PT Blog

Erik Sherburne, quality manager at medical molder and contract manufacturer Advance Molding Technologies, Circle Pines, Minn., has a bold (if asterisked) topic for his presentation at Amerimold’s Medical Injection Molding Workshop (June 12, Rosemont, Ill.)—cutting process validation time in half.

The asterisk is the fact that process validation time reductions ultimately depend on the part in question, but in his presentation, Sherburne will walk attendees through the steps they need to take to go from process validation to repeatable production as quickly as possible.

‘Mayday’ proved interesting in commodity resin pricing with prices increases underway for PE, PP, and PS, and at least slightly downward for PVC and PET. While higher global crude oil prices were a variable for successful or attempted price initiatives, domestic market fundamentals included ample resin supplies, relatively sluggish demand, and in most cases, lower feedstock costs.

Take a look at how purchasing consultants from Resin Technology, Inc. (RTi), Fort Worth, Texas; senior editors from Houston-based PetroChemWire (PCW); and CEO Michael Greenberg of the Plastics Exchange in Chicago, see things shaking out:

A method to tailor the properties of stress-indicating molecules that can be integrated into polymers and signal damages or excessive mechanical loads with an optical signal, has been developed by researchers at the University of Fribourg’s Adolphe Merkle Institute (AMI) in Switzerland and Hokkaido University in Japan.

As part of their research activities within the National Center of Competence in Research Bio-inspired Materials, Professor Christoph Weder, the chair of Polymer Chemistry and Materials at AMI, and his team are investigating polymers that change their color or fluorescence characteristics when placed under mechanical load.

Henkel has launched several initiatives to increase its recycling offerings. The company recently announced the next step in its collaboration with social enterprise Plastic Bank, an organization that turns plastic waste into currency to fight ocean plastic and help people ascend from poverty. Plastic Bank’s primary focus is ocean-bound plastic waste—materials that have not been landfilled and are prone to enter waterways.

Henkel’s consumer business units laundry and home care and beauty care will launch product packaging made of 100% recycled plastic; up to 50% will be Plastic Bank’s Social Plastic—plastic collected before it enters oceans or waterways. 

Be sure to add the the Additive Manufacturing Workshop for Plastics, which is co-located with Amerimold (June 12-13 in Rosemont, II), to your schedule! Registration is now open.

The Additive Manufacturing Workshop for Plastics is an immersive, half-day event focused on emerging technologies in 3D printing and additive manufacturing. Presented by Additive Manufacturing Media, Plastics Technology and MoldMaking Technology, the 3D Printing workshop will present practical applications of 3D technologies related to plastics processing. The workshop takes place on June 13, starting at 9:30 a.m. and ending at 2 p.m.