British Plastics & Rubber articles from September 2003

British Plastics & Rubber archives from September 2003

Don't let automation erode quality control.(Blow Moulding)
September 1, 2003... How do you approach on-line testing? Is it a function of manufacturing because it's on-line? Or is it a QC function that happens to be somewhere outside the laboratory? Testing that was once done by QC personnel can now be automated as a...

Sequential blow moulding is best when you keep it in the same material family.(Blow Moulding)
September 1, 2003... The progress of metal/rubber, rigid plastic/rubber and hard/soft plastic combinations in the production of under-bonnet ducts and hoses has been well-documented. But according to Ems-Grilon, even hard/soft plastic sequential blow moulding was...

Kautex machines help boost Chinese fuel tank production.(Blow Moulding)
September 1, 2003... CHINA's biggest automotive fuel systems manufacturer is buying two SIG Kautex machines for fuel tanks, to work alongside a 3D system for fuel fillers that was delivered in March. One of the KBS2-241 coex tank machines is being installed at...

Cosmetic bottle is thick and clear without crystallinity problems.(Blow Moulding)
September 1, 2003... A glass clear cosmetic bottle is being injection blow moulded in the USA with a wall thickness varying between 0.5 and 0.15 in, in a single shot process by simultaneously injecting and blowing a 0.2 in thick parison. According to the...

All-electric drive 'universal in five years'.(Blow Moulding)
September 1, 2003... EXTRUSION blow moulding machines will be almost exclusively all-electric within five years according to Michael Merrick of Magic, which has a timetable to convert its entire blow moulding machine range to all-electric technology. Magic was one...

Joint operation in single-layer PET barrier bottles.(Blow Moulding)
September 1, 2003... BP and ColorMatrix Corporation have joined forces in the sale of a barrier material for PET bottles. Amosorb is an oxygen-scavenging barrier concentrate that enhances the oxygen barrier properties of PET, enabling barrier bottles to be moulded...

Aoki combines flexibitity and economy.(Blow Moulding)
September 1, 2003... The latest stretch blow machine from Aoki, the SB3-750LL-80S, is intended to fill the gap between the single and two-stage processes. The large turntable can be fitted with a single row of 10 cavity moulds to make 2 and 1.5 litre bottles, 12...

PET Coke bottle is refillable.(Blow Moulding)
September 1, 2003... TO CONFORM with new German laws on one trip packaging Coca Cola is using refillable 0.5 litre PET bottles. The refillable bottle is an alternative to small glass bottles and cans. Amcor PET Packaging, which is moulding the bottles at its...

The cap fits--despite the material change.(Blow Moulding)
September 1, 2003... PET has been specified in place of PE for a shower gel bottle moulded by Owens-Illinois for a German cosmetic and toiletry producer. The material choice was made because the shower gel incorporates ethereal oils, which are not compatible with...

PET machine specialist pitches at the USA.(Blow Moulding)
September 1, 2003... ANKER PET Molds & Tooling, which last year opened a 2.5 million[pounds sterling] tooling and machine rebuild centre in Accrington, is planning to expand into the USA. It will offer mould making services and rebuild and technical support service...

FDA approval opens the door for barrier coating process.(Blow Moulding)
September 1, 2003... THE Plasmax 'glass' internal barrier coating process for PET bottles developed by SIG Corpoplast and Schott HiCotec (British Plastics & Rubber, November 2002, page 25) has now been given US FDA approval for food and drink packaging. The...

Biggest-ever Meico machine blow moulds table tops.(Blow Moulding)
September 1, 2003... The biggest machine ever built by Meico/ST of Italy has been delivered to a Mexican company to make table tops. The TA 2000 has a 200 tonne clamping force with 2,600 mm x 1,020 mm platens. The 120 mm 28 D extruder produces 450 kg/hr and feeds a...

Polypropylene optimised for blown film.(Packaging Materials)
September 1, 2003... A NEW grade of polypropylene from Borealis overcomes conventional PP limitations in blown film. Borclear RB707CF is a random terpolymer specially designed for conventional air-cooled blown film processing. Most polypropylenes are difficult...

Freezer-grade HDPE for injection moulding.(Packaging Materials)
September 1, 2003... DOW'S Polyolefins and Elastomers business group has launched a freezergrade high density polyethylene for injection moulded packaging. Dowlex IP-51 has an easy-processing melt index of 50 that simplifies the moulding of thin-walled...

What to look for when selecting a robot: unlike other equipment, product handling robots are not easily classified and evaluated; different axes, stroke lengths and inconsistent specifications, as well as limited industry standards, make comparison difficult. Joe Calomino, robotics product manager at Husky Injection Molding Systems sheds some light.(Product Handling)
September 1, 2003... FOR the potential buyer, selecting a robot in the absence of a baseline can become an exercise in guesswork. To effectively compare the different equipment, begin with the basics. By understanding these fundamentals, you are well on your way to...

Gold robot aims for high rigidity and minimum mass.(Product Handling)
September 1, 2003... SANDRETTO UK now offers the Dal Maschio 3E 2500 Gold Robot for injection moulding machines from 820 to 1,800 tonnes. It has servo electric drive on the 1,500mm demoulding stroke as well as the 2,500 mm vertical and 3,500 mm main beam strokes....

New budget range of pneumatic/servo robots.(Product Handling)
September 1, 2003... A LOW-cost range of robots from Wetec has been introduced by Summit Systems. The W5DAE pneumatic/servo electric robots are suitable for injection moulding machines up to 550 tonnes and loads from 3 to 6 kg. Stroke adjustment on the...

Clean room machines added to robot range.(Product Handling)
September 1, 2003... To meet growing demand for clean room assembly systems, Yamaha has widened its range of industrial robots to include Class 10 approved clean room machines. They include single axis positioning systems, two, three, four axis Cartesian robots and...

Six axis flexibility gives fast payback on basic handling job.(Product Handling)
September 1, 2003... BLUE Nile of Leyton in East London specialises in thin wall mouldings, particularly polypropylene food containers for the restaurant trade, which is a growing business following the move away from aluminium foil containers towards microwaveable...

French caps and closures inspection comes to Britain.(Product Handling)
September 1, 2003... FRENCH vision inspection systems company Proditec has entered the UK market with an agency agreement with Pentex Sales. Proditec specialises in systems for inspecting caps and closures. The first plastic bottle caps inspection units were...

When handling means assembly as well.(Product Handling)
September 1, 2003... THE increasing trend towards supplying modules, or sub-assemblies, rather than just plastics components has created a need for localised assembly systems for use by plastics moulders. TQC of Nottingham has built a business in part on...

Part inspection is fully automated.(Product Handling)
September 1, 2003... THE latest Zonda T inspection machine from DOSS of Italy has fully automatic lenses and feeding systems with all feeder motors equipped with encoders, enabling the operator to save the most suitable positions for each article. These positions...

UPM focuses on product handling installations.(Product Handling)
September 1, 2003... UPM has created a specialist division to deal with product handling equipment incorporating box fillers, product counting by weight, product conveying controlled through bar codes reading, and complete systems to transfer product through all...

Inclined models added to modular aluminium conveyor range.(Product Handling)
September 1, 2003... Three new inclined conveyors have been added to the mk Profile Systems range based on System 2000 slotted aluminium profiles. The KFS-P 2040.86 has a galvanised steel slat belt and can be used to transport sharp plastics parts. The KFMP...

Colormax carries caps by tube.(Product Handling)
September 1, 2003... COLORMAX conveying systems for caps, closures, bottles and other mouldings incorporate secure, enclosed pneumatic pipes to keep floor space free. Parts are collected directly from the moulding machine and conveyed to storage or may be...

Conveyor guides allow combinations of carriage lenght.(Product Handling)
September 1, 2003... DryLin W linear guides introduced by igus (UK) are said to be suitable for packaging, handling and automation applications as well as sprue pickers and X-Y tables. Rail widths of 40 and 80 mm allow several combinations for carriage lengths of...

Check weigher is now electronic.(Product Handling)
September 1, 2003... ENGELHARDT has developed the new electronic APS check weigher to succeed the APW mechanical type widely used throughout the world. It is plug compatible with the older type and can run at 10-15 cycles per minute. Part weight can be checked...

Underwater pelletiser designed for easy operation.(Compounding)
September 1, 2003... THE laboratory scale CP25 underwater pelletiser from Berstorff has been joined by a larger production version, the CP40-60, which can handle throughputs of 150--1.500 kg/hr. Like the CP25, the CP40-60 is a swingaway unit--the water pipework...

Acrylic adhesive bonds and fills gaps.(Finishing)
September 1, 2003... A NEW two-part toughened acrylic adhesive from Permabond is said to be suitable for bonding plastics (including composites) to metals, glass, ceramics or wood, Permabond V5004 is supplied in cartridges for mixing in a 1:1 ratio through a...

Lead-free bonding agents for automotive applications.(Finishing)
September 1, 2003... Chemical Innovations has introduced a range of leadfree bonding agents in response to Directive 2000/53/EC on end-oflife vehicles. Cilbond 10E is a onecoat system for bonding rubbers and elastomers including NBR, ACM, XNBR, HNBR and PVC/...

Araldite assembles Multipla lighting without staining.(Finishing)
September 1, 2003... LIGHT housing supports of the Fiat Multipla MPV are being bonded to the body of the car with Araldite by Polytec Gruppo of Mondovi, Italy. The company specialises in moulding automotive body comportents such as spoilers, light supports and...

Light curing adhesive bonds to most plastics 'in seconds'.(Finishing)
September 1, 2003... INTERTRONICS claims that its Dymax Ultra Light Weld 3094 Series UV/visible light curing adhesives form strong bonds to most plastics materials within seconds. Bonds are clear, cause no crazing or blooming, have good gap filling capability and...

Routing box automatically ejects waste and dust.(Finishing)
September 1, 2003... THE ABB I-R Cutting Box Routing S is a new compact robotised system that can be installed quickly for routing automotive parts such as instrument and door panels, bumpers and SMC components. A novel approach has been taken for scrap and waste...

Print tubes in five colours in one pass.(Finishing)
September 1, 2003... THE new MOSS MS 1035 silk screen printer is capable of decorating flexible or rigid tubes in five colours in one pass. its remote control allowing the pressure of the squeegees to be adjusted without the need to stop the machine. A roller...

Ultrasonic welder adds logos to soft foams.(Finishing)
September 1, 2003... LOGOS and motifs can be embossed on to soft foams and polymer-based textiles with a development of the Rinco MP202 ultrasonic welder from Forward Technology Industries. The process is carried out using a flat titanium sonotrode and a...

K-M adds add-on injection for added flexibility.(Injection Moulding)
September 1, 2003... ADD-ON injection units are now available from Krauss-Maffei to upgrade injection moulding machines for two component operation, and to extend existing two-component machines to three-component. They are built in vertical and horizontal...

STV quits refurbishment for life on the internet.(Injection Moulding)
September 1, 2003... USED machinery specialist STV has switched from refurbishing machines to become a full time on-line secondhand machine broker. The company used to refurbish around 60 machines a year, mainly Boy and Arburg, but was hampered in further growth by...

Arburg introduces bigger all-electric.(Injection Moulding)
September 1, 2003... TWO years after the public debut of its all-electric Alldrive injection moulding machine at K2001 Arburg has added a second model. The Allrounder 520A has a 160 tonne clamp--the original 420A is an 80 tonnes machine. The 520A shown at Fakuma...

Toshiba revamps all-electric range.(Injection Moulding)
September 1, 2003... A NEW series of servo-electric machines has been introduced by Toshiba, along with upgrades to its V21 control. Design changes in the ECN from the company's previous all-electric machines include a wide platen, relocated safety drop bar, a...

Tex adds five Arburgs.(Injecton Moulding)
September 1, 2003... FIVE Arburg injection machines have been installed by Tex Industrial Plastics of Derby in a 300,000 [pounds sterling] investment to increase capacity and replace older equipment. The machines are three 100 tonne 420C 1000-350, one 150 tonne...

Stuffer unit aids silicone feeding.(Injection Moulding)
September 1, 2003... A NEW stuffer unit for continuous dosing of single component silicone material has been developed by Boy. Silicone material presents difficulties in feeding because of its high shear sensitivity in the unlinked condition. Factfinder 139

3D-MID process 'is simpler and cheaper'.(Injection Moulding)
September 1, 2003... A SIMPLER way of moulding 3D interconnect devices has been developed in Germany. The laser direct structuring process developed by LPKF Laser & Electronics draws the circuits on the surface of a moulding with a laser. The action of the laser...

More closures likely.(Injection Moulding)
September 1, 2003... A MONTHLY output of 9 million caps is claimed for the FCS-CAP16/28 modular closure production system developed by Fu Chun Shin Machinery of Taiwan and available through FCS-UK. The system comprises an FCS AD-150 injection moulding machine...

Six axis robot control is easily learned.(Injection Moulding)
September 1, 2003... STAUBLI has introduced a new control system for six axis robots with PlasticsAssistant software. Based on a new programming language, VAL3, the updated operating protocol includes plastics industry terminology for the management of the robot's...

Horizontal slitter/rewinder for wide webs.(Film & Sheet Conversion)
September 1, 2003... THE LATEST wide web slitter from Adolf Muller was designed to achieve higher line speeds at constant roll quality with thin BOPP films particularly in mind. This is a centre winding machine with shaftless unwind with regenerative braking,...

Ceramic coating doubles PP treatment rate.(Film & Sheet Conversion)
September 1, 2003... AHLBRAND has developed a new ceramic coating for its corona treaters which is claimed greatly to improve treat level, discharge electrode performance and roll coat life. The speed at which PP can be treated to printability has been...

Smart knives keep tabs on their service life.(Film & Sheet Conversion)
September 1, 2003... PROBLEMS of slitter knives going out of stock and holding up production while replacements are ordered should be overcome with a knife management system developed by Dienes Werke of Germany. The MMS system is based on a special knife box...

Ionizing air blowers can be DIY installed.(Film & Sheet Conversion)
September 1, 2003... WLT is promoting DIY installation for its Simco AS-20 ionizing air blower, which it believes could bring cost savings in slitting and rewinding. 75 mm mounting tubing enables users to mount a number of blowers together to suit specific...

Lab and small production metallisers from General.(Film & Sheet Conversion)
September 1, 2003... A SMALLER laboratory version of its film metallising machines has been introduced by Valmet General to meet demands for smaller, versatile machines in both special (sputtering, e-beam, etc) and standard (evaporation) types of metallising. The...

Bench press bends die cutting rules.(Film & Sheet Conversion)
September 1, 2003... A MACHINE for bending die cutting rules has been introduced by Sandvik Saxon for use with its Dieflex Hard High cutting rules. The High Rule Bender 58.0 is a benchmounted hydraulic device operated by a handle and foot control and has a...

Heating bar for small-scale sheet bending.(Film & Sheet Conversion)
September 1, 2003... THE new Herz Mini multiple heating bar from Welwyn Tool is intended for bench use to make such items as exhibition stand components, shelving and POS displays, or for teaching applications. Its element is arranged so that plastic material...

Six wall sheet is now in narrower widths.(Film & Sheet Conversion)
September 1, 2003... THE SIX-WALL polycarbonate sheet introduced earlier this year by Makroform (British Plastics & Rubber, June 2003, page 24) is to be made available in narrower widths. The sheet is currently sold in 2,100 mm widths, but from the autumn is to be...

Battenfeld harnesses multiple motors for extruder drive.(Film & Sheet Production)
September 1, 2003... BATTENFELD Extrusionstechnik has adopted a new drive structure for its single screw extruders. The CMG drive does not use a conventional gearbox, but instead splits the motor power between four asynchronous three-phase motors which have output...

Sculpted die design gives better flat film.(Film & Sheet Production)
September 1, 2003... EXTRUSION Dies Industries claims that its new Contour Die for flat extrusions eliminates the trade-off between achieving gauge uniformity and streamlined melt flow, enabling processors to improve productivity and product quality. The...

Air cushion turner bar protects film surface.(Film & Sheet Production)
September 1, 2003... A BLOWN film turning bar which protects the surface of the film with a cushion of air has been introduced by Reifenhauser. The REIcofly bar has a microporous coating through which compressed air is pumped to keep the surface of the film from...

Reclaim edge trim.(Film & Sheet Production)
September 1, 2003... SUITABLE for winding rolls up to 736 mm wide, new Davis-Standard Killion KXE winders can be applied, in special form, to edge trim reclamation as well as narrow web production. Units operate without the complexity of an air system. Single,...

Extrusion additive coats the die.(Process Additives & Colouring)
September 1, 2003... A NEW extrusion processing aid reduces die build-up and speeds up colour changes without affecting the physical properties of the polymer. Dyneon's new Dynamar PPA FX 5914X additive is suitable for use with a wide range of thermoplastics,...

Monopigment masterbatches for uPVC.(Process Additives & Colouring)
September 1, 2003... Colour Tone Masterbatch has developed monopigment concentrate masterbatches specifically for use with unplasticised PVC. These are supplied as dust-free granular products with high pigment loadings--typically up to 65 per cent. The new...

Silver antimicrobial prevents discolouration in transparent materials.(Process Additives & Colouring)
September 1, 2003... SWISS company Sanitized has developed Sanitized Silver, an anti-microbial plastics additive that avoids the discolouration and dulling often associated with silver additives. The problem occurs with transparent materials and Sanitized has...

Full service colour system introduced by Ciba.(Process Additives & Colouring)
September 1, 2003... CIBA Specialty Chemicals has added a colour matching system for inks, paints and plastics with the Colibri QuickMatch 1.1 recipe formulation system, QC 1.0 quality control software, and Library Services. This combines an upgraded recipe...

Low-taste low-odour slip additive.(Process Additives & Colouring)
September 1, 2003... CRODA has added new products to its Incroslip line of low-taste low-odour slip additives. Incroslip products are manufactured with proprietary technology which removes the oxidatively unstable components and precusors that generate colour...

High-productivity machining package for graphite electrodes.(Tooling)
September 1, 2003... 600 Centre--a 600 Group company and supplier of machine tools by Fanuc, Mitsui Seiki, Okamoto, Joemars, Fidia, Richmond and Bridgeport--has developed a new machining package for graphite electrodes. The high-productivity solution cuts...

Armoloy hardens its attitude.(Tooling)
September 1, 2003... ARMOLOY has further improved the hardness of its nodular thin dense chrome surface coating to a minimum of 78 Rockwell C. Indeed, laboratory testing has shown that Armoloy NTDC coatings produced by Armoloy (UK) are typically as high as 82 to 84...

New mould plates with more generous machining allowance.(Tooling)
September 1, 2003... MOULD standards specialist Hasco has introduced a new range of machined plates with a greater machining allowance on the plate thickness. The allowance is +0.5 mm/+0.7 mm for plates with a length dimension up to 246 mm, and +0.7 mm/+0.9 mm for...

British mouldmakers wary of information technology.(Tooling)
September 1, 2003... A SURVEY undertaken by the GTMA in conjunction with the emould@work project has revealed how and to what extent British toolmakers are taking up the software and IT technologies that can increase competitiveness. The survey questioned 66 GTMA...

Fastool reviews its first six months.(Tooling)
September 1, 2003... The Fastool project aims to cut toolmaking times in half at least. If only 20 per cent of European toolmakers achieve this and convert it into a 50 per cent increase in throughput, the added value will be an estimated 1 billion [euro],...

Tooling specialists combine to offer design-to-commissioning service.(Tooling)
September 1, 2003... TWO Kent-based tooling specialists have merged to form a company offering all services from product design to final production tooling manufacture and commissioning. Millaber of Maidstone and Folkestone Precision Engineering have...

Rapid production tooling for large automotive parts.(Tooling)
September 1, 2003... SPG Group has developed a rapid tooling system for the automotive industry. PreTension Tool is capable of producing large car parts such as bumpers, and the whole process can be completed in eight weeks. The proprietary system was...

Cimatron joins micro-milling project.(Tooling)
September 1, 2003... CIMATRON, which produces CAD/CAM systems for mould, tool and die makers, has become a partner in the Micro-Milling Research Project. The project involves a number of other leading European industry participants. It is sponsored by the European...

Conair expands oil and water range.(Temperature Control)
September 1, 2003... A NEW series of water and oil circulating temperature control units has been introduced by Conair Europe. The 9 and 18 kW TC90 water units incorporate negative pressure leakstopper facility as standard, a corrosion-free stainless steel...

If your chiller's sick it phones for help.(Temperature Control)
September 1, 2003... COOLMATION Service now provides round-the-clock Chiller Shield service and maintenance for water chillers integrated with the company's Chill Alert fault monitoring system. Contracts are for all makes and capacities of chiller with scroll,...

The moon's a balloon.(Engineering Materials)
September 1, 2003... THE combination of low permeability and translucency of Bayer's Levapren EVM rubber has enabled the development of a novel exterior floodlight. The HeliMax Powermoon is a helium-filled balloon containing a powerful light source. When flown...

Ticona plans autumn seminars.(Engineering Materials)
September 1, 2003... The autumn programme of Ticona's seminars on designing with and processing engineering thermoplastics will include case studies from the automotive, healthcare and fluid handling industries. Other topics will include 42 volt electrical systems,...

PEEK producer pushes protection.(Engineering Materials)
September 1, 2003... INDIAN agrochemicals manufacturer Gharda Chemicals has extended the patent cover for its polyether ether ketone polymer. Earlier this year it obtained a British patent, and has now secured an American patent for Melt Processible PEEK. In...

PEEK copes with peak power.(Engineering Materials)
September 1, 2003... RESISTANCE to heat might not be the first property that comes to mind for loudspeaker components but it was a key factor when French manufacturer Cabasse selected Victrex PEEK for speaker spiders. Cabasse makes electrodynamic loudspeakers...

Dyneon adds PVDF to product portfolio.(Engineering Materials)
September 1, 2003... DYNEON has added polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) to its range of fluoropolymers. The company gained PVDF production capacity earlier this year with its acquisition of the US company Solvay Fluoropolymers. The new range will be known as...

Automotive bodywork plastic for on-line primerless painting.(Engineering Materials)
September 1, 2003... ON-LINE primerless painting is now a reality thanks to a new automotive bodywork material from Bayer Polymers. Triax TP 3161 is a conductive variant of the polyamide/ABS blend developed by Bayer for on-line painting in the automotive industry....

Polysulphone uprates Tupperware performance.(Engineering Materials)
September 1, 2003... Tupperware, the kitchen storage range that put the proper in polypropylene, has gone high performance with a new range of products moulded in BASF's Ultrason sulphone polymers. The new tableware is designed for freezer-to-microwave cooking,...

Melt-processible rubber has high Shore rating.(Engineering Materials)
September 1, 2003... ADVANCED Polymer Alloys has developed a new melt-processible rubber with a Shore A hardness rating of 90. This addition to its Alcryn Melt-Processible Rubber product line is known as Alcryn MPR 2090 and is the first nominal 90 Shore A product...

New engineering material for rotomoulding is secured by Clarehill.(Engineering Materials)
September 1, 2003... THE cyclic butylene terephthalate (CBT) material produced by Cyclics Corp in the USA is to be used exclusively in the UK for rotational moulding by Clarehill Plastics of County Armagh. The agreement between the two companies also gives...

Conductive moulding materials for EMI shielding.(Engineering Materials)
September 1, 2003... THE new Premier line of conductive injection moulding materials from Chomerics has been developed specifically for EMI shielding and grounding applications. The company employs proprietary technology to compound long fibres of nickel plated...

Bearing material beats stick-slip.(Engineering Materials)
September 1, 2003... QUADRANT Engineering Plastic Products, the successor to Erta and Polypenco, has developed a new bearing material that is virtually free of stick-slip. In other words, the static and dynamic coefficients of friction are almost the same at...

Bayer groups colours and effects.(Engineering Materials)
September 1, 2003... BAYER POLYMERS is following companies including GE Plastics and Dow in setting up a special division to focus on the visual and tactile effects achievable with its materials. It has set up Fantasia as a range of new technologies that will open...

Solid-state laser upgrades cut costs and raise productivity.(Prototyping)
September 1, 2003... LASER Lines (Industrial & Medical) has set up a laser upgrade service for stereolithography machines. Its solid-state lasers require no maintenance and result in lower running costs than He-Cd or argonion lasers. For SLA-250 systems, Laser...