Nissei America, Inc.

Company adopts 'cradle to cradle' approach.

Firm launches 'cradle-to-cradle' operation.

Hot buttons at the show will be multi-component molding, in-mold labeling/decorating (IML/IMD), in-mold assembly, medical molding, liquid silicone rubber (LSR), micro-molding, and high-speed packaging.

“Every custom molder thinks he needs a proprietary product,” says John Currier, president and co-owner of the injection molding firm his father founded, Currier Plastics in upstate Auburn, N.Y.

 How small is small? How small is micro? How about parts weighing as little as 0.00012 g and measuring no more than 0.038 in. (1 mm) long?

It started in a garage and evolved into a multi-plant, $100 million operation that holds particular expertise in multi-shot molding.

The Japanese parent of Nissei America, Inc., Anaheim, Calif., has come out with injection machines tailored for molding polylactic acid (PLA) biopolymer.

“We love to tell our story.” That’s one way Mike Cartner, CFO of Currier Plastics, defines what separates this family-owned custom processor from its competitors.

If you’re walking around your plant one day and hear an echo, you might want to listen closely.

Show goers will see an electric injection machine in nearly every press maker’s booth this year, and electric/hydraulic hybrids in several.

An inspired combination of automation, ISO certification, use of certified resins, and strict adherence to a rigorous set of time-honed manufacturing standards are among the chief factors giving the Rodon Group, a 54-year-old custom molding operation in Hatfield, Pa., the confidence to boast that it can beat the pants off of Chinese part pricing, and Mexican pricing, too.And it’s not an idle boast.

New injection machinery at the show ranged from all-electric units for high-speed packaging or bioplastic processing to hybrid presses ready for the cleanroom. Other units highlighted multi-component molding with LSR and thermoplastics or super-compact presses for small parts. Several new machines targeted specific applications such as caps and closures, PET preforms, LSR, or integrated long-glass compounding.

If a better machine can help your company beat challenging economic conditions, you’ll probably find it at NPE. And finding it will be easier, thanks to our editors’ efforts to sift out of some 2000 exhibits the most significant news in injection and blow molding, extrusion, compounding, and thermoforming.

A new line of large hybrid presses comes from Nissei Plastic Industrial Co.

A new variation on a hybrid-electric press, as well as special machines designed for liquid silicone rubber (LSR), thermoplastics compounded with carbon nanotubes, or a paper pulp/starch mixture were introduced at the IPF show in Japan by Nissei Plastic Industrial Co.

A Japanese maker of injection presses has started a material compounding service to provide thermoplastics enhanced with carbon nanotubes.

A new line of injection presses designed to handle biodegradable resins by imparting less shear, and a new material compounding service to provide a range of thermoplastics enhanced with carbon nanotubes (see p. 31), were announced at the April Chinaplas show in Shanghai by Nissei Plastic Industrial Co.

WEB EXCLUSIVE A Japanese maker of injection molding presses has started a material compounding service to provide a range of thermoplastics enhanced with carbon nanotubes.

New and updated injection machines from Nissei Plastic Industrial Co.

Liquid silicone rubber is breaking out of its niche into a broader array of applications, helped by new developments in materials, machinery, and processing. Larger parts, micro-parts, foams, and multi-color or multi-material combinations are key areas of innovation.

A new hybrid-electric vertical-injection/vertical-clamp press was introduced at the Platex show in Osaka, Japan, by Nissei Plastic Industrial Co.

If you were buying an injection molding machine 20 years ago, you had to decide between a toggle or fully hydraulic clamp and that was pretty much it.

Three new models have been added to the FNX line of hybrid presses from Nissei America, Anaheim, Calif.

Advances in electric drive technology were evident in nearly every injection machine builder’s booth in Chicago.

Energy-saving all-electric machines will continue to be a big draw at NPE, where new designs or upgraded models will be found in virtually every press maker’s booth.

The NEX series of all-electric machines from Nissei America, Anaheim, Calif, has been upgraded with a new version of its TACT controller offering closed-loop clamp-force control plus faster injection speed and response.

Multi-shot and coinjection molding techniques are staking out new territory. Mach ines are getting larger and are combining more materials or colors in more sophisticated and imaginative ways.

The diversity of electric machines will be on display at this year’s show, with several new all-electric versions in direct-drive and belt-driven versions.

The latest developments in all-electric and hybrid injection molding machines from several Japanese OEMs made their debut at Platex Osaka, a triennial show held in April in Osaka, Japan.

It’s the power to run your plant and machines better and more profitably. Today’s process and production monitoring systems put that information in the palm of your hand.

The abundance of injection molding news at this year’s show is staggering.

Stress-free production of large car windows, in-mold painting, and an injection unit that applies pack and hold while accumulating the next shot were a few of the cutting-edge technologies on display.

The October show in Dusseldorf saw an onslaught of new all-electric and hybrid-electric presses, with modular designs, new clamping styles, and new sizes available from an ever-growing range of suppliers.

All-electric machines will be one of the biggest themes in injection molding machinery at this year’s K show, where at least nine firms will bring out their first models.

The abundance of injection molding news at this year’s show is staggering. There are more and bigger all-electric machines than ever, including first-time introductions by several suppliers. Electric technology is also taking new forms, such as beltless drives and “direct-pressure” clamping without a toggle. Energy-saving electro-hydraulic hybrids are also evolving.

K'98 showed off a wide range of technologies that cut costs by consolidating process steps.