British Plastics & Rubber articles from May 2004

British Plastics & Rubber archives from May 2004

Polyamide progress from Rhodia.(Engineering Materials)
May 1, 2004... RHODIA Engineering Plastics has produced new grades of polyamides for water injection moulding and improved acoustic performance, and has been developing options for nylon/metal composites. The company has introduced two new Technyl grades...

Stanyl survives higher engine exhaust temperatures.(Engineering Materials)
May 1, 2004... A high heat resistant nylon is used for the silencer cover of a range of garden power toots made by Echo of America. The latest generation of Echo engines have evolved both to minimise exhaust emissions and to retain a high power output. The...

Nylon gear is key to new technology in automotive power steering.(Engineering Materials)
May 1, 2004... AUTOMOTIVE systems maker ZF Lenksysteme of Germany is the first company to use a plastic gear wheel in an electric power steering unit. Electric power steering is eventually expected to replace conventional hydraulic power steering, and ZF's...

Food grade cast nylon has internal lubricant.(Engineering Materials)
May 1, 2004... QUADRANT Engineering Plastic Products has developed a food grade lubricated cast nylon. Nylatron LFG incorporates an internal lubricant that does not leach out after machining or service wear, and makes a marked and lasting improvement in...

TPVs offer superior overmould adhesion to nylons and PPAs.(Engineering Materials)
May 1, 2004... ZEON Chemicals has released studies showing that its Zeotherm 100-series thermoplastic vulcanisates provide superior adhesion in overmoulding to polyamides and polyphthalamides compared to conventional thermoplastic elastomers. This is a direct...

'Softest TPU alloys available'.(Engineering Materials)
May 1, 2004... GLS Corporation of the USA has added two grades to its Versollan RU line of rubberised urethane TPU alloys. The new grades combine a soft flexible feel with high-performance properties and easy processing, a desirable balance not normally...

Rubber-modified PPS maintains heat resistance.(Engineering Materials)
May 1, 2004... CHEVRON Phillips Chemicals has added two rubber-modified grades of PPS (polyphenylene sulphide) to its Xtel XE line of PPS elastomer alloys. The new grades offer good flexibility and impact strength without suffering the conventional loss in...

New TPUs for sports shoes enable thinner and lighter soles.(Engineering Materials)
May 1, 2004... BAYER MaterialScience has developed new thermoplastic polyurethanes for sports shoe soles. The new Desmopan materials are polyether-based aliphatic TPUs and are being marketed as a superior alternative to polyether block amides in the sports...

Flame retardant TPEs aimed at electrical/ electronics.(Engineering Materials)
May 1, 2004... THE latest flame retardant thermoplastic elastomers from PolyOne are intended for high performance applications in the electronic and electrical sectors. The new grades take their place in the company's OnFlex-S line of TPE-S elastomers...

Multi-colour dosing gives a wide palette range.(Additives)
May 1, 2004... A MULTI-DOSING version of its liquid colour dispensing system for extruders has been introduced by ColorMatrix. The ColorMatrix system dispenses liquid colours with high loadings of pigments and dyes such that addition rates down to 0.02...

New name follows new direction for Abbey.(Additives)
May 1, 2004... Abbey Thermosets, which was set up 20 years as a subsidiary of Colloids making thermosetting moulding powders, has changed its name to Abbey Master-batch. The company was bought out of Colloids by Colloids managing director Michael Shirt in...

Silvergate aims for more masterbatch flexibility.(Additives)
May 1, 2004... VTC Silvergate has installed a 60 mm twin screw Leistritz compounding extruder, freeing up the two 55 mm lines that it put in in 2000 to meet demand for its recently introduced Quiksilver masterbatch brand. Quiksilver is a range of 200...

The importance of the carrier when colouring PVC.(Additives)
May 1, 2004... JOHNSON MATTHEY has invested more than 1 million [pounds sterling] this year in doubling production capacity for its Micraflo PVC additive/ colorant carrier system to 2,000 tonnes/year and adding a pilot scale plant for small-to-medium-size...

PVC stabiliser producer expands.(Additives)
May 1, 2004... IKA of Germany this month opens a new calcium/zinc stabiliser plant, doubling its annual capacity to 24,000 tonnes. IKA says it is one of the largest suppliers in the German market of PVC additives for the window profile industry with a...

Process aid for polyolefin film.(Additives)
May 1, 2004... KYNAR Flex PPA 5300 is a new fluoropolymer process aid from Atofina for use with LLDPE, HDPE and metallocene PE grades. It is intended to eliminate surface defects such as orange peel, and to improve transparency and mechanical properties of...

Clariant's pigments in the pink.(Additives)
May 1, 2004... Clariant's Pigment Red 122 has been approved by the American Food and Drug Administration for use with plastics in food contact applications. This puts the company's PV Fast Pink E and PV Fast Pink E01 pigments among the few with colour index...

Phosphonate improves Polyesters.(Additives)
May 1, 2004... THE phosphorus, phosphates and food business division of Rhodia has developed a new phosphonate additive for polyester manufacturers. Albritec PM2 improves the clarity, colour and heat resistance of polyesters for bottle and fibre applications...

Gabriel-Chemie adds to laser marking possibilities.(Additives)
May 1, 2004... ADDITIONS to the range of laser marking additives from Gabriel-Chemie have come from co-operation with Ems-Grivory. Ems-Grivory makes a broad range of polyamide types, and several have been used as carriers for laser marking additives for...

Improved surface finish and antistatic properties.(Additives)
May 1, 2004... TWO processing aids for moulding applications have been added to Cabot's Plasadd series of additive masterbatches. LL8809 is said to bring higher output rates, smoother and glossier surfaces, elimination of melt fracture and a reduction in...

Extended choice for standard and bespoke colours.(Additives)
May 1, 2004... RAPID Colour Services has increased its universal stock masterbatch range to 310 colours, which it says is the largest selection available in the UK. At the same time minimum order quantity has been reduced to 500 grams. The new minimum...

New nucleating agents.(Additives)
May 1, 2004... GREAT Lakes Chemical Corporation has released the first two products in what is to be a new Clearlite line of nucleating agents. Clearlite NU 004 is a micronised product based on sodium benzoate. It increases the crystallisation rate of...

Turning liquids into solids improves handling.(Additives)
May 1, 2004... USING additives in liquid form can call for additional knowledge, dosing equipment and health and safety provisions at companies where handling pellets and powders is the norm. The solution has been to use pelleted concentrates, but these can...

LDPE polymerisation initiator approved for food grades.(Additives)
May 1, 2004... ATOFINA's Luperox 546M75 polymerisation initiator has been approved for use with food-contact low density polyethylenes under European regulations by Bundesinstitut fur Risikobewertung (BfR). The decision means that manufacturers of...

Carbon nanotubes bring new potential in conductive plastics.(Additives)
May 1, 2004... CONDUCTIVE plastics for electronic shielding and car panels that can be sprayed electrostatically are possible applications for 'potentially the best conductors of heat and electricty ever discovered' with the opening of the UK's first...

Kevlar honeycombs save weight in airliners.(Composites)
May 1, 2004... A NEWLY-developed Kevlar aramid paper for making structural honeycombs is expected to extend the range of future passenger aircraft. It has already been used in modifications to the Airbus A340-500 to enable Singapore Airlines to fly...

Thermoplastic composites business goes solo.(Composites)
May 1, 2004... THE Dow Chemical Fulcrum thermoplastic composites business has been acquired by a new company, Fulcrum Composites, led by the former Dow business manager for Fulcrum, Chris Edwards. Fulcrum is a continuous fibre pultrusion process using a...

New tie layer for long-life food packaging.(Packaging Materials)
May 1, 2004... ATOFINA has developed a new polyolefin binder material with significantly improved adhesion properties. Orevac 18910 is intended for tie layers in multilayer coextruded films and sheet, particularly those aimed at food packaging. The material...

Potential grows for PU/steel composites in civil engineering.(Composites)
May 1, 2004... NEW POTENTIAL has been found for the Sandwich Plate System developed by BASF originally for producing ship decking. The company has signed a cooperation agreement with the British-Canadian company Intelligent Engineering for further development...

New glass mat and roving for marine and wind energy markets.(Composites)
May 1, 2004... NEW reinforcements from Owens Corning are aimed at marine and wind energy applications. OC Continuous Filament Mat 8635 is a non-woven glass fibre mat intended for infusion moulding. It is made from the company's Advantex glass and is said...

Plug and play extrusion line now available for window profiles.(Pipe & Profile)
May 1, 2004... SINCE the off-the-shelf modular miniBEX profile line was introduced two years ago Battenfeld has sold 32 systems. Now the company has scaled the concept up to the winBEX for the medium to higher performance range in window profile extrusion....

Jockey extruder for rubber coextrusion.(Pipe & Profile)
May 1, 2004... A JOCKEY extruder suitable for silicone and synthetic rubber applications has been introduced by Davis-Standard. The 40 mm machine is built on a caster wheeled base and prewired and plumbed for easy installation. Length/diameter ratio is 10.5:1...

PVC line dedicated to making fences.(Pipe & Profile)
May 1, 2004... EQUIPMENT specifically to improve the production of PVC fencing has been introduced by Battenfeld Extrusion Technology's American sister company American Maplan. A special die block produces square fence posts; a feed block permits one extruder...

Higher throughput from grooved feed zones.(Pipe & Profile)
May 1, 2004... Grooved feed extruders are now available across the whole Davis-Standard application range from 50 to 150 mm screw diameter and users are achieving 40 to 100 per cent higher throughputs with better melt homogeneity and lower temperatures, says...

Massive head needed for high throughput tyre tread.(Pipe & Profile)
May 1, 2004... A FOUR-channel extrusion head has been developed by Berstorff for use on a tyre tread line. The new quadroplex head is capable of holding peak pressures of 250 bar in each flow channel at a working width of 850 mm. The combination of the...

New saws are faster and have a bigger capacity.(Pipe & Profile)
May 1, 2004... A new Plastex saw developed by Plastic Extruders is based on the existing Model A saw but has been upgraded by replacing the standard pneumatic cylinder-driven table with one actuated by a 400 W brushless DC servo motor. This enables the table...

New cable materials enable higher production speeds.(Pipe & Profile)
May 1, 2004... JACKETING and insulation materials to meet specific needs of low voltage and power transmission cables have been introduced by ExxonMobil and Borealis. A new linear low density polyethylene from ExxonMobil Chemical has been developed...

Nylon 12 protects cables and eases PU extrusion.(Pipe & Profile)
May 1, 2004... Fibre optic cables can be made resistant to attack by termites and rodents by giving them an outer sheath of nylon 12. Performance Plastics supplies Grilamid materials from Ems-Grilamid which can be extruded into tubing or directly on to wire...

New pipe dies meet higher demands for coextrusion.(Pipe & Profile)
May 1, 2004... New pipe dies which enable polyolefin pipes to be coextruded with any desired distribution of layers and combination of materials, and multi layer spiral mandrel distributors with the flexibility to manufacture special products have been...

Plastic pipes now reach 2 m diameter.(Pipe & Profiles)
May 1, 2004... REIFENHAUSER has upped the stakes for plastics pipe, breaking the 1,600 mm barrier and moving plastics into the territory previously reserved for concrete and steel pipes with an extrusion line for HDPE pipes up to 2,000 mm diameter for...

Dies intended for ultra-thin wall tubing.(Pipe & Profile)
May 1, 2004... A SERIES of dies for the production close tolerance medical tubing has been introduced by Guill Tool & Engineering of the USA. The 900SPR Series dies have an adjustable centre to allow walls as thin as 0-00508 mm to be extruded. The die can...

Metal detector keeps track of braided hose joins.(Pipe & Profile)
May 1, 2004... AN ERIEZ E-Z Tec 9000 aperture metal detector is in use at Milton Keynes-based Kutting UK in the production of high pressure plastics hoses. Central core sections of hose may need to be joined before braiding and covering and wire ties are used...

Tessenderlo to expand in French building profiles.(Pipe & Profile)
May 1, 2004... TESSENDERLO Group of Belgium is planning to expand its position in the French building profiles market by buying the PVC profiles division of Acome, leaving Acome to focus on its three core businesses of telecommunications, electrical equipment...

New PVC handling equipment planned for Wavin plant investment.(Pipe & Profile)
May 1, 2004... WAVIN PLASTICS has ordered [pounds sterling]125,000 worth of PVC feeding equipment from Chronos Richardson Batching Systems Group for installation at its Brandon, Co Durham, plant in July. The two Chronos Clean-Feed units will be installed...

Tipper system automates scrap pipe reclaim.(Pipe & Profile)
May 1, 2004... TO COPE with the problem of reclaiming scrap pipe which may be big and heavy and therefore difficult to feed manually into a granulating system Tria has produced an automatic feeding system with a hydraulic tipper. The tipping channel has been...

Pipe grinders improved.(Pipe & Profile)
May 1, 2004... THE Herbold Meckesheim SMP pipe and profile grinders sold by Colortronic have been improved following customer feedback. The SMP has chevron-shaped cutting geometry for high throughput and reduced noise levels. The machine is built with an...

Top of the European league in packaging and trade moulding.(Injection Moulding)
May 1, 2004... WHO are Europe's principal packaging injection moulders? Who are Europe s biggest custom moulders? The answers to both questions are in two recent reports from Applied Market information. Surprisingly, as packaging is the biggest market for...

Japanese robot maker sets up British sales arm.(Automation)
May 1, 2004... JAPANESE robot maker Yushin Precision Equipment has set up its own British sales company, Yushin Automation, based in Cannock. Managing director is Peter Park-Davies, who was formerly managing director of Star Automation. Yushin has...

Controller handles four robots at once.(Automation)
May 1, 2004... THE MultiMove function incorporated in the new ABB IRC5 controller allows up to four robots, including work positioners and other devices, to work in fully coordinated operation. The control module is capable of calculating paths for up to 35...

Open clamp aids robot integration.(Injection Moulding)
May 1, 2004... A Boy 90M will be used by Reis robots at the Automatica automation exhibition in Munich, Germany, next month to demonstrate the integration of a six-axis robot with an injection moulding machine. The robot was specially developed for use on...

Ex-Spaceminster men form moulding company.(Injection Moulding)
May 1, 2004... DAN Crawford, most recent]y sales director of Demag Hamilton and before that with Spaceminster, and Dave Oakley, former technical director of Spaceminster, have teamed up in Cranfield Solutions, offering injection moulding with 'no quantity too...

Toolcraft and Tex add more Arburgs.(Injection Moulding)
May 1, 2004... TOOLCRAFT Plastics of Swindon has added three 50 tonne Arburg 320 machines to its fleet of more than 40 machines from 20 to 180 tonnes, most of which are Arburgs. The company offers a tool design and production service alongside injection...

Milacron in Chinese joint venture to build moulding machines.(Injection Moulding)
May 1, 2004... MILACRON has entered a joint venture to build injection moulding machines in China. It has linked up with Jiangnan Mould & Plastic Technology Co, a plastics processing subsidiary of Jiangyin Mould Plastics Group Co. The new company will be...

High speed machining centre makes moulder more competitive.(Tooling)
May 1, 2004... INJECTION moulder Partridge Plastics has installed the first Fidi HS664 vertical machining centre to come into Britain. The machine, supplied by the 600 Centre, has been installed partly to achieve higher turnround in tooling manufacture to...

Microsoft clicks with Inclosia.(Injection Moulding)
May 1, 2004... A computer mouse has become the first high volume application for the EXO overmoulding system from Dow company Inclosia Solutions. The process (British Plastics & Rubber, May 2003 page 7) is an in-mould fabric backing process which differs...

Victory for Russell.(Injection Moulding)
May 1, 2004... RUSSELL Plastic Mouldings, part of RMC Group, has installed a 300 tonne Engel ES 1350/250HL Victory machine at its Burton-on-Trent plant to make roofing products, such as ventilation supports, and dry verge and dry ridge roofing units which...

Stereolithography resin cuts build times.(Prototyping)
May 1, 2004... DSM Somos 9120 ProtoFunctional stereolithography resin cut prototype build times for the Panasonic XTO camera phone by a third. Panasonic and prototyping company Malcolm Nicholls (MNL) selected Somos 9120 for its toughness and flexibility. The...

Laser guidance gives 'perfect tracking' to seam welder.(Film & Sheet Conversion)
May 1, 2004... THE use of visual laser guidance is said to make the Leister Uniplan hot wedge sheet and textile welding machine the first of its kind. It operates quietly and without odour and perfect tracking of the seam is claimed by means of a continuously...

Panel saw cuts manning requirement.(Film & Sheet Conversion)
May 1, 2004... ONLY one man instead of two is needed to load panels on the new Striebig Evolution vertical panel saw installed at York Plastics (Engineering). This enables an operator to be released for other work in the small family business, where four...

Coated sealing heads improve bagmaking operation.(Film & Sheet Conversion)
May 1, 2004... Heated sealing heads of two high volume bagmaking machines at Parkside International have been treated with Poeton Apticote 810TP coating to avoid hold ups resulting from the previous use of PTFE tape. The heads are used to close parts of bags,...

Accurate coating measurement saves adhesive and improves quality.(Film & Sheet Conversion)
May 1, 2004... COATINGS and Technical Tapes of Ireland has reduced its use of adhesive by 5 per cent by introducing an NDC Infrared Engineering 6100TC system to measure adhesive coating thickness and reduce coat weight variations. Product quality has also...

Retortable zipper opens up new pouch potential.(Film & Sheet Conversion)
May 1, 2004... SUPREME Plastics Group has developed a zipper for resalable pouches capable of withstanding 129 degC for 45 minutes, making it suitable for moist and viscous foods, such as fish and petfoods, which are sterilised. These have been packaged until...

Laser cutting without damage to the carrier sheet.(Film & Sheet Conversion)
May 1, 2004... NOVEL technique for laser cutting adhesive foils has been developed by Jenoptik (UK). The Votan Power Scan enables characters, symbols, logos and other intricate shapes to be laser-cut without damage to the carrier material. It has been...

Tight control of thin coated stripes.(Film & Sheet Conversion)
May 1, 2004... Lacquer coatings can be laid down in distinct lanes on polyester bases by InteliCoat Technologies' stripe coating technique, enabling coating-free areas to be provided along the web in the machine direction. It is applicable to adhesive...

Loadhog finds plentiful cooling capacity right on its doorstep.(Temperature Control)
May 1, 2004... TRANSPORT packaging moulder Loadhog has found the optimum supply of cooling water for its tooling and hydraulics. It's the River Don. Loadhog's factory is on the bank of the Don in Sheffield, and the company has installed a system to use...

Inkjet printer has matrix coding option.(Finishing)
May 1, 2004... NEW features of the Imaje S8 inkjet printer range include a matrix coding option, ink and additive level indicators, additional external communications and extended language capabilities. Data matrix barcodes allow large amounts of data to...

New staking system from Forward + Thompson.(Finishing)
May 1, 2004... A hot air cool staking riveting system has been added to the Forward + Thompson range of hotplate and infrared plastics welding systems. It can be configured for single- or multi-point joining. This picture shows a machine for the assembly of a...

Comeleon imaging process now available for in-house use.(Finishing)
May 1, 2004... DIGITAL imaging company Comeleon is adjusting its strategy for selling its process of applying high resolution closely registered full colour images to three-dimensional mouldings. Originally launched as e-Comeleon as a service company...

Spraying facility intended for low-to-medium volumes.(Finishing)
May 1, 2004... A FULLY-enclosed water-back spraying facility for the application of cosmetic finishes to plastics mouldings installed by Applied Coating Technologies has been purpose built to serve low-to-medium volume manufacturers. Finishes to...

Pad printers equipped for rapid changeover.(Finishing)
May 1, 2004... Three special purpose pad printers supplied to a UK manufacturer by Kaye Dee Marking Solutions were fitted with a new colour separated ink container with rapid changeover and reregistration facility to allow products to be printed in two...

Simplified installation for small additive doser.(Materials Handling)
May 1, 2004... A VOLUMETRIC additive doser for small levels of addition and with simplified installation on the professing machine has been introduced by Summit Systems. The Moretto Genius Microdoser uses a frequency-controlled reciprocating pocket instead of...

Kreyenborg takes over infrared dryer range.(Materials Handling)
May 1, 2004... THE SIAC infrared drying systems which have been sold alongside Kreyenborg reclamation equipment have now been absorbed into Kreyenborg. SIAC has been restructured and the man responsible for infrared dryer development has joined Kreyenborg....

Synchronised feeding gives consistent blending.(Materials Handling)
May 1, 2004... Each of the three models of Colormax's Multi Weigh gravimetric blender includes up to four Posimax loss-in-weight screwless feeders. These have vertical rotating discs which create a product lock-up zone to convey materials smoothly from...

One-pack form makes CBT a real contender for RTM.(Reaction Processing)
May 1, 2004... WHEN it introduced its cyclic butadiene terephthalate (CBT) material a couple of years ago, Cyclics Corporation of the USA suggested one processing method could be through resin transfer moulding. Now it has taken this a step further through a...

Waterborne PU dispersions reduce VOCs from processes and end products.(Reaction Processing)
May 1, 2004... DOW Chemical Company has introduced two waterborne polyurethane dispersions for the CASE market sector (coatings, adhesives, sealants and elastomers). The dispersions are produced without the use of organic solvents, and offer...

K-M blends natural fibres with PU in the mixing head.(Reaction Processing)
May 1, 2004... KRAUSS-Maffei has extended its LFI long fibre reinforcement process to work with natural fibres in addition to glass. In the LFI-process the polyurethane/glass fibre blend is produced inside the mixing head, which eliminates the handling of...

Plant monitoring software designed for PU processing.(Reaction Processing)
May 1, 2004... THREE new software aids for PU processing have been developed by US-based Linden Industries as spin-offs from the company's MicroProcessVu. PlantProcessVu provides for capturing and analysing data from all manufacturing processes...

Solid Edge gains integrated mould design: Clive Maier looks at how mould design has been bundled with a 3D CAD program.(Software)
May 1, 2004... THE 3D CAD program Solid Edge from UGS PLM Solutions is at the heart of a new promotional package aimed at the injection mould design market. The key feature is an integrated Solid Edge add-on known as Solid Edge Mold Tooling. This is teamed...

PLM: what does it mean? What do you want it to mean?(Software)
May 1, 2004... THE Solid Edge Mold Tooling package from UGS PLM solutions is interesting in its own right, but what intrigued was the company name, at least the 'PLM' part of it. PLM stands for product lifecycle management and it is the acronym of the moment...

Rapra technology.(What's New on the Web)
May 1, 2004... The Rapra web site topped 50,000 hits per month for the first time in March of this year. The rising tide of interest prompted the company to redesign the site to streamline its offer of products and services, and to introduce what marketing...

K portal.(What's New on the Web)
May 1, 2004... The next K show in Dusseldorf is still some five months away but the build up to the world's biggest plastics exhibition is in full swing at the K portal. The aim is to help show visitors locate products and services of interest long before the...

Colortronic (UK).(What's New on the Web)
May 1, 2004... Colortronic (UK) has added a 'Partfinder' system to its web site. Partfinder provides an easy way for Colortronic users to identify and purchase spare parts online and around the clock. The system, which is still under development, opens with a...

CADfix now in version 6.0.(Software)
May 1, 2004... THE new version 6.0 of CADfix, ITI TranscenData s CAD/ CAM/CAE file translation and repair solution, has a revamped user interface, streamlined workflow and extensive new 'find and fix' functionality. The new interface has been designed to get...

Free Rapra Polymer Library trial is worth 99 [pounds sterling].(Software)
May 1, 2004... RAPRA Technology is offering a free 30-day trial--worth 99 [pounds sterling]--of its web-based Polymer Library, the world's largest collection of information on plastics, rubbers and adhesives. The library material is selected from more than...

Faster roughing in latest EdgeCAM release.(Software)
May 1, 2004... A FASTER roughing cycle is the promise of the latest release, 8.5, of EdgeCAM from Pathtrace Engineering Systems. The new feature uses an 'intelligent option' to insert trochoidal moves where required. This approach automatically adjusts...