British Plastics & Rubber articles from March 2001

British Plastics & Rubber archives from March 2001

Meiki direct lock electric machine goes into production.(Product Announcement)(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... THE direct-locking all-electric machine which has been under development by Meiki for the past couple of years (British Plastics & Rubber, November 1999 p4) has now gone into production and should be available in the UK from the middle of this...

Plastic Metal introduces 'two at once' machine.(simultaneous molding machine)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
March 1, 2001... A DOUBLE-DAYLIGHT machine for the simultaneous operation of two moulds has been introduced by Plastic Metal. The machine has a third platen between the normal fixed and moving platens enabling two different moulds to be mounted. The...

Nissei adds to its precision technical range.(electronic and other precision parts molding)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
March 1, 2001... A 40 and a 60 tonne machine have been added by Nissei to its PN series. These are high performance versions of its PS models for accurate moulding of electronic and other precision parts. To achieve the uniform plasticisation needed for...

Data from different control levels can be stored in a single archive.(Product Announcement)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... THE new Arburg Copylog 5.0 software package enables users to archive data from Hydronica D, Multronica, Dialogica and Selogica controllers, thereby providing data records with detailed information concerning materials, machines and tools....

Stork increases tiebarless size range.(injection molding machines)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
March 1, 2001... Stork's tiebarless range of injection moulding machines has been steadily extended since its introduction at K'98 and now spans clamping forces from 200 to 500 tonnes combined with injection units ranging from 800 to 8,600. The most recent...

Two-stage injection improves EVA shoe sole moulding.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
March 1, 2001... MAIN Group of Italy has developed a shooting pot type injection unit specially for foamed EVA shoe soles. EVA is one of the four basic groups of shoe soling materials -- the others being thermoplastics, two-component polyurethane and rubber...

Boy touch-screen control comes to Britain.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
March 1, 2001... Boy is now selling machines with the Procan CT controller introduced at K'98. This is a touch screen-based control system backed up with a 32 bit microprocessor, and using an industrial PC for communications and visualisation. Sixty...

Medical moulding spurs growth in insert machines.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
March 1, 2001... THE MIR range of vertical small to medium machines for insert loading when moulding thermoplastics and thermosets has been expanded to more than 20 models including tiebar and tiebarless, shuttle table and rotary table, and vertical or...

Magnesium moulding without fees -- but not yet.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
March 1, 2001... NISSEI has developed a 140 tonne direct hydraulic lock machine to mould magnesium alloys based on its UH Series for ultra fast filling of extremely thinwall parts. The magnesium moulding version, designated the FMg. 3000, will sell for about...

Longer warranties From Netstal.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... NETSTAL has increased its machine warranty period from one to three years under new terms taking effect from the beginning of this year. Subject to correct treatment of machines, customers may have free repairs during the three year period....

Battenfeld takes the plunge into water injection.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... BATTENFELD has joined the growing number of machine manufacturers offering equipment for water injection by adding it to its Airmould and Airmould Contour technologies for coring out mouldings. Water injection technology is based on work...

The magic of micro foam.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
March 1, 2001... From time to time we publish news of yet another injection machine manufacturer signing up as a licensee to build machines for operation with the MuCell foam process. We originally described MuCell in 1998 (November; page 12) and with the...

GDA upgrades Dextralog to Barcocim.(Barco Dextralog machine monitoring system)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... BECAUSE its Barco Dextralog (recently renamed BarcoVision) machine monitoring system was not Y2K compliant, the GDA group, which manufactures Hotpoint, Creda and Cannon domestic appliances, installed a new Barcocim system at its Peterborough...

Faster cycle times for disc moulding.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... As uses for optical discs extend away from personal entertainment they are becoming smaller, and more complex in order to standardise with other electronic alternatives. Alan Smith reports on developments at one of Europe's premier disc...

Cycle time reduction with Contura cooling.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... INNOVA's Contura mould cooling technology, which is claimed to enable cycle times to be cut by up to 30 per cent and is now being promoted by Bayer (British Plastics & Rubber, February 2001, p 16), complements computerised mould cooling...

Electron beam welding joins conductive metals to steel.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Cycle time reductions of between 18 and 30 per cent have been achieved by the application of the Case process offered by Ceram. This uses electron beam welding (EBW) to join conductive alloys with tool steels and improve cooling, provided that...

Mixing ring is backed as 'best for colour dispersion'.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... ON-MACHINE colouring has a lot to commend it economically, but the economics can be confounded by the measures taken to ensure an acceptable product. Material can be bought in bulk uncoloured and centralised systems can be used for...

Hopper mixer 'can improve mouldings'.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... GREATER product consistency and shorter cycle times can be achieved when adding regrind or masterbatch by fitting a mixer to the machine hopper, says Plasten Engineering, which is now selling the TSM blending head. Poor mixing can be...

Bushes give tight gate spacing for large mouldings.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... FAST HEAT's Precision LV625 Series of hot bushes is now available for general use. They have been field tested in a variety of applications over 18 months, being used for packaging, white goods and automotive parts in polymers ranging from...

Halve toolmaking time with laser sintering.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... A SELECTIVE laser sintering material in which bronze is infiltrated into 420 stainless steel has been added to the prototyping/tooling materials from DTM. Making a tool insert is a two-stage process. First, create the stainless steel part...

Four-tip side gating eliminates sub-runners.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... PRODUCTION of an electronic connector by Nolato Alpha of Sweden has been improved through the replacement of indirect tunnel gating with direct injection using a four-tip hot runner nozzle, two tips feeding each cavity. The connector...

Grippers for hostile environments.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... NEW Robo Accessories HP 11 pneumatic grippers are intended for use in hostile environments. Heat and oil resistant dust covers are standard and available in NBR, silicone rubber and fluoroelastomer. The grippers are available in 8, 10, 16 and...

Moll follows Dyson's lead with ATM automation.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... A 40 per cent glass filled polypropylene tub for the Dyson Contrarotator washing machine being moulded at Moll Industries in Gloucester needed a custom-designed handling and production system. Its installation by ATM Automation followed the...

Simplified sprue picker for Moss machines is now available to all.(Moss Plastic Parts)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... A sprue picker specially developed for Moss Plastic Parts is now available to all users of Boy injection moulding machines. It has been designed to fit inside the machine guarding, on the moving platen. Set up has been simplified by using a...

Fast robot at a 'competitive' price.(Wittmann 623 robot)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... AIMED at users seeking a fast robot at a competitive price, the new Wittmann 623 robot moves in three axes simultaneously and incorporates compact servo motors to reduce weight. Payload is 5 kg, considered more than sufficient for most medium...

Movacolor adds weight to its volumetric dosing range.(gravimetric color or additive dosing unit)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... A NEW type of gravimetric colour or additive dosing unit has been introduced alongside Movacolor's existing range of volumetric dosers. The new design, called the MC-Balance, enables processors to gravimetrically dose masterbatch or single...

New dosing screw increases throughput.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... THE new HV 80 dosing screw can be fitted to all Mann & Hummel ProTec gravimetric dosing and mixing systems to increase throughputs to up to 1,500 kg/hr. Up to four dosing stations equipped with HV 80 screws can be mounted on the mixing support...

Fail-safe control redundancy to protect production.(Automold)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... AUTOMOLD of Stroud makes automotive components, notably for under-the-bonnet applications. Delivery of materials to 12 of its injection moulding machines is by a system supplied by Motan, stretching from storage, through drying and blending, to...

Central supply to 30 moulding machines.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... JENCO has now completed the installation of a central materials handling system at Rosti Technical Plastics Division's [pound]6.6 m mobile phone plant at Hamilton in Scotland. The system dries and conveys material to 30 Demag Ergotech injection...

US-designed central systems now from BPI.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... PLASTEK centralised materials distribution systems are now available in the UK from BPI Machines. The equipment has been manufactured for many years under a licensing agreement with Comet Automation Systems of the US and a considerable number...

Foil liners keep materials dry in drums.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... PROTECTIVE Packaging has introduced barrier foil liners for FIBCs with top or bottom spouts, octabins, drums and corrugated cases suitable for the transport of plastics materials. The foil is a laminate of polyester, PE and aluminium and is...

Load cells resist the sway of Spanish winds.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... CIRES (Companhia Industrial de Resinas Sinteticas), the only PVC manufacturer in Portugal, has installed three new Braby aluminium silos at its Estarreja plant under a [pound]1.5 million contract. Each can hold 300 tonnes of PVC powder and is...

Which way is best for you?(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... The relative cost effectiveness of various pneumatic materials conveying systems depends on throughput and conveying distance. Gordon Manning of STB Engineering -- which supplies all types -- gives a rule of thumb guide to the different...

Feeder handles pastes with poor flow.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... DOUGH moulding compounds and other heavy pastes with poor flow characteristics can be handled by the XF Compound Feeder recently added to the Winkworth Machinery range. The Compound Feeder has been added to the existing range of paste...

More size flexibility in equipment from Hi Class Machinery.(Dega SNC, AS AS80S single phase hopper loader)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2001... DEGA has added the AS AS80S single phase hopper loader, with a throughput of 80 kg/hr, to its range to complement its earlier AS50S unit. The AS80S has a larger receiver bowl but the same controller as the AS50S. Other features include a...

Loading time cut when handling rubber compound.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... AS WELL as improving operator safety and working conditions, rubber compounder Bandvulc Tyres has cut the time required for the manual loading and unloading of pallets by installing four Southworth Handling Level-Load-Air self levelling tables....

No ductwork needed for dust control booth.(Extract Technology Downflow CleanLine)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... THE NEW Extract Technology Downflow CleanLine dust control booth is said to be low in cost and needing no ductwork, dust collector or fan, as it is supplied as a preassembled stack. A gentle downward airflow moves dust away without loss of...

Conveyor operates at any angle.(Floveyor International aero mechanical conveyor )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... THE Floveyor International aero mechanical conveyor is suitable for handling powders and granules, including poor flowing materials, as it sucks in material and discharges it centrifugally with minimum dust. Product does not stick to the wall...

PACKLINE.(Mk 3 Compac range of reel handling units)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... PACKLINE has introduced its Mk 3 Compac range of reel handling units made in stainless steel. A lead screw and ball system is used to raise and lower reels and there is no possibility of a reel descending in the event of a power or equipment...

Jarshire.(reel handlers and pallet/reel turners )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Jarshire now supplies UK-built reel handlers and pallet/reel turners which are 45 per cent less expensive than the imported models it sold previously. It says build quality is better and two weeks delivery can be made for custom built types....

Neuenhauser Vorwald devices.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Neuenhauser Vorwald devices are used for the removal of expansion shafts from finished reels and their insertion into empty cores. Recent new Health & Safety regulations and increases in reel weights have led to the introduction of these...

Labotek SVR.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... THE type of fully filtered bowl fitted to new Labotek SVR three phase hopper loaders allows easy cleaning when changes in material are made. The equipment is compatible with the established PGT loaders and stainless steel bowls are available in...

Albis.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... * Albis (UK) has become the UK and Ireland distributor of Labotek materials handling equipment. Labotek has been running for the past few months alongside Hi-Class Machinery in Kettering, with Hi-Class managing director Bob Wilson performing...

Software for monitoring any number of silos.(from Braby)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... BRABY has updated its silo monitoring software which now enables the monitoring of stock levels from the site where silos are installed as well as any number of remote sites. With Visual Datalink 2/Smart Link users can view a graphical...

Flexible IBCs improve carbon black handling.(carbon black handling systems)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... FLEXIBLE IBC carbon black handling systems, designed and installed by John P Waterhouse Co of Nottingham are being used in new installations as well as the replacement of ageing rigid IBC systems feeding existing carbon black weighers. The...

Testing service establishes how materials should be treated.(materials handling system)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... A SUCCESSFUL materials handling system depends on knowing the individual physical and chemical characteristics and specific flow characteristics of the materials involved. To be sure that new materials can be handled optimally on existing...

Super tough nylon without super tough mould filling.(from E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co.)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
March 1, 2001... INTRODUCTION of a viscosity-lowering technology by DuPont is extending the potential for its toughened nylon materials. The Zytel ST (super tough) range was developed about 30 years ago using DuPont's own elastomers for toughening, so...

Lead-free PVC for superior rainwater goods.(Deoflex/Vitapol)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
March 1, 2001... Doeflex/Vitapol has engineered a new rigid PVC expressly for building products such as rainwater goods. Cal-X offers two major advantages. It is free of lead stabilisers and it competes with acrylic-coated products for external use. Cal-X...

Masterbatch glows under ultra violet light.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... A NEW masterbatch from Douglas Baker Plastics is intended for security-sensitive products. BakerShine contains an additive which reacts to ultra violet light, so that components moulded in the material look transparent to the naked eye under...

Polymer-specific masterbatch for acetals.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... THE latest masterbatch from Colour Tone Masterbatch is for use with injection moulding grades of acetal homopolymer and copolymer. Initially the product will be colour-matched to customer specifications but there are plans for a limited range...

Polycarbonate masterbatch supports computer fashion.(Hi-Space mini-disc)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... THE Apple Mac created a fashion for computer housings in transparent colours that has spread throughout the PC world. So when MPO Media created the Hi-Space mini-disc, the company thought of using the same casing colour schemes to harmonise...

Low fog TPV is intended for automotive interiors.(Advanced Elastomer Systems' new Santoprene thermoplastic rubbers)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
March 1, 2001... IN most circumstances we are completely unaware of the slight odours and emissions that emanate from plastics. But what is insignificant out in the open becomes very evident in enclosed and warm environments like the interior of a car....

Nylon ousts steel for air bag housing.(air bag molded in nylon 66)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... The driver's air bag container for the Volkswagen Lupo is moulded in a toughened glass-reinforced nylon 66 from DuPont, replacing the steel construction previously thought necessary to withstand the high static and dynamic forces when the...

Plated PEEK stands up to soldering.(Dr Ing Max Schlotter's Victrex PEEK aromatic polyketone)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
March 1, 2001... ELECTROLYTICALLY plateable plastics like ABS and ABS blends do not have the temperature resistance to withstand soldering operations. This was the impetus for the Dr Ing Max Schlotter company of Germany to develop its Slotosit KM metallising...

PET ISBM replaces wide mouth injection moulded PP.(injection stretch blow molded containers)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... INJECTION stretch blow moulded (ISBM) wide mouth and rectangular confectionery containers are now being produced in PET by Audus Noble, which claims that they could previously be made only as PP injection mouldings. The Noble range of PET...

A lot of little bottles from the same preform.(Automa introduces PET containers)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Also new with a family of PET containers is machine manufacturer Automa which has devised a modular system allowing 13 types of PET bottle from 20 to 50 ml capacity to be made in different shapes from one preform. The company says that...

Surveying site energy use.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... ENERGY efficiency measures can improve your profits significantly for minimum effort and costs. For a plastics company with a turnover of [pound]10 million per year the average electricity bill will be approximately [pound]200,000 (between 1...

Seek and ye shall find.(Prospector Desktop aids materials selection)(Product Announcement)
March 1, 2001... Why restrict important material selection decisions to the material data that you have to hand when you can run through 38,000 grades at the click of a button? COMPUTERS can't do it all, but they can do some things so well that it would be...

Slash and burn.(management of PlasticsNet)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... WHAT is going on at PlasticsNet? Cornmerx has sold its pioneering plastics portal/marketplace to VerticalNet for an undisclosed sum. A brief announcement appeared on the Commerx corporate site but some two weeks after the event, nothing had yet...

More changes at DSM.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... DSM has made organisational changes in its elastomers business. A new group, Corporate Venturing & Business Development, has been set up to combine the former groups New Business Development, Solutech, High Performance Fibres and SBR. DSM...

New structure for Ciba Specialty Chemicals.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Ciba Specialty Chemicals has restructured in line with its customer industries. The former nine business units have been grouped into five segments responsible for marketing, research and development, technology, production and sales. They are:...

Dow in non-wovens joint venture.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Dow Chemical Company has joined forces with non-wovens specialist BBA Group of London in a 50:50 joint venture called Advanced Design Concepts, based in Germany. The aim is to develop materials-to-fabrication systems for use in such markets as...

Polymer materials.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... EVC International has increased the price of its Evipol suspension PVC by Eur 100/t. *All PE products from Basell have gone up in price by DM 150/tonne.

Additives.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... The price of Great Lakes Chemical's BA-59P tetrabromobisphenol flame retardant has increased by $0.13/kg globally, and those its DE-71 and DE-60FS flame retardants by 20 and 10 per cent respectively in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

More high performance PE fibre production planned by DSM.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... DSM is to increase production of its bullet-stopping polyethylene fibre, Dyneema. Dyneema is produced by a DSM-patented gel spinning process, and is said to be up to 15 times stronger than steel and 40 times stronger than aramid. At...

Polyolefins expansion in Saudi Arabia.(ExxonMobil)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2001... EXXONMOBIL has completed a double expansion of facilities it shares with Sabic in Saudi Arabia, including the setting up of a new 260,000 tonnes production facility for polypropylene. It has started up the expansion of the Yanpet complex at...

BP now offers mLLDPE package.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... ANOTHER knot has been unravelled from the complex issues surrounding the development of metallocene catalysts for polyethylene production. The various patents and cross-licenses had built a situation where, effectively, no patent holder was...

PUIPE swap squares the EU over Dow/Union Carbide merger.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... THE European Union's requirement for Dow to sell Union Carbide's half share in Polimeri Europa in order for the takeover of Union Carbide to be ratified is being met with a swap plus cash for EniChem's polyurethanes business. Addition of...

East-West amino co-operation.(Perstorp Compounds, Matsushita Electric Works agreement)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... PERSTORP Compounds, the world's largest producer of amino thermosets, is to co-operate on new materials developments with Asia's biggest amino producer Matsushita Electric Works of Japan. The two companies plan to develop new materials with...

Asian silicones boost for GE.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... GENERAL Electric is to expand its silicones business through a joint venture operation in Asia It is setting up - through a partnership with Toshiba - a company equally owned by Shin-Etsu Chemical of Japan which will make silane monomers and...

Bayer plans Chinese PU coating vestment.(polyurethane)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... BAYER is to build a plant for polyurethane coating materials in the People's Republic of China. The first phase of the $110 million scheme will become operational in 2003 and will provide capacity for 11,500 tonnes of TDI-and HDI-based...

Film extrusion.(Britton Group installs laminating units at Louth plant)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Britton Group has installed a new three-layer co-extruder and solventless laminating unit at its Louth plant in a [pound].5 million investment. The film line is from Macchi and will produce general purpose films as well as materials for...

Greenpeace claims danger from floors and carpets.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... GREENPEACE has extended its campaign against PVC by joining with the Healthy Flooring Network to condemn the use of vinyl flooring and fitted carpets. A report entitled Poison Underfoot compiled by the Greenpeace Research Laboratories...

Ozone-friendly blowing agent for trial.(Honeywell Flourine Products Europe makes hydrofluorocarbon available for European trial)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... HONEYWELL Fluorine Products Europe is now making semi-commercial quantities of its HFC-245fa blowing agent available for trial by European foam producers. Hydrofluorocarbon HFC-245fa is a non-ozone depleting blowing agent designed...

Demag scores its first on-line machine sale.(Demag Ergotech)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Demag Ergotech has sold its first injection moulding machine on the internet -- to Gebhard u Wagner, a moulder in Nurnberg, Germany. The order was placed one week after Demag Ergotech's new machine shop at www.portax.com went on line. The...

Delcam upgrades reverse engineering and adds electrode design.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... THE latest release of Delcam's CopyCAD reverse engineering software includes many refinements and some new features. One important addition makes it easier to generate the split line for a mould. This depends on a new facility to create...

D-M-E.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... D-M-E's e-commerce site includes more than 8,000 free downloadable CAD images of mouldmaking components. The drawings are available in up to 30 formats, including Pro-E, Unigraphics, SolidWorks and AutoCAD. They are created in 2D or 3D surfaces...

Polimeri Europa.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Italian polyethylene producer Polimeri Europa is now online with a site detailing products, applications, services, news and other company information. As we go to press, the site is solely in Italian but by the time you read this, the English...

Paulson Training Programs.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Paulson Training Programs has completely redesigned its web site to give a comprehensive overview of products and services. The site now includes complete course descriptions for the entire Paulson training library for injection moulders,...

Swanstone.(web site offers online purchasing)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Swanstone is the distributor for Geiss vacuum forming and CNC trimming machines, and for Tommy Nielsen packaging equipment. The new Swanstone site offers details of the machines and ancillary equipment, and provides links to the principals'...

BASF Pigments.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... BASF has set up a product information site for its pigments business. The material is arranged by application industry -- coatings, plastics, ceramics and printing inks. Information includes product data sheets, safety data sheets, conformity...

Great Lakes Polymer Additives.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Great Lakes Chemical has set up a worldwide B2B web site for its polymer flame retardant and stabiliser additives. This single global interface for customers everywhere is surely a foretaste of the way things will be in the future. The online...

Derwent World Patents Index.(Delphion Intellectual Property Network)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... One of the first ports of call for people seeking technical information is the Delphion Intellectual Property Network. Now the Derwent World Patents Index has been added to the resources available from the Delphion site. The Index is produced...

Selecterra.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Selecterra went live at the end of January, and bills itself as the first independent portal and e-marketplace to serve the speciality converting industry More than 200 converters registered as members in the early registration period, better...