EPPM 14.1

Volume 14 | Issue 01

www.eppm.com

eppm

www.kraussmaffei.com

www.eppm.com

eppm head office

19

15

Unit 2, Chowley Court, Chowley Oak Lane, Tattenhall, Cheshire, CH3 9GA. Tel: +44 (0)1829 770037 Fax: +44 (0)1829 770047 Web: www.eppm.com

editorial editor david gray

33

david.g@rapidnews.com publishers chris young,

in this issue

mark blezard

production art samantha hamlyn production peter bartley production jonny jones advertising

MACHINERY

pages 5–16

European sales manager caroline plant, tel: +44 (0) 1829 770037,

REGULARS:

fax: +44 (0)1244 317159,

5–8 14 15 16

Latest news roundup Industry news New installations People on the move

SHOWCASE: INJECTION MOULDING

10–11

SPOTLIGHT: MATERIALS HANDLING SPOTLIGHT: WELDING

12 13

caroline@rapidnews.com

subscriptions subscriptions tracey nicholls tracey@rapidnews.com qualifying readers Europe - Free, ROW - £115 outside qualifying criteria

MATERIALS

pages 17–25

please subscribe online at

REGULARS:

www.eppm.com

17–19 25

Latest news roundup Industry news

SHOWCASE: WIRE & CABLE

Address changes should be made on the original carrier sheet (address label) that came with this issue and then faxed to the publisher at +44 (0)1829 770047.

European Plastic Product Manufacturer is published by Plastics Multimedia Communications Ltd.

21

SPOTLIGHT: AEROSPACE SPOTLIGHT: TPEs

22–23 24

EVENTS - MEDTEC EUROPE PREVIEW

pages 26–28

A LOOK AHEAD AT WHAT’S IN STORE IN STUTTGART

THE GREEN ROOM

pages 30–33

REGULARS: Latest news roundup Industry news

UK - £80, ROW - £115

30–32 33

CLASSIFIEDS

pages 34–35 EPPM 3

European Plastic Product Manufacturer is distributed in electronic and print formats to a combined readership of over 12,400 manufacturing professionals.

Send address changes to European Plastic Product Manufacturer, Unit 2, Chowley Court, Chowley Oak Lane, Tattenhall, Cheshire, CH3 9GA, UK. © February 2012.

While every attempt has been made to ensure that the information contained within European Plastic Product Manufacturer is accurate, the publisher accepts no liability for information published in error, or for views expressed. All rights for European Plastic Product Manufacturer are reserved, and reproduction in part or whole without written permission is strictly prohibited.

David Gray, Editor

EPPM 4

Mark Bonifacio, President, Bonifacio Consulting Services

Andrew McArthur, Engineering Manager, IKO

Nigel Brown, Founding MD, Frontier Aerospace

Jon Herbert, Director, FS Cables

General Industry Insight

Home Appliances

Andrew Smith, Head of Manufacturing, Numatic International

Jan Herring, Strategic Sourcing Leader, Nokia

Home Appliances Wood Plastic Composites Biopolymers/Materials Aerospace Science Sourcing & Manufacturing

Plastics for the Environment

John Ellis, Segment Manager Polycarbonate, Bayer MaterialScience

Medical

Recycling

Dr Terence A. Cooper, CEO, ARGO Group International

Ken Braney, 2010-2011 President, Society of Plastics Engineers

Clive Maier, Owner and Director, Econology Ltd.

Education in the UK & Ireland

Paul Maley, Senior Mechanical Engineer, Selex Elsag

Dr Martin Kay, Chief Consultant, Pira International

General Industry Insight

Biopolymers

Rapid Prototyping Automotives & Compounds

Packaging Medical

Jonathon Short, MD, ECO Plastics Ltd.

Graeme Diston, Senior Injection Moulding Engineer, Bausch + Lomb

Construction

Martin Marron, MD, Biffa Polymers

Alex Collins, Director, Vannplastics Ltd.

Charmaine Bowers, Operations Manager, Polymer Training & Innovation Centre

Dr Gerd Schmaucks, Independent Consultant

Advisor for the German & Scandinavian Speaking Countries

In the meantime, I hope this first issue of 2012 offers something that might distract you from the more mundane jobs for a while and reminds you that plastics are constantly surprising. In this issue we’re looking at a host of medical device technologies in our Medtec preview, plus a materials focus on the Aerospace industry.

Andrew Feilden, Principle Consultant, Smithers Rapra

Aerospace

I have lost whole afternoons on similar discoveries more recently — printed electronics, though not new to many readers, are nevertheless an area with some fascinating developments at the moment.

Simon Chidgey, Director, M&H Plastics

Andy Bone, Sales Director, Formaplex

Wire & Cable

He went on to explain that the silk is essentially derived from a natural product, which consequently, the human body does not reject, as is sometimes the case with certain artificial implants. For intricate implants that require high-strength, spider silk could be the name on every surgeon’s lips in the not-too-distant future.

Omer Kutluoglu, CEO, 2K Manufacturing

Micro Manufacturing

After a spot of Googling, I quickly picked up the phone to ring Dr. Thomas Scheibel, a lecturer at the University of Bayreuth. I wanted to know how he planned to commercialise this for the bioplastics market, expecting him to talk about packaging. He surprised me further, explaining that because of the cost involved to make the silk, he would be looking to market it at the lucrative medical implant and cosmetics markets.

Barry Assheton, Sales Director, CRDM

John Bunker, Member, Worshipful Company of Horners

Recycling

Blow Moulding

James Goddard, Honorary Lifetime Member, Plastics Pipe Institute

Pipe Extrusion

Graham Pickwell, Technical Adviser, Polymer Training & Innovation Centre

Recycling

I joined the plastics industry two years ago and am still finding surprises round every corner. When this happens, I usually lose a couple of hours of my day, as I get lost in a storm of reading, gathering images and emailing the people involved with the product or project. This happened last year, when I read a story about Amsilk, the German company responsible for finding a way to artificially produce ‘spider silk’ on a mass scale. Spider silk has long been known to have the potential to be a very strong biopolymer, but the issue has always been producing the silk in great quantity, as spiders are notoriously difficult to breed en masse. Amsilk claims to have resolved this with an artificial method of spinning mass quantities of the stuff.

Injection Moulding

John Sturgess, Director, MG Stuma

Mould Making

Spider webs in the body…

Film & Sheet Extrusion

“

editorial advisory board

from the editor

MACHINERY

held securely on the table, reducing the chance of damage to the mould or its connectors, and operator safety is improved. Adapted to the specific needs of each application, incorporating manual push/pull systems for smaller moulds or powered transfer units for larger moulds, transfer tables offer one of the most simple, achievable and costeffective improvements to the operation of the moulding shop, giving rapid payback on investment.

If heating of moulds is required, then the transfer table can stop at a preheating station en route to the machine, avoiding downtime on the moulding machine while waiting for the moulds to reach operating temperature.

The efficient use of mould transfer tables has produced some startling results in some applications, reducing mould changeover times by over 50%.

Transfer Tables Improve Mould Handling and Reduce Changeover Time A key element in the operation of an efficient injection moulding shop is the ease and speed of changing moulds; mould transfer tables often provide the single most cost-effective improvement.

Maximising flexibility and productivity on injection moulding machines is essential in a competitive environment; minimising downtime on mould changeover provides one of the best opportunities to improve performance. Stäubli, the specialist in quick mould change solutions and clamping systems is also a manufacturer of mould transfer tables.

Although the range includes fully automated and rail mounted systems, it is the smaller manual transfer tables that often provide the most attractive investment for many established injection moulding shops.

Transfer tables provide economical and safe side-changing of moulds, especially where the workshop layout precludes the use of cranes or where access to craneage is difficult. They can be moved into place simply using a fork lift, eliminating any wait for the use of cranes and handling equipment. The mould is

Stäubli (UK) Ltd. Connectors Division Tel: +441952 671918 Email: connectors.uk@staubli.com Web: www.staubli.com

Rawmec Concentrates on Machinery Refurbishment

High Tech Vacuum System Developed for Conventional Extrusion Calibration Tables High Tech Extrusion of Austria has developed a range of extrusion lines, tools and pipe heads. After the latest development of the new OMNIA series and the new RK Streamliner pipe head, High Tech Extrusion has now released a standalone vacuum unit as a retrofit system for conventional calibration tables.

This new system, which has a minimum width for easier placement between the extrusion lines, is characterised by a very short return on investment. Based on triple-frequency controlled vacuum pumps and triple-frequency controlled water pumps, energy savings of up to 70% can be achieved in comparison with conventional calibration tables.

Customisation of the new vacuum system is possible because of its modular setup. The unit features three vacuum pumps and two water pumps controlled through frequency converters, up to 70% energy savings in comparison with conventional calibration tables, three vacuum level options and

reportedly a very short return on investment.

As High Tech Extrusion only uses standard components, there is no need for specially designed pumps or proportional valves, which means that spare parts are easily available

worldwide. The unit is compatible with all existing tools.

High Tech Extrusion Ltd Tel: +43 59 692 2201 Email: office@ht-extrusion.com Web: www.ht-extrusion.com

EPPM 5

The family business C.K. Consultant Group was founded by Michael Elborough-Cook in 1970. It rapidly became a leader in Europe supplying reconditioned and new machinery for the international plastic industry.

Rawmec (EEC) Ltd is the new generation of the family business. In 1990 it expanded, utilising its own 4 acre industrial site. With Michael’s extensive experience spanning over 53 years in the plastic industry, the family’s latest venture is the production of plastic tanks for water harvesting and oil storage.

Rawmec is presently concentrating its activities on the refurbishing of machinery required for the recycling industry i.e. granulators, shredders, pulverisers and compounding lines. The group also supplies all other types of machinery i.e. blow moulders, vacuum formers, injection moulders and a large stock of ancillary equipment.

The company invites processors to visit the warehouse in Hoddesdon, North London. The site is 25 minutes from Stansted and Luton airports and visitors can inspect a large range of stock stored in the 5000 m2 premises.

Rawmec Tel: +44 1992 471796 Email: enquiries@rawmec.com Web: www.rawmec.com

MACHINERY ROUNDUP Internal Pipe Cooling System Develops with Market Trends Just a few months after the product made its live debut, Germany-based KraussMaffei Berstorff has reportedly seen high demand for its innovative Internal Pipe Cooling (IPC) system.

“Within a very short time, we have received orders in the double-digit range. This is clear proof that this highly efficient system is fully in line with market trends,” said Andreas Kessler, Extrusion Sales Manager at KraussMaffei Berstorff. “Customers appreciate the fact that we have identified their requirements for increased productivity and resource reduction in a timely manner and given them a high-quality, customer-friendly solution,” he added.

The IPC system has been developed to meet the requirements for efficient and energysaving pipe production, as it uses ambient air to cool the pipe from the inside, in addition to the external cooling.

The potential savings with regard to the cooling section — particularly for thickwalled pipes — are up to 60%. The positive effects of IPC

Water-Assisted Injection Moulding of Fluid-Conveying Tubes Made from Glass Fibre PA

technology with regard to cost-effective production are lower investment costs and reduced space requirements. When it comes to increasing productivity, the processor has the option of using the IPC system to increase output by up to 40% without investing in additional downstream units for the cooling section.

Effective immediately, KraussMaffei Berstorff also offers integration of the IPC system into QuickSwitch systems, which allows the producer to change the pipe dimension in just a few minutes at the touch of a button without having to stop the machine.

KraussMaffei Berstorff Tel: +49 89 8899 2792 Email: annemarie.pabst@kraussmaffei.com Web: www.kraussmaffei.com

Teklas, a Turkish supplier to the automotive industry, has actively pushed the development of water-assisted injection moulding technology (WIT) for manufacturing hollow plastic parts. The company has recently started to make progress with this in the production of fluid-carrying tubes for automobiles in high volumes from BASF’s special Ultramid A3HG6 WIT. This glass fibre reinforced polyamide 66 grade has been developed specifically for WIT, and results in good inside and outside surfaces as well as the required high chemical resistance. The new tubes that Teklas is currently developing for almost

EPPM 6

all large European automobile manufacturers provide individual conveying of cooling water, air and oil in the engine compartment.

In addition to resistance to the fluid being conveyed, a low pressure drop is one of the primary requirements that fluid-conveying tubes in the engine compartment must satisfy. Thus, the inside surfaces have to be especially smooth. For the parts to be economical, the wall thickness must be uniform and as thin as possible. Just as the number of car models continues to increase, so do the constraints within the engine compartment. Maximum design freedom

MACHINERY ROUNDUP and flexibility for the manufacturing process is essential when it comes to developing very specific, integrated solutions. By using the latest technology for injection moulding, Teklas is able to manufacture a variety of tube shapes and combinations with different wall thicknesses and great complexity. Use of plastic tubes in place of the heavier metal tubes results not only in weight savings, but also eliminates the need for expensive metal working equipment.

For post-moulding processing of the tubes, Teklas, which has its production in Bulgaria, relies on a high level of automation: the numerous finishing steps that are needed in the course of manufacturing the tubes, e.g. cutting and sanding, incorporation of metal rings or elastomer (TPE) seals, are performed by robots. This contributes to a low reject rate. Teklas is currently very successful with this innovative WIT process and the wide range of manufacturing options, and is supplying and developing a variety of different tubes. Plans already call for expanding capacity.

New Sieve Aims to Ensure the ‘Perfect Pellet’ UK-based Gough Engineering has completed a bespoke design for a new ‘low-level’ Vibrecon circular sieve for the screening and sieving of plastic granules for a Malaysian plastics manufacturer.

The newly designed, direct drive, low lying Vibrecon separator is said to screen plastic pellets over 3x3.5mm at a rate of 2,000kgs per hour, removing oversize and fines as well as angel hairs and longs. The unit is constructed in stainless steel grade 304 and is powered by a flange mounted vibratory motor.

According to the company, a typical GV4 unit would have a height of above 1 m, whereas the new low level Vibrecon has a height of just 850mm. This was a

design feature the Malaysian plastic compound manufacturer required to fit in with its process line.

Gough offers design, manufacture, installation and aftersales support for its range of pellet screening equipment universally used by compounders as well as pelletiser and extruder manufacturers to ensure the ‘perfect pellet’.

Gough Engineering Tel: +44 1782 654770 Email: info@goughengineering.com Web: www.goughengineering.com

BASF Tel: +49 621 60 43348 Email: sabine.philipp@basf.com Web: www.basf.com

SAS Announces New Electric Grippers

Automation group SAS now offers both electric grippers and pneumatic grippers to provide customers with more options.

Electric grippers are becoming more popular for applications that require high speeds and for those requiring light or moderate grip forces. Electric is also cleaner than either pneumatic or hydraulic and, therefore, electric grippers are very effective for handling products such as circuit boards or other dust sensitive products.

Another major advantage of electric powered grippers is control. A microprocessor can be added to an electric gripping system that can be made to vary clamping force and velocity. This can be done at little additional cost, making the gripper able to cope with a variety of sizes and shapes and reducing the need to change grippers to accommodate different types of parts.

SAS Automation Tel: +49 721 26306 0 Email: info@sas-automation.com Web: www.sas-automation.com EPPM 7

MACHINERY ROUNDUP Sigma Software Simulations Stop the Show Sigma Engineering from Germany presented its Sigmasoft software designed for 3D injection moulding simulation at Euromold last year.

Sigmasoft offers a variety of functions, while enabling the user to obtain a profound understanding of the causalities, considering not only part defects, but also mould performance, energy efficiency and achievable process windows.

When developing parts to be produced by injection moulding, designers use simulation programs that calculate mould filling, the phases of post-

pressure and cooling, including demoulding, as well as the warpage in the plastic part. This is done on the basis of empirical data and mathematical models. There is no doubt, however, that a program’s predictions can only be precise if it considers not only the component geometry, but if it moreover physically and exactly determines all relevant influencing factors (e.g. components and materials of the mould, concept and media of tempering, hot runner and actual process management) and appropriately integrates them into the calculations.

While consistently and exclusively using 3D technology, Sigmasoft meets all of

these requirements. Sigmasoft has always applied 3D technology only.

Because it employs the ‘Finite Volume Method’, Sigmasoft enables fast and easy integration of all available influencing factors relevant to geometry and process, with minimum interaction required from the software user at any point in time during the process of product emergence. The simulation model obtained is integrated into a network fully automatically and with no finishing work required, a feature that means a considerable increase in productivity to the user. The generated simulation model is then used to conduct thermal mould analyses, which serve as a basis for component-related mould optimisation and minimisation of cycle times. Moreover, the model enables the user to make detailed statements concerning the efficiency of the employed tempering concept from the energetic point of view. In addition, ejector forces during demoulding can be determined and subsequent thermal treatments on the part (for instance varnishing or galvanisation) can be analysed as to its effects on the stress distribution and dimensional stability of the component.

Sigma Engineering Tel: +49 241 894950 Email: l.florez@sigmasoft.de Web: www.sigmasoft.de

New Universal Panel Indicator for Extrusion Applications

The new 1480 1/8-DIN panel indicator from extrusion sensor specialist Dynisco displays strain-gauge, voltage, current, thermocouple or RTD (resistance temperature detector) inputs, which makes it ideal for use on plastics extrusion equipment. The universal pressure or temperature input indicator can be configured with single or dual alarms for high/low process variables and optional linear retransmission of the displayed process reading.

The front panel is designed for threebutton operation and includes an easyto-read, four-digit, 13 mm high display of the process variable and maximum/minimum values. Red/green beacons change colour on alarm. Other key features of the 1480 indicator include latching and non-latching relays, rated for 2-amp, 240v operation, and multipoint scaling. Front-panel protection is rated at IEC IP66 (the global standard) and behind-panel protection is IP20. The unit is CE approved.

Dynisco Tel: +49 7131 2970 Email: joe.diorio@dynisco.com Web: www.dynisco.com EPPM 8

SHOW

INJECTION MOULDING Engel Includes User Control for MuCell Technology Engel Austria has now made it even easier to use MuCell technology with a new control interface. The development was unveiled to more than 100 users and other parties interested in the process of foam injection moulding at an international workshop. The event was organised by Engel Austria and Trexel.

MuCell physical foaming involves the injection and homogeneous distribution of mainly pressurised nitrogen or carbon dioxide in a supercritical state into the plastic melt during plastification.

Previously, only a small number of parameters in the gas injection process could be manipulated via an injection moulding machine’s control system; by contrast, the next generation control system maps the whole gas supply system on the monitor of the injection moulding machine. “There is now a flow diagram to provide a clearer overview of the whole process, including the gas supply system,” said Michael Fischer, Sales Manager (Technologies) at Engel Austria in Schwertberg. “This improves understanding of the process and allows users to exploit the possibilities of the technology far better.” Integrated control has also enabled Engel to simplify operation of the system as a whole.

Live demonstrations were used to

emphasise the benefits of the new control system generation to those attending the workshop on MuCellbased component design. The large number of participants — more than 100 from Austria and Germany as well as France, Italy, Poland and elsewhere — was evidence of the burgeoning importance of the MuCell process.

Two factors in particular are driving growth: the gathering trend towards weight reduction for lightweight construction and the low distortion of parts manufactured under the MuCell process. Thin or thick injection, no sink marks, high dimensional stability and improved rheological properties — the Schwertberg workshop illustrated how the limitations of compact injection moulding can be overcome and new design vistas opened up.

To give one example, automotive supplier Demo Injection, a subsidiary of AFE Plasturgie in the French town of Chambly, specialist for safety airbag covers and decorative parts, manufactures airbag panels using MuCell foam injection moulding. “The MuCell process offers critical advantages in reaching the highly expected at the same time as the dimensional restrictions of the breaking

points combined with the global dimensions stability,” said Naoufel Menadi, Sales and Development Director at AFE Plasturgie, in his presentation. “Thanks to MuCell, we can now produce complex and ‘out-of-thetraditional-plastics-design-rules’ airbag covers in a single step, which minimises our costs.”

Other speakers addressed the opportunities and possibilities presented

EPPM 10

by the MuCell process as well as material-related developments. Guest speaker Thomas Olschewski of Lanxess Germany made reference to new polyamides with improved surface properties.

Engel Tel: +43 50 620 0 Email: sales@engel.at Web: www.engel.at

WCASE

INJECTION MOULDING

Swiss Market Goes Electric with Ferromatik At Swiss Plastics in Lucerne last month, Ferromatik Milacron presented the Elektron, the most recent addition to the international Milacron all-electric machine portfolio. The Elektron is designed for a full range of standard applications and offers manufacturers a cost-effective path into all-electric injection moulding.

The Elektron 50 with a clamping force of 500 kN was equipped with an international size 120 injection unit and a three-zone screw with a diameter of 25 mm. The machine demonstrated production of measuring cups for laboratory use on a two-cavity mould from Swiss company Brac-Werke AG. Made from polypropylene, the cups have a shot weight of 5.6 g and a part weight of 2.8 g.

“The Elektron provides a flexible moulding solution for both newcomers and experienced injection moulders. If energy efficiency is as important as price, then this machine is an ideal choice,” said Mauro Busato, General Manager for Ferromatik Milacron in Switzerland. “We see a lot of potential for the Elektron in the Swiss market.”

The Elektron is available in eight sizes, ranging from 500 to 3,500kN, with seven choices of injection unit (international

sizes 55 to 1,540). This makes for a total of 23 possible combinations, each with a choice of three different screw diameters. In addition, the Elektron can be further customised from a list of options for individual moulding requirements. The Elektron provides these key advantages: • Economy: 60% less energy and 90 %

less water than hydraulic injection moulding machines • Dynamics: Parallel movements for fast cycle times • Precision: Exceptional part quality with excellent mould protection thanks to stroke accuracy of 0.01 mm • Productivity: Minimal rejects with maximum repeatability and machine availability

EPPM 11

• Flexibility: Suitable for all standard applications • Clean: Ideal for clean room operations since no oil is used • Quiet: Minimal noise Ferromatik Milacron Tel: +49 7644 78 302 Email: marketing@ferromatik.com Web: www.ferromatik.com

MACHINERY SPOTLIGHT eppm

MATERIALS HANDLING

Fasti-Koch of Germany is enhancing its MATERIAL compressed DRYING FROM air dryers for small FASTI-KOCH throughputs NOW WITH of EASIER hygroscopic MONITORING material and equipping them with new technology. A modern touch panel-based control offers

intelligently adapted granulate drying with maximum convenience for the operator. The new control system regulates energy and compressed air consumption to the levels actually required. An integrated database for materials and operating data helps the user save, change and gain access to process parameters.

The previous generations of Fasti-Koch compressed air dryers have all used the same modular concept. The control module, also known as the pilot module, and drying containers of various sizes

can be quickly disconnected and put together again. This pilot module now features a modern touch panel-based control, reportedly the first of its kind to ever be used in compressed air dryers.

The touch-sensitive display makes for easier operation and clarity. The user can call up all relevant data in a clear form and change it with just the pressure of his or her finger. This might include drying temperatures, drying time monitoring, holding times, an interval or weekly timer program, the integrated control for air-jet conveyance, the option

of dew point recording or the new feature of a material database.

As of 2012, the new control system is standard in all Fasti-Koch ERD dryer models, ranging from the ERD Micro dryer for very small volumes to the ERD Xpert dryer for small volumes that is available with V2A stainless steel drying containers of between 7 l and 62 l.

Fasti-Koch Tel: +49 7231 80090 Email: info@koch-technik.de Web: www.fasti-koch.com

The increased demand for efficiency in INCREASED the plastics BLENDER industry is EFFICIENCY being reflected in OPTIMISES the PRODUCTION blenders PERFORMANCE that manufacturers are developing for the market.

Blenders have always been required to work with a range of parameters including different batch sizes, various throughputs and a variety of materials, however in today’s processors market the demand for production efficiency and flexibility has never been greater.

As these boundaries have expanded modern blending equipment needs to meet new demands. Challenges such as blending varying material forms of varying bulk densities, creating recipes for high temperature applications and even the remote cleaning of blenders for recipe changes are now common as downstream production demands evolve.

TSM Control Systems of Ireland has also developed — and patented — a reverse flight auger. This ensures swift and homogeneous mixing of any plastic — whether virgin or regrind. The auger generates a down force on any materials being processed when mounted on the processing machine throat, making it ideal for light flake materials.

TSM Controls Tel: +353 42 9335560 Email: info@tsm-controls.com Web: www.tsmcontrols.com

EPPM 12

MACHINERY SPOTLIGHT eppm

WELDING

Welding specialist Xfurth has recently supplied a special purpose spin welding machine for the assembly of polypropylene end caps to tubes.

This was in response to a customer enquiry that required a machine to have the capability to handle a range of sizes of end cap/tube assemblies with various combinations of diameter and tube length.

As some tube lengths exceeded the capacity of the standard machine, Xfurth designed and manufactured a special purpose machine.

XFURTH SUPPLIES SPIN WELDING MACHINE FOR ASSEMBLING PP TUBING CAPS

The unit has the capacity to handle a range of tube diameters from 15 mm to 50 mm and tube lengths from 100 mm to 500 mm.

It incorporates an adjustable parts holding fixture. The tube end stop and centralising support are all fully adjustable to accommodate the various tube sizes. Their positioning in respect to each tube size can be pre-set by selecting the appropriate programme from the PLC control system.

Interchangeable drive tools and tube grip chuck jaws are manually selected and fitted for each tube diameter.

The spin welding cycle is fully programmable, enabling precise control of the welding process.

Drive tool settings determine the radial start and stop positions, speed of rotation and number of revolutions. Press motion settings determine start and stop positions, speed and distance of travel during welding and force applied during welding.

The weld process parameters can be easily changed to compensate for variations in parts dimensions, or material properties.

A touch screen panel located at the front of the machine makes for ease of programme selection and adjustment of settings for the welding process parameters. Parts are manually loaded and unloaded.

For ease of loading and unloading of parts and operator safety, the machine incorporates a safety light curtain.

Spin welding is a friction welding process. The parts to be welded are brought together and one of the parts is rotated, about 8 to 10 revolutions, under the application of axial pressure.

The frictional heat generated is sufficient to melt the plastic to create the weld.

A major feature of the Xfurth Servo Drive System is the ability to precisely control the orientation of the rotating part at the end of the welding cycle.

This is not possible with spin welders utilising pneumatic or brake motor drives where the orientation is random.

Typical spin welding applications are: welding of injection moulded spouts to blow moulded tanks, joining of hemispherical mouldings to make ball floats, assembling plugs in tooling holes, assembling rims into paint containers, and joining end caps to tube ends.

These applications cover a range of industrial sectors i.e. automotive, building products, domestic appliances, electrical/electronics, filter manufacture, packaging and pharmaceutical.

German automation LASER WELDING specialist Contexo PLASTICS IN manufactures MEDICAL DEVICE assembly and MANUFACTURING test systems for high-volume production of medical and pharmaceutical assemblies as well as products for the consumer goods industry.

Typically, these machines will incorporate several different processes such as dispensing, laser welding, pressure testing, sorting and packaging integrated into a single, highly sophisticated manufacturing line. Each of the individual processes are developed in-house in close cooperation with the end-customer to ensure that the various elements of the system meet the specific requirements of the project. This philosophy extends to the joining technologies that may be required for a specific application.

In order to achieve and maintain the required machine cycle time, the individual manufacturing processes themselves need to be fast enough.

Another consideration for high-speed, high-volume joining applications is the preference to eliminate the need for additional materials such as glue or fasteners, which could add considerable cost to the finished product.

When producing parts for the medical and pharmaceutical industries, not only are precision and dimensional accuracy important but traceability and quality assurance of any joining process used is essential. Of the commonly used joining processes (which include ultrasonics, crimping

Xfurth Tel: +44 1582 436000 Email: sales@xfurth.com Web: www.xfurth.com

EPPM 13

and glueing), welding using a diode laser meets all of the pre-requisites such as speed, precision, flexibility and traceability with none of the drawbacks that can be associated with other joining processes.

From a manufacturer’s point of view, welding with a diode laser offers the highest precision, especially in instances where complex structures need to be joined. A typical example of an actual project was the requirement to weld a plate with micro channels using a fibrecoupled diode laser in combination with a galvo scanner. The challenge of achieving precision welding around fine contours with a total weld length of 1.5 m on a surface area of just 10 cm x 12 cm was successfully carried out, a task that would have been very difficult if not impossible using alternative joining technologies.

An increasing demand for laser based plastics welding technology within the medical device manufacturing industry is anticipated. The main reasons for this will be the increasingly sophisticated welding requirements on the components that need to be joined, coupled with more complex welding contours. The ability of the laser to provide a precise, predictable, fast and controllable joining process, especially on compact and complex parts, is why laser welding technology is now being considered by a growing number of product manufacturers at the design phase of new projects.

Rofin-Baasel UK Ltd Tel: +44 1327 701 100 Email: sales@rofin-baasel.co.uk Web: www.rofin.co.uk

Industry News

Stäubli’s ‘Quick Mould Change Roadshow’ a Hit for 2011 Stäubli, a specialist in connection solutions, spent time last year visiting companies in a purpose-built demonstration vehicle, to present examples of its quick mould changing technology.

Stäubli’s QMC Demonstration Van featured interactive displays and a ‘hands on’ opportunity to review the latest mould connection and clamping technology for plastics companies. Feedback on the initiative has

been excellent, with Tim Neale, Technical Manager at Hozelock explaining: “Having the QMC demonstration vehicle visit gave a great opportunity for all staff at Hozelock to view the latest Quick Mould Change solutions from Stäubli, which has lead to further opportunities to improve our efficiency during tool changes. The demonstration vehicle was very well equipped and it was very beneficial having presentations from Stäubli utilising product samples and videos.”

The demonstrations included a number of specific applications featuring the latest Stäubli technology now being used to speed up mould changing.

Nick Glover, Injection Moulding Technician at Magna Intier said of the visit: “The QMC van was a very practical and worthwhile experience. Having products to hand helped understand the benefits for both hands on and managerial personnel.”

Colin Meekings of Koito Europe Ltd. added: “Although Koito already use a range of Stäubli products, the QMC Demonstration Vehicle provided samples and information of the complete range of products, including the use of animations and videos. This has

helped us to understand the full range of products in greater detail and where we can utilise these for future improvements.”

Stäubli is hoping to run the scheme again in 2012 on the back of the success last year. More details to follow in a future issue.

Stäubli (UK) Ltd. Connectors Division Tel: +44 1952 671918 Email: connectors.uk@staubli.com Web: www.staubli.com

Coperion Secures Majority Stake in Pell-Tec

IsoCool Smashes Eurochiller Sales Records

With effect from January 1, 2012, Coperion, has acquired a majority stake in Pell-Tec Pelletizing Technology GmbH, Niedernberg, Germany. Established over ten years ago, Pell-Tec supplies pelletizing systems to customers operating in the plastics processing and recycling industry. Pell-Tec’s product portfolio covers the entire pelletizing process from melt discharge through to the ready-to-use pellets. The pelletizing systems are capable of output rates of up to 6,000 kg/hr and reportedly display the highest degree of flexibility, a feature that is absolutely indispensable in view of the enormous diversity of polymers and formulations for which they are used. With this majority stake in Pell-Tec, Coperion has taken a further step in strengthening its competence as a systems supplier and is now also able to supply tailor-made pelletizing solutions for small and medium-sized extruders — as complete systems from just one supplier.

“As a majority stakeholder in Pell-Tec Pelletizing Technology GmbH,” said Thomas Kehl, a member of the Executive Board of Coperion GmbH, “Coperion has taken a logical step towards substantiating the already successful business partnership between our two companies.”

Testament to the strength of the UK manufacturing industry, temperature control group IsoCool is beating sales records for Eurochiller products in the UK, as well as internationally. In just a little over one year of being an approved distributor for Eurochiller — during a difficult period for the UK economy — the process cooling specialist has beaten all previous UK sales figures and become the brand’s second ranking distributor in the world.

Eurochiller produces a comprehensive range of energy-efficient products such as water and air chillers (including those with integrated free cooling), variable speed chillers, oil and water temperature controllers, adiabatic coolers and ancillary equipment. Regarded as an industry leader, the company has distributors and agents throughout the world and each is carefully selected to ensure that the brand’s elevated global status is upheld — something that IsoCool is clearly doing excellently, explained Eurochiller Partner, Giovanni Orio: “IsoCool’s technical expertise of process cooling is exceptional and they also have a really innovative approach to long-term energy saving. This really sets them apart from other specialists and is a very powerful combination. Time and time again they’ve transformed old systems into ones, which save 50, 60, even 70 per cent on fuel costs. So we’re really proud that they’ve chosen to partner with Eurochiller — we’re dedicated to efficiency and this is exactly what we build our products to do. For us, it’s no surprise that IsoCool is doing so well — I’m sure they’ll be number one soon!”

Nigel Hallett, Managing Director of IsoCool, also shares Giovanni’s confidence: “Globally, we’ve been pipped at the post by a German distributor who has been selling Eurochiller’s range for 20 years. So we’re definitely on the right path to have got to where we are in just over a year.”

He continued: “The reason we wanted to work with Eurochiller is because the products are so well built, reliable and really advanced in terms of energy efficiency. This suits us down to the ground and we’re really confident about using them in our clients’ cooling systems.”

Coperion GmbH Tel: +49 711 8970 Email: info@coperion.com Web: www.coperion.com

IsoCool Tel: +44 1376 328455 Email: info@isocool.ltd.uk Web: www.isocool.ltd.uk

Coperion’s Executive Board Member Thomas Kehl, Pell-Tec’s joint Managing Director Bernhard Stern, Coperion’s Executive Board Chairman Günter Bachmann and Pell-Tec joint Managing Director Michael Schuler (from left to right).

EPPM 14

New Installations

Reliable Heating Solutions for Plastics Manufacturing A worldwide plastics manufacturer contacted temperature control group ICS Industrial Cooling for assistance with its temperature control needs. The global organisation specialises in injection moulding, extrusion and vertical insert moulding, working within the electronics, medical and renewable energy industries.

The customer has purchased chiller and heater systems from ICS for over 13 years and has been continually impressed with the quality of units and service they have received. The customer has now requested to replace all of the other units with ICS heaters.

For this particular project, the customer required temperature control equipment for the manufacturing process of plastic components. For this process to work, temperatures between 80˚C and 85˚C are required for use 24 hours a day, five days a week at its manufacturing site.

The customer’s production area produces a vast amount of dust and needs continual ventilation; therefore heating units that can withstand dusty environments without continual maintenance checks were essential in order to maintain optimum productivity.

ICS worked alongside its manufacturing company Tricool Thermal to design and manufacture 12 x T90s heating units with capacities of 9 kW–18 kW and the ability to reach temperatures of up to 95˚C. These units cater for the customer’s exact needs, thanks to their diagnostic controller that alerts any faults and reduces maintenance time, a leak stopper that enables continuous productivity, direct acting self-cleaning solenoid valves that reduce the need for manual cleaning and non-ferrous parts used throughout for a longer life.

As well as saving on maintenance checks and costs, these machines are

built using solid state relays that are extremely energy efficient due to pulsing every 0.3 seconds (unlike contactors that pulse every 16 seconds). This provides increased accuracy, and with no moving parts, wear and tear is eliminated.

Dominic Shepherd, Sales Engineer for ICS, said of the installation: “These units are easy to set-up and trouble free to use. They are standard, small units with flexible pipe work, allowing for a quick and simple installation for the customer.”

Following the simple installation, the customer was able to leave the units running without having to continually carry out maintenance checks; sustaining a continuous production line.

The customer describes their experience of working with ICS and in particular, the group’s Sales Engineer, Dominic Shepherd: “ICS have continually provided us with

reliable and durable units. Dominic is very approachable and is always prompt with his site visits. We cannot fault the service received from ICS and plan to continue working with them in the future.”

ICS Industrial Cooling Tel: +44 800 169 3861 Email: info@icstemp.com Web: www.icstemp.com

eppm

Find your dream job on our online jobs board at www.eppm.com

Southco Chooses Renmar and AEC for Mould Temperature Control

Application Centre and, as a result, a medium wave carbon infrared system was installed. Short wave infrared radiation penetrates deeply into thick plastic materials, while medium wave carbon infrared emitters can heat the surface better. Tests can demonstrate which radiation is best for specific tasks.

Neil Holden of Polyflor is convinced of the benefits of the infrared system: “The new system has ensured that embossing no longer affects floor covering geometry. We were very impressed with the tests carried out at the Heraeus Application Centre and with the way that the system was installed with minimum interruption to the production process.”

UK group Renmar has announced after many months of evaluating various mould temperature controllers on the market Southco Manufacturing of Worcester has selected the AEC TCU100 with the advanced controller package.

The customer carried out its own independent flow tests and the AEC unit provided the highest flow rate of all the units reviewed, meaning the company could use the smallest unit in the AEC range of TCUs to give the correct water flow requirements to suit its full range of tools and moulding machines. Southco uses two heaters per moulding machine with tonnage ranging from 40–350T. Part of the decision also came from the use of AEC units in other plants worldwide.

Southco placed the order on Renmar Ltd, the AEC distributor for the UK and Ireland, for a total of 26 units, which have been successfully phased in over a period of a few months. Spokesmen from both companies are extremely happy with the partnership and look forward to the prospect of working together on future development projects.

Heraeus Noblelight Tel: +49 6181 358545 Email: hng-infrared@heraeus.com Web: www.heraeus-noblelight.com

Renmar Tel: +44 844 6933225 Email: info@renmarltd.com Web: www.renmarltd.com

Carbon Infrared Emitters Improve Quality for Flooring Manufacturer Modern plastic materials used in foils and films need heat during processing.

Coatings or adhesives are dried and plastic foils are pre-treated by heat before embossing or lamination. Carbon infrared emitters from Heraeus Noblelight of Germany are helping processors in the embossing of heavy duty floor coverings and improving quality.

Infrared systems heat large, flat materials rapidly and homogenously, directly before the press or the embossing station. This saves both energy and cost.

Multi-layer plastic foils are used for the hygienic packaging of foodstuffs. To join the layers together, the foils are heated and then joined by means of calenders.

Heavy duty plastic floor products often have a decorative embossing. To achieve a high quality result, after a pre-

heating, the surface is then directly heated again shortly before the embossing station. Whether laminating or embossing, the large surface must always be heated homogenously and, hence, it is important that the correct heat source is selected.

Polyflor, of England, manufactures heavy duty floor coverings for use in schools, hospitals and commercial organisations throughout the world. In the manufacture of floor coverings in Manchester, a 2m wide PVC (polyvinyl chloride) web is heated by infrared emitters before being embossed with decorative patterns.

Short wave infrared emitters had previously been used for this application, but they did not heat all colours optimally and geometric integrity was often affected during embossing.

In order to solve the problem, intensive tests were carried out in the Heraeus

EPPM 15

People on the Move

Hubertus Schulte Named New CTO of Engel With effect from January 1, Dr. Hubertus Schulte took over the responsibility for technology and production within the management team of Engel Austria. Hubertus Schulte brings more than 20 years of international experience in plastics processing machines to the role. In his previous post, he was the CEO for a leading German supplier of extrusion systems; a role in which he was responsible for both engineering and global sales and distribution.

Dr. Schulte, a native of Westphalia, completed an apprenticeship as a toolmaker before reading for a degree in machine technology (plastics engineering and process technology) at the University of Paderborn/Germany.

He went on to achieve a doctorate in

the field of injection moulding plasticising units at the same institution.

“The appointment of Dr. Schulte will give the company another boost,” said Dr. Peter Neumann, CEO of Engel (who himself assumed this role during the time of crisis). “We are delighted to have Hubertus Schulte, an expert with international experience, in such a key position. His highly innovation-oriented and client-focused approach to his work will be invaluable in helping us pursue our strategic goals and enhance customer proximity.”

Engel Tel: +43 50 620 0 Email: sales@engel.at Web: www.engel.at

Pallmann Appoints New CFO Bernd Huber has been appointed CFO of Pallmann Group, effective October 1.

Pallmann reportedly is the world’s largest specialist manufacturer of machines for materials size reduction and processing technology.

Huber is ideally qualified for this position because of his long business management experience in the machine construction sector, as well as working for associated automotive suppliers and also in the consumer goods industry.

His professional career has included 10

Husky Names Dave Whiffen Vice President, Hot Runners years as CFO and later as CEO of a medium-sized automotive supplier company which developed and manufactured automotive powertrain parts and modules for European car manufacturers. His work also embraced the company’s other area of expertise, mainly the development, manufacture and international distribution of hydraulic parts for machine construction.

Most recently, Huber has been Head Group Controller for a global automotive supplier company. Here, the focus was on manufacturing at all 13 plants, with responsibility for the distribution/development and joint ventures for market development.

Pallmann Group Tel: +49 6332 802 103 Email: rolf.gren@pallmann.eu Web: www.pallmann.eu

S+S Inspection Boosts its Field Service Capability UK-based S+S Inspection has increased its service capability with the appointment of Mark Tate to provide on-site service to users of the company’s metal detection and sorting equipment in the North of Britain. With over 15 years experience as a field service technician in the food, drinks and manufacturing industries, Mark will make a major contribution to maintaining S+S Inspection’s reputation for prompt and expert customer service.

When not servicing metal detection and sorting equipment, Mark restores veteran cars, which he shows at classic car shows throughout the UK. He is currently restoring a 1979 Mk4 Ford Cortina to show alongside his fully restored 1972 Vauxhall Viva.

S+S Inspection Tel: +44 1489 553740 Email: info@sesotec.co.uk Web: www.sesotec.co.uk

Hubertus Schulte, the new CTO at Engel.

Husky Injection Molding Systems recently announced the appointment of Dave Whiffen to the position of Vice President, Hot Runners. In this role, Mr. Whiffen will serve as a member of Husky’s executive team.

“Hot runners and controllers are a critical part of any integrated injection moulding system,” said John Galt, Husky’s President and CEO. “Recognising the importance of this market, Husky has made a number of very substantial investments in new hot runner technology and R&D over the last few years. We are also in the process of investing to increase manufacturing capacity and further improve customer support. The formation of a dedicated hot runner team, under Dave’s

leadership, will provide us with the necessary executive level focus to work with customers on providing the products and services they need.”

Whiffen has been with Husky since 1986 and has held a number of senior positions in business development, operations and marketing, many of which were focused on the hot runner business. Most recently, he led Husky’s global sales support organisation.

Whiffen holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from McMaster University in Canada.

Husky Tel: +1 905 951 5050 Email: sales@husky.ca Web: www.husky.ca

X-Rite Names Vic Stalam Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing X-Rite, the colour management specialist, has announced the appointment of Vic Stalam as Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, overseeing all sales, marketing and services activities for the Americas and EMEA regions and serving on X-Rite’s senior leadership team as a corporate officer. Stalam will be based in the USA and will report directly to Thomas J. Vacchiano, Jr., Chief Executive Officer of X-Rite.

“Vic has an exceptional track record of success in developing and growing businesses,” said Vacchiano. “His broad set of experiences will bring great value to X-Rite as we pursue our strategic growth opportunities.”

Most recently, Stalam served as the Vice President, Commercial Sales in the US and Canada for the Eastman Kodak Company. His team was responsible for selling the complete portfolio of Kodak products and solutions, delivering approximately $1 billion in revenue.

Stalam advanced rapidly through a succession of sales, marketing and senior management positions at the Eastman Kodak Company, including EPPM 16

Vic Stalam - Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing overseeing all sales, marketing and services activities for the Americas and EMEA regions. head of the Global Key Accounts & Channel Management and Vice President - Packaging Business, and General Manager and Vice President Digital Products and Systems.

X-Rite Europe GmbH Tel: +41 44 842 2088 Email: prosales@xrite.com Web: www.xrite.com

MATERIALS

CPS Brings Environmental and Production Benefits to Global Infant Care Manufacturer CPS, the leading European manufacturer of environmentally friendly cleaning solutions for the screen printing industry, has assisted a Hungarian-based key global manufacturer of high-end plastic products for infant care and hygiene, with a safer and more efficient solution for the cleaning of essential printing equipment. CPS products brought an immediate 36% improvement on the company’s cleaning systems, with an 80% gain on filtering processes.

MAM Hungaria Kft was launched in the seventies by an Austrian plastics expert with the intention of producing high quality baby care and hygiene products.

From its inception in Vienna, the company moved to Hungary and has grown rapidly to employ close to 300 workers, while exporting as far afield as Thailand and the USA. With a product portfolio focusing on hygiene and safety, together with pleasing aesthetic appearance often relying on complex 3D printing processes, MAM needs to ensure that all aspects of its rigorous manufacturing cycle go beyond compliance.

A crucial element of MAM’s manufacturing operation is the cleaning of the Pad printing plates as these get spoiled by the specialist inks and need to be regularly maintained in order to

ensure outmost quality. For in-depth cleaning, specialised solvents have to be used and MAM has selected CPS Vx, a low odour, aromatic-free screen wash without emulsifying agents. This product is ideal as it exhibits properties such as efficiency, ease of recycling, no odour and high environmental friendliness.

Vx’s low evaporation minimises volatile fumes and ensures a highly efficient

cleaning cycle with reduced consumption when compared with similar products.

“We are fully satisfied with Vx,” explained Ferenc Vécsei, MAM’s Head of Technology. “Due to its precise advanced formulation the product exhibits excellent cleaning power and is hazard label free. It does not contain any aromatic component and is

Lightweight Flexible Nylon Foam Unveiled Zotefoams, the foam technology company, has unveiled a new, lightweight polyamide co-polymer, flexible thermoplastic foam material, Zotek NA30, that it claims is suitable for a wide array of automotive applications such as undershields and bonnet liners, engine insulation, air ducting and a variety of die cut and thermoformed spacers.

“Automotive engineers are constantly looking for weight savings in order to reduce emissions by improving fuel efficiency, and every last gramme counts,” said Rob Trinder, Zotefoams Product Manager for Polyamide materials. “However, weight saving must not be achieved at the expense of mechanical and thermal performance.

Zotek N A30 is the lightest polyamide (nylon) foam material ever to be produced commercially, at only 30 kg/m3. It has outstanding high temperature performance properties and has a maximum operational temperature of 170°C, making it ideal for applications within the engine compartment.

A further outstanding property is the product’s inherent tolerance to hydrocarbons, oils, greases and brake fluids, making it ideal for automotive applications that may come into contact with fuels, lubricants or functional fluids.

“The use of foam materials to simply address NVH concerns are over,” continued Trinder. “Functional foam components are now used throughout the vehicle for many applications. Being crosslinked, Zotek N can be thermoformed into complex shapes that provide mechanical functionality in addition to sealing, thermal and acoustic insulation properties.”

Zotek N foams are already being used in composite constructions for under bonnet applications and a major manufacturer is developing lightweight climate control ducting using the combined mechanical strength and insulative properties of Zotek foam.

The Zotefoams manufacturing process uses only nitrogen gas as the foaming agent. The complete absence of chemical foaming agents removes a

major potential source of VOCs, the major cause of both fogging and odour in foams. Zotefoams materials have been analysed in accordance with various standards, including VDA 277 and VDA 278.

As with all foams produced using the Zotefoams 3 stage process, Zotek N has a consistent, controlled cell size and structure with no density profile or cell orientation. Being expanded in a free environment, these foams are virtually stress free, an important requirement for cost-effective conversion. Zotek N may be fabricated by traditional means, including sawing, routing, drilling, water jet cutting and die cutting and can also be thermoformed using heat compression moulding and vacuum forming techniques.

Zotefoams PLC Tel: +44 20 8664 1600 Email: info@zotefoams.com Web: www.zotefoams.com

EPPM 17

classified as non-flammable, with a flash point of 63˚C. Compared with products we previously sourced it is more costeffective, as it can be used for longer, with highly resilient dissolving power, even when recycled several times. This latter aspect is also attractive from an environmental point of view. Using Vx has improved our cleaning processes efficiency by 36%, with further improvements of up to 80% when a filtering/absorption unit was installed.

Ultimately, CPS’ Screen Cleaner Vx helped us to achieve our goal: to satisfy our customers with maximum safety and with environmentally sound solutions.”

CPS’ Vx is one of several post-press cleaning and screen preparation solutions developed over the last 25 years to meet the most stringent environmental criteria around. The product is distributed in Hungary by leading specialist Centrum Servis. By working closely with manufacturers like MAM and key specialists like Centrum Servis, CPS ensures that products perform to the highest standards, bringing tangible benefits to specialist processors across the globe.

CPS Tel: +44 1235 771111 Email: info@cps.eu Web: www.cps.eu

MATERIALS ROUNDUP Fast Colour Changes and Less Cleaning When Extruding Profiles Materials group Bolta is one of the first companies in the plastics industry to distribute Novopearls, a wax-based micro-granulate for use in profile extrusion processes.

The new Novopearls micro-batch from Novosystems bridges the gap between liquid colours and macrobatches. The colour carrier possesses physical characteristics which combine the benefits of solid carriers with the well-known advantages of liquid colours. In traditional processes, when it came to colouring profile sections black, liquid colours were problematic. The result was colour swirls in the crosssection and thus insufficient colouration. Adjustments to the recipe and degree of volumetric colour fill did not result in the required effect. Lumps often formed at the front feed. Tests of the Novopearls microgranulate reportedly produced satisfying results.

The low melting point of 85°C and a sufficient dwell time in the screw chamber led to the required homogenization of the colour pigments with the basic polymer in the melt. The degree of colour fill could be significantly reduced in comparison to other pigment carriers. In addition, the spherical micro-granulate results in excellent low friction properties.

Dosing machines for micro-granulates or liquid colours such as peristaltic pumps for liquid colours or gravimetric dosing machines in the case of micro-batches are an advantage when the materials are not pre-mixed in the mixing plant. Moreover, in the case of dual screw extruders with high thrust, the dwell time must be sufficient for homogenization.

Novopearls cleans the screw constantly as the material flows through the machine. The fact that Novopearls is dust-free is an added benefit.

Bolta Tel: +49 8554 309 0 Email: info@bolta-industrie.de Web: www.bolta-industrie.de

EPPM 18

MATERIALS ROUNDUP Thorough Cleaning of Extruders and Injection Moulding Machines in the Processing of PMMA

Purgex Removes Inclusions and Contaminants When Purging Medical Plastics Purgex commercial purging compounds (CPC) are designed to improve colour and material changeovers and remove inclusions and contaminants (e.g. black specks) when purging injection moulding, blow moulding, or extrusion equipment. All Purgex grades use ingredients that are non-toxic and USAFDA approved for food, pharmaceutical and medical plastics use.

Typical Purgex applications for medical products include: bottles and containers (PE, PP, PBT); test tubes (PBT); syringes and plungers (PP, PS); electrical connectors (Acetal, Nylon, PBT, LCP); tubing (Nylon, PVC); and other medical

device components (e.g. PP, PPO, ABS, PC/ABS, PVC, TPE).

Purgex is safe to use in hot runner systems with gates as small as 75mm and has a variety of grades available to clean filled or unfilled resins from machinery at processing temperatures ranging from 138˚C to 316˚C. Purgex division of Neutrex, Inc. Tel: +1 281 807 9449 Email: global@purgexonline.com Web: www.purgexonline.com

Dugdale Purges Old Formulations to Increase Cleaning Efficiency Cleaning and purging materials — reformulated to meet current European chemicals regulations — also enable Dugdale plc to offer its customers better machine efficiency, says Dugdale Business Development Manager, Andy Tombs.

In addition to lead and tin-free formulations, the group’s purging compounds offer significant benefits.

New-generation stabiliser technology gives Ducafreeze elevated temperature resistance, making it suitable for use as a freeze or purge compound for rigid and flexible PVC production across a wide range of applications. It is especially suited to high-end rigid PVC applications with processing temperatures over 200˚C. Ducafreeze

eliminates the need for stripping dies for cleaning — and the knock-on effects of frequent disassembly and reassembly.

Ducafreeze can be used while the machine is cooling and left in the tooling — even for extended periods — until the next start-up, when it is itself purged by standard material.

The group also offers Ducapurge, a highly efficient non-PVC universal purging compound designed for immediate use without the need for soaking, to cut cleaning downtime to an absolute minimum.

With Lusin Clean 1010, chemical group ChemTrend has introduced a new purging compound for cleaning processes in the processing of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA). Lusin Clean 1010 has been specifically developed for the cleaning of extruders and injection moulding machines.

The new purging compound helps to solve process related problems with color and material changes and eliminates “black specks” which can occur during thermal degradation of PMMA. The ready-for-use granulate has been successfully tested by renowned manufacturers. Compared to conventional cleaning processes and products, the use of Lusin Clean 1010 can lead to cost reductions of 30 to 70 per cent compared to the current solution (material consumption, down times and scrap rates). These savings can vary, depending on the manufacturing process and respective specific conditions. Lusin Clean 1010 is particularly employed with highly transparent products such as back lights in the automotive industry or in the production of flat-screen frames. In both applications, Lusin Clean 1010 has been

Dugdale Tel: +44 1422 832501 Email: sales@dugdaleplc.com Web: www.dugdaleplc.com

Lucofin Improving Impact Properties by 97% in Injection Moulded Applications Technical Distributor CJP Sales Ltd who is the stocking distributor for Lucobit in the United Kingdom has been involved with promoting the use of Lucofin as an impact modifier used in random co-polymer polypropylene storage box applications. The Lucofin 1400MN is added at the moulding machine between 5% and 10%, a 5% addition improved the impact by 30% and a 10% addition improved the impact by 97%.

Notched charpy impact testing was carried out using an instrumented impact tester according to BS2782 Method 359 Appendix A, using a 2J hammer at 23°C and 50% RH. Results are an average of 10 specimens of each sample tested.

The Lucofin does not adversely affect the clarity at this level addition, but can show a slight weight advantage with a Density of 0.89%.

Due to its excellent polarity and wide processing temperature range, Lucofin is

an exceptionally versatile polymer which is used across a range of market sectors, including: Blown and cast film, compounding, cable coating extrusions, foam production, hot melt adhesives, profile extrusion and used as a polymer it gives a soft flexible feel in the shore A 90-95 hardness range.

CJP Sales Ltd Tel: +44 1656 644907 Email: sales@cjpsales.co.uk Web: www.cjpsales.co.uk EPPM 19

able to prove its full compatibility with PMMA as well as its superior cleaning efficiency.

“Our launch of Lusin Clean 1010 underscores our commitment to the development of tailored solutions for highly specialised applications,” said Chem-Trend global business development director for thermoplastics Rene Grawe.

Middle Eastern product enquiries for Chem-Trend are handled by the group’s European offices.

Chem-Trend Tel: +49 8142 417 1146 Email: kbethke@chemtrend.de Web: www.chemtrend.com

WIRE & CABLE

SHOWCASE

Borealis Makes Great Strides in Wire and Cable Market Borealis, a provider of innovative plastics solutions, was presented with the Frost & Sullivan 2011 Europe Product Leadership Award in HVDC Cable Insulation Market last year. In this field, Borealis has introduced crosslinked polyethylene (XLPE) based insulation compound Borealis Superclean LE4253DC. As a result of its high electrical breakdown properties, Superclean LE4253DC brings performance reliability improvements to HVDC cables.

The compound offers the right balance between space charge accumulation, conductivity and DC breakdown strength and allows cost-effective manufacturing in conventional CV lines.

“Borealis, through its in-depth understanding of the HVDC cable application, as well as concrete focus on developing products specifically to match the unmet needs of their customers, has consolidated its leading position in the future.

Cables manufactured with Superclean LE 4253 DC XLPE insulation ensure faster installation, lower electric losses, higher operating temperature, improved transmission reliability and have a lower environmental impact compared with traditionally used insulation systems,” said Deepak Karthikeyan, Senior Research Analyst, Chemicals, Materials and Foods, Frost & Sullivan.

Marc Hubert, Borealis Vice President of Wire & Cable concluded: “The HVDC cable insulation market continues to develop with high growth expected in the future. We are already working on the next generation compounds to meet future market needs for HVDC.” The group will also highlight its continued innovations at ‘wire Dusseldorf 2012.’ The international wire and cable trade fair will take place in Dusseldorf, Germany, March 26–30.

According to the company, through this technology, it is possible to produce cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) insulation and semicon products with consistent quality and the highest purity. This is primarily enabled through the application of a closed production loop — from the monomer to final packaging. Consequently, this gives power cable manufacturers the opportunity to enter high-end and most demanding applications with XLPE cable solutions such as EHV and DC power cables.

“As leading innovators in the wire and cable industry, Borealis and Borouge have proven to be

long-term, reliable assets to the industry,” said Hubert. “With our proprietary technology for XLPE and semicon compounds, we have invested in our future and that of our customers and will continue to provide them with new, exciting innovations. I encourage our existing and potential new customers to visit us to find out more about our unique proprietary technology

and the corresponding latest power cable solutions that will be revealed on our stand.”

Borealis Tel: +43 1 22 400 608 Email: dorothea.wiplinger@borealisgroup.com Web: www.borealisgroup.com

EPPM 21

MATERIALS SPOTLIGHT eppm

AEROSPACE In our regular materials section, we’ve looked at plastics for cars, construction, electronics and household products — to name but a few. This however is a new feature for us: plastics in aerospace. As technical polymers become more advanced, their use as a replacement for metal and other heavy materials has become more prominent. For aircraft, this lightweighting process is becoming essential. A search on Google will throw up some pretty alarming figures relating to the contribution of civil aircraft to global warming — and the estimated increases in the future.

Around the world, price increases and taxes on fuel consumption are causing commercial airlines to re-design entire fleets with lighter alternative equipment. And compounders and suppliers are responding to this trend with a whole host of new offerings. This article looks at some of the latest developments for the aerospace sector.

COME FLY WITH ME: PLASTICS IN AEROSPACE

Health and safety

cargo and equipment from thermal and acoustic extremes associated with environmental conditions and engine noise sources.

Exterior components

Firstly, stepping away slightly from environmental issues, the primary concern when manufacturing for aircraft is health and safety. Recently, US group Chase-Facile’s Insulfab 4000 thermal acoustic insulation blanket cover film made with Halar ECTFE film from Ajedium Films, a division of Solvay Solexis, met the criteria for both Class 00 and Class 1 Types I & II, and was officially added to the Boeing Qualified Products List (QPL). This qualification allows the Insulfab 4000 product, manufactured by Chase-Facile to be used as a drop-in replacement for the previously qualified Tedlar polyvinyl fluoride (PVF) based styles.

This new product consists of a lamination of film made from Halar ECTFE (a 1:1 alternating copolymer of ethylene and chlorotrifluoroethylene), nylon fabric, and a proprietary adhesive.

Insulfab 4000 insulation film provides resistance to fire propagation in thermal acoustic insulation. This has been found to be an important consideration in preventing catastrophic aircraft fires. Halar ECTFE film is also used in flame barrier material designed to meet the requirements of the FAR 856(b) standard, which mandates resistance to flame penetration and heat release into the passenger compartment.

Meeting these criteria will increase passenger safety while not significantly affecting design, installation, or maintenance protocols.

Thermal acoustic insulation blankets are typically installed behind airplane interior panels to protect passengers,

When Click Bond, Inc., a leader in adhesive-bonded fastener systems, wanted to develop a bonded nut plate stand-off for the cargo doors of a major manufacturer’s new generation of commercial aircraft, it chose Victrex PEEK polymer for the composite part.

The stand-offs, which consist of a nut plate attached to a stand-off bracket, are used to provide support for the cargo doors as attachment points for the cargo door liner.

According to Mark Egeberg, Click Bond Pacific Regional Manager: “The high strength and stiffness of the Victrex PEEK polymer combined with Click Bond’s innovative approach to adhesive-bonded stand-offs provides the necessary structural integrity while reducing installation labour.”

Interior and fuselage Back in November the specialist fabricator Dutch Thermoplastic Components (DTC) exhibited a range of high-performance continuous fibre reinforced thermoplastic (CFRTP) parts for aircraft interior and fuselage

applications at the UK Composites Engineering Show.

On the DTC stand, visitors were presented with a selection of parts such as: system brackets, clips and intercostals, seating parts, electronic casings, ribs, stringers and inspection hatches. DTC has been supplying aircraft programmes for leading OEM aircraft manufacturers such as Boeing and Airbus for over 10 years; increasingly small load carrying components in primary aero structures are being redesigned with CFRTP, typically replacing aluminium and titanium. For less demanding industrial applications, DTC also moulds and machines carbon and glass CFRTP parts based on thermoplastic materials such as: PA, ABS, PC, PET, TPU, and PP.

Lightweighting SABIC’s Innovative Plastics strategic business unit has released details of the low moisture absorption capabilities of Ultem polyetherimide (PEI) foam for composite aircraft structures. Ultem resin’s low-moisture absorption is critical in that it helps address two major aircraft OEM challenges: reducing weight for fuel conservation and emissions reduction, and lowering systems costs while delivering equal or better performance than traditional materials. Low moisture absorption combined with the proven flamesmoke-toxicity (FST), dielectric, acoustic and thermal performance of

Ultem foam underscores the pioneering work of SABIC in engineering superior, world-renowned thermoplastic solutions for the aircraft industry.

“By replacing competitive materials such as polymethacrylimide (PMI) with Ultem foam, OEMs and tiers can meet their environmental goals and industry challenges, while lowering systems costs by streamlining processing and extending the application’s useful life,” said Kim Choate, Global Product Marketing Manager, Ultem, Innovative Plastics. “Investment in proactive laboratory testing is just one of the ways in which SABIC delivers everbetter solutions for the aircraft industry to improve performance and drive cost advantages across the board.”

Ultem foam products, available in three densities, are manufactured as boards for use in skin-core-skin composite structures. Applications include luggage bins, galleys and lower wall panels.

Testing involved exposing Ultem foam and PMI foam boards to elevated heat (70˚C) and humidity (85 per cent relative humidity) in an environmental chamber. Test results demonstrated that the Ultem foam absorbed less than 0.5 per cent moisture by weight at 1,000 hours. In contrast, PMI absorbed five to six per cent moisture by weight at just 150 hours and maintained those results through 1,000 hours.

SABIC wasn’t the only materials group looking towards products for lightweighting last year. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics, a leading manufacturer of high-performance polymer components, introduced Meldin 7000, a high-temperature solution for aerospace finished parts.

David Gray, EPPM editor caught up with Ken Smith, Worldwide Market Manager, Electronics & Aerospace Markets, Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics, to find out more about the product.

David Gray: First of all, what would you say are the key applications for Meldin 7000 within the aerospace industry?

Ken Smith: Components made from Meldin 7000 can be found in several systems on an airplane. A few of the

EPPM 22

MATERIALS SPOTLIGHT

more recognisable ones include auxiliary power units (APUs), de-icing systems, cabin air-conditioning systems and jet engines.

David Gray: So why is it proving a popular choice for these parts?

Ken Smith: In a nutshell, Meldin 7000 can save fleet owners money by helping them to operate more efficiently.

Lightweighting is a key example.

Weighing less than alternative materials like metals, ceramics and carbon graphite, Meldin can help reduce the weight of various aircraft systems, ultimately decreasing the total amount of fuel consumed. With the cost of fuel nearing all-time highs, this can mean significant savings over time for fleet owners.

In addition, parts made using Meldin provide long-lasting performance — ideal for fleet owners looking to reduce maintenance and replacement costs.

Basically, Meldin parts can withstand high levels of heat and keep their shape. A big part of what makes Meldin 7000 ideal for so many aerospace applications is its ability to withstand continuous use up to 315˚C and intermittent use up to 482˚C and its resistance to solvents and other chemicals used in aerospace operations. Meldin is also selflubricating and provides excellent thermal insulation properties, wear resistance and chemical resistance.

weight and extreme durability.

A final trend we’re seeing is singlesupplier manufacturing, offering fleet owners and OEMs a concrete way to reduce costs and speed time-tomarket. As a result, fleet owners and OEMs are seeking suppliers with increased capabilities, including design, manufacturing and material testing, creating a single-source supply chain that might otherwise involve two or three different players.

Reducing the supply chain to one

enhances operations and helps ensure finished parts designed to exact specifications. This type of powder-to-parts control can mean high performance, longer lasting aircraft systems components.

David Gray: Finally, where have you found Meldin to be a strong product, geographically? All the usual places, or are you seeing new trends elsewhere?

David Gray: What trends have you identified, and how have you tried to keep up to speed with them?

Ken Smith: The trends we’re seeing are being heavily influenced by the current economic landscape and revolve around reducing operating costs to increase the bottom line. The economic crisis has really taken a toll on the whole airline industry, including its suppliers. Analysts are saying that a collapse of the Euro could result in even bigger industry losses. But even if the Euro holds steady, industry experts are still forecasting a more or less steady decline of profits in 2012.

With profits down, airlines have scaled back on expansion plans, including the purchase of new planes. This has placed the burden on fleet maintenance to keep aircraft flying. Making up as much as 10-20 per cent of all operating costs, fleet owners are looking for ways to safely decrease the time and money spent on maintaining aircraft. Fortifying key aircraft systems with components made from durable, long-lasting, highperformance materials, such as Meldin 7000, is a good way to safely reduce maintenance and part replacement.

To add proverbial fuel to the fire, jet kerosene prices rose to $126 a barrel in December of 2011, nearing the record highs. To deal with these rising costs, lightweighting with advanced polymers has become a popular trend. As we discussed, the lighter the parts of an aircraft, the lighter the overall aircraft, reducing the expense associated with the rising cost of fuel. While there are choices when it comes to component materials, Meldin 7000 provides a distinct advantage thanks to its reduced

EPPM 23

Ken Smith: Working within an organisation with as strong a global presence as Saint-Gobain, I’d have to say that we have a pretty good presence worldwide. The established infrastructure of Saint-Gobain allows for a high level of both technical and sales capability across the globe.

While not “new”, we are looking to increase activities throughout Asia.

Current growth in the region has made this an exciting time for the aerospace market.

MATERIALS SPOTLIGHT eppm

TPEs

ELASTO, a leader in the development and manufacture of custom formulated thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) recently announced the latest development in its Mediprene range of medical grade TPEs — coloured compounds.

The coloured compounds are made from medical grade raw materials only, representing a natural expansion of the Mediprene product range. The colour masterbatch supplier has been selected with care, ensuring that not only the pigments and carriers are compliant with USP Class VI or corresponding parts of ISO 10993, but also that the masterbatches are manufactured under rigorous controls with regard to traceability, consistency and change control, thereby fitting the Mediprene concept at ELASTO’s ISO 13485 accredited facilities.

In medical devices and pharmaceutical packaging colour is often used functionally to differentiate products and provide an easy method of identification. The vibrant colours achievable with coloured Mediprene compounds also give brand owners a means of adding value to their products

ELASTO LAUNCHES COLOURED MEDICAL GRADE THERMOPLASTIC ELASTOMERS

and creating visual appeal.

A fully colour compounded TPE gives a perfectly dispersed, consistent colour with a correct and reproducible addition level. Mediprene colour compounds ensure colour reproducibility and deliver a compound ready for use, with no additional steps for the moulder or extrusion company.

The Mediprene range includes a series optimised for injection moulding, adhesion in overmoulding and coextrusion applications, medical tubing and oil-free grades. The full range is now available as colour compounds matched to customer requirements.

Mediprene TPEs are used in a variety of medical device applications, including intubation equipment, tubing, seals, drip chambers, soft-touch grips, face masks, resealable membranes and connectors.

Niklas Ottosson, Medical Technical Manager at ELASTO commented: “Listening to our customers, we have addressed the concerns they have when manufacturing coloured medical devices. With Mediprene coloured TPEs, they can now benefit from a fully compounded medical grade TPE, matched to their requirements and ready for use.”

FLEXIBLE COMPOUNDS OFFER EASY PROCESSING AND SEVERAL COLOUR OPTIONS

Müller Kunststoffe of Germany has recently introduced its new standard GA, GB and GC series of TPEs. These highly flexible TPE compounds based on SEBS (styrene-ethylene-butylenestyrene) reportedly offer excellent processing properties.

All three series are currently available in Shore A — with a hardness range of 20–90 with various densities (0.89 g/cm3 - 1.18 g/cm3). The materials are available as translucent, in natural colour or directly dyed. They are suitable for a broad range of applications thanks to their physical/chemical properties, such as their strong bonding to PP/PE, very good mechanical properties,

conformity with FDA, 10/2011/EU and EN 71/3, good resistance to aqueous solvents, inorganic acids and lyes, and the ability to use them in a temperature range of -40 °C to +100 °C (under dynamic load up to 80 °C).

During development, special emphasis was placed on creating a strong priceto-performance ratio.

There are potential applications for the Lifoflex GA, GB, GC series in the areas of toys, electronics, sports and recreation, healthcare and consumer and household goods.

The standard series are differentiated by their different densities: the GA translucent series is configured for a density of 0.89 g/cm³. The GB and GC series are in natural colour and feature a density of 1.00 g/cm³ and 1.18 g/cm³.

Müller Kunststoffe Tel: +49 9571 9489450 Email: michael.fischer@muellerkunststoffe.com Web: www.mueller-kunststoffe.com

ELASTO Tel: +44 161 654 6616 Email: sales@elasto.co.uk Web: www.elastotpe.com

are safer and easier to handle.”

Kraiburg’s technology can be used to eliminate the tackiness found in prior competing material solutions that use tackifiers to achieve the wet grip, or it can be used along with tackifiers to improve COF performance. Kraiburg TPE Thermolast W — Wet Grip compounds also can be made to adhere to a range of engineering thermoplastics, including acrylonitrilebutadiene-styrene (ABS) and polycarbonate (PC).

Kraiburg expects the Wet Grip technology to be adapted for a range of handheld uses for diverse markets, including sporting goods, lawn and garden and watercraft. Possible uses for Wet Grip could potentially include: anti-slip mats; tool handles; fitness equipment; serving trays for caterers; orthopedic aids; medical, dental and surgical instruments; kitchen utensils; and a range of household goods.

Wet Grip compounds are available in 25-60 Shore A hardness and meet FDA approvals. Along with the reportedly unique Wet Grip performance, Thermolast W compounds also provide standard performance advantages such as smooth surface, optimum sealing, versatile bonding, high transparency and easy colouring.

Wet Grip compounds are currently manufactured at Kraiburg TPE’s facilities in the USA and Germany.

Kraiburg TPE, a leading supplier of thermoplastic elastomers, has launched a new elastomer technology that results in TPE materials with optimum grip even in the presence of moisture for a range of consumer, industrial and medical applications. Wet Grip technology, offered under the Thermolast W trade name, boasts up to three times the coefficient of friction (COF) of conventional TPEs for both dry and wet applications with no negative impact on physical and rheological performance.

The Wet Grip technology, based on styrenic block copolymers (SBS), is permanent and incorporated throughout the matrix. It does not migrate to the surface and dissipate over time and has no negative impact on processability in multi-component injection moulding or extrusion processes. Kraiburg has the ability to adapt the technology to its broad portfolio of Thermolast branded SEBS elastomer compounds.

“We’ve developed a one-of-a-kind material solution that gives products a firm grip even when wet,” said Keith Dunlap, Kraiburg TPE’s Director of Sales and Marketing for Americas.

“This is a major development for consumer product companies who want to have a competitive advantage, enabling them to make products that

ELASTOMER TECHNOLOGY DELIVERS OPTIMUM GRIP EVEN WHEN WET

Kraiburg TPE Tel: +1 678 584 5020 Email: info-america@kraiburgtpe.com Web: www.kraiburg-tpe.com

EPPM 24

Industry News

AMI Holds 15th Thermoplastic Concentrates and 10th Polyethylene Films Conferences Key European Suppliers to Give Talks Applied Market Information LLC (AMI) recently hosted Thermoplastic Concentrates 2012 in Coral Springs, FL at the Ft. Lauderdale Marriot Coral Springs Golf Resort on January 31 – February 2, 2012, and will host Polyethylene Films 2012 in Daytona Beach, FL at The Shores Resort & Spa on February 9-10, 2012.

The agenda for Thermoplastic Concentrates 2012 was divided into three sessions.

Day one began with a market overview with reports on the current state of the industry given by AMI’s Research Director, Andrew Reynolds.

Americhem followed up with a forecast on colour trends expected for 2012-2013.

“Session 1 — Pigment/Additives” began on day 1 with BASF presenting on coloration for sensitive applications followed by Columbian Chemicals Company providing insight on how to get the best from carbon black. This session carried into the second day beginning with EMD Chemicals describing the influences of social trends and colour. A selection of TiO2 in plastics was discussed by Huntsman Pigments and Nubiola spoke about how iron oxides and zinc ferrites are innovating colour solutions. FPPigments presented on TiO2 replacement for masterbatch optimisation. The Shepherd Color Company discussed inorganic pigments meeting regulatory and performance requirements. The Pigments/Additives session was concluded with an additive paper from R.T. Vanderbilt explaining hindered amine light stabilizers and sulfur.

“Session 2 — Equipment/Technology” included presentations from machinery manufacturers sharing the latest updates on improving performance.

Featured presentations were given from Leistritz, Buss Inc., Coperion, KTron, as well as MaagAutomatik.

“Session 3 — Business Forum” was held on day 3 and included presentations on a wide variety of topics including social media tips and organisational development.

Attendees heard from forwardthinking key players from AFI Global, Techmer PM, and O’Neil Color.

Polyethylene Films is designed to be an international meeting place for all members of the industry supply chain to discuss ideas and formulate plans for the future.

The first session will cover prime raw materials with presentations from leading chemical companies including The Dow Chemical Company and Total Petrochemicals. During Session 2, discussions will highlight additives with speakers from Unimin, A. Schulman, and Chemtura. Day 1 will conclude with session 3 focusing on ancillary equipment with presentations from NDC Infrared Engineering, Inc., and Next Generation Recycling Machines, Inc. AMI Tel: +1 610 478 0800 Email: mh@amiplastics-na.com Web: www.amiplastics-na.com

DSM Engineering Plastics and Resinex Sign Distribution Agreement to Strengthen Presence in Switzerland Global distributor DSM Engineering Plastics and Belgian group Resinex have entered into a distribution agreement to join forces in the market development and sales of DSM Engineering Plastics resins in Switzerland. The move is designed to strengthen the position of DSM Engineering Plastics in the Swiss marketplace, where DSM already has an ongoing partnership with Ter Hell. As such, this move is in line with DSM’s strategy to deliver value for existing and new customers worldwide.

According to Anna Mojana, Distribution Manager, DSM Engineering Plastics, this joint approach will facilitate further

growth for the group in the key Swiss marketplace: “This agreement will make DSM’s range of world-class products more easily available throughout Switzerland, using the Resinex wellestablished distribution network. All products will be fully supported by DSM’s outstanding technical support and application development programmes where necessary.”

DSM Engineering Plastics Tel: +31 46 477 3051 Email: mirelle.kreeft-vander@dsm.com Web: www.dsm.com EPPM 25

MEDTEC PREVIEW

Growing Interest in Europe in the Medical Technology Sector Medtec Europe, held from March 13–15 2012 in Stuttgart is now just around the corner, and if last years event is anything to go by, visitors should be optimistic about the quality of the 2012 installment.

In 2011, 1003 exhibitors (up from 964 in 2010) occupied 16,000 m2 (up from 14,900 in 2010) in halls 2, 4, 6 and 8 of the Stuttgart Exhibition Centre.

Exhibitors came from 32 countries in Europe, America and Asia.

The event attracted even more interest than before from engineers, production specialists, designers and other key decision-makers, who used the show to keep up to date with the latest trends in medical devices manufacturing.

This year, many of those individuals will return to attend some of the many conferences on offer at Medtec Europe 2012. The themes this year are: • Market Access Hurdles for the MedTech Industry • Ensuring Safety and Effective Usability: Human Factors Engineering • Bringing your Innovative Device to the US Market: What you Need to Know • Risk Management and Testing • The New Emerging Global Regulatory Environment — a European Perspective on its Internal and External Markets • Driving Device Quality Through Medical Device Design Over the next few pages, we’ve tried to bring you a few of the highlights if you’re visiting this year’s show.

Injection Moulding to Clean Room Standards from Arburg German injection moulding specialist Arburg will present an efficient injection moulding solution that meets the highest clean room requirements. An electric Allrounder 520 A will be on view on Stand 6511 in Hall 6, with a fully encapsulated stainless steel clamping unit that can be cleaned particularly quickly and effectively. The hot runner system, which operates with electrically powered needle shut-off nozzles, also ensures an extremely clean working environment. Sixteen so-called ‘collecting tubes’ will be produced in a cycle of 5.8 seconds. Thanks to the short cycle time and the energy efficiency of the electrical drives, the exhibit is characterised by a high level of production efficiency.

For medical applications, Arburg offers clean room solutions tailored to specific requirements. The modular product range covers hydraulic, hybrid and electric Allrounders with a clamping force range from 125 to 5,000 kN, for which tailored equipment packages are available. Furthermore, a variety of clean room concepts can be implemented.

These range from machines and complete production cells that can be docked to a clean room, through to Allrounders that operate entirely within a clean room.

Arburg will present a solution of this kind at Medtec Europe. The Electric Allrounder 520 A has a clamping force of 1,500 kN and operates with a size 400 clamping unit. The mould is provided by Ernst Rittinghaus, a company that exclusively uses electrical Allrounders from the Alldrive series to manufacture its clean room products.

The mould in question has 16 cavities and is used to produce dosage chambers for laboratory analyses. The so-called collecting tubes are made

from medical-quality polypropylene, have a moulded part weight of 1.06 g and are produced in only 5.8 seconds.

The short cycle time and the energy efficiency of this application are a result of electric machine technology on the one hand, and the optimum configuration of machine, mould and temperature control on the other. The hot runner from Günther Heißkanaltechnik features needle shutoff nozzles that are electrically driven by a linear servo-motor. The advantages over pneumatic systems are evident in terms of precision, energy requirements and cleanliness, the decisive criteria when it comes to clean room production.

The electric Allrounder 520 A meets the highest hygiene requirements in accordance with ISO 13485, as well as the specifications of the FDA and the GMP directives thanks to the encapsulated stainless steel clamping unit, which is reportedly unique to

Arburg. The stainless steel surfaces can be cleaned much faster and are insensitive even to the aggressive agents commonly used during sterilisation. Moreover, the raised machine base, which is covered on the injection side, as well as the nickelcoated mounting platens with covered holes are advantageous in terms of cleaning. The resulting reduction in downtimes also brings greater efficiency in production.

A clean room module with air ionisation above the machine’s clamping unit ensures that the air in the work area is kept as free of particles as possible. The module generates a high level of air

EPPM 26

circulation via a pre-filter and HEPA filter, as well as neutralising electrically charged moulded parts. Liquid-cooled drives and control cabinets are standard at Arburg and also aid low-emission production.

Furthermore, only FDA/NSF H1compliant lubricants are used.

Accordingly, the Allrounder presented at the Medtec Europe meets the clean room requirements of ISO classes 5 to 7.

Arburg Tel: +49 7446 330 Email: contact@arburg.com Web: www.arburg.com

MEDTEC PREVIEW Medisize Offers Complete Value Chain for Complex Medical Devices and Plastic Disposables Phillips-Medisize Corporation will be presenting versatile solutions for plastics products in medical technology and diagnostics at the show. The company will be demonstrating a wide range of products from peristaltic pumps, titration plates and mixing-injectors to complete sets for MDD-applications, for instance for eye contact rinses.

Phillips-Medisize concentrates on four market segments: medical and diagnostic devices, drug delivery devices, primary pharmaceutical packaging and airway management.

Klaus Schmid, Business Development Manager at Phillips-Medisize, said: “We encourage discussions of design and functionality with our customers, based on partnership. We can create product prototypes in our in-house mould making facility in Finland. The project will enter the injection moulding process and on to assembly only when everything is perfect and to the customer’s full satisfaction — in clean room conditions class 7/8.”

Among other exhibits, Phillips-Medisize will show a peristaltic pump, where a tube is being actuated by contraction to inject, for instance, a contrast medium into a patient’s vein. The industrialisation process took place within the company, that is from the prototype right through to the injection moulded and ultra sound hermetically sealed pump. Other exhibits include a bone cement mixing gun and complete transfer systems including tube sets. In the sector of disposable diagnostic devices, Phillips-Medisize will exhibit a titration plate with 1536 bores for polymerase chain reaction in DNA replication (PCR). Consistent fluorescence of the base material has to be guaranteed here. Other important factors are the heatability of the plate at a high stability rate as well as an accuracy in the lower range of one hundredths of a millimetre. “These characteristics, as sought by the customer, have been developed specifically for this product. That is what gives Phillips-Medisize its unique market positioning”, said Schmid. In the sector diagnostics, Phillips-Medisize also produces reaction tubes to be used, for example, for blood tests and singledirection sets for point of care diagnostics. A strong research and development department and several Business Development Managers in the Medical & Diagnostic Devices division emphasise the high ranking of this sector within the entire organisation.

Quality control and quality assurance are of essential importance with products in the medical technology field: PhillipsMedisize has the appropriate in-house control facilities to check and test all products and also uses cytotoxicity tests, bioburden testing, LAL or risk analysis through FMEA. Validation of the processes follows DQ-, IQ-, OQ- and PQ procedures.

Medisize Tel: +41 44 838 39 33 Email: paula.kasper@medisize.com Web: www.medisize.com

EPPM 27

MEDTEC PREVIEW Two-Component Injection Moulding with TPE Sealing Element Spang & Brands GmbH of Germany has further expanded its portfolio of medical device products and assemblies. The company’s level of know-how in multi-component technology, particularly in maximising specific materials blending and combination, as well as in design optimisation, has been significantly advanced. The entire spectrum — from the mould to the finished product — is the core subject for Spang & Brands, having just discovered a materials-specific solution for an innovative colonoscope, hitherto considered unachievable: resistant to oil and chemicals, yet soft and leak-proof — and FDA approved. On display in hall 4, on stand 4552, will be a single-use colonoscope, using inverted

sleeve technology and remote control movement flow, which does not require costly anaesthesia, making it pain-free for the patient. The colonoscope has already been approved within Europe and is employed in practice. Accreditation for use in the USA is in progress. The drive sleeve and the connectors located in the motor casing are not only exposed to mechanical stress, but also come into contact with a special oil. Oil-resistant plastics components in medical technology and FDA-approved are — as opposed to, for instance, in the automotive industry — extremely rare.

“The manufacturer of this innovative single-use colonoscope was aware of our competence in multicomponent injection moulding technology. We have identified a TPE blend of materials for the missioncritical drive sleeve — applying analysis, laboratory research and drawing on our long experience. And we have produced a solution that is resistant to aggressive agents such as oil and chemicals, yet standing up to the stringent requirements of the FDA”, explained Friedrich Echterdiek, Managing Director at Spang & Brands GmbH. The TPE blend is used for the soft sealing parts of the drive sleeve. For the supporting parts of the sleeve a new glass fibre reinforced PP has been found, also approved by the FDA. On the basis of the entire value chain of a specialist in

EPPM 28

the field of medical technology, operating a fleet of 58 injection moulding machines, of which 15 are electric, Spang & Brands has expertise in a diversity of products made possible and enhanced by plastics materials. “We have the correct approach to solutions, supported by CAD-3D development and MoldFlow analysis”, continued Echterdiek. The most intricate parts are moulded using precision injection moulding technology under cleanroom conditions and within extremely tight tolerances (in micro range) and capable of withstanding high levels of permanent load, in order to guarantee essential cleanliness, hygiene and safety in and around the patient. Here, the most appropriate materials include specific plastics compounds, such as TPU, TPE and TPV, as well as biodegradable polymers.

“Our focus in two-component injection moulding is not only to achieve comfortable feeling on the product surface, but to combine two components for a wider scope of functionality. This opens the door to new product designs, particularly for sealing elements. So, we continue to rely on TPE instead of Latex,” underlined the Spang & Brands managing director.

Spang & Brands GmbH Tel: +49 6172 95 700 Email: info@spang-brands.de Web: www.spang-brands.de

THE GREEN ROOM

JSP Reveals Impressive Carbon Footprint Results for Recycled Grade Product

ARPRO Recycled, a recycled-grade version of the ARPRO range of expanded foams from global group JSP offers significant benefits in reducing global warming potential (GWP) with no impact on performance when compared to conventional ARPRO. An independent life-cycle evaluation into the material, carried out by Environmental Resources Management (ERM) focused on the differences in GWP potential during the production of conventional and recycled content ARPRO. A comparison of the two materials found that the ‘carbon footprint’ (comparative CO2 GWP figure) of the production of 1kg of ARPRO Recycled is 2.79 kg CO2 (e), compared with 3.04 kg for the equivalent conventional ARPRO grade – a reduction in GWP of eight per cent for ARPRO Recycled. The results follow an independent life cycle assessment (LCA) conducted in 2008 into the production of an automotive seat core, where ARPRO was found to deliver an environmental benefit of twelve times that of its impact.

Paul Compton, JSP President and Chief Executive Officer, Europe, Middle East and Africa, explained: “In introducing ARPRO Recycled, we wanted to emphasise to customers the improved environmental performance was delivered at the same dynamic performance levels.

The initial ARPRO LCA report in 2008 explained the major benefits of ARPRO as a product and its ability to deliver weight reductions of up to 35 per cent and so significant fuel reductions in use.

“This new study explores further environmental benefits by providing a greater understanding of the GWP associated with the production of ARPRO. It demonstrates a clear advantage for the recycled content product, which allows users to fulfil recycledmaterial strategies and still enjoy the same strength, durability and moulding characteristics.

ARPRO is a lightweight and versatile material that helps to reduce weight and energy consumption. ARPRO Recycled uses 15 per cent recycled ARPRO content and is the first recycled-content lightweight material of this type. The product is ideal for automotive, packaging and heating and ventilation applications, where legislation and increasing customer demand for more recycled materials already exists.

JSP Tel: +44 13 44 72 46 70 Email: gary.carr@jsp.com Web: www.jsp.com

Glass Polymer Cosmetic Materials Connect Luxury and Sustainability To address the growing demand for sustainability, Eastman Chemical Company has released ‘The Glass Polymer’ family of cosmetic materials for demanding, high-end packaging applications. The Glass Polymer family is an advanced collection of copolyesters that offer innovative design, application, and sustainable possibilities beyond traditional polymer and glass solutions.

“The Glass Polymer collection is an excellent example of how Eastman co-innovates with customers across the value chain to provide increasingly sustainable materials and technologies that concurrently enhance performance, manufacturing efficiencies, and end-use aesthetics,” said Godefroy Motte, Senior Vice President, Chief Regional and Sustainability Officer for Eastman.

According to Motte, Eastman’s collaborative approach to package development includes its focus on EcoDesign. This approach seeks to quantify a product’s environmental impact from conception all the way through to its recyclability profile. Other product lifecycle considerations include the imact of a material choice’s impacts on production and logistics.

Specific to The Glass Polymer family, EcoDesign is aided by the materials’ well-demonstrated mechanical resistance, barrier properties, and chemical compatibility. These material benefits enable light weighting by reducing thickness and minimising the number of necessary parts without sacrificing functionality.

Recent life cycle assessments (LCAs) of The Glass Polymer range reaffirmed earlier findings while adding new statistics important to brand owners: • All materials are manufactured without BPA and contain no halogens, sulfur, nitrogen, lead, mercury, cadmium, or hexavalent chromium.

• Most materials are compatible with existing PET postconsumer recycle streams • The Glass Polymer weighs nearly 50 per cent less than glass and reduces breakage waste by approximately two per cent.

• Reduce the amount of secondary packaging required to safely package glass products “We welcome the opportunity to continue collaborating with the world’s leading global brands and international package design and production powerhouses,” said Robin Minga, Global Industry Leader Packaging and Retail from Eastman Chemical Company.

Eastman Tel: +1 423 229 2000 Web: www.eastman.com

EPPM 30

System for Transforming Purgings into Valuable Regrind Now Handles Difficult Plastics Maguire Products has enhanced its Purging Recovery System (PRS) for transforming purgings into regrind and has received the CE certification required to make the PRS available in Europe.

The PRS is a two-stage system that first slices or planes rock-like purgings into small pieces, then reduces the pieces to uniform, high-quality regrind.

A purging consists of the transitional material that passes through an extruder as the operator shifts from one job or colour to another; typically it is discharged onto the shop floor, hardens, is scraped up, and is disposed of, ultimately ending up in a landfill.

While the PRS is already used to reclaim purgings of many widely used polymers, the new enhanced design extends its applicability to flexible vinyl, which stretches when worked by cutting blades and can jam conventional granulators. The design improvements permit reclaim of 85 Shore A vinyl, such as that commonly used in wire and cable.

“PRS systems now in use by injection moulders who make multiple colour changes consistently recover purgings at a rate of 125 pounds per hour, or 1,000 pounds (455 kg) per eight-hour shift,” said Smith. “If the polymer is worth one dollar per pound, the PRS pays for itself in only 30 shifts. This is accomplished with minimal energy consumption — an average of 7.5 kWh — since the PRS uses three small motors with a total horsepower of 11, as against motor sizes of 100 horsepower or greater for a standard heavy-duty granulator.”

“Since a ten-pound (4.5 kg) lump of hard plastic could damage the rotor of a conventional granulator, until now there have been limited options for reclaiming purgings,” said Smith, “yet over time purgings add up to a waste of material valued at thousands of dollars per year.”

Maguire Products Tel: +44 1827 265 850 Email: paul@maguire-europe.com Web: www.maguire.com

GREEN MACHINES RECYCLING MACHINERY Recycler Starts Up New Post-Consumer Film Recycling Line LEFT: The end product of the Herbold Plastkompactor is an agglomerate with high bulk density and excellent flow properties

WRZ-HÖRGER of Sontheim, Germany, has launched a new post-consumer film recycling line recently. With this new wash/separation line, the recycling plant is now able to increase its capacity to up to 7,000 tonnes per year. DSD film waste is recycled into high-quality agglomerate or regrind.

The turn-key plant, delivered by HERBOLD Meckesheim, consists of a wet size-reduction step with an upstream separation device for extraneous materials, separation technology based on a hydrocyclone and a mechanical/thermal drying step.

Downstream of the plant operates a Plastcompactor in order to transform the film material into agglomerate with excellent flowing properties and high bulk density. The end product can be used for the production of moulded parts.

WRZ-Hörger has the whole recycling chain on site, from collecting over sorting to recycling and is therefore in line with the current trend: Curbside collectors and sorting companies are installing their own recycling technology, and processors of recycled materials are also installing their own reclamation technology. This adds to the effectiveness of the recycling process and the operator benefits in terms of value creation from two or even three steps, from collecting to the manufacture of the end product.

BELOW LEFT: The Herbold washing line

The agglomerates produced by WRZHörger meet the highest quality requirements; the company works in three shifts.

EPPM magazine would like to apologise for any instances where the incorrect contact details have been published for Herbold Meckesheim GmbH. The correct details are as below: Herbold Meckesheim GmbH Tel: +49 6226 9320 Email: herbold@herbold.com Web: www.herbold.com In the UK, the group’s distributors are: Motan Colortronic (U.K.) Limited Mr. Karl Miller Matilda House, Carrwood Road Chesterfield Trading Estate GB- Chesterfield, Derbyshire S41 9QB Tel: +44 1246 260222 Fax: +44 1246 455420 Mobile: +44 7887 788010 Email: karl.miller@motancolortronic.co.uk/sales@colortronic. co.uk

S+S Sorting Systems for Unmixed, Contaminant-Free, HighQuality Secondary Raw Materials The big challenge in PET recycling is that bottles or flakes must be separated to provide unmixed and contaminantfree output materials. S+S Separation and Sorting Technology of Germany has developed solutions that separate contaminants from PET material flows and sort these material flows into unmixed fractions. Using state-of-the-art sorting technology that is able to separate huge mass flows into various secondary raw materials in a very short time is an important element for an economically efficient recycling process.

PET recycling has become an essential factor for the saving of crude oil and thus for the reduction of CO2 pollution.

Every recycled PET bottle has a crude oil equivalent of 25 g. In view of the global recycling quantity of 4.53 million tonnes of PET bottles per year, this means a saving of crude oil of approximately 3.7 million tonnes.

Polymer

PET Sheet Recycling Initiative Exceeds Expectations

separators with multi-spectral sensors are used to detect contaminants and plastic types. In PET recycling, these systems in fully-automatic operation separate unwanted plastic types from the PET material based on the infrared absorption of the various plastic types.

They for example remove PVC contents or bioplastics such as PLA, which otherwise would considerably reduce the quality of the recycled material or would even make high-quality material recycling impossible. Against the background of an increasing use of bioplastic bottles, which are made of vegetable raw materials and from the outside cannot be distinguished from conventional PET bottles, this is an important sorting criterion.

Contaminant separators with inductive sensors reliably remove all kinds of metals from mixed PET materials. While conventional metal separators can separate certain types of metal like stainless steel only to a very limited extent, S+S contaminant separators perform this separation task without any problems.

Colour separators with optical sensors in fully automatic operation separate off-colour contaminations (e.g. coloured from clear, non-transparent bottles) from a PET material flow.

S+S Separation and Sorting Technology Tel: +49 8554 308 274 Email: brigitte.rothkopf@sesotec.com Web: www.sesotec.com

Thermoforming specialist TDX has a strong reputation in the supply of PET thermoforming sheet, primarily to the food industry. Through this, the company has grown to become a key partner to many organisations worldwide.

Already taking steps to reclaim scrap sheet from their process, TDX identified that there was much more it could do to make this process work for both itself and its customers.

Working with Summit Systems, TDX purchased a Zerma GSH 700/1000 Heavy Duty Granulator, a robust, well engineered machine, ideally suited to in-house recycling operations. Summit’s design and fabrication team was able to adapt the feed capability of this machine to provide a bespoke solution, which allows TDX to not only recycle its scrap sheet, but also to recycle production waste from its thermoforming customers.

This can include faulty formed trays for fruits, ready meals or bundles of skeletal waste from its forming process. Whilst the scrap PET sheet is fed into the rear of the granulator via an especially built roller feeder, bundles of skeletal waste and trays etc. are fed into the front hopper along an in-feed conveyor.

Commenting on the project, Sam Hill, Summit Systems Managing Director, said: “TDX are a very forward thinking company, they are open to new ideas and this attitude enabled us to work together to provide an innovative and

EPPM 32

highly beneficial solution. We’re extremely proud to have delivered this project which, now operational, is exceeding expectations.”

Whilst delivering sheet orders to customers, TDX is now able to collect production scrap for recycling. This process simplifies the recycling route for its customers and saves on transport costs.

TDX’s Commercial Director Trevor Marr said: “The purchase of the Zerma GSH700/1000 Heavy Duty Granulator has enabled TDX to significantly increase its throughput in its ability to collect and granulate PET scrap material. In terms of output and quality of material produced, this has exceeded all expectations.”

Summit Systems Tel: +44 1827 265 800 Email: webinfo@summitsystems.co.uk Web: www.summitsystems.co.uk

Industry News

Pilot Project With Compostable Bags for Biodegradable Waste Deemed a Success

DuPont Achieves Plant Reductions with Spare Energy to Power 3,800 Homes

for the district of Bad Dürkheim.

The biodegradable plastic Ecovio FS is a new BASF development. This material is made of the partially bio-based plastic (polyester) Ecoflex FS and PLA (polylactic acid), which is obtained from corn starch. Thanks to this combination, the bags used in the Bad Dürkheim pilot project contain more than 50 percent renewable raw materials. Like the biodegradable waste itself, Ecovio is broken down by microorganisms with the aid of enzymes. This degradation process depends only on the structure of the molecules, not on the origin of the raw materials. At the end of the composting process, the microorganisms have completely converted the bags into carbon dioxide, water and biomass.

DuPont’s Packaging & Industrial Polymers operations site in Orange, Texas, has been honored by the American Chemistry Council (ACC), a US trade association, for energyefficiency improvements that also resulted in green house gas (GHG) reductions. The improvements saved approximately 540,000 million btu, enough to power 3,800 households, and reduced GHG emissions by more than 30,000 t/y.

“As part of DuPont’s corporate sustainability commitment, we are focused on reducing the environmental footprint of our operations and working with customers to achieve market-facing sustainability gains,” said Shanna Moore, global sustainability director, Packaging & Industrial Polymers. “Achievements such as these reductions help us support customers who are looking for reduced environmental impact throughout their value chains.”

The Texas plant upgraded the design of its ethylene furnaces and saved more than 67 million btu/hr fuel savings via the new system. The investment builds upgrades made in 2008 which reduced annual CO2 emissions by 17,000 tonnes.

The plant is DuPont’s largest manufacturing site in Texas and makes high performance ethylene copolymers, such as Surlyn ionomer resin and Vamac ethylene acrylic elastomers, which are used for packaging, automotive components, construction materials and other everyday items.

According to the ACC, innovations such as these by winners of its Energy Efficiency Awards in 2010 resulted in annual energy savings of 14.8 trillion btu. Winners were selected by the ACC’s Energy Team comprised of member representatives, academics and experts in the field of energy efficiency and were announced at the ACC Responsible Care Conference.

DuPont Packaging & Industrial Polymers manufactures an extensive mix of adhesive, barrier, peelable lidding and sealant resins and provides a globally networked development team to work with customers on packaging programs that help protect the product, environment; improve shelf appeal, convenience; and reduce cost in the food, cosmetics, medical products and other consumer goods and industrial packaging industries.

BASF Tel: +49 6322 961-5555 Email: abfallwirtschaft@kreis-badduerkheim.de Web: www.basf.com

DuPont Tel: +1 248 583 8112 Email: carole.a.davies@usa.dupont.com Web: www2.dupont.com

Effective immediately, the district of Bad Dürkheim in Germany has approved the permanent use of organic waste bags made of BASF’s compostable plastic Ecovio FS. Residents and local waste management companies tested the bags over a period of three months. As shown by a survey, the residents of Bad Dürkheim are reportedly very satisfied with the new waste bags. And the organic composting plant Grünstadt, owned by the waste management company GML Abfallwirtschaftsgesellschaft also rated the results of the pilot project very positively. The bags made of Ecovio FS degrade completely and do not impair the quality of the compost. “The decisive factor for us was the high quality of the compost and the fact that the bags make it easier for residents to separate, collect and dispose of organic waste.

This is why we have now approved the Ecovio bags for permanent use,” said Erhard Freunscht, first district councillor

EPPM 33

To advertise here please contact Caroline Plant: Tel: +44 (0)1829 770037 Email: caroline@rapidnews.com

EPPM CLASSIFIEDS www.timberlinemachinery.com

To Advertise Here...

Granulators Shredders Pulverisers Blowers-cyclones All spares

• We Buy Complete Plants • • 100 machines in stock •

Call Ed Makepeace

Contact Caroline Plant Tel: +44 (0) 1829 770037 Email: caroline@rapidnews.com

eppm

Contact: Dick Monkhouse Tel: 01928 734724 Email: sales@zerma.co.uk

Tel: 603-889-7233 (USA) Fax: 603-889-7300 tmi@timberlinemachinery.com www.timberlinemachinery.com

TWIN SCREW EXTRUSION SYSTEM

Granulators – Shredders – Pulverisers

Extruder :

Kentya K/TC 60-22 (30kw)

New and second hand systems bought and sold Spares for all machines

Table:

Technoplast KT8000-1

Haul-off:

Technoplast RZ30-SA-1

blowers – cyclones – pipework – conveyors blades – screens

Saw:

Technoplast RZ30-SA-1

Tiptable:

Technoplast 8m

Unused machinery – all offers considered View in storage in Frodsham, Cheshire

Contact: Dick Monkhouse Tel: 01928 734724 Email: sales@herbold.cu.uk

Tel: 01928 734724 Email: sales@herbold.co.uk

Blow Moulding Machinery Ltd All makes in stock • • • •

Bekum Kautex Battenfeld Magic Automa Others 1/2 ltr - 1000 ltr P.E.T. Lines

STOCK LIST Many machines 1/2-1-2-3-ltr from £4000 Blow moulds 10ml-220ltr over 300 toy moulds Spares, Heads, Screws, Barrels FOR SERVICE - REBUILDS - BREAKDOWNS BD REPAIRS LTD TEL: +44 (0)1767 318910 • FAX: +44 (0)1767 600097 www.blowmachine.com CHILLERS - GRANULATORS - COMPRESSORS MANY INJECTION MACHINES

Maschinenhandel Borowski Used plastic processing machines Injection moulding, blow moulding and accessories Tel. 0049-2173-8950790 Fax 8950799 www.mhborowski.de info@mhborowski.de

ADVERTISERS’ INDEX Company

Page

Engel

36

Lanxess

8

Rawmec

34

Ray-Ran

18

Albis

27

Herbold

34

Machinenhandle Bernard Borowski34

ACS/Cumberland

11

ICS

7

Maguire

12

Renmar

19

35

Summit Systems

6

B&M Longworth

34

In-Touch

9

Max-Robot

Birmingham Granulators

34

Invotec

11

Mouldshop

31

Timberline Machinery

34

29

Tinius Olsen

13

Blow Moulding Machinery

34

Jenco

14

NPE

CJP

25

Kongskilde

21

Process Control

18

Trans XL

35

28

Ultrapurge

10

20

Windmöller & Hölscher

23

DME

10

Krauss Maffei

1

Purgex

Elasto

33

K-Tron

2

Rapid AB EPPM 34

EPPM 35