Plastics Hall of Fame: 10 Inspiring Stories
Last evening, at the Linda W. Chapin Theatre, the Plastics Academy inducted 10 new members into the Plastics Hall of Fame. Meet these outstanding individuals with remarkable stories. Each one teaches a lesson of hard work and creative thinking.

Steve Maguire: A Visionary in Materials Handling
Steve Maguire radically transformed materials handling technologies and his last name is globally recognized in this field. Last Sunday he earned his place in history as new inductee of the Plastics Hall of Fame.

Auxiliaries at NPE2018: Packing More Functions in Less Space
Auxiliary equipment suppliers are building more and more technology into their products, packing more physical and virtual functions into the same or smaller footprints.

Compact System Combines Loading, Dosing, Mixing, and Dispensing Functions
Maguire’s Micro Tower mixes up to three materials—such as virgin resin, regrind, and masterbatch—in 10 lb. (4.5 kg) batches.  

Drying: Vacuum Drying Line Extended
New, intermediate-range model in the VBD line of vacuum resin dryers from Maguire.

Vacuum Drying Sucks Wasted Time From Process Set-Up
A switch to vacuum drying resulted in a completely revamped process for this custom molder.

Plastics Hall of Fame Inducting 10 New Members at NPE2018
Scheduled for the evening of May 6, 2018 in Orlando, Fla. at the Linda W. Chapin Theatre at the Orange County Convention Center. Meet the class of 2018!

DRYING: Vacuum Dryer’s Load Sensors Continuously Control Resin Levels
Addition to dryer line doubles capacity of previous model.

AUXILIARIES: 3D Imaging App Is New Aid to Shopping for Equipment
Turn images around and examine interior components.

AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT: Low-Profile Receivers Feature Unique Design
Standing only 8 in. above the lid of a blender, the low center of gravity on new line of low-profile receivers minimizes sway on fast-cycling machines.

BLENDING: Next-Generation Controls for Gravimetric Blenders
New Maguire 4088 controller has option of a removable touchscreen interface with embedded loading software. Compatible with previous Maguire control systems.

DRYING: Vacuum Dryer Adds Load Cells for Greater Accuracy
Load cells provide continuous control of the resin level in the vacuum chamber and retention hopper.

MATERIALS HANDLING: Liquid-Color System Adds Gravimetric Control
The addition of gravimetric control reportedly makes liquid color as easy to handle as pelletized color concentrate.

Why Processors Are Rediscovering Liquid Colorants
In extrusion, injection, and blow molding, liquid color is enjoying something of a renaissance. Cost is one reason, but advances in pigments, carriers, delivery systems, and innovative service programs have played a role too.

DRYING: New Vacuum Dryer Exceeds Throughput Expectations
Extensive production-scale test runs with a redesigned vacuum dryer produced higher throughput than originally specified and achieved required dryness in just 35 min after a cold startup.

K 2013: More Efficient, Flexible & User-Friendly Auxiliaries
It’s hard to generalize about auxiliary equipment, but a few trends stood out at K, including: greater energy efficiency, ease of maintenance and cleaning, controls that provide more real-time and historical process information and greater ease of use.

AUXILIARIES: Vacuum Dryer Redesigned For Trouble-Free Operation
Still reportedly provides substantial reductions in drying time and energy consumption relative to desiccant dryers.