British Plastics & Rubber articles from January 2007

British Plastics & Rubber archives from January 2007

Conferences & exhibitions.(Calendar)
January 1, 2007... Applications--aerospace September 18-19 International Conference on Polymers in Defence and Aerospace 2007. Conference in Toulouse, France, organised by Rapra Technology. 01939 250383 (fax 01939 252416, conferences@rapra. net) ...

GE pushes back the boundaries of high temperature thermoplastics.(engineering materials)
January 1, 2007... EXTREME levels of performance without the drawbacks of existing high performance plastics are promised by GE Plastics for its new Extem thermoplastic polyimide. Extem is based on new chemistry from GE, which has been some 13 years in...

GE Plastics up for sale.(engineering materials)
January 1, 2007... As we go to press General Electric is in talks to sell GE Plastics. The sale of GE Plastics was pitched as likely after GE sold its Advanced Materials division to Apollo Management in September. Now the business is being auctioned with an...

Frisetta cuts the cost of moulding FR nylons in colour.(engineering materials)
January 1, 2007... MORE flexibility for coloured flame-retardant components has been achieved by Frisetta with a new range of masterbatches. The company's flame retardant nylons are free of halogen and phosphorus to give them full compliance with RoHS and WEEE...

Heavy compounds pull their weight in metal substitution.(engineering materials)
January 1, 2007... HEAVY-filled compounds have been introduced by Clariant Masterbatches Specialty Compounding as alternatives to metal in applications where the weight and other characteristics of metal are desirable. High-density fillers like tungsten,...

PVC in small lots.(engineering materials)
January 1, 2007... Small lots of PVC compounds from Dugdale are now being distributed nationwide by Claymore Plastics in Hereford. Claymore is handling the full range of Dugdale compounds, which includes rigid and flexible moulding, extrusion and blow moulding...

TBA in European project to develop conductive compounds.(engineering materials)
January 1, 2007... STATIC control and EMI shielding specialist TBA Electro Conductive Products is developing innovative conductive plastic compounds within the Pan-European PolyCond project. PolyCond is a trans-national project, being part financed by the...

Cabelec for Distrupol.(engineering materials)
January 1, 2007... DISTRUPOL has been appointed a distributor of Cabot Corporation's Cabelec series of conductive compounds. [website] www.distrupol.com Factfinder 158

Bayer boosts polycarbonates.(engineering materials)
January 1, 2007... BAYER MaterialScience has announced a raft of developments for its Makrolon polycarbonate. There is an emphasis on fire retardancy, with four new polycarbonate grades and a new ABS blend. The polycarbonates first. Makrolon 2467 and 6357 are...

Fujitsu adds nylon 11 to its bio-material armoury.(engineering materials)
January 1, 2007... TO extend its use of bio-sourced polymers Fujitsu of Japan, with Fujitsu Laboratories, has been working with Arkema of France on a polymer derived from castor oil. At the root of the work is Arkema's Rilsan polyamide 11: itself a biopolymer in...

Carbon nanotubes overcome difficulties with conventional conductive fillers.(engineering materials)
January 1, 2007... CARBON nanotubes are being used by Italian compounder Lati to produce highly electrically conductive compounds without the physical problems caused by some more traditional conductive fillers. Intrinsically conductive polymers or compounds...

3i buys Azelis on the road to flotation.(engineering materials)
January 1, 2007... PLASTICS and chemicals distributor Azelis is eyeing a possible flotation. The company--which describes itself as 'Europe's fastest growing distributor of specialty chemicals, polymers and related services'--has been sold by Cognetas to 3i,...

New polyethylene for frozen food packaging.(packaging materials)
January 1, 2007... BOREALIS has introduced what it describes as a new and unique polyolefin for film-based vacuum forming packaging. BorForm was developed in co-operation with Norwegian packaging converter Tommen Gram whose GramFlex BorForm-based film provides a...

Titanium-based PET the future for bottles?(packaging materials)
January 1, 2007... WELLMAN, which reckons to be the third largest producer of PET plastics in the USA (or the largest, depending on which of its publications you read), has developed a titanium-based antimony-free product specifically for the carbonated soft...

SABIC joins in Turkish PS joint venture.(packaging materials)
January 1, 2007... SAUDI Basic Industries Corporation has formed a polystyrene joint venture with Baser Petrokemya of Turkey. SABIC will hold 70 per cent, with Baser holding the remainder. The joint venture will take over all of Baser's polystyrene assets in...

Peptizer to process NR without carbon black.(addictives)
January 1, 2007... RENACIT RUC 9203 is a new peptizer from Lanxess for use in pure gum mastication enabling natural rubber to be processed without carbon black. Peptizers reduce the molecular weight of polymers by breaking down the molecular chains. In...

Solutia to take control of Flexsys rubber chemicals.(addictives)
January 1, 2007... SOLUTIA is planning to buy out its partner in rubber chemicals producer Flexsys. Flexys is a 50:50 joint venture between Solutia and Akzo Nobel and says it is the world's leading supplier of chemicals to the rubber industry. It had sales last...

Anti-fog masterbatch is improved.(addictives)
January 1, 2007... AN IMPROVED anti-fog masterbatch for polyethylene food films has been developed by Viba in Italy. Vibatan PE Food Antifog 03394 contains the same additive as the previous type 03147, but at a 50 per cent higher concentration, giving it a better...

Blown film haul-off 'eliminates camber'.(film & sheet production)
January 1, 2007... CAMBER, the left and right zig-zagging of the film when unwound, is a problem caused by the action of the horizontal oscillating haul-off, and has become an even bigger issue as the speed of downstream equipment such as laminators has...

Frosted acrylic process is patented.(film & sheet production)
January 1, 2007... PATENTS have been granted to Altuglas International for its frosted acrylic sheet. US patent 7,067,188 is entitled Polymeric Articles Having a Textured Surface and Frosted Appearance. In Europe the technology is protected as EP 1022115. ...

DSM Stanyl now for films and fibres.(film & sheet production)
January 1, 2007... STANYL polyamide 4,6 from DSM Engineering Plastics, a material usually associated with injection moulding, is finding new applications in fibre and film, bringing high temperature resistance and high wear and abrasion resistance. DSM says it...

Film properties improved by in-line stretching.(film & sheet production)
January 1, 2007... BIAXIALLY oriented polypropylene film has been with us for many years, increasing strength, reducing thickness and improving transparency of polypropylene film. Now, according to Edlon Machinery there is growing interest in monoaxially...

Medium scale take-off stretches cast film.(film & sheet production)
January 1, 2007... A 750 mm cast film take-off with orientation capability has been added to the Yellow Jacket extrusion equipment range built by Wayne Machine in the USA. Orientation is accomplished by a second chill roll with a speed ratio follower drive...

Purging agent cleans where space for dismantling is limited.(film & sheet production)
January 1, 2007... A PURGING agent designed specifically for use with film lines has been introduced by Eurobond Adhesives. Europurge is intended for use where there is limited clearance around equipment for dismantling, such as when filter screens can't be...

EMO dies set up in the UK.(film & sheet production)
January 1, 2007... AUSTRIAN flat die manufacturer EMO is now represented in the UK by White Extrusion Machinery as part of an expansion into the wider European market to compete with the dominance of American die companies. EMO is part of the Haidlmair...

Cast coex line is faster, more flexible and uses less energy.(film & sheet production)
January 1, 2007... TO MEET requirements for the production of high quality co-extruded cast films with up to seven layers, Reifenhauser has developed a complete line which it says is characterised by high flexibility, reduced energy consumption and greater speed....

Battenfeld Gloucester boosts silage film lines.(film & sheet production)
January 1, 2007... BATTENFELD Gloucester Engineering has improved its blown stretch film line for silage film production, optimising nip design, processing rates, layer ratios, polyisobutylene levels, and winding tensions to produce the highest quality film at...

Air chillers increase productivity.(film & sheet production)
January 1, 2007... INCREASES in productivity up to 30 per cent can be achieved, says Conair, by using its ABF air chillers to control IBC air temperatures to within [+ or -] 0.1 degC down to 3 degC. Twin units can be used for independent control of IBC and the...

Stretch plant available for development.(film & sheet production)
January 1, 2007... THE LISIM Pilot-Line at Bruckner's Siegsdorf, Germany, plant has been extended and can handle numerous film types with up to seven layers in various materials in all stretching modes. The LISIM plant--linear motor technology for simultaneous...

Macchi gives away the benefits of gearless drive as it seeks to increase volumes.(film & sheet production)
January 1, 2007... TO BRING down the cost of film processing equipment in the long term Macchi is to adopt Siemens gearless drives for all its equipment other than, at present, for extruders. The company says that many machinery manufacturers, seeking cost...

Thickness gauge measures bubble width as well.(film & sheet production)
January 1, 2007... A BUBBLE width control function has been combined with a film thickness control system in the new Aipex-Sussex SIG140 BW/KG which can be retrofitted to any blown film line The width control sensors are ultrasonic and situated 120 degrees...

New granulator improves scrap reclaim at PVC sheet producer.(film & sheet production)
January 1, 2007... PVC film producer Renolit-Cramlington has cut its back-log of start-up and edge trim waste by installing a Tria granulator and returning the scrap to process. Renolit-Cramlington makes decorative surfacing materials for three main sectors:...

Standard dosing/blending system is tailored for film production.(film & sheet production)
January 1, 2007... A RANGE of gravimetric blenders/dosers tailored for use on film and other extrusion lines has been introduced by Piovan. The MXP units combine gravimetric batch preparation with a subsequent loss-inweight dosing function. There are three...

Steady feeding improves quality of calendered PVC film.(film & sheet production)
January 1, 2007... BUSS has produced a new version of its Quantec kneader compounding machine for direct feeding to PVC film calenders. It incorporates an intermittent cutting device to produce evenly-sized pieces of PVC which don't stick together. Shutdown time...

Autobar Packaging changes hands.(film & sheet production)
January 1, 2007... Autobar Packaging has been bought from Charterhouse Capital Partners by another investment company, an affiliate of Sun European Partners. Charterhouse bought the Autobar Group, which also includes businesses in vending and distribution, from...

Winder for high speed stretch wrap production.(film & sheet production)
January 1, 2007... THE Black Magic 54 high speed stretch film winder introduced by Davis-Standard Converting Systems Group has integrated automatic core and roll handling and is capable of producing 16,588 rolls per day on an 80 per cent up-time basis. It can be...

New adhesives for rigid packaging.(film & sheet production)
January 1, 2007... ARKEMA has expanded its Orevac range of speciality adhesive resins for rigid packaging with the addition of four new grades. Orevac materials are characterised by low odour, transparency, heat resistance and easy processing. They are...

Five steps to energy saving on thermoforming machines.(film & sheet conversion)
January 1, 2007... INDEPENDENT Technical Services (UK) has been developing ways to make its thermoforming machines more power efficient and has come up with a five-step plan which it can implement on new equipment, with some steps being applicable to existing...

Infra red heaters save 25 per cent on energy.(film & sheet conversion)
January 1, 2007... NEW HI Heat 'Energy Saving' infra red ceramic emitters from Victory Lighting are claimed to reduce energy costs by up to 25 per cent in process heating applications, particularly in vacuum forming. The heaters are made using a hollow cast...

Former for up to 50,000 cups/hour.(film & sheet conversion)
January 1, 2007... A NEW thermoforming machine with cutting the tilting mould has been developed by Amut. The AMP 570GP is suitable for PP, HIPS and PET, with an hourly production rate of more than 50,000 disposable cups. The fully electro-mechanical control...

Static neutralising for simpler situations.(film & sheet conversion)
January 1, 2007... A STATIC neutralising unit for users for whom the advanced diagnostics of the company's 8005 high voltage power supply are not necessary has been introduced by Ion Industrial. The model 8009 has a built-in monitoring circuit and system...

New packaging sheet options from Vita.(film & sheet conversion)
January 1, 2007... SEVERAL new sheet products were introduced by the VitasheetGroup at the Emballage 2006 exhibition towards the end of last year. ViPrint Nature is a PP sheet enhanced with natural wood fillers and intended for luxury carton applications. ...

Treatment system specific to PP corrugated board.(film & sheet conversion)
January 1, 2007... A CORONA treatment system has been developed by Tantec for use on PP corrugated board to overcome the material's low surface energy, resulting in poor surface adhesion for water-based adhesives and inks. Tantec says that it is important for...

Nylon sheet welder wanted.(film & sheet conversion)
January 1, 2007... A CHALLENGE from JR Technology, which makes equipment for processing high performance composites components. Director John Rogger writes: 'We thought you might be interested to know we have been looking for a converter who can fold and...

Constant current generator gives more consistent pinning power.(film & sheet conversion)
January 1, 2007... EITHER constant current or constant voltage operation is possible with Ion Industrial's single polarity charge generators, suitable for a number of charge pinning applications including chill roll edge pinning on cast film lines, in-mould...

Single voice to represent European films business.(film & sheet conversion)
January 1, 2007... A EUROPEAN group representing companies with interests in plastics film has been set up as part of EuPC--European Plastics Converters. The new EuPF (European Plastic Films) is composed of national plastics films associations, film...

Slitting and printing from 3 m rolls.(film & sheet conversion)
January 1, 2007... A FACILITY for slitting and two-colour printing on rolls up to 3 m wide has been set up by Building Product Design in Merthyr Tydfil. The company supplies printed construction membranes and its new roll handling facility is capable of...

British-built equipment to convert 300 tonnes of BOPET film a day in the UAE.(film & sheet conversion)
January 1, 2007... A 6 million [pounds sterling] contract has been won by the Flexible Materials business sector of Bobst Group, formerly the Atlas and General companies based in Bedford. The order from JBF-RAK, based in the United Arab Emirates, comprises three...

Cup stacker is modular for customization.(film & sheet conversion)
January 1, 2007... MOULD & Matic Solutions of Austria has developed a horizontal cup stacker known as the Modular Cup-Packer whose modular construction enables it to be tailored to the installation--unlike the company's other horizontal packers such as the...

Husky builds six-axis robot control into moulding machine interface.(automation & robotics)
January 1, 2007... ALONGSIDE its injection moulding machines Husky also builds near robots which can be controlled through the moulding machine control system, But it doesn't build articulated arm machines; so it has teamed up with several manufacturers of...

Remak runs under KUKA control.(automation & robotics)
January 1, 2007... TWO German robot manufacturers have got together to pool technical options in system configuration. Remak makes linear robots and KUKA makes articulated robots. The continuous path control used on the six-axis robots has now been adopted by...

Globalisation means robotisation say ABB.(automation & robotics)
January 1, 2007... THE UK lags behind competitors such as Germany, Spain, Italy, France, Australia and Canada in the use of robots. Automation specialist ABB estimates that during 2006 only 800 new robots were sold in the UK by all sources. This compares with...

Look to the future when planning robot replacement.(automation & robotics)
January 1, 2007... 'SIGNIFICANT' growth in six-axis robot installation is currently being seen by ATM against a static requirement for standard pick and place robots. The company says demand for six-axis robots is divided into the installation of automated...

New interface simplifies six-axis programming.(automation & robotics)
January 1, 2007... A NEW software interface from KUKA Automation + Robotics is intended to improve the ease of programming articulated arm robots to the level of conventional linear machines, KUKA.Plast GUI is said to not only reduce the time required by...

In-mould closing is not always the way.(automation & robotics)
January 1, 2007... ALTHOUGH many cap moulders use in-mould closing mechanisms, says PCE Automation, it is sometimes necessary to close the components after ejection. The company was asked by a customer to design a cell to de-mould open lids from a 4 + 4 stack...

Free consultation to get the design right for automation.(automation & robotics)
January 1, 2007... DESIGN for manufacture and avoid unpleasant surprises is the message from Modular Automation, which has started a free consultation service to help manufacturers design products that can be assembled more efficiently. Manufacturers will...

Servo-drive additions to Alfa robot range.(automation & robotics)
January 1, 2007... THE latest in the Alfa range of robots from Hi-Class Machinery is the Redstone series with AC servo drive on all three axes plus a pneumatic twist action. They are suitable for injection moulding machines from 50 tonnes with the 600 mm vertical...

Sintered nylon makes customised grippers really fit the part.(automation & robotics)
January 1, 2007... A TECHNOLOGY for making robot grippers to fit small, fragile or hard-to-grip parts accurately has been developed by ASS Maschinenbau of Germany. The K-Hands tooling is produced in nylon on a Selective Laser Sintering machine using the original...

O-ring feeding was a breeze.(automation & robotics)
January 1, 2007... PLACING very small O-rings was a process difficulty overcome by floating them on air in an automation system designed by Modular Automation. Modular had been commissioned by design agency PDD to design and build production equipment for a...

New company focuses on robotic handling.(automation & robotics)
January 1, 2007... AYLESBURY Automation, has formed a new division, AA Robotics, specialising in the provision of robot-based flexible machines--especially those which can deliver short runs and be easily modified to suit fast changing products and short product...

Robot palletiser stacks bags automatically.(automation & robotics)
January 1, 2007... THE NEW Chronos Richardson RP500 robot palletiser can be used to stack filled bags on empty pallets placed manually into position. It incorporates the same bag gripper as used on the company's Compact palletiser. This comprises a grid to pick...

Big machines and innovative technologies pitched at automotive moulders.(injection moulding)
January 1, 2007... ITS first European order for a large scale automotive glazing system gave Husky something extra to talk about at a series of open days in Luxembourg towards the end of last year held to promote its big injection machines for automotive...

In-line compounding wins an award for Krauss-Maffei.(injection moulding)
January 1, 2007... A PART made on its in-line compounder won an award last year for Krauss-Maffei. Together with Intertec Systems, Basell Polyolefins and Philips Tool & and Mould, Krauss-Maffei won an award at the American SPE Awards, for an air duct for the...

FM adds bigger all-electric machine.(injection moulding)
January 1, 2007... FERROMATIK Milacron's all-electric Elektra series has been extended up to 300 tonnes clamp with the Elektra Evolution 300. The machine has tie bar spacing of 750 x 750 mm, and can be fitted with injection unit sizes of 630, 970, and 1,540,...

Hydraulic oil, yours for a lifetime.(injection moulding)
January 1, 2007... ENGEL says it has become the first injection moulding machine manufacturer to offer permanent oil filling ex-works complete with a guarantee. A synthetic machine oil has been developed specially for injection moulding machines in collaboration...

Evaporative cooling cuts cycle times.(injection moulding)
January 1, 2007... THE RiTemp technology for wrapping a cavity in a cooling chamber instead of 'gun drilled' water lines has enabled a North American moulder to run a four cavity mould made for a Noryl component on a 13 second cycle compared with 18 seconds for...

Kistler adds management information to CoMo monitoring.(injection moulding)
January 1, 2007... THE LATEST addition to the Kistler CoMo monitoring and analysis range is CoMo-MIS, which is designed to provide a quick and comprehensive overview of the injection moulding process during the moulding cycle. The CoMo-MIS database is used...

Housewares moulder plans 'massive investment'.(injection moulding)
January 1, 2007... HOUSEWARES and storage manufacturer What More UK is planning 'a year of massive investment' in 2007 in both manufacturing capability and new moulds. The company intends to install a further 16 injection moulding machines in the next few months,...

Medical/automotive moulder Wilden is taken over.(injection moulding)
January 1, 2007... GERMAN medical and automotive moulder Wilden has been bought by the Gerresheimer Group. Gerresheimer is a predominantly glass-based group of 23 companies worldwide, operating in four divisions--Moulded Glass, Tubular Glass, Plastic Systems...

Wavin moves injection moulding operations.(injection moulding)
January 1, 2007... WAVIN is to close its site at Lichfield in Staffordshire and move its injection moulding activities to its site at Doncaster in South Yorkshire. The move is the latest step in the rationalisation that the company began when it bought Hepworth...

Anglo-Chinese moulder expands in Malaysia.(injection moulding)
January 1, 2007... AN Anglo-Chinese injection moulding and extrusion company is planning to double moulding capacity with a new plant in Malaysia. Avantis International has a British design arm--Avanco Design (UK) in Cannock--and Asian manufacturing. The new...

Lightweight dairy bottle gets lighter still.(blow moulding)
January 1, 2007... ITALIAN PET bottle systems specialist PET Engineering has cut the weight of a 100 ml bottle down to 5 g--half the weight of the single-serve bottle it developed a year ago and reputedly 2 g lighter than similar containers currently in use. ...

M & G seeks aid to grow in PET packaging.(blow moulding)
January 1, 2007... ITALIAN-based PET group M & G is looking for investors in its preform and bottle businesses operating from Italy. M & G is the world's second largest producer of PET with an output of 1.3 million tonnes annually. Its polymer production...

Hydrogen peroxide vapour brings benefits in preform sterilisation.(blow moulding)
January 1, 2007... A DECONTAMINATION process for preforms has been introduced by Sidel, which says that it is more economical and environmentally friendly than traditional processes such as rinsing with chemical products and sterile water and gas decontamination....

Have your say in blow moulding machine safety standard.(blow moulding)
January 1, 2007... THE European Committee for Standardisation (CEN), is currently reviewing Standard EN422--Rubber and Plastics Machine Safety--for blow moulding machines with the intention of streamlining it in line with other standards. This, says the Polymer...

Taiwanese blow moulding machine comes to Britain.(blow moulding)
January 1, 2007... ANEW range of blow moulding machines has gone on sale in Britain. Bristol-based NB Equipment has extended its representation of the FKI film and sheet equipment range from Taiwan to include the company's range of blow moulding machines. ...

Japanese acquisition inspires high performance reinforcements.(compounding)
January 1, 2007... OWENS Coming has introduced a number of new chopped strand glass products, including three additions to its PerforMax high performance thermoplastic reinforcement portfolio. The new products offer lower out-gassing, enhanced hydrolysis...

Instant take-up of large scale compounding lines.(compounding)
January 1, 2007... THE latest large-scale compounding line from Coperion Werner & Pfleiderer is a serious piece of kit when it comes to investment budgets, scaled to process tens of tonnes an hour. But in only a short time after its introduction in the latter...

Water filtration on PVC profiles 'can pay for itself in 6 months'.(pipe & profile)
January 1, 2007... KEEPING cooling water clean is particularly important in PVC extrusion where the material is fed as a powder and can become airborne, eventually finding its way into the water supply. Water used for wet calibration is supplied pressurised...

Tatra expands with conical twin screw line.(pipe & profile)
January 1, 2007... TRADE extruder Tatra Plastics Manufacturing has installed an IMG Plastec 65 mm conical twin screw extrusion line to increase its capacity for rigid PVC pipes and profiles. The line was supplied by Extrusion Machinery Supplies which sells IMG...

Package deals for WPC profile extrusion.(pipe & profile)
January 1, 2007... A GERMAN specialist in wood/plastic composite profiles has linked with Reifenhauser to offer technology packages which it hopes will expand the market. Over the past seven months Kosche has installed six Reifenhauser lines at its Hesse...

Offshore pipeline first for Degussa PA 12.(pipe & profile)
January 1, 2007... DEGUSSA's Vestamid LX9020 has become the first polyamide 12 to be granted certification by Lloyd's Register for use in the manufacture of non-bonded flexible pipes for the transport of off-shore production and injection fluids, according to the...

Laser projection brings speedy start-up.(pipe & profile)
January 1, 2007... START-UP times can be halved with the use of the Bytewise Profile 360 on line measuring system for profile extrusion, claims distributor Nortest. It is in use by manufacturers of automotive door and window seals, body side mouldings and...

Keeping the lid on extruder heat losses.(pipe & profile)
January 1, 2007... ECOPAC is a package of products and services introduced by Krauss-Maffei to reduce energy consumption in extruders and extrusion lines. It includes a flap to cut heat losses from extruder processing units. According to the company,...