Injection Molding: Artificial Intelligence Predicts Part Quality
AI software “learns” via DOE the influence of process variables on part quality and applies that “learning” to make good/bad part determination in production.

Sumitomo Demag Adds two New Tech Centers
New training and demo centers in Illinois and California will help molders keep up with technical developments as they happen.

Molder Adopts ‘Semi-Smart’ Automation
R&D Plastics finds new and more sophisticated ways to use robots.

Next-Generation Technologies Benefit Demand for LCPs
‘5G’ and ‘3D printing’ are key drivers in growing demand for LCPs according to FactMR study.

Injection Molding: New Automation Approach for Medical Pipette Tips
Hekuma’s fast and flexible new-generation system will be demonstrated at K 2019.

K 2019 Preview: Injection Molding Goes for the ‘Green’
‘Circular Economy’ joins Industry 4.0 as common themes of injection molding exhibits in Düsseldorf.

Materials: LCPs Prove to be Material of Choice for Fine-Pitch Electrical Connectors
Two new high-flow, low-warpage LCP formulations from Sumitomo Chemical are key to achieving today’s thinner, smaller, higher-density interconnects.

Sumitomo Demag Moves & Expands
Georgia HQ doubles in size at new location.

Filling a Precision Molding Niche in Mexico
Originally opened and dedicated by Mexican President Vicente Fox in 2006, GW Plastics has expanded the business and capabilities of its facility in Querétaro, adapting and evolving along with that country’s thriving injection molding market.

Injection Molding: Faster Robots & Cobots
Sepro introduces S5-25 Speed Cartesian model and Seprobot collaborative solution for standard robots.

Digital Manufacturing: Two Medical Molders Embrace Industry 4.0
‘Digitalization’ and ‘connectivity’ are loaded terms—shorthand for a whole new way of doing business. It can’t be accomplished in one go. But two Midwest molders in the sensitive medical field are already feeling the benefits of their initial steps in that direction.

Headlines from Fakuma 2018
Integrating a special low-pressure process into machine controls; novel shop-floor quality-inspection technology; MES systems from machine and controls vendors; and sophisticated in-mold decorating.

Injection Molding: High-Speed All-Electric Press Line
Designed for packaging with cycle times of 3 to 10 sec.

NPE2018 Tooling: Molds Join the Industry 4.0 Conversation
At NPE2018, multiple companies displayed mold monitors that would allow the tool in an injection molding cell to “talk” to other equipment and remote computers.

NPE Wrap-Up: News in Primary Machinery, Part 1
Rounding up details from the Big Show not previously reported in all our other coverage, here’s more news in injection and blow molding, extrusion and compounding. Next month, we’ll conclude with recycling/scrap reclaim, robots, tooling, auxiliary equipment, materials and additives.

NPE2018 New Technology Focus: Dazzlingly High-Speed Packaging Production
Several machine suppliers are injection molding caps and thin-wall cups in as fast as 2-sec cycles.

NPE2018 New Technology Focus: Micromolding is Big
Micromolding is a growing force in medical, electronics and micromechanical parts.

Sumitomo’s Theme: Productivity + Flexibility + Reliability
Sumitomo Demag aims to demonstrate a combination of speed, flexibility, proprietary technologies, and automation with six machine cells running at NPE2018.