May 2008 Issue
May 2008
Features
Featured articles from the latest issue of Plastics Technology
Hourly Rates Rose in Second Half
Custom injection molders raised their machine-hour rates an average of 1% from June to December 2007, according to responses from 93 molders to our latest semi-annual survey.
Read MoreIML is for Large Parts, Too
The same economic and functional advantages that make in-mold labeling (IML) a growing trend in injection molded packaging are expanding its uses in large parts for durable goods as well.
Read MoreYour Business Pricing Update - May 2008
Commodity resin producers keep pushing for price increases, but their success is limited by weak market demand and soft prices of many monomers.
Read MoreTIME TO LEARN ABOUT Dynamic Optimization of Extruder Barrel Temperatures
Determining the optimum barrel-temperature profile is one of the most important tasks in extrusion.
Read MoreSequential Hard/Soft Injection Molding with Water Assist
In 2004, the value of pairing two-material injection with water assist was demonstrated in production of two-layer automotive pipes and ducts (see Learn More). Further potential for this combination of advanced techniques in sequential injection of hollow automotive parts with rigid and flexible sections is being developed at the German Institute of Plastics Processing (known as the IKV). Water injection technology (WIT) was first developed at the IKV in the 1990s.
Read MoreFirst Commercial Recycling Process For Electronics Waste
A 23-year-old Dutch plastic recycling firm, Plastic Herverwerking Brabant (PHB) BV has become the first supplier in the world of a complete commercial altered-density-media system tailored to separate the plastics in waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). Since last October, PHB has operated a WEEE recycling system sized for 33 million lb/yr and averages about 4400 lb/hr of reclaimed material from 11,000 lb/hr of waste input.
Read MoreOptimize Barrel Temperatures For Barrier Screws
Extruder operators often don’t compare the barrel-zone temperatures to the recommended processing temperature for the resin being run.
Read MoreResin Database Goes Global
This month marks a new phase in the evolution of Plastics Technology’s online plastics materials database.
Read MoreQualifying an Outside Molder? Look at the Tool Room
If custom molders were judged on curb appeal alone, this one would always be flush with work. Appointed in colonial brick encasing large smoked-glass windows and surrounded by balmy landscape and a lawn that looked good enough to eat, this stately plastics plant just screamed money. Surely they must be doing something right. But once past the glitz, the show was over.
Read MoreYour Business In Brief - May 2008
New Custom Compounder for Medical & Consumer MarketsArkadia Plastics, Inc., New Britain, Conn., is an 18-month-old custom compounder of a broad range of thermoplastics, with an annual capacity of up to 10 million lb.
Read MoreEconomic Outlook - May 2008
Plastic bottle demand will pick up gradually in the second half of this year as the U.S. economy, particularly consumer spending, slowly regains momentum.
Read MoreMarket Outlook - May 2008
Mastio & Company’s most recent Injection Molding Markets Study reports modest but respectable growth for 2008.
Read MoreInjection Molding Compounders Molders Get Control Of Their Materials
The combination of an injection molding press and a twin-screw compounding extruder represents a new paradigm for processors: They create their own materials as they mold them.
Read MorePUR Machinery Gains in Versatility and Economy
Polyurethane equipment at K 2007 in Dusseldorf showed incremental advances in cost-effectiveness and ability to handle a wide range of applications.
Read MorePrecision Molder Takes on LSR
Liquid Silicone Rubber (LSR) injection molding makes up just 10% to 15% of U.S. medical or automotive applications that are also served by high-consistency silicone rubber (HCR), EPDM, latex, natural rubber, TPEs, flexible PVC, and even porcelain ceramic. Nonetheless, LSR molding is attracting growing interest (see Learn More), enough to prompt the formation of a new division dedicated to LSR by GW Plastics in Bethel, Vt.
Read MoreHow to Minimize Problems With Gravimetric Blenders
The first and best way to avoid blending problems is to choose the right gravimetric blender for the application.
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