British Plastics & Rubber articles from June 2001

British Plastics & Rubber archives from June 2001

BLOW MOULDING.
June 1, 2001... It is just over a year since a little known (in plastics, anyway) industrial conglomerate from Switzerland bought one of the best known names in blow moulding. SIG Group set up a special division for its new ex-Krupp plastics interests which it...

Extrusion by name, extrusion blow by nature.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... A RELATIVELY new name in blow moulding machinery is Extrusion of Italy, which was set up about 18 months ago by a number of former employees of other major blow moulding machinery manufacturers. The company makes machines for containers up...

Milacron machine is optimised for polycarbonate.(Uniloy Milacron)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
June 1, 2001... The new RS13500 P/C from Uniloy Milacron has been optimised for the production of 11 - 22 litre polycarbonate bottles. It has a specially developed top-fed head with a direct flow design which is said to improve parison clarity and reduce...

Production rates increased by flushing with cold, dry air.(Beko Technologies)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
June 1, 2001... PRODUCTION rates can be increased by 30 per cent with the Bekoblizz refrigerated air cooling technique for large blow moulded components, claims Beko Technologies which has introduced the system to the UK following its acceptance in Germany and...

Tandem machine works as a production cell.(Uniloy Milacron)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... A DUAL clamp machine for blow moulding building panels has been installed at the Luxembourg plant of an international manufacturer of household products by Uniloy Milacron. It is the first European installation of the Tracker T1600 tandem...

Tailor-made valve gate improves the finish of PET preforms.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
June 1, 2001... A HOT runner valve gate developed specifically for moulding PET bottle preforms has gone on sale in the UK. The Simplex Flow valve gate was designed by Seiki at the request of one of Japan's largest PET bottle makers Yoshino. Yoshino had...

Prototyping machine hacks bottle development time.(Rexam A/S)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... REXAM's new product development team, based at the company's closures and containers division in Portsmouth, used an MCP Equipment blow moulding machine to make a prototype 0.5 litre bottle featuring an innovative closure and neck finish. The...

PC/ABS spoilers are blow moulded.(Avtozaz Production Association)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... THREE types of spoiler are to be moulded in Bayblend PC/ABS on a new SIG Blowtec 2-61 machine at Avtotaz, the largest Russian car producer. The company produces blow moulded components for about 750,000 Lada vehicles per year. Two blow moulding...

Blow moulded barriers keep crowds under control.(NPL Technologies)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... NPL Technologies has designed and produced tooling to make novel blow moulded traffic and crowd control barriers. These are manufactured for Melba Products by Weltonhurst in Blackburn, where 15 blow moulding machines are installed. The barriers...

'Ship in bottle' fuel tanks cut emissions.(TI Group Automotive Systems)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... TI GROUP Automotive Systems has developed a new design of plastics fuel tank to assist automotive manufacturers in meeting stringent new PZEV (partial zero emission vehicle) requirements concerning evaporative emissions. All components...

Pick & place saves labour and pays back in a year.(Ferryfield Mouldings)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... FERRYFIELD Mouldings has achieved cost savings and improved QC by equipping a Boy 25 and a 30 tonne machine with special robotic take out systems supplied by Spaceminster. The company is the in-house moulding division of Newhaven-based...

Automation cell demoulds and palletises.(Wittmann UK)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... WITTMANN UK has supplied a packaging company with a [pound] 200,000 demoulding and palletising cell incorporating Wittmann and Toshiba robots, conveyors and pallets. The system operates with machines producing pairs of parts on 6 second cycles...

Modular robots can be configured in 500 ways.(TM Robotics)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
June 1, 2001... TM Robotics has launched a range of linear multiple actuators and Cartesian robots throughout Europe. The BA series has a modular design that allows single or multi-axis units to be built in more than 500 configurations from the same...

Robot range is uprated.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
June 1, 2001... MOTOMAN has replaced its SK articulated arm robots with the new UP series which have a larger working envelope and eliminate trailing hoses and cables. All axes have direct drive for greater speed and accuracy. Eight models in the range have...

Simulation software plans Toshiba layouts.(Toshiba Machine Company Ltd.)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... A CUSTOMISED version of BYG Systems' Grasp2000 robot simulation software has been developed for Toshiba Machine robots. This is a 3D program that allows robot operation to be simulated to optimise reach, joint constraints and cycle times....

Custom-built conveyors are key to robotic removal.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... CUSTOM building product handling systems is particularly valuable when it is necessary to interface with robots employed for post moulding operations involving conveyor indexing. UPM custom-builds its Dynacon conveyor systems and has installed...

Streamlined assembly for fruit machine reels.(ACE Assembly Systems)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... ACE Assembly Systems has installed new conveying equipment for part assembly at Starpoint Electrics, which makes gaming machine reel mechanisms, to handle the moulded wheels incorporated in fruit machines. A reel mechanism is a complex electro...

PE side frames reduce friction.(polyethylene)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Golding Machinery now offers PMS conveyors, which have low friction PE side frames and modular link belts, in various configurations and dimensions. Conveying distances and angles can be altered as required. Options include variable speed...

Low voltage drive increases conveyor system flexibility.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... RAPID and simple installation or reconfiguration is possible with Buschman Accuzone roller conveyor modules now available from Greenstone Automation. Low energy consumption and quiet running at 62 dBA are claimed. Greenstone says that the...

Keeping parts moving without risk of collision.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... ANTI-COLLISION measures were central in installations recently carried out by Tek Machinery. Increased production of toilet seats at Celmac, part of the Polypipe group, led to a need for downstream automation and centralised delivery of...

It's quicker by tube, overground...(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... CONVEYING systems for moulded parts made by Vibrair Solids Handling can transfer parts up to 100 m at rates up to 64 per 6 second moulding cycle, sufficient for a great proportion of injection moulding applications. The motive air source...

...or underground.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... PNEUMATIC Conveying Systems says that its equipment for parts removal from injection moulding machines, as well as being more flexible, frees floor space and uses less labour than belt conveyors or boxes and pallet trucks. Small bore...

More variations available for large part fixtures.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
June 1, 2001... TQC has improved its fixtures for dressing, inspecting and finishing large mouldings such as car bumpers and dashboards by allowing clockwise or anti-clockwise rotation for right or left handed operators and providing additional stop positions....

Scale resolution can be changed during weighing.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
June 1, 2001... NEW Mettler Toledo Spider BC and FC counting scales have default value ranges from which a reference piece count can be selected and resolution can be increased by a keystroke during weighing. The FC model allows filling to a target piece count...

Counting scales are battery-powered.(from Adam Equipment Inc.)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
June 1, 2001... HIGH resolution but low cost ACM and LTCM parts counting scales introduced by Adam Equipment are battery powered with capacities from 3 to 300 kg. Displayed resolution is 15,000 divisions and internal resolution is up to 300,000 divisions. The...

Cutting energy costs in extrusion blow moulding.(Statistical Data Included)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... FOR blow moulding, the Specific Energy Consumption (the energy used to process a kg of polymer) varies from 'typical' values of 1.5 - 2.0 kWh/kg up to 'high' values of greater than 3.0 kWh/kg. If your factory SEC is greater than 3.0 kWh/kg...

Electric foam machine has two-stage injection.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
June 1, 2001... MILACRON Elektron Technologies and Uniloy Milacron have developed an all-electric foam injection moulding machine for a large foam moulder customer who wanted an electric machine for energy saving. The technology for the foaming process was...

Online monitoring enables multi-site management.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... THE Engel Teleservice system is being used in Germany by Metzeler Automotive Profile Systems for on-line diagnostic monitoring of six tiebarless Pro-Elast machines at the company's new factory in Dzierzoniow in Poland. Specialists at the Lindau...

Customised Sandretto.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... A SANDRETTO 125 tonne machine installed by Merit Plastic Mouldings has been 'custom-built' with a 285 injection unit to provide high injection pressure. The 30 mm screw is suitable for the production of laboratory test mouldings. These are made...

No chances taken with optical material silos.(Braby plastic containers)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... BRABY has developed special methods to make storage vessels for optical grade moulding materials, used for CDs, contact lenses and other products. Stainless steel is purchased only if it passes quality tests and is obtained in sheets coated...

Discharger handles more than just bulk bags.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... THE NEW BFF Combi-Hood bulk bag discharger from Flexicon (Europe) has a multi-purpose hopper interface that allows automatic discharging from 1 tonne FIBCs as well as manual emptying from sacks, drums and other containers. An FIBC may be...

Blender works at high temperatures.(TSM Control Systems)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
June 1, 2001... TSM Control Systems has developed a gravimetric blender which may be used downstream of a drier to blend materials at temperatures up to 200 degC. The company says that gravimetric blending of hygroscopic materials which require drying has not...

Multi-choice manifold has no residue problems, says Koch.(Koch-Technik conveying system for plastics)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
June 1, 2001... The Navigator control system introduced by Koch-Technik enables up to 36 machines of any type to be connected and supplied with up to a similar number of materials. Material and machine lines are suitably connected within the system and...

FIBC filler is portable.(plastics filling machinery; Webster-Griffin)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
June 1, 2001... THE NEW Webster-Griffin IBC-MB self contained high speed mobile FIBC filling system is wheel-mounted and can be towed into position by a fork truck. It is intended for use where there is need to fill road tankers and FIBCs from the same silo,...

Weigh system for small rubber chemicals.(BMH Chronos Richardson)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
June 1, 2001... BMH Chronos Richardson has introduced a small chemicals weighing system to meet the requirements of high specification rubber compounders. Throughputs of between two to four bags per minute can be achieved, depending on formulation complexity....

'The most tightly toleranced acetal part on the market'.(steering wheel part from NSK Steering Systems)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
June 1, 2001... AN injection moulded bush with a fit tolerance band of just 25 micron is being fitted to the range of car steering systems produced by NSK Steering Systems Europe in Coventry. The bush, which enables the telescopic adjustment of the steering...

Thermoplastic composite is used in Airbus wings.(Fokker Special Products composite Cetex)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... What is being claimed as the first substitution of large plastic parts for aluminium in the wings of commercial aircraft is under way at Fokker Special Products in the Netherlands, which is building wings for the new Airbus A340-500 and -600...

Long fibre PBT brings higher mechanical properties at elevated temperatures.(LNP Corp.)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
June 1, 2001... A PBT-based long fibre-reinforced compound has been added to LNP Engineering Plastics' Verton line. The new Verton WF combines the advantages of PBT, like low moisture absorption, UV resistance, surface hardness and heat resistance with the...

New polycarbonate for infusion components.(B Braun Medical Inc. and Bayer AG)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... WORKJNG in collaboration with B Braun Medical, Bayer has developed a new grade of polycarbonate specially for medical infusion equipment. These devices are in direct contact with blood and intravenous fluids, and they must be biocompatible...

Nylon rocker cover is painted and pad printed.(Rhodia Engineering Plastics Technyl nylon used for automobile part)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... ROCKER covers for Audi A4 and VW Passat engines are being moulded in a glass and mineral reinforced Technyl nylon from Rhodia Engineering Plastics. The material of choice is Technyl A 218 MT15 V25, a 6,6 polyamide reinforced with 15 per cent...

Thermochromics added to LNP's Colorcomp range.(ICI Americas Inc. LNP Engineering Plastics)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... LNP Engineering Plastics has extended its special effects compounds range with Colorcomp thermochromic compounds. These change colour when exposed to body temperatures (37 degC) or at a temperature which would be judged hot to the touch (47...

PEEK'S chemical resistance is key to universal sensors.
June 1, 2001... Quantum Analytical Instruments cited outstanding chemical resistance and strength for its choice of Victrex PEEK polymer for the housings and structural components of its monitoring sensors. The combination of mechanical and chemical properties...

No more gnashing of teeth.(Plastics Gearing Design Solutions)
June 1, 2001... I Gear design is a complex art. Clive Maier tries a Free-of-charge program that makes it simple. GEARS look simple enough. They are basically just rollers with intermeshing teeth to prevent any slippage between them. If friction could do...

Quotation program developed for film and bag producers.(Bag and Film Quoter )(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... DTR Software International, developer of the plastics ERP system The Manufacturing Manager, has launched The Bag and Film Quoter and enhanced its Scheduling Control Center. The Bag and Film Quoter has been developed specifically for film...

United we stand.(ElastomerSolutions.com L.L.C.)(Elemica)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... THERE is a chill wind blowing over e-business, and companies are huddling together for warmth. A spate of partnerships, alliances and collaborations show how players are looking to share the risk and the market, seeking to cut the time and cost...

Internet enables supply chain colour approval and instrument calibration.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
June 1, 2001... GRETAGMACBETH is stepping up its e-colour effort with a new supply chain tool for colour communication and enhancements to its web-enabled colour calibration system. The supply chain tool is NetPalette, an internet-based colour...

High-speed machining -- more than just a fast spindle.(Delcam PLC)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... THERE is more, much more, to high-speed machining than just a fast well balanced spindle. It is, pun intended, a step change. It is not only faster and cheaper than conventional machining, but you can do new and better things like cutting hard...

What else is new from Delcam?(Delcam PLC)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... DELCAM's output of upgrades to its mould design and machining programs is, to say the least, prodigious and difficult to keep up with. So here is a digest of some of the more recent improvements to the company's estimating and modelling...

Elcometer Instruments.(Elcometer Instruments Ltd.)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Elcometer has set up a web site of more than a thousand pages dedicated to its range of equipment for inspecting and measuring coatings. It has been designed to meet the needs of all those in industry who need to review equipment or who require...

MBD.
June 1, 2001... Market research company MBD has set up an e-commerce site for its many report titles covering the building, engineering, B2B, and professional/office services sectors. The good idea is that you don't necessarily have to buy the whole report;...

Rapid Colour Services.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... No fewer than 210 stock universal colour masterbatches produced by German specialist Color Service are now available online from the new website of Rapid Colour Services. You can view all the colours, read technical specifications and check on...

Bradford IRC and Moldflow become partners in gas injection research.
June 1, 2001... MOLDFLOW and the Interdisciplinary Research Centre (IRC) in Polymer Science and Technology at the University of Bradford have formed a research partnership to study innovative techniques for gas-assisted injection moulding (GAIM). The two-year...

Honeywell POMS gains integrated scheduling.(Honeywell POMS Corp.)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... UNDER an agreement just signed with Taylor Manufacturing Systems, Honeywell POMS is now able to offer the Taylor Scheduler as part of its POMS MES (manufacturing execution system) and POMS CMS (clinical manufacturing and supplies) software...

Thinnest ever cross-linked polyolefin foam.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... ALVEO has produced what it believes to be the thinnest cross-linked polyolefin foam ever. Alveolit TEE S 0400.3 is only 0.3 mm thick but it still retains all the characteristics of foam. Product cross sections show a surface-skinned...

Single source for web accessories.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... A COMPANY specialising in reel-related equipment for the web processing industries has opened in Northwich, Cheshire. Webtek offers a full design and manufacturing service across a range of products from web inspection to core restorers....

Refocussing Victor gives PolyOne more muscle in masterbatch.
June 1, 2001... REMEMBER The Rainbow Makers? The once market-leading colour compounder and master-batch maker Victor International Plastics suffered in recent years through increasing competition and a sea change in how plastics processors handle colour. The...

New bag maker raises output by half.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... THE first model of the new Arvor Alpha 1499 bottom weld bag maker has been delivered to Ultimate Packaging near Grimsby. The company says that initial figures showed a production increase of up to 50 per cent compared with its previous...

Micro welder makes fine detail mould repairs.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... MICROWELD Technologies of Sioux City, Iowa, USA has developed its KwikWeld micro spot welding unit specifically for mould repairs. A typical use is the small and intricate welding needed to repair scratches, pin holes, worn parting lines and...

Contract rheometry service.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... BOHLIN Instruments, which supplies both rotational and capillary rheometers, has set up a contract rheometry testing service at its Cirencester headquarters. The service will appeal to those companies with only occasional testing...

Growth in European machinery output to slow.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... MANUFACTURE of plastics and rubber processing machines in the countries covered by Euromap -- Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the UK -- increased by 10 per cent in 2000 over the previous...

Hot plate welding with non-contact heaters.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... A HOT PLATE welding operation has been modified to prevent damage to the welding machine by using non-contact heating. Harvey Softeners is making cylindrical pressure tanks for water softening equipment from glass filled polypropylene. The...

Rapid prototypes in high performance polymers.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... THE NEW FDM Titan rapid prototyping system from Stratasys breaks new ground by producing prototypes directly in polycarbonate and, in the near future, from PPS and ABS as well. The Titan uses the established Stratasys fused deposition...

Roto moulding for technical parts.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... A CUSTOM manufacturing service for technical rotational mouldings has been set up by Standel Dawman in Lancashire. The company is offering design, tooling and moulding for products from 75 mm high to a 1.5 m sphere. A recent typical...

Washing machine doubles as silicone coater.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... A MACHINE designed to remove surface contaminants has been repurposed to apply a surface coating to rubber components. Guyson International has created a special version of its Formula 950 rotary washer for applying a silicone coating to...

Spray away rotational flow problems.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... AMBERSIL has developed a spray-on mould flow improver for rotational moulding. Roto moulding is a pressureless process so it has always been a problem to get materials to flow into thin sections or fine details such as threads. Ambersil's...

Dynisco Hot Runners becomes Synventive.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Dynisco Hot Runners, the one Dynisco business that was not sold by Berwind Industries to Madison Capital Partners last November, has been renamed Synventive Molding Solutions -- Synventive being derived from synergy and inventive.

CMS buys into Rye.(CMS Energy Corp.)(Rye Technology)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Italian CNC machining centre manufacturer CMS has bought 25 per cent of Rye Technology of the UK, which makes CNC routers. Rye has been renamed Rye CMS, and is now offering the CMS range alongside its own entry level QM router. In addition CMS...

New name for Ems.(plastic industry)
June 1, 2001... Ems Group has adopted the name of one of its engineering plastics, Grivory, as a trading name for the whole engineering plastics operation, which now has the trading style Ems-Grivory to distinguish it from Ems-Chemie Holding.

Ticona consolidates in the UK.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Ticona has moved its UK administration from Milton Keynes to its European compounding plant in Telford. The new telephone numbers are: general enquiries, 01952 213400, fax 01952 213423, and technical information hotline 01952 213456.

BASF streamlines plastics.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... BASF is reshaping its plastics and fibres operations into two business units. The Engineering Plastics division, Ultraplast business unit and Fiber Products division will become Performance Polymers on July 1, while the Styrenic Polymers and...

Pechiney to buy Soplaril.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... TotalFinaElf and Pechiney are in the final stages of negotiation for Pechiney to buy TotalFinaElf's flexible packaging subsidiary Soplaril. The deal would meet strategic targets for both companies -- Pechiney's desire to increase its flexible...

Italian investment in Swindon film company.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... The Italian Neophane Group has taken a half share in its sister company printed packaging supplier Romney Packaging of Swindon to finance three years of expansion intended to grow the Romney business by 50 per cent. Romney's managing director...

Mobile phone moulders rekindle merger.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... The merger between mobile phone component moulders Eimo of Finland and Triple S of the USA looks to be on again, creating the only supplier in this market with plants on four continents. It was started nearly a year ago, but abandoned in March...

DB buys Jaye-Dee.(Douglas Baker Plastics)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Masterbatch manufacturer Douglas Baker Plastics has bought thermoplastics materials supplier Jay-Dee (North West). The Jay-Dee name will remain and it will become a trading division of Douglas Baker Plastics.

Bohlin makes more room for rheometer production.(Bohlin Instruments)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Following its acquisition of the Rosand product lines Bohlin Instruments has expanded its Cirencester facilities by around 25 per cent to just under 20,000 sq ft. This provides expanded production capacity for the company's Rosand capillary...

Composites suppliers combine vacuum consumables.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... SP Systems, the Isle of Wight-based supplier of composites materials, has sold its vacuum consumables business to the Airtech Advanced Materials Group, and signed a deal switching supply of vacuum consumables to its large customers to Airtech....

Sustainable PVC -- a natural step.(NORSK Hydro Petrochemicals)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... NORSK Hydro Petrochemicals has set in motion a major sustainable development programme for PVC, using the methodology of The Natural Step (TNS). This is a science-based international non-governmental organisation with a vision of a society that...

Bayer and DuPont name their joint venture PBT site.(Bayer AG)(E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co.)(polybbutylene therephthalate)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... THE Bayer/DuPont joint venture PBT plant now has the official go-ahead and will be built at DuPont's Uentrop site in Germany. Start-up is planned for the first half of 2003. Capacity of the plant will be 80,000 tonnes, with each partner...

FAO to increase naphtha cracking capacity.(Fina Antwerp Olefins)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... FINA Antwerp Olefins is to expand and upgrade its naphtha steam cracking capacity at its Antwerp site in Belgium. FAO is a joint venture between Atofina (65 per cent) and Exxon-Mobil (35 per cent). The project should be completed by the end...

Borealis technology spawns new duPont materials.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... DUPONT has put the ethylene acrylate copolymers derived from its joint venture with Borealis on sale as Elvaloy AC. These are ethylene methyl acrylate, ethylene ethyl acrylate, and ethylene butyl acrylate, lining up alongside duPont's existing...

PS and PP prices rise.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... FURTHER increases in the price of PS and PP came in on June 1. Dow raised the price of all grades of its Styron polystyrene by DM 0.2/kg, with a further increase of DM 0.2/kg planned for July 1. Atofina is increasing its polystyrene price...

Acetal expansion.(acetal plants, Netherlands)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... ADOPTION of Six Sigma operation at its Dordrecht, Netherlands acetal plant has given DuPont a further 10,000 tonnes of capacity without major capital investment.

Work starts on new Ticona GUR plant.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... TICONA has started work on its 30,000 tonnes GUR ultra high molecular weight polyethylene plant in Bishop, Texas, USA. The new plant, which is scheduled to begin operation in the third quarter of 2002, will double the company's GUR capacity in...

Electricity generating plant fuelled only by plastics.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... CONSTRUCTION work has begun at Hokkaido in northern Japan on the world's first electricity generating plant to run entirely on fuel made from waste plastics. The plant is being built by Sanix, a Japanese provider of environmental and...