Getting Down to the Nitty-Gritty

Last month in this space I outlined in broad terms the changes we planned for Plastics Technology beginning in November. The changes I referenced—more practical hands-on coverage, processing tips and techniques, more coverage of technology in action at plants—will touch all aspects of the Plastics Technology brand: this magazine you have before you, our website (ptonline.com), and our Insider E-Newsletters.

This month, I thought I would drill down a bit and give you some of the details of what will be coming through our hopper.

For starters, we will have a monthly list of columnists representing some of the brightest minds in the field. We’re labeling all these columns “Know-How.” In each issue, John Bozzelli will be authoring our Injection Molding Know-How column, containing tips and tricks of the trade that John has been bringing to the market for four decades. Jim Frankland will be our authority for the Extrusion Know-How column; and Steve Johnson, who has written our Mold Shop department for several years now, will be writing a revamped Tooling Know-How column. Steve’s column will focus on injection tooling for the most part, and beginning next year we will supplement his efforts with Tooling Know-How columns devoted to extrusion of film, sheet, and profiles. We will also bring the same type of treatment to blow molding and thermoforming.

With each issue we will also continue with our Troubleshooting department, a solutions-oriented article that addresses a different major process each month. We also plan on continuing with our Energy Miser series, by Dr. Robin Kent, which will focus on often overlooked opportunities for processors to save on the juice. And each month we will present what we are calling the On-Site feature, which will essentially be an in-plant tour of a successful processing operation, showing how technology is being implemented to give that company a competitive boost.

Finally, we will be introducing what we are calling the Practical Processor. The idea here is to present, in Q&A format, solutions to your real-world processing problems. You send us the questions via e-mail, we ferret out the response by contacting our sources among both suppliers and processors. (Got a vexing problem now? Shoot us an e-mail at practicalprocessor@ptonline.com and we’ll get to work.)

All of these kinds of articles (and more, such as economic trends, end-market coverage, and resin-buying strategies) will be complemented by our coverage of the new products and technologies that are vital to your success.

We’re looking forward to delivering our new editorial package to you next month. We hope you’ll find it useful, stimulating, and different from anything you can get anywhere else.