British Plastics & Rubber articles from February 2002

British Plastics & Rubber archives from February 2002

Dyson demonstrates while Whitehall waffles. (Comment).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... The widely publicised decision by inventor and entrepreneur James Dyson to move production of his vacuum cleaners from Britain to the Far East followed close on another contact between the heads of nine polymer-related industry organisations...

Digital power and control: The next milestone in Ultrasonics. (Finishing).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... DIGITAL operation is the first significant development in ultrasonic welders since the introduction of microprocessor driven machines in the 1980s, according to Branson Ultrasonics which has incorporated digital electronics in its latest 2000...

Hot air staking secures car seat backs...and remote locking key fobs. (Finishing).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Phasa Developments hot air staking technology is being applied to the simultaneous retention of seat back map pocket assemblies for a newly launched British compact saloon. The company has gained an order for custom engineered assembly...

Bolt-in welding systems share mainframe cost. (Finishing).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... A MODULAR multi-function assembly system developed by Forward + Thompson uses a common outer safety framework, system electrics and control system to accommodate a range of welding, testing, assembly and measurement functions and so spread the...

Fastener specialist. (Finishing).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... EJOT-Ecofast of Leeds has its own injection moulding plant to produce fasteners for OEMs. The service enables customers to cut stocks, claims the company. Fasteners are made for specific applications in complex designs for a wide range of...

Non-contact welding for glass-filled materials. (Finishing).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... A SPECIAL non-contact infrared welding machine has been designed by Forward Technology Industries to join housing components used in the manufacture of water softening equipment. Joints in the glass-filled PP cylindrical body of the softener...

Brushless drives give more consistent output from extrusion welders. (Finishing).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... NEW Munsch handheld welding extruders with brushless drives from Welwyn Tool Co have the motor directly flanged to the extruder. Constant torque is said to give uniform extrudate output irrespective of variations in drive load. Noise has been...

Recyclable adhesives needed to fix recyclable components. (Finishing).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... THE replacement of PU foams in motor vehicles by recyclable textiles may restrict the range of adhesives it is possible to use, warns Dritex International. The company considers that conventional thermoplastics will be preferred to meet the...

Servos synchronise screens. (Finishing).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... INDIVIDUAL servo motors are used for each fixture and screen carriage on the new Isimat RS 2860 screen printing machine to widen the range of tube and jar diameters which can be handled. Fixtures are indexed with their servo motors and a servo...

Infra-red reactivation improves adhesion. (Finishing).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... HERAEUS Noblelight has supplied an infrared heating system to R-Tek to stick decorative trims to the insides of vehicle door panels. Trims were usually fixed to panels by spraying the inside of the panels with adhesive and then applying the...

'Fastest laser in its class'. (Finishing).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... THE latest marking laser from Compact Laser Systems (UK agent Kaye-Dee Marking Solutions) is reckoned to be the fastest laser currently available in its class. The Pyros is a Q-switched, diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser with an 80 kW output, compared...

Second laser available for contract marking. (Finishing).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... A SECOND YAG laser system has been installed by Banbury-based Laser Lines (Industrial & Medical) to increase its sub contract laser marking capacity for plastics articles. Software control allows for successive marks to be different, as...

Pads designed specially for sealed ink pots. (Finishing).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... A RANGE of pads especially for use with sealed ink pots has been developed by TecaPrint and Kaye-Dee. They are sized to enable the maximum print area to be picked up from any of the current standard sealed pot sizes. Kaye-Dee says that the...

Single machine for complex pad printing. (Finishing).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... PAD printing large mouldings with complex graphics using a single machine instead of several linked printers has been addressed by Kent International with its KCNC-800. Typical applications are washing machine panels, shower covers, TV...

Modularity makes screen printing more flexible. (Finishing).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... THE modular design of the new Mascoprint FMC400 cylindrical screen printer enables longer than standard print cylinders to be fitted, as well as larger rotary tables. The machine was designed initially to print in a single colour at up to 1,500...

Fast tube printer saves space with curved screens. (Finishing).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... AN Isimat TR 5150 high speed printing machine has been supplied to a US company to print five or more colours in registration on tubes up to 50 mm in diameter at speeds up to 150 tubes/minute. This rate requires two-up operation. Every printing...

Transfer process 'compares with gravure'. (Finishing).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Full colour decoration to photographic quality is claimed for digital transfer printing, a new process offered by Diamond Printed Products of Maidstone. It is applicable to various products 'from toothbrushes to signs and involves no...

Blow away dust and the static that attracted it. (Finishing).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... IF you have problems with dust contamination on injection mouldings, Arrowquint is offering to demonstrate how its Eltex depth effect ionising blowers and ion blower pistols can solve them. Dust is attracted to static charges created during...

Ink level control overcomes sticking problems with float sensors. (Finishing).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... ABLE Instruments & Controls has developed the INKmaster solid state level control for accurate measurement in small reservoirs and dip trays as used in printing, curing and coating machines. The company says that level control over only a few...

CNC router for the budget-conscious. (Finishing).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... THE SCM Record 100 CNC router is described as being suitable for companies who seek a CNC machine without having to make a heavy investment. It has a work table measuring 2,200 x 840 mm and X-Y axis strokes of 2,275 x 1,385 mm respectively with...

Textile printing extended to any materials. (Finishing).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... ADELCO Screen Process has built multicolour carousel screen printing machines for the textile industry for many years. Now the company has developed drying systems and rotating vacuum pallets to enable multicolour printing and intermediate...

Now shielding needn't be grey. (Finishing).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... APPLIED Coating Technologies has introduced a range of coloured shielding coatings which may be sprayed through vents and apertures and are undetectable. The company points out that the effectiveness of any shielding coating is largely...

Waterjet system developed for dashboard trimming. (Finishing).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... THE Cutting-System Dashboard has been introduced by ABB I-R Waterjet Systems for cutting dashboards, door panels and other large automotive parts. It was originally developed for BMW, which needed machinery for waterjet trimming of dashboards...

New techniques take the heat out of UV curing. (Finishing).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... CURING without overheating the substrate is an emerging technology among UV curing system manufacturers. UV Light Technology's new Arccure Pure UV system for rapid curing of UV materials on heat sensitive substrates separates the...

Safety with mercury. (Finishing).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... ALL UV lamps contain a small amount of mercury and the Health & Safety Executive advises users to have a safety kit located in a factory wherever UV equipment is operated. UV Light Technology offers a UV lamp change and mercury spillage kit at...

Bespoke UV lamps. (Finishing).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... HONLE UV Technology of Munich now makes replacement lamps for its Uvaprint UV curing systems and can match and supply different spectra according to the requirements of ink, coating and adhesive formulators. The company aims to offer a complete...

Two component polyurethane system gives tuneable acoustics. (Reaction Processing).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... KRAUSS-Maffei and Ino Press have combined to launch the multi-PU process for the production of acoustic components used to soundproof automotive passenger compartments. These are made in two steps: a heavy barium sulphate-filled PU layer...

New polyols reduce amine emissions. (Reaction Processing).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... New catalytically active polyols made by Dow Chemical greatly reduce amine emissions from PU foam and allow makers of flexible foam to reduce their handling of amine catalysts. Voranol Voractiv polyols eliminate staining, fogging and...

The quality of PVT data: An assessment. (Testing).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... PVT is increasingly being used to determine polymer properties, but how do you measure it and to what standards? Dr Sekhar Chakravorty of The Materials Centre at the National Physical Laboratory outlines the current limits of testing and...

SATRA steps up the walking pace. (Footwear).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... SATRA Materials and Products Evaluation Centre found that its 20 year old equipment for testing the effects of repeated compression on the bottoms of shoes became too slow for modern testing requirements and so has developed a new model with...

Low cost indicator shows stress in mouldings. (Stress).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... The Nickerson Inherent Stress indicator is a new low cost ([pounds sterling]60) instrument for checking stresses in mouldings and may be used during production to ensure that parts will be dimensionally stable and stand up to normal service....

Test specimen mould is easier to use. (Sample Preparation).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... AXXICON has released a new version of its AIM quick change mould system which produces ISO test specimens. The inserts are now mounted into the mould base horizontally, simplifying the system and making insert changes quicker. Factfinder...

New mills and service for Schwabenthan. (Sample Preparation).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... ENGELMANN & Buckham is now UK agent for the Servitec Maschinenservice range of laboratory two-roll mills and presses. As well as building its own equipment, Servitec supports Schwabenthan presses, whose drawings and specifications it bought...

Direct measurement of molecular weight. (Materials Characterisation).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... A NEW low angle light scattering detector from Viscotek Europe is said to enable, for the first time, routine direct measurement of molecular weight for a wide range of synthetic and natural polymers. The company says that multi-angle light...

Light scattering detector aids lower detection limits. (Materials Characterisation).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... THE new Polymer Laboratories PL-ELS 1000[micro] evaporative light scattering detector has been designed for microbore and capillary HPLC (high pressure liquid chromatography) applications and provides good baseline stability for separations...

Quick screening for rapid analysis. (Materials Characterisation).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... THE Flow Injection Polymer Analysis (FIPA) system is claimed by Viscotek Europe to effectively complement GPC (Gas Permeation Chromatography) methods. It rapidly screens polymer samples to give accurate average molecular weight, size, intrinsic...

Software for multi-detector GPC analysis. (Materials Characterisation).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... CIRRUS software has been introduced by Polymer Laboratories for polymer characterisation by multi-detector gel permeation chromatography. It is designed to acquire and analyse data from GPC systems fitted with any combination of refractive...

Insight into rheometry. (Rheology/Viscometry).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... To enhance and promote the understanding of rheology Bohlin Instruments has produced a new series of rheology application notes. They are aimed at both new and experienced users, giving an insight into how a rheometer can be used to solve a...

Universal testing up to 1 kN. (Tensile/Compression).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... THE new Lloyd Instruments LFPlus universal testing machine is for force applications up to 1 kN and can be used for the tensile strength of polymer or rubber samples, slip of wrapping film on high speed rollers and peel strength of adhesives...

Basicline machines can grip anything. (Tensile/Compression).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... USING a novel rapid 3D system for fixing awkwardly shaped, irregular and intricate components, Zwick Roell Basicline benchtop digital materials testing machines can grip parts ranging from small curved rods to contoured covers or fabricated...

The complications are taken out of hardness testing. (Hardness).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... SIMPLICITY was behind the development of the Bareiss Digi-Test hardness tester. The company reasoned that the variety of hardness testers on the market meant that operators had to be familiar with the operation and calibration of different...

Load cell technology improves testing. (Hardness).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... ROCKWELL, Rockwell Superficial and Brinell hardness tests can be made on the Mitutoyo WizHard HR-521 tester capable of generating force from 15 to 187.5 KgF. Load cell technology is claimed to enable much higher levels of accuracy to be...

Digital testers for Shore. (Hardness).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... NEW Bowers Metrology CV digital Shore A and D scale handheld and bench mounted instruments complement the company's range of Shore analogue scale gauges and hardness testers, and are suitable for plastics and rubber. www.bowers.co.uk ...

Making a big impact. (Impact).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... IMATEK now has impact testing systems with impact energies up to 40,000 Joules, with an entry level system up to 500 Joules suitable for testing a range of materials and end products to QC standards and in-house procedures. The machines have...

Testing in extremes. (Impact).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... RIGOROUS impact testing can be conducted in extreme temperatures and harsh environments with the new Instron Dynatup 9250, which offers complete computer control and velocities up to 22 m/second. The entire impact event can be captured, plotted...

New Vicat uses no oil. (Thermal Properties).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... CEAST has added a new Vicat instrument to its range. The Vicat 500-D uses heated copper plates directly in contact with the specimen to determine Vicat softening temperature. This enables the user to test up to 500 degC; it cools quicker than...

Glass transition checking without added cooling. (Thermal Properties).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... THE new Mettler-Toledo FP85 with advanced PC software enables material melting points and glass transition temperatures to be checked without the use of additional cooling attachments. The package comprises an FP85 differential scanning...

Improved repeatability for pilling and snagging. (Textiles).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... THE Heals pilling and snagging tester has been redesigned to enhance test repeatability. The Orbitor model is used to test woven or knitted fabrics to EN ISO 12945-1 and Marks & Spencer P18A, P18B and P21. The two or four position...

Digital scanning equates with masterbatch pressure test. (Testing).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... MASTERBATCH producers often use the pressure filter test to check that the required level of colour dispersion has been achieved. This involves measuring the pressure increase between a melt pump and a defined filter pack to identify the level...

Filters widen testing capability. (Weathering).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... A NEW Q/B filter meeting spectral requirements specified in automotive standards SAE J1885 and SAE J1960 is available for the Q-Sun xenon test chamber from Q-Panel Lab Products. It is said to have equivalent transmission to the quartz inner...

Bottle testing non-stop. (Leak).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... A LEAK tester from Bonfiglioli overcomes the problems, particularly for small bottles, of having to stop the bottles on the conveyor track to apply the leak test heads and move the bottles off-line for weighing. The Index-01 has an indexing...

Testing in the dry. (Density).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... A NEW density testing instrument from Brabender Messtechnik uses no liquid solutions or reagents and is said to be accurate to [+ or -]0.002 g/[cm.sup.3]. Each measurement takes around 8 minutes. Factfinder 113

Colloids invests [pounds sterling]3 m in colour matching. (Testing).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... COLLOIDS has installed a [pounds sterling]3 million advanced R & D facility at its Merseyside masterbatch manufacturing plant. A Demag Ergotech Compact 80-130 injection moulding machine with 150 g shot capacity has been installed alongside four...

MFI upgradable on site. (Melt Flow).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... THE new Hounsfield MP600 melt flow indexer has a claimed accuracy of bore temperature to 0-1 degC maintained by the dual zone heating system up to 450 degC. Models are available for various test methods from manual up to PC Windows based, and...

New testing machine agency. (Testing).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Denison Mayes Group has been appointed exclusive UK distributor for German-built TesT torsion and tensile/compression testing machines. Factfinder 108

Steel ball 'beats ultrasonics'. (Thickness).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... THE flexibility of the magneto-static method of measuring wall thickness for hollow articles is said to make it superior to ultrasonic systems for this type of application. A steel ball is placed inside the moulding and serves as a reference...

Negri electric hides innovation under the skin. (Injection Moulding).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... OF ALL the new electric injection moulding machines introduced at last year's K fair, perhaps the Negri Bossi Elma most needed a second look -- to see that it was electric. At first glance the Elma looks like just another Negri machine,...

Electric machines: A position statement. (Injection Moulding).
February 1, 2002... The amount of prominence given to all-electric injection moulding machines in recent years has painted a distorted picture of their benefits, according to Boy which has firmly nailed its new blue and yellow colours to the mast of hydraulic...

Robot distributors wanted. (Injection Moulding).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... An Italian manufacturer of injection moulding robots is looking for distributors in other European countries. TecnoMatic builds robots suitable for moulding machines from 50 to 2,000 tonnes. Negotiations are being handled by Craig Stimac, an...

Taiwanese moulder sets up British sales base. (Injection Moulding).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... A TAIWANESE moulding company has set up a sales subsidiary in St Albans to seek business from British companies. While its intention is initially to import components from its plants in Taiwan and Shanghai in China, Kemflo Europe says its long...

Perlos moves from mobiles to medical. (Injection Moulding).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... THE UK arm of Finnish moulder Perlos is switching its emphasis from the dwindling mobile phone business with which it has been strongly associated in the past to pharmaceutical moulding. Its parent company has operated in the high specification...

Assessing performance: Continuing the series by Dr Robin Kent intended to help the plastics industry reduce costs through waste minimisation. (Waste Minimisation).
February 1, 2002... A FORMAL waste minimisation programme can save you up to 1 per cent of turnover (or more than 10 per cent of profit) from effective and low cost waste minimisation efforts. These gains are substantial, so shouldn't you be doing something about...

UK agency for Austrian profile handling equipment. (Pipe & Profile Extrusion).
February 1, 2002... The Austrian KUAG range of profile handling equipment is now available in the UK from White Extrusion Machinery. The company's latest stacking equipment incorporates profile monitoring of critical dimensions, triggering rejection of...

Hybrid head brings rubber and TPE together. (Pipe & Profile Extrusion).
February 1, 2002... A NEW head for the manufacture of hybrid profiles or hoses has been produced by Berstorff. Hybrid profiles are made in rubber and TPE and thermal problems can arise because rubber is processed at 110 to 120 degC and TPE at 200 to 220 degC. ...

Corrugated coiling. (Pipe & Profile Extrusion).
February 1, 2002... THE new Pipe Coil Technology CPC200 coiler can automatically coil PVC or PE corrugated land drainage pipe at line speeds up to 35 m/min. PCT says that this capability removes a constraint on extrusion speed presented by semiautomatic coiling...

SIPA steps up to 56 cavity production. (Blow Moulding).
February 1, 2002... THE latest SIPA one step rotary stretch blow moulding system, the PPS 56, can produce 23,000 PET preforms per hour from a 56 cavity mould. It has a compact rectangular configuration and a vertical hydraulic clamping unit said to eliminate...

All-electric drive for Automa SB machine. (Blow Moulding).
February 1, 2002... AUTOMA now has an all-electric stretch blow machine, but it is not likely to be available in the UK much before the end of the year. The NSB100E is a one-and-a-half stage machine putting it between single stage machines, where the preform...

Equipment companies combine. (Film & Sheet).
February 1, 2002... GERMAN film, paper and board conversion machinery manufacturer Fischer & Krecke has bought Kochsiek, which operates in similar markets including flexo and gravure printing machines. Narrow web printing machine specialist SMB Sondermaschinenbau...

Vita rationalises sheet production. (Film & Sheet).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... BRITISH Vita is rationalising its sheet production facilities with a focus on three plants. ABS, acrylic-capped ABS and PVC alloy sheet are being concentrated on the VTS Royalite plant in Scotland; polystyrene and thin-gauge polypropylene at...

Edlon gets Bieffebi agency. (Film & Sheet).
February 1, 2002... ITALIAN manufacturer of flexo graphic print plate mounting and proofing presses Bieffebi has appointed Edlon Machinery as UK and Irish agent. A patented feature of the Bieffebi system is the ability to mount plates to register by taking...

Sheet production realignment. (Film & Sheet).
February 1, 2002... MAKROFORM, the PC and PET sheet joint venture between Bayer and Rohm, is realigning production at its three sites in Germany, Italy and Belgium to make best use of new investment. Solid sheet production is to be consolidated at the Tielt,...

Multilayer film development investment. (Film & Sheet).
February 1, 2002... DUPONT has invested [euro]3 million in multilayer films research by installing a Windmoller & Holscher five layer line, extensible to seven layers, at its European Technical Centre in Geneva. Among materials used in multilayer films made by...

Together we'll crack it. (Software Review).(Faraday Plastics and Rapra Technology launch web site about environmental stress cracking esc-plastics.com)
February 1, 2002... Faraday Plastics and Rapra Technology have just launched a brand new web site about environmental stress cracking. OF academic interest only? Not so, it could literally save you your company Read on, says Clive Maier. YOU have to make a...

Moldflow integrates platforms and applications. (Software Review).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... MOLDFLOW has integrated its Moldflow Plastics Xpert (MPX) and Shotscope products to operate on a single hardware platform. Hitherto, they required separate data acquisition devices and touchscreen computers. Now both run on an A9800 data...

European office for the Manufacturing Manager. (Software Review).(Software International)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... US DEVELOPER DTR Software International has set up its own European office in Ringwood, Hampshire. The new operation will be headed by Andy Steeds and will serve the UK, Ireland and Benelux. Steeds moves over from Lakewood Computer Systems, the...

Compuplast seminars. (Software Review).
February 1, 2002... Extrusion simulation specialist Compuplast is holding hands-on seminars at Canterbury on April 23 - 25. Each day will cover a different range of topics. The courses are aimed at those who wish to gain real experience of the latest simulation...

CAD newcomers on show in Birmingham. (Software Review).(Solid Modelling Show)
February 1, 2002... THE forthcoming Solid Modelling show will see the launch of a number of new and updated products in computer-aided design. Delcam Delcam will use the show to introduce a major upgrade to its PS-Moldmaker software. This automates...

Negri Bossi UK. (What's New on the Web).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Negri Bossi has developed two new web sites. The first, open to all, is the corporate site for Negri Bossi UK. It provides full information on the UK company, its services and location, its key staff and latest news. The product pages link back...

Flexicon. (What's New on the Web).(www.flexicon.co.uk)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... The new site of Flexicon (Europe) has a hotlink to the site of its US associates and is enlivened by animations and video segments demonstrating Flexicon equipment in action. The site includes product and system information on the full range of...

Victrex. (What's New on the Web).(www.victrex.com)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Victrex has remodelled its web site, giving it a user friendly portal-like appearance. The aim is to make it as easy as possible to find information and technical support for the company's PEEK polymers. The site provides product and...

Polyurethanes portal. (What's New on the Web).(www.pu2pu.com)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... The polyurethanes industry now has its own dedicated portal with the launch of Pu2Pu. Features include news, a marketplace, a job centre and an expert centre where you can post questions or queries. Matters polyurethane can be accessed via...

Alliance for the Polyurethanes Industry. (What's New on the Web).(www.polyurethane.org)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Polyurethanes are also the raisons d'etre for the established site of API, the Alliance for the Polyurethanes Industry Following a successful debut in 2000, the site will again host the Polyurethanes Virtual Expo 2002. Virtual exhibitors will...

TM Robotics. (What's New on the Web).(www.tmrobotics.co.uk)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... TM Robotics, the European partner for Toshiba Machine's industrial robot division, has a new web site detailing the company and its products. Other pages cover robotic applications, product news and press releases, links to other Toshiba...

Still the big players shuffle for position. (E-Business Watch).(plastics industry and electronic commerce)
February 1, 2002... OMNEXUS, the global neutral e-marketplace for the plastics industry, has reported on its first year of operation. The service now represents more than 20 industry suppliers. 14 of whom are equity partners in the venture. Membership has passed...