The potential for new or unusual materials to broaden the application potential of standard plastics processes was explored in a number of papers at April’s SPE ANTEC conference in Orlando, Fla.

italian molder deploys multi-component, hard/soft molding technology developed by Engel.

More speed, more power, more precision, and more automated functions accomplished in and out of the mold. That’s exactly what injection machinery suppliers were offering at NPE2012.

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.

The MuCell process for producing microcellular injection molded parts is used and accepted globally as a technology option for providing a more dimensionally stable part through a reduction in residual stress, along with increased productivity versus solid injection molded parts.

The world’s largest injection machine equipped for the MuCell microcellular foam molding process (above) was started up in December at the technical center of Mürdter, a German molder and moldmaker in Mutlangen.

WEB EXCLUSIVE: SABIC Innovative Plastics, Pittsfield, Mass., recently opened a specialty polypropylene compounding operation at its Bay St.

Engel Austria (U.S. office in York, Pa.) has become the latest injection press supplier to offer complete turnkey molding systems for the MuCell microcellular foam process patented by Trexel Inc., Wilmington, Mass.

The largest automotive component ever molded with the MuCell microcellular process—and also the first instrument panel ever molded with this process—won the Grand Award at the 2011 SPE Automotive Innovation Awards Competition last month.

A high-gloss surface equivalent to automotive Class-A solid molding can now be achieved with the weight savings and other benefits of microcellular foam molding, thanks to a new licensing agreement between Trexel Inc., Waltham, Mass., and Ono Sangyo Co.

At the Molding 2011 Conference in San Diego last month, sponsored by Executive Conference Management (executive-conference.com), Markus Lettau, director of sales and application engineering for custom molder Empire Precision Plastics, Rochester, N.Y., discussed some of the unique capabilities of microcellular foam molding.Empire has three injection presses equipped for the MuCell foam process licensed by Trexel Inc., Woburn, Mass.

Increasing traffic in transfer tooling from molders that have shuttered operations or are unable to successfully produce parts is driving interest in a long-established but under-utilized diagnostic technique for injection molding.

Now the foam isn’t just on top of the beer, it’s all around it.

 WEB EXCLUSIVE: Now the foam isn’t just on top of the beer, it’s all around it.

While mold-filling simulation is a very common tool for predicting the fill patterns of an injection mold, in our judgment there is not yet a commercially available, satisfactory filling simulation for microcellular foam molding.

A U.S. custom injection molder that’s hiring?

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

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.

While occupying a relatively small category of exhibits, blow molding will present no lack of innovation at NPE.

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.

Last Fall’s annual SPE Automotive TPO Global Conference in Sterling Heights, Mich., heard presentations on new formulations that cut cost by eliminating the compounding step and that bridge the gap between molded-in-color and painted parts.

Five years ago, in-mold labeling was just gaining traction among North American injection molders as a one-step approach to decorating without secondary operations.

The Series III MuCell microcellular molding system from Trexel Inc., Woburn, Mass., has been teamed with “Variotherm” mold heating/cooling technology to produce smoother part surfaces.

With the growing popularity of thermoplastic microcellular foams (such as those produced by the MuCell process of Trexel Inc.) comes increased need to understand how to optimize foam properties through appropriate foam structure.

The MuCell microcellular molding process from Trexel Inc., Woburn Mass., is now an option on machines from a "top-tier" Chinese injection press builder.

Microcellular foaming of smaller precision parts, such as for electrical/electronic applications, is now possible with the introduction of the Series III MuCell system from Trexel Inc., Woburn, Mass.

At the big “K” Show next month, top billing goes to new all-electric machines aimed at every segment of the market, from general-purpose to high-end.

A brand-new line of all-electric machines priced on par with comparable hydraulic presses and the first public demonstration of insert molding RFID chips into plastic parts will be two highlights of the Engel display at the mammoth K 2007 show in Dusseldorf, Germany, this October.

A combination of microcellular foam molding and long-glass fibers offers new potential for injection molding to penetrate large structural automotive parts such as door-module carriers, brackets, and front-end systems.

Looking for a way to make lighter parts without giving up properties? New hollow microspheres are stronger than ever—enough to withstand the rigors of injection molding.

Molding higher volumes of a rigid thin-wall part typically means going to a larger press for increased injection and clamping capacity.

From PPs for frozen-food packaging to nylons and alloys that withstand the heat of circuit-board soldering or automotive paint ovens, NPE 2006 was rich in news of commodity and engineering resins and TPEs.

Insert molders and assembly suppliers serving North America’s automotive industry have found a new range of benefits from the MuCell microcellular foaming process licensed by Trexel Corp.

At this year’s NPE, new processes to put wood flour into plastic were virtually everywhere—several even start with undried flour.

NPE will show higher outputs of practically everything, as advances in grooved feeds, servo drives, screw torque, mixing screws, dies, and downstream cooling, cutting, and handling make everything run faster.

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

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.

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.

Foam blow molding technology may be taking its first baby steps in the market, but this child could be jogging before long. After at least 10 years of testing, there is just one commercial application, but a score of packaging and industrial projects are being developed, mostly in Europe.

Automotive parts supplier Injectronics Inc. in Clinton, Mass., will soon be the first injection molder to use a new microcellular foam technology developed by Trexel Inc., Woburn, Mass.