates its activities on technological progress. Arburg showed its complete range of standard machines and specialty equipment, e. g. from its powder injection moulding and CD laboratory. The 2,100 visitors to the Show were able to inspect not only the machines that make up the company's stan...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Technology Survey: Melt Filters for Compounding Polymers
Recycling Melt Filters for Compounding Polymers Wolfgang Dreu Technology Survey. One of the key process steps in the compounding of polymers by extrusion is filtration, namely the elimination of all types of foreign particles. The market offers a range of different technologies for this. To permit the correct choice of filtration system, it is important to know the state of the starting material and have an overall view of the process chain. Whether it makes technical and economic sense t...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Temperature Control: Cooling and Heating of Plastics
Material Handling Cooling and Heating of Plastics Temperature Control of Plastics. Through use of an indirect method, powders and pellets are heated or cooled for processing. The bulk materials heat exchanger employed operates economically and requires little space. The design offers a very efficient method as an alternative to conventional temperature control via gas or other heat transfer media. Bernhard Stark Günther Dehm Sabine Schönfeld In many manufacturing and production processes i...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, The Crucial Question in Fire Protection
The Crucial Question in Fire Protection Flame-retardant Thermoplastics – Product Strategy and Development François de Bie, Bergen op Zoom/Netherlands What is your stance on polybromine? The use of flame-retardant plastics in electrical engineering and electronics (E&E) is frequently a compromise between economics and technical feasibility. This article outlines the topic from the point of view of a raw material producer and describes modern solutions. The choice between halogenate...

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 Italian Plastics Industry
The Italian Plastics Industry The Dark Clouds are Moving On Michael Kömpf, Munich/Germany Although the Italian plastics industry was rather pessimistic in the first half of 1999, plastics processing and machine-making equipment enjoyed sales growth of roughly 5 % in the second half. This upswing has continued in the first quarter of this year. Overall, companies in the Italian plastics industry expect 2000 to be a good year. Both Italy's and Germany's gross domestic products grew...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, The Market for Masterbatches in Germany
The Market for Masterbatches in Germany Hans-Ulrich Kurtz, Lahnstein/Germany Germany is the biggest European market for colour and additive concentrates. Annual sales are approx. DM 600 million, and growth is expected to be 4 % in 2000. With an annual turnover of nearly DM 600 million, the German masterbatch market (colour and additive concentrates) is the biggest in Europe. There are a total of around 6,500 masterbatch customers in Germany, the majority of whom are medium-sized firms. In ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, The Market for Standard Plastics
The Market for Standard Plastics Werner Prätorius, Ludwigshafen/Germany Present reality and projections of future developments point toward unbroken dynamic growth in standard thermoplastic materials. They will maintain their position through continuous performance enhancements and low prices. Mergers and world scale plants will alleviate continued pressure on profit margins through cost reductions. According to preliminary calculations global consumption of plastic materials last year ros...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, The Market has Narrowed
The Market has Narrowed For Polyurethanes Know-how will become a Competitive Factor Stefan Albus, Herne/Germany In the last three years the polyurethane market has undergone clear changes. The field of large raw material suppliers has became narrower and increasing globalisation presents challenges to the enterprises to which they react with efficiency increases and structural changes. Polyurethanes have a privileged position among plastics. Probably no other polymer family can cover suc...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Thermoforming: Packaging is Dominant
PE103118 Trade Fair Report Packaging is Dominant Thermoforming. After the technical parts sector saw significant growth three years ago, the packaging sector was more strongly represented at K2004. In addition to known technologies, interesting innovations were presented in detail. With the KMD 85 type automatic pressure formers, Kiefel AG, Freilassing/Germany, presented a machine for mass production of packaging parts. Its drive directly incorporates the new “Simotion” control technology from S...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Thin-walled Components
Thin-walled Components Use of Chemical Blowing Agents in Injection Moulding Gunther Lübke, Ahrensburg/Germany New chemical blowing agent systems are making it possible to produce components in wall thicknesses of 3mm max. with no sink marks and excellent surface quality on conventional injection moulding machines. At the same time, cycles are 30% faster. For engineering plastics, blowing agents with extra-high decomposition temperatures (> 270°C) are being used. Solid organic and ino...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Tools: A Better Grip
Tools: A Better Grip The importance of the feel of a manual tool, power tool or gardening tool and the fact that it offers a firm grip should not be underestimated when it comes to product assessment. If a handle is uncomfortable and cannot be held securely in the hand, then this will affect the ease of operation and the efficiency of the tool. Designers and manufacturers must therefore pay attention to a whole range of factors – but above all to comfort, a secure grip and safety. Claude Mau...

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 Injection Moulding: Specialists Increasingly in Demand
Injection Moulding Specialists Increasingly in Demand Trends in Injection Moulding. The pressure on plastics processors to innovate comes from two directions: On the one front are the exigencies of streamlining and cost-cutting which force them to keep making technical advances and on the other are the new materials that continually open up more plastics applications, thereby raising the standards that processors and parts alike have to meet. This overview of applied technology reveals where p...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Turning Stack-Mould Technology Marks a Quantum Leap Forward
Turning Stack-Mould Technology Marks a Quantum Leap Forward A Symbiosis of Innovative Injection Moulding and Mould Technologies Rainer Armbruster, Haslach/Germany, and Jörg Dassow, Malterdingen/Germany When parts are produced by the multicomponent technology, the semi-finished injection mouldings are generally transported on a rotary table. The turning stack-mould technology that was presented some time ago and has now been fully developed is superior to the rotary-table method in terms of...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Unhindered Growth: Cyclic Olefin Copolymers (COC)
Trend Report High Performance Plastics Cyclic Olefin Copolymers (COC) Unhindered Growth. Transparent cyclic olefin copolymers have emerged as attractive materials from their niche existence. They are used to solve a wide variety of technical challenges in sectors such as the medical, optical and packaging industries. Bernd Sparenberg Interest in the young class of materials known as cyclic olefin copolymers, or COC for short, is considerable. Global demand and consumption have more than doub...