Around the Web...

You can still be an early bird and catch greater processing efficiencies when you register for the first-ever conference devoted to helping processors make better use of equipment such as blenders, dryers, robots, cooling systems and the like. Early-bird registration for Plastics Technology’s conference, Practical Solutions for Processing Productivity: Hidden Savings Through Better Blending, Drying, Cooling & More, ends this Friday. The event, scheduled for Oct. 28-29 in Oak Brook, Ill., features technical presentations and workshops from 20 of the world’s foremost authorities on auxiliary equipment. Topics include materials handling, automation, scrap reclaim, and process cooling. Register for this event and learn how to:

• Use existing equipment to increase productivity and cut costs.
• Get practical solutions to everyday problems with no capital investment.
• See equipment demonstrations and learn how to apply innovation in your own plant.
• Learn to manage your processes more efficiently and boost your competitiveness.
• Interact and network with industry leaders and peers to discuss specific challenges and ways to move forward in a tough economy.
• Learn about new developments in materials handling, automation, scrap reclaim and process cooling.

Early-bird registrants save $100. Register Today!
The conference is sponsored by Conair, Novatec/Maguire, Wittmann and Frigel.

Purging Pointer of the Month...

Here's the next in a series of Purging Pointers offered exclusively to subscribers of this e-newsletter by Novachem, a leading manufacturer of purging compounds: For extrusion or extrusion blow molding systems, the components that reside between the extruder adapter plate and the die(s)/head(s) are often places where material hangs up, acquires heat history and degrades. This downstream plumbing (including transfer piping, melt pumps, static mixers, etc.) should be considered carefully when developing purging procedures for system maintenance.

Resin Buying Pointer of the Month…

Why are resin prices not moving in sync with declining feedstocks? Economics 101: Supply and demand. So say the resin-buying experts at RTi. Feedstock prices will not have an immediate impact as long as demand is greater than supply—anywhere in the world. Having the ability to track prices and inventories on a global perspective will put your company in an advantageous position when predicting price changes. High inventory and unsold cargo in Asia are currently impacting North American supply balances.

Mold Care Pointer of the Month…

Here's the next in a series of Mold Care Pointers offered exclusively to subscribers of this e-newsletter by Slide Products, a leading manufacturer of mold care products and mold releases: Fingerprint acids are toxic to mold and tool steels. Always use a rust preventive that neutralizes these acids if molds are being handled.

Injection, Extrusion Business Continue to Drop

The Injection Molding Business Index fell another 21% last month compared with the same period in 2007. This following a 12% drop the month before. So reports Plastics Technology economist Bill Wood in his latest report.  Compared to 2007, the third quarter of 2008 saw molders’ business activity drop by 10%. Molders serving the automotive market were the hardest hit, as their business plummeted by 27% last month following a 16% decline the month prior. These latest developments have resulted in Wood pushing out the starting point for the next recovery phase to the second half of 2009. He believes molders will finish 2008 down 4%.

The Extrusion Business Index, meantime, slid 17% last month and finished the third quarter down 7% compared to last year’s third reporting period. Windows/doors plummeted by 25%, film dipped by 22% while sheet and pipe fell by 17%. Wood is projecting extrusion to finish the year down 4%, but predicts business will start to climb by the second half of 2009.

Find Those ‘Hidden Costs’ And Do Something About Them

The lead-off speaker at our Processing Conference & Workshop in Chicago at the end of this month asks an important question: “What is your old auxiliary equipment costing you?” In other words, what is it costing you not to replace it? You won’t hear the answer until Oct. 28, but a few clues may be gleaned from a fascinating book I reviewed recently. It’s titled Energy Management in Plastics Processing, by Dr. Robin Kent of Tangram Technology Ltd., a British plastics consulting firm. Here are some tidbits:

• Dryers consume about 15% of the total energy used in plastics processing. Using best practices and the latest technology, drying energy could be cut by up to 50%.
• Cooling and refrigeration equipment uses 11% to 16% of the energy in plastics processing. Even a small plant could easily spend $75,000/yr to run a chiller. Can you afford more efficient technology? What if you knew that over a 10-yr life span, energy cost to run the chiller would be more than 10 times its purchase price?
  
• Material is too expensive today to throw away your scrap. But even a small granulator can cost you over $18,000 to operate.
• Perhaps most important, Kent points out that the costs to operate these and other auxiliary equipment are “hidden costs”—ignored but draining away profits all the same.

If you want to get a handle on those hidden costs and how to control them through better specification, management and maintenance, there’s no better place to start than at our two-day program on Practical Solutions for Processing Productivity, as referenced above. And if you want to know about more efficient technologies available in dryers, chillers, blenders, feeders, conveyors, robots, granulators, and other auxiliaries, we’ll have two dozen top suppliers on hand to answer your questions. It’s all about no-cost and low-cost ways to improve your productivity, profitability, and competitiveness in challenging economic times. It’s the first event of its kind ever, and you won’t want to miss it.

October Cover Story

High-Speed Extrusion: Are You Ready for the Fast Lane?

Around three dozen, mostly European, processors are pushing commercial development of high-speed single-screw extrusion. They have installed more than 100 of the small hyper-drive machines, whose screws turn at up to 1500 rpm, about eight to 10 times faster than standard extruders. At least two German machine builders are working on machines that will go to 2000 rpm and even higher. The goal is to raise output without increasing extruder size. Senior Editor Jan Schut has all the developments in this comprehensive report.

Carr Lane Offers More Hoist Rings Than Anyone. Choose from side pull, pivoting, swivel hoist rings and more. Large range of sizes, with load capacities up to 250,000 lbs.
www.carrlane.com/pressreleases/hoistring.cfm

New Technology Spotlight:

• Novel Ejector System Eliminates Plates & Pins
• Liquid Modifiers for Polyolefins Have Multiple Functions
• Compact Molding Cell For Cleanrooms
• Direct-Drive Electric Press Aims for Higher Efficiencies
  
• Combo Lab Lines Run Blown and Cast Film
• Expanded Capabilities for Plant Auxiliaries Network
  
  
  
  
  
  Plaspec Global - Materials Selection DataCenter
  
  
  
  NPE 2009 - June 22-26, 2009