British Plastics & Rubber articles from October 2002

British Plastics & Rubber archives from October 2002

Micro moulding could cause a Baby boom, hopes STV. (Injection Moulding).(UK)
October 1, 2002... SINCE becoming the UK agent for Babyplast, STV has supplied a number of machines to the electronics, automotive and medical sectors for micro moulding applications. One sale in particular was to a company struggling to make small electronic...

Engel introduces its own brand of PET preform machines. (Injection Moulding).
October 1, 2002... Engel, which for 10 years has built the preform injection end of the SIG (formerly Krupp) Corpoplast two stage PET stretch-blow moulding system, has now introduced its own branded range of PET machines. Five toggle clamp machines from 250 to...

Big Sandrettos get electric screw drive. (Injection Moulding).
October 1, 2002... SANDRETTO Mega T ESD series medium to large tonnage machines are now offered with electric screw drive which consumes less energy than hydraulic for the same torque delivery. Electric drive also permits high torque with low rotational speed,...

Get the best out of your plasticizing unit. (Injection Moulding).
October 1, 2002... IMPROVE the performance of your plasticizing unit and you improve the profitability of your company. That's the message from US screw and barrel specialist Spirex which has developed the Process Optimizer to guide moulders through a review of...

The more colours you mould the fewer you have to stock. (Injection Moulding).
October 1, 2002... THREE component parts in four colour combinations can be produced simultaneously in a single cycle in a new production cell incorporating retrofitted Windsor PlugXPress Plus 4 injection units. The user, in Europe, is engaged in the cosmetics...

Twinshot now on Van Dorn Demag. (Injection Moulding).
October 1, 2002... The first injection moulding manufacturer to offer the Twinshot 'screw-within-a-screw coinjection process is VAN DORN DEMAG in the USA. The company has come to an arrangement with Twinshot distributor Spirex Corporation to make the system...

Tool Box aids setting standardization. (Injection Moulding).
October 1, 2002... THE Priamus TOOL BOX is a new piece of portable equipment which may be used to standardize the optimum settings of a moulding machine for individual moulds. It enables settings to be determined irrespective of the make of machine and allow...

Wittmann pairs up robots for McKechnie automation cell. (Injection Moulding).
October 1, 2002... WITTMANN UK has installed an automated moulding cell at Stamford Bridge-based McKechnie Plastic Components to produce an automotive crankshaft seal. Two thermoplastic elastomer seals are inserted into the mould and overmoulded in glass filled...

Higher cost six axis robots pay back through productivity. (Injection Moulding).
October 1, 2002... Injection moulders are increasingly adding value to their activities by incorporating additional operations such as in mould decoration, insert loading and finishing/assembly activities into the basic demoulding cycle. These extra tasks are...

Hi-Tech joins ABB in the latest six-axis collaboration. (Injection Moulding).
October 1, 2002... Most 'traditional' plastics beam robots suppliers have extended their automation capabilities by adding six-axis robots. The latest collaboration in this field has been between Hi-Tech Automation, which sells Sytrama beam robots, and six-axis...

When probes get smaller, control gets harder. (Injection Moulding).
October 1, 2002... THE need to run more cavities without increasing press size is driving hot runner designers and controller manufacturers to shoehorn a lot of hardware into small spaces. The closures and medical industries in particular are always looking for...

Mold-Masters increases high current handling. (Injection Moulding).
October 1, 2002... THE new Mold-Masters Temp-Master TMMZ multi-zone hot runner system temperature control module is capable of running 'significantly' higher currents than the company's standard 15A per zone unit, and is intended for high wattage manifold...

In-mould film is not hard, it's self-healing. (Injection Moulding).
October 1, 2002... FILM COATER Autotype International has developed an in-mould decorating film that offers surface protection, not through sheer surface hardness, but through self-healing. Autoflex HiForm is a polycarbonate film with a coating that may be...

Soft touch surface on flexible substrate. (Injection Moulding).
October 1, 2002... WHAT is claimed as 'the next step in soft-touch overmoulding' has been taken in a joint development between compounder AlphaGary and Corsham, Wiltshire-based injection moulder Slatebond. This is to overmould a soft material on to a flexible...

Gate inserts do away with tunnel gates. (Injection Moulding).
October 1, 2002... HASCO has introduced standard gate inserts which enable sprues to be separated from components on demoulding and individually ejected. The company says that moulds with this provision often have a tunnel for the sprues with only one split level...

Four more for Fourfold. (Injection Moulding).(invests in 4 plastics molding machines, UK)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... WEST Yorkshire-based Fourfold Mouldings has acquired four more Negri Bossi machines since November2001 and now has 20 of this make from 40 to 300 tonnes. The company is geared to producing a variety of components in low volumes, such as for...

Long fibres for injection moulding. (Injection Moulding).(new from Johns Manville)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... LONG FIBRE compounds of PP, PA and PET have been introduced by Johns Manville for the European and North American automotive markets. The new JDR LFTplus materials incorporate fibres said to be longer than the chopped strands in normal...

Birkby's adds in-mould textiles to its technology list. (Injection Moulding).(buys 3 new molding machines, UK)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... BIRKBY's Plastics has started in earnest producing in-mould fabric-covered injection moulded components. Over recent months it has spent [pounds sterling]2 million on three new Krauss-Maffei machines fitted out with K-M's Decoform fabric...

Full acrylic system for IMD. (Injection Moulding).(Roehm Plexiglas product)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... THE Triple AIM (acrylic insert moulding) in-mould decoration system from Roehm Plexiglas is said to meet demands for parts with good weather resistance, precise colour points and displays with low stress birefringence. The system has three...

Multiple interfaces enable temperature controller to be interchanged without reprogramming. (Injection Moulding).
October 1, 2002... THE new Tool-Temp TT-158 E 9 kW mould temperature controller has 15 interfaces for various makes of injection moulding machine. No reprogramming is required when a change from one make of machine to another is made. Solid state relays are...

Free pressure monitoring. (Injection Moulding).
October 1, 2002... UNTIL the end of this year Wittmann UK is including the cost of automatic water pressure flow monitoring in the price of its Tempro Plus mould temperature controllers. Reject moulding can result if hoses and pipes become blocked or a unit fails...

Development support brought automation contract. (Injection Moulding).(Technical Moulded Systems uses automated equipment from Summit Systems to make molded plastic clothespins, UK)
October 1, 2002... PRODUCTION of the Mono Bug Peg, the all-plastic alternative clothes peg which has no metal spring, has moved from development to export level with all the ancillary processes in its manufacture sourced from a single company. The peg was...

Packaging machine from OiMA. (High Speed Machines).
October 1, 2002... OiMA will be demonstrating a 2200/250 model from its Px toggle-operated packaging range which extends from 120 to 650 tonnes. The machine on Stand 4110 will run a multi-cavity thin wall lubricant bottle closure at a rate in excess of 14,400...

Tooling demo shows off hydroblock design. (Hydraulic Machines).
October 1, 2002... The smallest model in OiMA's 230 - 2,200 tonne Hx hydroblock series will be running a mould from Select Moulds designed to demonstrate the use of collapsing cores, undercuts, slides, valve shut-off gates, edge gates and different ejector pin...

Hong Kong mould maker brings car headlight tool. (Tooling - Mould Makers).
October 1, 2002... TK Mold is a Hong Kong-based plastic injection tool maker with a production factory in Shenzhen, in mainland China. The company will be demonstrating its abilities in automotive mould manufacturing with a pair of left and right housings for a...

Retracting arm extends EoAT reach. (Robotics).
October 1, 2002... End-of-arm tooling and CNC degating equipment specialist SAS Automation will be introducing a retracting vacuum arm. This can be used in conjunction with a vacuum cup, to secure and retract the work piece 30 mm with one vacuum circuit. It...

New Generation from Sepro. (Robotics).
October 1, 2002... The latest Generation IV robots with an interactive touch screen programme pendant will be shown by Sepro Robotique. The largest robot on show will have five CNC axes, with two CNC axes in the wrist, giving the speed advantages of a beam robot...

Variations on a theme. (Gas/Water Injection).
October 1, 2002... 'For the first time anywhere', says Cinpres Gas Injection, gas moulding and long glass fibre filled nylon will be combined to produce a high gloss finish and an inner foam structure of remarkable strength. Examples of what CGI now refers...

Automation cell and a CNC sprue picker. (Robotics).
October 1, 2002... A fully automatic production cell will be demonstrated on Stand 5242 by GeKu manufacturing a combined bottle opener and key ring. The cell includes the latest high speed SR260S cartesian robot, which is capable of 0.7 second dry cycle take out...

Outsourced food contact testing is growth area for Rapra. (Testing).
October 1, 2002... INCREASLNG requirements to know the effects on food of contact with plastics and rubbers are putting pressure on both packaging and foodstuffs manufacturers to the point that staying up to date with legislation is more than an in-house task....

Super-fast mixing from liquids to pastes. (Sample Preparation).
October 1, 2002... The FlackTek Hauschild SpeedMixer was developed in Germany to mix alginates for use by the dental profession and is now widely used in technical laboratories. It is a bench-top machine, capable of super fast mixing in seconds with no mess or...

Visual or laser measurement. (Visual Inspection).
October 1, 2002... Applied Industrial Systems will be exhibiting with Star Automation on Stand 5236 to demonstrate its range of vision and laser measurement systems. Applications include: detection of flashing; measurement of length, width, height; thickness;...

The latest inspection systems from Starrett. (Visual Inspection).
October 1, 2002... The new Vicon 302020 camera-based inspection centre from Starrett Precision Optical has a large measuring envelope which can accommodate large components or batches of smaller parts. It has a cold-light LED ring light, a granite base and...

New test head speeds up pressure filter test. (Testing).
October 1, 2002... GERMAN test equipment manufacturer Dr Collin has developed a new pressure filter test head for determining the dispersion of pigments in a base polymer, with the aim of ensuring trouble-free operation of blown film and fibre extruders. The...

New drive system extends testing scope of rheometer. (Testing).
October 1, 2002... THE Gemini is the first Bohlin rheometer to have the company's new patent-pending Rotonetic drive which is optimised for both strain controlled and stress controlled operation. The torque range extends to 200 mNm and a new high resolution...

Wedge test grips for repeatable testing. (Testing).
October 1, 2002... INSTRON has developed a new range of wedge test specimen grips for tensile testing. These are designed to pre-select the exact point where the specimen will be held so no compressive force is applied. To ensure accurate testing, the grip...

Determining extrusion and die swell properties. (Testing).
October 1, 2002... TRADITIONAL methods of measuring viscosities of polymer melts include melt flow indexing (MFI) and moving die rheometers. However, according to Bohlin Instruments, these units only give low shear rate information. To accurately predict the...

Automatic tyre tester improves productivity. (Testing).
October 1, 2002... A robotic testing machine supplied by Zwick to the Carlisle plant of Pirelli Tyres is thought to be the first of its type in the British tyre industry. It replaces a manual system and has freed skilled workers for redeployment while improving...

Break impact samples without breaking the bank. (Testing).
October 1, 2002... THE test equipment presently available to packaging manufacturers for impact testing falls into two camps. Some apparatus is very basic, without instrumentation, and requires the operator to observe and interpret the degree and type of failure...

Tester for ceramics to polymer melts. (Testing).
October 1, 2002... METTLER Toledo has introduced a dynamic mechanical analyser for determining the viscoelastic properties of materials. The DMA/SDTA861e has a maximum force of 40 N, a frequency range up to 1,000 Hz, and can accommodate samples up to 10 cm in...

British moulders buy big Bekum. (Blow Moulding).
October 1, 2002... The double station version of Bekum's 30 litre BA 34 extrusion blow moulder has been ordered by two British companies. Hozelock Group and Gem Plastics have both ordered a BA 34.2 from Hamilton Machinery Sales, Hozelock for increased capacity in...

Bottles made more attractive by being less attractive. (Blow Moulding).
October 1, 2002... AN anti-static coating to improve the appearance and handling qualities of PET bottles has been introduced by Owens-Illinois Plastics and is in use at the company's British plant supplying bottles for Procter and Gamble's Clairol product range....

Big blow moulders are getting bigger every day. (Blow Moulding).
October 1, 2002... FOLLOWING its recent analysis of packaging blow moulders (British Plastics & Rubber, May 2002, p37), Applied Market Information has now identified the 50 largest custom blow moulders in Europe. In Corporate Performance and Ownership Among...

Machine developed to mould PU axle bellows. (Blow Moulding).
October 1, 2002... SIG Kautex has developed the BlowPac 200 HT machine for the production of PU axle bellows for a new Daimler Chrysler off road vehicle. Accurate process control was called for because the material has an extremely low viscosity. The vehicle...

German company to specialise in injection blow machines. (Blow Moulding).
October 1, 2002... GERMAN special purpose machine builder Novapax is giving up bespoke machinery manufacture to concentrate on building injection blow moulding machines. The company says it has taken this decision after positive response from the market following...

PET growth in personal care packaging. (Blow Moulding).
October 1, 2002... THAMES Plastic Bottles of Maidenhead has moved into the injection stretch blow business for bottles for personal care products. Thames already makes a wide range of extrusion blown bottles for this sector, but feels there is an increasing trend...

Delta is dedicated to downstream. (Downstream).
October 1, 2002... Hamilton Machinery's newest agency is Delta Engineering of Belgium, which specialises in downstream equipment for blow moulding, typically palletisers (including stackable containers), leak detection, lost head cutting, tray packing and quality...

Aoki will let bottles speak for themselves. (Injection Stretch Blow).
October 1, 2002... Aoki Technical Laboratory will be demonstrating the capabilities of its machines on the Trendpam stand [5390] with a range of products incorporating the latest technology. These will include both thin and thick wall bottles and jars made from...

Clextral seeks the sound of silence. (Pipe & Profile Extrusion).
October 1, 2002... Noise -- or the lack of it -- is of increasing importance in the workplace. Beyond any legislative limit on workplace noise, companies are recognizing that limiting noise is A Good Thing To Do. But what is noise? French extruder manufacturer...

US input to new Battenfeld conical twin. (Pipe & Profile Extrusion).
October 1, 2002... A NEW twin conical screw extruder from BATTENFELD Extrusionstechnik has been introduced to complement the company's twin parallel screw machines designed for higher outputs, and is recommended for throughputs from 20 to 140 kg/hr. The BEX...

Automatic cutter for flexible extrusions. (Pipe & Profile Extrusion).
October 1, 2002... PW Merkle has produced a new automatic cut-to-length machine for flexible tubing, profile and cord up to 20 mm in diameter. The TCL 20 handles materials ranging from soft silicones and foams to tough braided rubbers. It is designed to...

US manufacturer brings wood extruders to Europe. (Pipe & Profile Extrusion).
October 1, 2002... ENTEK Extruders has introduced to Europe a range of extrusion systems for natural fibre plastic composites. These American-built twin screw machines range from 27 to 133 mm in diameter, giving throughputs from 50 to 3,600 kg/hr, depending on...

Face to face fault finding over the telephone. (Pipe & Profile Extrusion).
October 1, 2002... EXTRUSION lines made by Cincinnati Extrusion of Vienna are now delivered with an EXcPRO-NT control unit to complement the standard remote diagnostics facility and the company offers the option of a video interface which can process the signals...

Davis-Standard sells off downstream range. (Pipe & Profile Extrusion).
October 1, 2002... US extrusion systems supplier Davis-Standard has sold its Versa range of tube haul offs and cutters to one of its sales agents, Jeda Equipment Services. Jeda will operate the business under the Versa name.

Single-stage silane pipe extrusion cuts costs. (Pipe & Profile Extrusion).
October 1, 2002... A ONE step process for silane cross linking PE for hot water pipes has been introduced by Battenfeld Extrusionstechnik, and its anouncement brought a rapid reminder from Krauss-Maffei that it has been building machinery for the process for at...

Approved PE100 pipe material grades rise to 12. (Pipe & Profile Extrusion).
October 1, 2002... Twelve approved PE100 pipe production materials from five member companies are listed in the latest Positive List of Materials published by the PE100+ Association and which is valid until January 1, 2003. This is two more than in the previous...

Automatic coiler for pipes up to 125 mm. (Coilers).
October 1, 2002... Calini has developed machines capable of coiling 16 - 125 mm OD semi-rigid pipes fully automatically and will be showing its new SUN 2200 and SUN 3300 machines on Stand 5761. The SUN 2200 can coil from 16 to 75 mm OD HDPE gas pipes and the SUN...

Full range from Mapex. (Pipe and Profile Lines).
October 1, 2002... MAPEX UK will be showing [Stand 5156] its range of machinery for all types of plastic extrusion, including single or twin screw extruders, tooling and downstream equipment for profiles or pipes up to 1,600 mm diameter. The latest machine...

Pipe and profile equipment from Davis-Standard. (Pipe and Profile Lines).
October 1, 2002... Pipe and profile equipment to be shown by DAVIS-STANDARD on Stand 5212 includes a single screw 75 mm grooved feed extruder for processing HDPE pipe at 450 kg/hour with HDPE tooling and vacuum sizer; a single screw extruder with a cosmetic...

PC sheet manufacturers band together. (Film & Sheet Production).
October 1, 2002... A NEW trade association has been formed to promote the use of polycarbonate sheet. The European Association of Manufacturers of Polycarbonate Sheet is based in Zurich and has been set up by Estrusione Materiali Plastici of Switzerland, General...

PET sheet takes twice the knocks. (Film & Sheet Production).
October 1, 2002... A HIGHER performance copolyester for sheet production has been introduced by Eastman. Spectar Clear is said to have 'measurably improved' sheet clarity and edge colour, with approximately double the notched impact strength, 50 per cent higher...

Foam producer makes PE film down to 15 kg/[m.sup.3]. (Film & Sheet Production).
October 1, 2002... WHILE foamed polypropylene and polystyrene films are often used for food packaging containers, foam films used in the non-food packaging sector are almost exclusively made from low density polyethylene. Depending on the density of the foam,...

SMS adds foam finishing. (Film & Sheet Production).
October 1, 2002... SMS Plastics Technology has bought a specialist manufacturer of insulation board downstream equipment. SMB David of Herrsching near Munich in Germany, makes equipment for the finishing of the sides and surfaces of EPS, XPS, PU and PE foam,...

Bielloni and Dolci -- wed at last. (Film & Sheet Production).
October 1, 2002... Bielloni Castello has acquired the loss-making Italian film extrusion business shut down earlier this year by Nextrom, and rekindled its former identity as Dolci. In so doing the two companies have come together in a way which would not have...

BOPP boom, but be careful how you board the bandwagon. (Film & Sheet Production).
October 1, 2002... WORLD production of biaxially oriented polypropylene films passed 3 million tonnes for the first time in 2001, and is set to nearly double by 2010, according to The Global Market for BOPP Films from Applied Market Information. As applications...

New detector design increases efficiency of film thickness gauge. (Film & Sheet Production).
October 1, 2002... FILM quality may be enhanced by the use of the new FG710 thickness gauge sensor, claims NDC Infrared Engineering, because it uses high efficiency light collectors which replace traditional lenses and has a novel detector design. Its data...

Blown film lab line is fully portable. (Blown Film).
October 1, 2002... Davis-Standard's Paragon blown film laboratory line incorporates a 25 mm extruder, film tower, winder and control panel on a common castor-mounted base. It measures 1.9 m high by 650 mm wide and 1,955 mm long, so can pass through doorways...

W & H says fluttering bubbles are 'a thing of the past'. (Film & Sheet Production).
October 1, 2002... TIGHT gauge tolerances and good film flatness are claimed for Windmoller & Holscher's latest Varex HDPE extrusion system for mono- and multi-layer products. Trim waste is avoided because tube width tolerances are at a minimum. A high...

Kuhne delivers roll stack nearly 6 m wide. (Film & Sheet Production).
October 1, 2002... One of the biggest roll stacks ever built by Kuhne has been delivered to a customer in the USA. The GA 9V/5.600 has three rolls of 900 mm diameter and each 56 m long roll weighs 9 tonnes. Line speed is up to 42 m/ minute. Total weight of the...

Automatic air ring 'improves control and gauge maintenance'. (Film & Sheet Production).
October 1, 2002... THE NEW WesJetAutoPro air ring is an automatic version of the WesJet and is claimed by Davis-Standard, to improve control and maintenance of gauge tolerances. High production rates can be attained, says the company, because heat is not...

Roller wiper keeps webs clean. (Film & Sheet Conversion).
October 1, 2002... A WAY of wiping rollers clean continuously to prevent contamination pick-up and consequent scrap product has been developed by Hoerbiger-Origa. The system has a cleaning pad that continuously traverses back and forth across the roller....

New die design eases thin coating on thin substrates. (Film & Sheet Conversion).
October 1, 2002... A NEW design of slot die permits consistent and distortion free fluid coatings to be applied in low coat weights on to extremely thin substrates, according to Extrusion Dies. The Ultracoat V is conventional in that the wet or wiping lip is on...

Hot air air welding cleaned up envelope fabrication. (Film & Sheet Conversion).
October 1, 2002... WELWYN Tool Co's hot air technology has solved a production difficulty at PostSafe, which makes plastic security envelopes and bags. PostSafe decided to augment its range with envelopes made in plain or bubble PE film to protect vulnerable...

Water no longer needed on Geiss former. (Thermoforming).
October 1, 2002... A Geiss DU2000 x l000T machine to be shown on Stand 4420 by Swanstone will be forming sledges in ABS supplied by TLPA - MP3. The machine will be fitted with a sheet loader, adjustable window plate equipment and a Flash heating system. The...

Harnden to unveil power unwind. (Bag Makers).
October 1, 2002... A new power-driven unwind system will be introduced by Harnden [Stand 5114] for its PP1250S side-weld bag machine. It will be used to demonstrate the ease of using the digital machine to make 'header' courier bags, complete with document pouch...

Self-skinning process for car interior components. (Reaction Processing).
October 1, 2002... CANNON and Bayer have developed self-skinning methods of making PU car interior components. Described as 'a competitive and suitable alternative to conventional manufacturing processes', the novel Cannon RIM technique is for the production of...

ODP blowing agents for PU foams. (Reaction Processing).
October 1, 2002... IFS Group has launched its Envirofoam Z range of zero ODP (ozone depletion potential) blowing agents for PU foams combining low thermal conductivity, non flammability and ease of processing. Thermal conductivity is 0.018 W/mK and applications...

GE expands with added-value effects. (Engineering Materials).
October 1, 2002... GE PLASTICS is expanding its product range by adding new special effect forms to its existing engineering materials. It has joined forces with another US company, GLS Corporation, to develop new thermoplastic and elastomer combinations to...

Celanese backs fuel cells with a pilot plant. (Engineering Materials).
October 1, 2002... CELANESE has underlined its commitment to the development of fuel cells by opening a pilot plant to produce membrane electrode assemblies at the Frankfurt-Hochst industrial park in Germany. The MEA is the heart of the polymer electrolyte...

Cyclic PBTs to be made in Europe. (Engineering Materials).
October 1, 2002... CYCLICS Corporation of the USA is to invest [euro]20 million in a European plant to make its CBT (cyclic butadiene terephthalate) low viscosity, low moulding pressure engineering plastics. CBT is described as 'essentially bits of PBT in a...

Solvay broadens its offerings to car makers. (Engineering Materials).
October 1, 2002... SOLVAY's US-based Engineered Polymers division, which supplies thermoplastic polyolefin materials to US, European and Asian car makers, is taking on global distribution of a range of thermoplastic vulcanisates which could lead to its acquiring...

Bio-compatible PEEK set for use in heart valve. (Engineering Materials).
October 1, 2002... THE special bio-compatible Optima grade of Victrex PEEK polyarylketone is in line for use in the next generation of artificial hearts. AorTech International, a Scottish-based developer and manufacturer of cardio-vascular devices, has...

Easy-flow grades for thin-wall moulding. (Engineering Materials).
October 1, 2002... NEW free-flowing Pocan polyesters and Durethan polyamides introduced by Bayer offer the prospect of greatly reduced cycle times for thin-wall moulding. The melt viscosity of these Easy Flow variants has been reduced so significantly that...

New polycarbonate keeps its cool. (Engineering Materials).
October 1, 2002... THE latest polycarbonate family from GE Plastics has improved low temperature mechanical performance which has brought benefits for a new compact portable computer keyboard. The Lexan EXL series is based on proprietary siloxane copolymer...