November 2012 Issue
October 2012
Features
Featured articles from the latest issue of Plastics Technology
ISO Poly Avoids Economic Woes With High-Value Films
Positioning itself on the high end of the blown-film market helped insulate this blown film processor from the recent economic downturn.
Read MoreNew Owners for American Kuhne
The Graham Group, York, Pa., last month announced it had bought controlling interest in American Kuhne (AK), the Ashaway, R.I.-based manufacturer of extruders, screws, and integrated extrusion systems.
Read MoreUnderstanding Gravimetric Blender Accuracy & Payback
Accuracy is one of the least understood aspects of blending. The differences between batch and continuous blenders, how blend accuracy is calculated and controlled, which blender type is more accurate, how much accuracy is really required, and how payback is calculated are discussed here.
Read MorePP Compounds Used in First Thermoplastic Lift Gate in New Renault Clio
WEB EXCLUSIVE: The new Renault Clio sports what’s said to be the first all-thermoplastic, mono-material lift gate on a commercial vehicle.
Read MoreNylon Replaces Metal in Auto Transmission Oil Pan
WEB EXCLUSIVE: A 60% glass-reinforced nylon 6 from Lanxess LLC, Pittsburgh, has replaced steel sheet in the extremely flat, yet very stiff S tronic transmission oil pan on the new Audi R8.
Read MorePP, PS, PVC Prices Up, But Not for Long
A soft landing is expected for the four commodity thermoplastics as the year comes to an end.
Read More‘Light’ Grooves Offer Big Boosts in Film Processing
Blown film is main target for technology billed as an option to smooth bore feedthroats in extrusion.
Read MoreCoperion Bought by Owner of K-Tron
It has been a big month for plastics machinery acquisitions.
Read MoreMack Puts It All Together
To be “more than a molder”—it’s an ambition held by many top plastics manufacturers.
Read MoreAlliance Polymers Introduces Own Line of TPEs
Alliance Polymers and Services LLC, Romulus, Mich., distributor of Elastollan TPUs from BASF and Maxelast SEBS-based TPEs from Polymax of China, is introducing the first TPE products of its own.
Read MoreWhat Output Should You Expect?
You can get a rough estimate of the potential output if you know the drive horsepower of your machine and the thermal characteristics of one of the materials you’ll be running.
Read MoreThe New Lightweights: Injection Molded 'Hybrid' Composites Spur Auto Innovation
A thermoplastic composite technology that emerged just a couple of years ago promises to make dramatic strides within the next two years in automotive mass production of structural components.
Read MoreStop Those Drooling Dies
Die drool, or plateout, can cause a host of problems for extrusion processors. Here is how to stop the problem before it starts.
Read MoreNew Plastic ‘Lumber’ Uses No Wood
Intended to expand the property profile and application potential of polymeric wood substitutes, a new technology is available for license to make lightweight plastic lumber-type products that contain no wood fiber.
Read MoreKraussMaffei Group Sold to Investors
In late September, Onex Corp., a Toronto-based private-equity firm, agreed to acquire the KraussMaffei Group of Germany for around $735 million from Madison Capital, which had owned KraussMaffei since 2006.
Read MoreTop 10 Reasons Why Molders Fail At Implementing ‘Scientific Molding
What is Scientific Molding? And why do molders seem to have such a difficult time embracing its concepts? Here are some thoughts on the matter.
Read MoreNew Plants for Engineering Resins
Two suppliers recently announced plans to increase capacity.
Read MoreNew Device Senses Extrusion Melt Pressure Directly
A new type of melt-pressure sensor from Dynisco Plastics, Franklin, Mass., is said to be the first such device to sense pressure directly, without using mechanical structures or liquid-fill media.
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