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Plastics Technology has lined up 40 of the world’s foremost authorities in the field of extrusion for its Advances in Extrusion Conference, scheduled for Dec. 9-10 at the New Orleans Marriott.

Day-one presentations on general extrusion topics:

• The economy ahead for extrusion processors
• Resin pricing trends
• New developments in materials
• Screw design advances
• New techniques in drying
• Handling
• Polymer filtration
• and much more

Day Two presentations are more specific, and feature break-out sessions on:

• Cast/blown film sheet
• Pipe, profile, tubing
• Compounding

Attendees will have the opportunity to network with speakers as well as the nearly 30 corporate sponsors and exhibitors who will be at the event. For newcomers to the field, there is an optional third day, where Dr. Kirk Cantor of Penn College of Technology will hold a session on troubleshooting and fundamentals.

Register here for the must-attend extrusion event of the year.

When purging extrusion blow molding (EBM) systems that have four or more heads, pay extra attention to the outboard heads—those furthest from the extruder. Because of the longer flow paths involved, these heads have a tendency to “carbon up” sooner and more severely than heads that enjoy a more direct flow path. So, the outboard heads should be purged at a slightly higher (say, 50°F) temperature, and care should be taken to ensure that they are completely and continuously filled with purging material... Learn more

Resin Buying Pointer of the Month…
How do you track the market as it is in a free fall? How far has it fallen? In a falling market, every purchase today is a bad buy tomorrow. So stipulates the resin-buying experts at RTI. The most important issue is to make sure that your price is falling as much or MORE than the market, and that you do not buy any more than you need. For now, be patient, we are not at the bottom yet. Do your research to become an educated buyer and know the real low price in the market for strength in negotiations... Learn more

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: Protect molding dies while in storage from corrosive attack by hydrochloric and hydrobromic acids with an acid vapor neutralizer. Acid vapors produced during molding of PVC and F/R can seriously damage molds especially with repeated and long-term exposure... Learn more

Digital Manufacturing Material Sample Kit
Request a sample kit of four different materials and finishes for your rapid prototyping and digital manufacturing needs.
http://www.RedEyeOnDemand/SampleKit

The Economy
Injection, Extrusion Dip, But Not as Much
Business continues to be rough to injection molding and extrusion processors. Both the Injection Molding and Extrusion Business Indexes dropped by a dozen points last month. The good news is that the decline was less severe than the prior months, when the indexes fell by 22 and 17 points, respectively. Plastics economist Bill Wood, who prepares these indexes exclusively for Plastics Technology, predicts that the cyclical bottom for both of these segments of the plastics processing market will occur during the first quarter of next year. After a few months of consolidation, Wood expects both businesses to begin to recover during the second half of the year.

Biopolymers: They Are Multiplying Like Crazy

New biopolymers are proliferating like crazy. Our feature story in this issue shows that even the single most popular biopolymer—polylactic acid, or PLA—is dividing into sub-species of stereo-isomers and copolymers, not to mention new families of “engineering” alloys with conventional polymers. Before long, you’ll be seeing bio-derived polyethylene and polyproplylene. Fortunately, efforts are being made to catalog and organize this fast-growing new polymer ecosystem. The University of Applied Science in Hannover, Germany, supported by the German Agency for Renewable Resources, commissioned M-Base Engineering + Software of Aachen, Germany, to compile a global Biopolymer Database. So far, M-Base has collected data on more than 300 materials from 60 suppliers on every continent.

Now, through our partnership with M-Base, we are introducing the Biopolymer Database as a separate section of our new Plaspec Global materials datacenter. (It will be part of the free Basic subscription.) A word of caution: the Biopolymers Database reflects the inconsistent terminology used today to describe this emerging field. It includes materials that are only partly derived from renewable resources. It contains some that are biodegradable but not bio-derived. A few are sold as film or sheet, not pellets, and a few are actually additives or masterbatches for modifying bioresins. The additives themselves may be neither bioderived nor biodegradable. Also the materials were tested according to different standards, so the data may not be directly comparable. Not only will we keep adding to the Biopolymer Database, but the Univ. of Applied Science and M-Base are now testing these biopolymer materials according to CAMPUS protocols. Consistent test methods will yield truly comparable materials properties—something that cannot be assumed at present. This will be an important step forward for industry acceptance of these new plastics.

November Cover Story

Lots of Ways to Fix Uneven Filling of Multi-Cavity Molds

The accepted ground rule for balancing melt flow in multi-cavity injection molds is to achieve equal flow distance from the injection point to each cavity. The sober truth is that even such “naturally balanced” molds can be prone to non-uniform fills, resulting in good parts from some cavities and short shots, flash, or overpacking in others. This is hardly a new problem for injection molders. But there are some signs that it could become more important as simpler molds and molding jobs go overseas and domestic molders take on proportionally more of the complex, multi-cavity applications. Senior Editor Mikell Knights uncovers a myriad of solutions to this problem in this 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:

• Smoother MuCell Foams With Mold Thermal Cycling
  
• Integrate Machine Control And Cavity Sensing
• Compact Cleanroom Cell
• Combo Lab Lines Run Blown/Cast Film or Sheet
  
• Gaylord ‘Sweeper’ Leaves Few Pellets Behind
• New Soft TPVs Are Electrically Conductive