Canadian Plastics October 2015 by Annex Business Media

Canadian Plastics www.canplastics.com

OCTOBER 2015

Choosing and using

MAGNETS & METAL SEPARATORS COLOR COMMENTARY Next yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s color trends explained!

HOT STUFF

The latest hot runner technologies

CAVALIER TOOL & MANUFACTURING is sticking to the basics

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The World of ENGEL Injecting innovation with comprehensive injection molding solutions

ENGEL is the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest producer of injection molding equipment, with eight manufacturing facilities and worldwide sales, service and support. Stable. Reliable. Financially Solid. A trusted partner fully committed to our customers throughout North America. ENGEL is not just a machine manufacturer. We are a creator of solutions that address the specific and often changing needs of our customer markets. Large automotive parts to intricate medical and electronic components. Precision optical products to multi-material composites and every type of packaging. ENGEL has injection molding solutions that meet the most challenging demands for product quality and production efficiency. With global resources ENGEL North America has what it takes to be your partner for success.

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contents

Canadian Plastics OCTOBER 2015 VOLUME 73 NUMBER 5

LOOKING BACK...

Number of the month:

$303 million*

* Total value, in U.S. dollars, of shipments of injection molding, single-screw extrusion, twin-screw extrusion, and blow molding equipment for reporting North American companies in Q2 2015. (See pg. 6)

in every issue 4 Editor’s View: Debating the TPP trade pact 5 Ideas & Innovations: Cutting into the market for wood railroad ties 6 News: • Plastics machinery shipments rose in Q2 2015 • Mold-Masters expands hot runner facility in India • Davis-Standard buys Gloucester Engineering • Supplier News & People

©Photodisc/Getty Images/Thinkstock

Think headhunting for the right employee is a recent phenomenon? The March 1968 issue of Canadian Plastics detailed the efforts of injection molder Mia Corporation, of Milton, Ont., to lure a plastics industry veteran into its fold from his home in England. Tom Isaacs was a pioneer in pre-preg technology, and his Yorkshire-based company Spencer, Knight & Co. was responsible for much of the use of pre-preg materials for a score of different moldings in such high-end automobiles as Jaguar cars. Mia was starting up a new pre-preg division, wanted Isaacs, and made him an offer he couldn’t refuse: it bought whatever processing equipment he wanted, including a new 200-ton press. Production of the company’s new glass-fibre pre-preg, known as Mia-Mat, began shortly after Isaacs’ relocation to Milton in late 1967.

cover story 10 RAW MATERIALS HANDLING: Separation anxiety Producing a plastic product free from metal contaminants has never been more important. Trouble is, trends to thinner walls and tinier hot runner nozzles mean that even the smallest piece of tramp metal can cause expensive problems. Worried? Magnets and metal separators can give you some peace of mind.

features 14 COLORANTS: Color decoding We asked some colorant suppliers about the hot color trends they’ve identified for consumer goods going forward. They talked. We listened. So if you’re interested in shortening your product development process by getting your color choices right the first time, you might want to read this.

18 MOLDMAKING: Cavalier Tool is sticking to the basics As it turns 40, this Windsor, Ont.-based moldmaker is reinventing itself by doubling down on what it does best.

25 Technology Showcase 28 Plastics Data File 28 Classified Ads 28 Advertising Index 30 Technical Tips: How to fine-tune your mold cooling system

22 HOT RUNNERS: Hot stuff With umpteen new hot runner technologies dropping this year at NPE and Fakuma, don’t be surprised if a few might have gone under your radar. Here’s a look at some of what you might have missed.

Visit us at www.canplastics.com www.canplastics.com October 2015 Canadian Plastics

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editor’s view

Canadian Plastics magazine reports on and interprets developments in plastics markets and technologies worldwide for plastics processors, moldmakers and end-users based in Canada.

Debating the TPP trade pact T he federal election campaign is in full roar as I write this in midSeptember, and small and midsized manufacturers are the darlings of it. With a low dollar and a struggling energy sector, there’s a lot of pressure on manufacturers to boost economic growth, and Messrs. Harper, Mulcair, and Trudeau are regularly holding events and photo ops at manufacturing plants in bids to show support. It was while trying to woo these manufacturers during a televised leaders’ debate that Stephen Harper came clean about the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement. Harper warned the Canadian auto industry that it may not be happy with elements of TPP but that, by securing our access to fast-growing Asian markets, the good in the deal outweighs the bad. Or as he put it, “I’m not suggesting the auto sector will like everything that’s in the pact, but we simply cannot afford, as a country, to be shut out of global supply chains.” Unifor, the union that represents thousands of Canadian autoworkers, disagrees, and warns that TPP will have a catastrophic impact. The union’s main concern is that Japan is lobbying for the easing of so-called rules of origin requirements, which would allow the country to export vehicles into North America with less parts manufactured in Canada. “The majority of parts that are going to come in will be made in China and Malaysia, and this will completely wipe out our industry,” Unifor president Jerry Dias said in an interview. And Unifor isn’t alone in this view. “An inadequate content rule for parts will dramatically impact our domestic parts manufacturing industry and the jobs that come with it,” the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association echoed in a recent letter to Trade Minister Ed Fast. Without being dismissive of these 4

concerns, I have to side with the Prime Minister on this one, and for the reason he gave: the positives in TPP outweigh the negatives. To begin, economic studies put the benefits of TPP at somewhere between $5 billion and $10 billion per year by giving Canadian businesses improved access to 800 million consumers across 11 countries, representing nearly 40 per cent of global economic activity. There’s also a lot in it for the aforementioned small and mid-sized businesses, which are getting involved in international markets like never before, but have a hard time dealing with the red tape and understanding local regulatory requirements. TPP is the first major trade agreement to have a chapter focused on their needs. And concerns about rules of origin requirements notwithstanding, TPP will actually make sure everybody is competing on a level playing field. New rules on state-owned enterprises and better enforcement of labor and environmental regulations will deter countries from undercutting each other. But something bigger is also at play. As Perrin Beatty, the president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, wrote in an article in Policy Magazine, “TPP is a turning point...the first true modern trade agreement. It is the basis for new global trade architecture that provides flexible, universal rules to foster the growth of trade and investment.” Like ’em or not, these global trade partnerships are the new reality. So do we really want to sit on the sidelines while the details of TPP are being hammered out by our global competitors? Seems to me it’s better for Canada to be involved as a key stakeholder, warts and all; one of the few countries actively establishing the rules, not merely playing by them. Which is where the real strength of this agreement lies.

www.canplastics.com EDITOR Mark Stephen 416-510-5110 Fax: 416-510-5134 mstephen@canplastics.com ART DIRECTOR Andrea M. Smith ACCOUNT COORDINATOR Cheryl Fisher 416-510-5194 cfisher@annexnewcom.ca PUBLISHER Greg Paliouras 416-510-5124 Fax: 416-510-5134 gpaliouras@canplastics.com CIRCULATION MANAGER Anita Madden 416-442-5600, ext. 3596 Fax: 416-510-6875 amadden@annexnewcom.ca VICE PRESIDENT ANNEX BUSINESS MEDIA EAST Tim Dimopolous 416-510-5100 tdimopoulos@canadianmanufacturing.com PRESIDENT & CEO Mike Fredericks mfredericks@annexweb.com 80 Valleybrook Drive, Toronto ON, M3B 2S9 416-442-5600, Fax: 416-510-5134 CANADIAN PLASTICS is published 7 times a year by Annex Business Media. 2015 SUBSCRIPTION RATES 6 issues Canadian Plastics, plus Dec. 2016 Buyer’s Guide: CANADA: 1 Year $71.95 plus applicable taxes; 2 Years $117.95+ taxes; single copy $10.00+ taxes. USA: US$81.95/year FOREIGN: US$126.95/year Buyers’ Guide only: CANADA: $103.00 plus applicable taxes and $5.00 shipping USA & FOREIGN: US$103.00 plus $5.00 shipping.

From time to time we make our subscription list available to select companies and organizations whose product or service may interest you. If you do not wish your contact information to be made available, please contact us via one of the following methods: phone 800-668-2374; fax 416-442-2191; e-mail: privacyofficer@businessinformationgroup.ca; mail: Privacy Officer, 80 Valleybrook Drive, Toronto ON M3B 2S9. The contents of this magazine are protected by copyright and may be used only for your personal non-commercial purposes. All other rights are reserved and commercial use is prohibited. To make use of any of this material you must first obtain the permission of the owner of the copyright. For further information please contact Greg Paliouras, 416-510-5124. For reprints call RSiCopyright, Michelle Hegland, msh@ rsicopyright.com PAP Registration No. 11035 CANADA POST – Publications Mail Agreement No. 40065710. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Circulation Dept. – Canadian Plastics, 80 Valleybrook Drive, Toronto ON M3B 2S9. RETURN POSTAGE GUARANTEED INDEXED BY CBPI ISSN 0008-4778 (Print) ISSSN 1923-3671 (Online) MEMBER: Canadian Business Press, Canadian Plastics Industry Association. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund of the Department of Canadian Heritage.

Mark Stephen, editor

mstephen@canplastics.com

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ideas & innovations

Cutting into the market for wood railroad ties

ust because something grows on trees doesn’t make it inexhaustible. Take wood. It doesn’t just grow on trees, it is the tree. But people still want to use less of it if possible. A prime example is wooden railroad ties. The material of choice for the railway industry since it first began way back when, timber ties are increasingly being replaced by alternatives, not only Above: close-up due to concerns about deforesof a Duropar rail tie. tation — millions of hardwood Right: Duropar being trees are consumed to make tested by CP Rail staff. railway ties in North America every year — but also because of creosote, which has long been used to prevent the wood ties from rotting. Creosote has recently been classified as a probable carcinogen, and creosote-treated railway ties also have the nasty side effect of creating toxic run-off water that in turn contaminates the surrounding surface soil and river ways. How bad a problem is it? Each wooden tie can leach up to 15 kg of creosote over its lifetime. For this reason, Europe will ban the use of creosote-treated wood rail ties by 2018, and similar legislation in Canada might not be that far off. Which is where Duropar Technologies Inc. comes in. The Brampton, Ont.-based company has developed composite rail ties made entirely from difficult-to-recycle plastic and asphalt wastes, and is on the cusp of bringing the product to market. Duropar got its start over 15 years ago making paver bricks from a mix of post-consumer plastic, primarily recycled consumer blue box waste and industrial recycled material. Recently, and with funding through the Sustainable Development Technology Canada program, the company made the transition to extruding rail ties after spotting a golden opportunity for its technology. “The immense North American railway market, which needs approximately 24 million new ties per year, is seeking a replacement for wood,” said Duropar president Jim Inglis. “But current alternatives often have performance problems — steel rusts and can have conductivity issues, for example — and are considerably more expensive than wooden ties, all of which makes composite ties the best available replacement option.” The fact that the market is ready and willing doesn’t mean that every make of composite rail ties is able — a product has to be strong, durable, and capable of withstanding a repeated pounding from heavy traffic while holding fasteners and maintaining its shape and location relative to the rails.

To this end, Duropar is conducting in-track testing with CN Rail, CP Rail, and GO Transit. Upon test completion within the next few months, Inglis said, Duropar’s goal will be to build a full-scale production plant to fulfill production orders in 2016. (The company currently runs a prototype operation in a rented Brampton facility to fill orders for product tests.) “We’re looking for an investment partner to bring the product to market, after which we can become self-financing,” he explained. “We’re seeking an investment of approximately $4 million, to be raised by way of an offer of between 25 per cent and 35 per cent in the equity of the company.” Once the company is self-financing and full-scale production is underway, the sky might just be the limit. “The first Duropar products will be rail-related — a rail tie and a railway crossing system. The markets for these products are large and lucrative, and we’ve already received inquiries from several countries in Asia and Europe,” Inglis said. “Further infrastructure products include highway and building structures such as retaining walls, erosion barriers, and security fixtures — any application where strength, durability, and economy are paramount. The ultimate goal is international licensing of our patented technology.” At which point, don’t be surprised if Duropar joins the elite ranks of products that replace those that actually grow CPL on trees. www.canplastics.com October 2015 Canadian Plastics

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news

Photo credit: Engel

Plastics machinery shipments rose in Q2 2015

recent report from the SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association’s Committee on Equipment Statistics (CES) shows that the value of plastics machinery shipped by North American suppliers registered a steady rise in the second quarter of 2015. “The CES shipments data have steadily posted year-over-year gains in every quarter since 2010,” said Bill Wood, an economic analyst for CES. “This is a better performance than many other sectors of the U.S. and global economy. U.S. GDP will continue to grow at an annualized pace of at least 2% for the remainder of 2015, and the outlook is for accelerating growth in 2016. This bodes well for the plastics machinery markets because it will continue to generate rising aggregate demand.” Shipments of injection molding, single-screw extrusion, twin-screw extrusion and blow molding equipment for reporting companies totaled US$303 million in Q2. This was an increase of 5.5% from the shipments total of US$287 million in Q1 of 2015, and it was a gain of 6.7% when compared with the shipments total from same quarter of a year ago. For the year-to-date, the value of primary plastics equipment shipments is up 3.9% over last year. According to CES statistics, the shipments value of injection molding machinery escalated 3.9% in 6

Q2 when compared with same quarter from the previous year, the shipments value of singlescrew extruders dropped 1.5% from last year, the value of shipments of twinscrew extruders (includes both co-rotating and counter-rotating machines) gained 1% in Q2, and the Q2 shipments value of blow molding machines skyrocketed to 66.4%. The CES also compiles data on the auxiliary equipment segment (robotics, temperature control, materials handling, et cetera) of the plastics machinery industry. New bookings of auxiliary equipment for reporting companies totaled US$121 million dollars in Q2, which was a rise of 12.4% when compared with the total from Q2 of last year.

indicator, compiled and reported monthly by the Census Bureau, which showed that the total value of shipments of industrial machinery increased by 2.4% in Q2 when compared with the year before (plastics machinery shipments are also a subset of this data). On a related note, a CES quarterly survey of plastics machinery suppliers asked about present market conditions and expectations for the future, and responses from the Q2 survey indicate that machinery suppliers are fairly optimistic about the market demand for their products in the months to come. Both for Q3 and during the next twelve months, 88% of the respondents expect conditions to either improve or hold steady. Quoting activity was higher in the second quarter for half of the survey participants. North America is the global region where the most promising market conditions for machinery suppliers are expected in the coming year. Expecta-

The shipments data have steadily posted year-over-year gains in every quarter since 2010. This is a better performance than many other sectors of the global economy. The growth in plastics machinery shipments was marginally slower than the year-over-year increase of 5.5% (seasonally-adjusted, annualized rate) in total business investment in industrial equipment (plastics machinery is a subset of this data) compiled and reported by the Bureau of Economic Analysis as part of their quarterly GDP data release. But the Q2 gain in the CES shipments data was moderately stronger than the other major industrial machinery market

tions for Latin America are for mostly steady market conditions, while the outlook for Europe and Asia are steady-to-weaker. When asked about their expectations for the major end-markets, the Q2 respondents indicated that automotive and packaging will remain strong in terms of demand for plastics products and equipment. Expectations for all other major end-markets call for firm market conditions to persist during the next 12 months. CPL

Canadian Plastics October 2015 www.canplastics.com

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news

Mold-Masters expands hot runner facility in India

Hans Hagelstein cuts the ribbon at the official opening. Photo credit: Mold-Masters

In a move that will help it better serve the rapidly growing market in India, Georgetown, Ont.-based Mold-Masters Ltd., a brand of Milacron Holdings Corporation, has completed the expansion of its hot runner facility in Coimbatore, India. The 10,000-square-foot plant was officially opened on August 31, and is located four kilometers from the company’s existing plant and about eight kilometers from MoldMasters’ head office in Saibaba Colony. This facility will predominately manufacture the Fusion G2 system for the automotive and large part segments. The G2 product line is engineered in Europe and serviced by the company’s global MasterCARE division. “As India’s injection molding market continues to grow, so, too, will the complexity of molded products the region produces,” said Hans Hagelstein, Mold-Masters vice president and general manager for Europe, Middle East, Africa, and India. “With complex products come increasingly complex molds and an increased reliance on hot runners, which is where Milacron’s Mold-Masters brand excels.” CPL

Davis-Standard buys Gloucester Engineering In a deal involving two major U.S. extrusion machinery manufacturers, Davis-Standard LLC has purchased Gloucester Engineering Co. In a news release, Pawcatuck, Conn.-based Davis-Standard said the acquisition adds “experienced design and process engineering capabilities, a large installed base, and greater aftermarket capabilities worldwide.” “We’re excited about combining the strengths and market reach of Davis-Standard and Gloucester Engineering,” said Jim Murphy, Davis-Standard’s president and

CEO. “Gloucester has always been a strong company, so bringing its technology and engineering expertise to our operation is significant for our combined customer base. It also supports our ongoing goal of continuing to provide equipment and service that improves process efficiency and profitability.” Gloucester Engineering is headquartered in Gloucester, Mass. The news release also said that Ernie Plasse, Davis-Standard’s executive vice president, will lead Gloucester Engineering’s integration into

Davis-Standard. Davis-Standard will retain the Gloucester brand, which is a well-known global name in blown film equipment. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed. Davis-Standard and Gloucester Engineering are similar in that both companies have been owned by private equity firms. Davis-Standard is buying Gloucester from Blue Wolf Capital Partners LLC; and Davis-Standard is itself owned by private equity firm Oncap, which is part of Toronto-based Onex Corporation. CPL

Battenfeld-Cincinnati introduces new management structure In a bid to meet what it calls “the new challenges of the market”, Vienna, Austria-based extruder maker Battenfeld-Cincinnati Group has made some big changes to its organizational structure. In the new structure, Gerold Schley is the company’s new president and CEO, Michael von Cappeln is the new chief financial officer, Henning Stieglitz is the new chief technical officer, and Grant Flaharty is the new chief strategy officer. Additionally, Battenfeld-Cincinnati’s production competence centres will be headed by Toni Bernards (China), Dirk Eikmeyer (Germany), Michael von Cappeln (Austria), and

Danny Gamez (U.S.). Also, the global sales network will now operate according to three main regions: America, E u r o p e /A f r i c a / N e a r Middle East, and Asia. Gerold Schley Grant Flaharty “The new structure will make it much easier for us to implement global projects and offer our customers optimal package deals, from counseling and delivery of machines all the way to service and spare parts supply,” Grant Flaharty said. CPL www.canplastics.com October 2015 Canadian Plastics

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news

SUPPLIER NEWS

PEOPLE

• Worcester,

Mass.-based Absolute Haitian has appointed VaudreuilDorion, Que.-based Barway Plastic Equipment Inc. as its new sales representative for the distribution of Haitian and Zhafir injection molding machines in Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland. Barway is headed by Wayne Hart.

Michael Draga

Wayne Hewett

William Novak

• Toronto-based injection molder and moldmaker Universal • • • •

Gravo-Plast Inc. has named Michael Draga as its director of sales. Klöckner Pentaplast, a Germany-based provider of rigid plastic film and packaging solutions, has appointed Wayne Hewett as CEO. A llendale, N.J.-based Leistritz Extrusion USA has named William Novak as product manager. Pawtucket, R.I.-based material supplier Teknor Apex Company has named Sachin Sakhalkar to the position of business manager, Americas, for its thermoplastic elastomers division. Milton, Ont.-based rotational molder Rotovac Group has appointed Todd Stone as its vice president of business development.

Sachin Sakhalkar

Todd Stone

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Easiest to Use Mobile Wheel Dryers Standard Dry Air Conveying Package

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cover story

RAW MATERIALS HANDLING:

SEPARATION

ANXIETY

Producing a plastic product free from metal contaminants has never been more important. Trouble is, trends to thinner walls and tinier hot runner nozzles mean that even the smallest piece of tramp metal can cause expensive problems. Worried? Magnets and metal separators can give you some peace of mind.

By Mark Stephen, editor

ost people understand the theory of magnetic attraction at an early age — maybe even from Saturday morning cartoons, when Wile E. Coyote secretly feeds ball bearings to the Road Runner and then tries to pull him in with a giant magnet from the Acme Co. But things get a bit more complicated in the real world. Take plastics processing. Far from being childhood toys, magnets and sophisticated metal detection technology are an integral part of material handling for plastics processing, used to safeguard equipment and ensure product purity. Problem is, not every processor takes advantage of them. Using magnets and/or metal separators with postconsumer plastic is a no-brainer, but here’s the thing: even virgin material can acquire metal contaminants at various stages of manufacturing and transportation, right up until the moment it Above: The TurboGrate magnetic separator from Bunting Magnetics removes ferrous metals from powder and granular materials. Photo Credit: Bunting Magnetics

enters the throat of your molding or extrusion machine. Contamination can range from tiny particles worn off by equipment abrasion to entire nuts or bolts loosened by vibrations in processing machines. There’s also what you could call the “Oops” factor: items such as coins, pens, and other no-no’s dropped accidentally into the product stream. Making matters worse, confusion often surrounds the two technologies. “When we speak of ‘metal detectors,’ some processors may think first of magnets, but the truth is, they’re entirely different,” said Robert Bunting, product manager, metal detection with Bunting Magnetics. Permanent magnets work with ferrous materials — materials with some degree of iron in it, whether loose or embedded in the pellets. “Magnets don’t typically do anything with aluminum, brass, copper, or 300 series stainless steel — they simply grab any and all ferrous material,” Bunting said. “A metal detector, by contrast, is an electronic device that senses all types of metals as it passes through an electromagnetic field, and then removes it with one of a variety of available reject devices.”

MAGNETS 101 There are three magnetic technologies commonly used to keep contaminants out of the polymer melt stream: standard ferrous magnets, rare-earth magnets, and ceramic magnets. Ferrous magnets usually consist mostly of iron with charges aligned to give them a magnetic field that will attract anything ferrous, namely iron-based. Conventional magnets are relatively simple, economical, and require practically no management other than periodically clearing them of whatever junk they’ve attracted. “Rare-earth magnets are incredibly strong, more complicated to make, and more expensive — at least initially — than ceramic magnets,” said Al Crawshaw, president of Puritan Magnetics Inc. “They can develop an extremely high surface force to enable the magnetic circuit to remove very fine or weakly magnetic contamination such as rust, scale, or even work-hardened stainless steel from a product flow. Highstrength rare-earth magnets are used by plastics processors requiring the highest levels of purity.” Finally, ceramic magnets tend to be more effective in removing relatively

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cover story

large ferrous objects such as nuts, bolts, staples, and welding rods from a dry product flow. “Ceramic pressings are easy to work with because they can be cut in all directions, assembled into a circuit, and then charged as a complete unit,” Crawshaw continued. In the end, magnet selection usually boils down to how much insurance against contamination a processor requires — although sometimes that decision is made for them. “If your part cannot have any contamination whatsoever — such as medical parts or food grade packaging — customers will usually insist on rareearth magnets,” Crawshaw said. But other factors can also influence the choice of magnet. Temperature is one. “Permanent magnets heated beyond certain temperatures can lose pull strength irreversibly when exposed to elevated temperatures,” said John Collins, manager of plastics with Eriez. “The solution is to get a magnet that’s rated for the highest temperature it will encounter. Unfortunately, higher temperature magnets cost more because they contain more exotic rare-earth materials.” When specifying a magnet application, it’s important to note the ambient as well as any Clean-in-Place (CIP) temperatures to ensure a proper magnet design suitable for long-term separation performance. On the plus side, if high heat isn’t an issue, you’re set for life — and then some. “In a stable environment with ambient conditions, a magnet will lose only one-half of one per cent of its magnetic strength per hundred years,” said Al Crawshaw. A whole host of process issues combine to make up factor number two. These include how the material will be presented to the separator, whether or not the material is metered, whether the system can be stopped for cleaning or whether a self-cleaning magnet is required, whether or not access is available for cleaning, whether or not there is ferrous material in the area that may create a hazard for magnet handling, how much contamination is to be removed, and what level of product purity is required. A third factor relates to the materials

being processed, and applies to all magnets. “Certain pigments contain earth oxides or iron oxides — iron oxides are common in brown pigments, for example, and metallic oxides can be found in blues — which might give the material a relatively large metallic signature,” said Robert Bunting. “We can cope with that by adjusting sensitivity and doing things with phase angles, but this typically involves slightly derating the magnet to make it less sensitive.”

SEPARATE WAYS There are two basic types of metal detectors: single-coil systems and balancedcoil systems. “Single-coil systems provide cost-effective solutions for simple, down-and-dirty applications, and are easier to set up; but they cannot compensate for products that may be slightly conductive, owing to the presence of moisture, acidity, or additives like carbon black,” said John Collins. “Balanced-coil systems offer product-effect compensation that suppresses false signals caused by the product, which prevents good material from being rejected.” Keep in mind that not all metal separators are equally sensitive. True sensitivity depends on the size of the search coil — the smaller the search coil, the smaller the metallic particle that can be detected with maximum sensitivity. “A good rule of thumb is that normal sensitivity of a free-fall detector is about one per cent of the diameter of the transit pipe,” Collins said. “Depending upon the sensing aperture, innovative detectors are capable of detecting contaminants as small as 0.3-mm spheres.” Sensitivity is also related to the composition and shape of the material. Although electronic all-metal separators will detect ferrous particles, stainless steel, lead, aluminum, bronze, tin, and more, they are most sensitive to ferrous particles. Why? Metallic particles are detected by means of eddy currents, and the higher the eddy current, the higher the sensitivity. Eddy currents on the surface of ferrous particles are higher than those generated on the surfaces of aluminum, bronze, or copper

particles, which means that the sensitivity of ferrous particles is higher than the latter. What’s more, eddy currents from metallic particles are only effective on the surface, so the larger the surface, the higher the sensitivity — this means that flat metallic particles, or particles with irregular shapes, are much easier to detect than spheres. The most versatile type is the freefall metal detector, where the material is gravity-fed through the inlet of the detector. “Metallic particles are detected and immediately rejected by an air-operated rejection system,” said Robert Bunting. “Adjustable sensitivity coupled with short rejection time ensures minimal loss of good product.” Free-fall units are available in singlecoil or balanced-coil designs and with either analog or digital electronics. Freefall units can range in aperture size from 25 mm to 300 mm; some types have a quick-clean rejection system that facilitates cleaning of the system. Metal detectors for pneumatically conveyed materials take the form of a collar surrounding the conveying line. Again, these detectors are available in single- or balanced-coil design with analog or digital electronics. “Positive speed control is available on some models to precisely time the reject-gate opening and closing in order to minimize the loss of good material,” said John Collins. Metal detectors for mechanical conveyors take the form of a tunnel surrounding the conveyor. “This system can be combined with a variety of customized rejection options for loose or packaged materials,” Collins said. Finally, metal detectors for films and thin sheets use coils that are extremely sensitive at close range — these fit directly under the web and require very little space. As with magnets, temperature in the processing area can have an impact. “Most metal detectors are effective to temperatures of about 176°F,” Collins continued. “The industry can make special versions that can withstand temperatures to about 275°F and higher.” For this reason, certain polymer types invariably preclude the use

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cover story

of metal detectors. “Materials like PE, PP, and PS — which don’t have to be dried and are always ambient temperature — can be handled with any metal detection device,” said Robert Bunting. “Materials like PC, nylon, and PET — which have to be dried before use — can often be fairly hot, which might necessitate the use of a magnet.” Also remember that metal detectors are highly sensitive pieces of equipment and need to be protected from environmental interferences such as vibrations and electrical fields. “Excessive vibration from motors, chains, and other nearby equipment can cause a detector to false trip and reject good material,” said John Collins. In the end, there are instances where a metal detector just can’t compete with a magnet. Temperature is one, as we’ve just seen. Very fine powders can be another. “Very fine ferrous powders with fine ferrous particles can be too

small for the metal detector to see, but they will be removed by a magnet,” Collins said.

DYNAMIC DUO There are definitely differences between magnets and metal separators, but in the end it doesn’t have to be an either/or decision — and probably shouldn’t be. “In many cases, the best solution is to have both working in conjunction with each other: the magnet goes first and then the metal detector,” said Al Crawshaw. “Magnetic separators will pull all ferrous metal out before it reaches the detector. This will lighten the load of contaminants that pass through the detector, increasing its efficiency while minimizing the chances of rejecting good material. In addition, use of an upstream magnet allows you to adjust the detector’s sensitivity to a higher level to catch only non-ferrous contaminants.” And when it comes to conveying non-

virgin material, a combined system is the only solution, period. “Decontaminating recycled plastic can’t be done with a single piece of equipment, but requires a series of magnetic, metal detection, and conveying components engineered as a complete process or system,” said Robert Bunting. So when it comes to putting your product under the strictest surveillance at all times to prevent unnecessary machine downtime and costly maintenance, magnets and metal separators are definitely the way to go. Maybe just steer clear of anything made by the Acme Co. CPL RESOURCE LIST Bunting Magnetics (Newton, Kan.); www.buntingmagnetics.com; 800-835-2526 Eriez (Erie, Pa.); www.en-us.eriez.com; 800-345-4946 Puritan Magnetics Inc. (Oxford, Mich.); www.puritanmagnetics.com; 248-628-3808

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colorants

G N I D DECO

Unless consumer product makers want to be in the business of going out of business, they have to manufacture things that the marketplace actually wants to, you know, buy. Using the right colors is a good way to start.

ow important is it for plastics product designers and manufacturers to get early and reliable information on tomorrow’s consumer color trends? That’s like asking how important it is for the Toronto Maple Leafs to rebuild. Having a competitive edge in identifying current color trends means developing the right product in the right color — not to mention getting it onto the shelf faster than the other guys. Colorant makers are here to help. By working with color trends experts to identify trends that appeal to high-end consumers, and by predicting the hottest colors for the coming years, they enable customers to take big chunks out of product development times. Will their predictions be right? Check

AMERICHEM INC. Americhem’s 2016-17 Color Trend offering comprises six palettes that revolve around a common theme: a week in the everyday lives of consumers.

back with us in, say, 2017. In the meantime, here are the hip hues and themes that some suppliers are vouching for. RESOURCE LIST Americhem Inc. (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio); www.americhem.com; 330-929-4213 Ampacet Corporation Canada (Kitchener, Ont.); www.ampacet.com; 519-748-4654 Clariant Masterbatches Canada (Toronto); www.clariant.masterbatches.com; 800-265-3773 Plastics Color Corporation (Chicago, Ill.); www.plasticscolor.com; 800-922-9936

RUSH HOUR A bold palette, highlighting abrupt chaotic reds with deep dark browns, meant to represent the hustle and bustle of a city going to work.

CASUAL FRIDAY “Bright colors and achromatic hues remind us of the relaxed atmosphere that comes with the end of the work week,” Americhem said.

OFFICE DILIGENCE Neutral and dark, warm and traditional tones mixed with teals and bursts of color to represent an office environment. Sample: “Boardroom.”

NIGHT LIFE Described as “the dark, romantic accents of a candlelight dinner blended with brushes of the night sky to symbolize the excitement of the week’s end.” Sample: “Candle Light.” WELCOME DISTRACTION Bright colors that can be seen in street fairs, carnivals, and gardens, and which are meant to reflect the freedom of the weekend. Sample: “Picnic.”

Picnic

Boardroom

By Mark Stephen, editor

Candle Light

SUNDAY BRUNCH “Calming pastels that represent the beginning of a relaxing day, featuring softening ‘under the radar’ colors that conclude the weekend,” Americhem said.

Canadian Plastics October 2015 www.canplastics.com

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colorants

INTERCONNECTED SELF “These colors reflect increasingly wide Internet access combined with the popularity of social media and the ability of an individual to find others somewhere who can share their hobbies,” Carroll said. “Some of the colors also reflect a trend in cosmetics — especially among young schools girls in Japan — to look sick and/or doll-like.” Colors in this theme include “Redefined Red,” meant to connect with energy, vibrancy, and passion; “Social Sapphire,” a blue with green sparkle meant to invoke confidence and a desire for rebirth; “Game On Gold,” meant to reflect feelings of stimulation and optimism; and “Opened Up Orange,” an orange with sparkle meant to mirror a feeling of grounded independence. Effects include natural-looking cork and snakeskin patterns.

THE INVISIBLE HAND OF TECH “These are colors that reflect what technology is doing to the masses,” Carroll said. “Although technology has been ubiquitous in our lives for some time, it has transitioned from an experience enabler to become part of our DNA, an additional element cultivating our daily activities and shaping our lifestyles and reshaping our culture.” Colors in this theme include the green “Morphed Moss,” which is meant to reflect the desire for adventurous change; “Mobility Blue,” which is meant to invoke self-assured drive; the androgynous “Rosy Robot” hue; and “Reshaped Grape,” which is meant to reflect inspiration and fantasy. Effects include technopales, frosts, and lighted — as opposed to light — colors.

Rosy Robot Mobility Blue

Power Up

AMPACET CORPORATION Linda Carroll, Ampacet’s color insight manager, identified four trends driving the company’s food and beverage packaging and consumer goods colors heading into 2016 — and also some of the hurdles to be cleared in bringing these colors to market. “Consumers are getting very savvy about colors, so the challenge lies in getting their attention and keeping them entertained by using new and unique color effects such as transparencies and frosted colors,” she said. “But we also have to be careful not to go too far and appear inauthentic.”

ADAPTIVE ECONOMIES “As the global wealth gap continues to widen, the once prosperous middle class has shifted to the bottom third of the wage divide, becoming ‘everyday entrepreneurs’ who are increasingly innovative in their quest to maintain their desired lifestyle,” Carroll said. “This trend is reflected in colors that are a bit ‘dirtier’ or more organic than we’ve seen in the past.” Colors in this theme include “Negotiable Green,” meant to reflect a conservative desire for renewal; “P2P Pink,” meant to be nurturing and calming; “Dusty Disruption,” which is meant to invoke impassioned neutrality; and “Crowdsourced Coral,” which reflects focused independence. “Effects include a polished concrete surface veneer and other veneers that will look like quartz and cork — the goal is to put realistic-looking elements of nature into the polymers,” Carroll said.

ALL-IN “As consumers demand a more layered retail experience, companies will offer multiple platforms for virtual engagement with the goal of creating an entirely immersive consumer experience and blurred lines between the virtual and analogue worlds,” Carroll said. “The colors in this theme reflect consumer buying trends, and how companies are going to extreme measures to engage them as a result.” Colors in this theme include a yellow called “Power Up” that’s meant to be stimulating and optimistic; “Pure Play Purple,” meant to invoke escapism and invention; “Blurred Line Blue,” a sparkle color meant to reflect confidence; and an optimistic hue called “Real-Time Red.” Effects include both liquid metals and warm metals simulations, and the pairing of matte and glossy effects within the same structure.

www.canplastics.com October 2015 Canadian Plastics

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colorants

PLASTICS COLOR CORPORATION

Plastics Color Corporation’s new 2016 color palette for the consumer and industrial markets is called “Unearthed: the World of Color,” and is made up of one main color and four sub-colors, all said to be inspired by

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Canadian Plastics October 2015 www.canplastics.com

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colorants

Don’t Touch My Jelly Shot!

Be Water Teddycare

CLARIANT MASTERBATCHES Now in its 10th year, Clariant’s annual ColorForward directions are the result of the collaborative effort of plastics color specialists from around the world. They’ve identified four key trend themes for 2016-17.

LIQUID MINDS “This theme springs from the idea that people have reached a point where slow evolutionary change has to give way to revolutionary innovation — where they walk away from the comforting embrace of nostalgia, trust their instincts, and look at the world through new eyes,” Clariant said. One of the colors in this palette is an aqua blue called “Be Water,” inspired by martial artist, actor, and all-around legend Bruce Lee, who once said, “Be like water making its way through cracks and you shall find a way around or through anything.” OH MY GOLD Described as “an unapologetic acknowledgement that excess can lead to unique pleasures, whether one is a super-rich celebrity or a fan who follows them through social media, ‘people’ magazines, and reality TV.” Colors in this palette are meant to be both classy and brash. “Don’t Touch My Jelly Shot!” is a lime green, and a gold called “You Cannot Afford Me” is aimed at a younger generation interested in superficial lifestyles.

LOVE This theme is meant to reflect wirelessly connected sensors that track personal health and even create new connections between people. “Technology has become an invisible, yet caring, family member,” Clariant said. “The colors in this palette are warm and comforting, ranging from the soft brown ‘Teddycare,’ to a blue-grey-silver called ‘Invisible Attraction,’ to a coral pink called ‘Cora(l)zon.’” WORK IT GIRL “This theme points to a new kind of feminism that ignores stereotypes about what is feminine and what it means to be empowered,” Clariant said. The colors in this grouping include a flaming red-orange called “Kiss My ***”; a multicolor effect that encapsulates tiny fibres of pink and black in a transparent matrix called “The Bush Is Back”; and a soft, transparent pink that affirms that — in Clariant’s words — “you no longer have to be embarrassed to show your femininity.” CPL

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www.canplastics.com October 2015 Canadian Plastics

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moldmaking

CAVALIER T & MANUFAC

is sticking to the ba As it turns 40, this Windsor, Ont.-based moldmaker is doubling down on what it does best.

e’ve all heard it said from time to time — “So-and-so was born to do this job”. Unless you’re talking about Prince Charles, however, odds are it’s just a throwaway line. But with Brian Bendig, the president of Windsor, Ont.-based Cavalier Tool & Manufacturing Ltd., it’s not far from the truth. Bendig wasn’t necessarily born to run the company, but it’s a fact that both arrived on the scene at exactly the same time. “The shop opened on November 17, 1975, the day I was born,” Bendig said. “My father, who founded the company, left the hospital to open the doors for the first day.” Cavalier Tool started small under the guidance of Bendig’s father and two other partners, who divided their focus between automotive and non-automotive products, as well as medium to large tooling. But like Bendig himself, the company has spent the past 40 years growing. It’s been over the past five years that the shop has really reinvented itself, however, thanks to Bendig’s own particular vision, which he first began to formulate almost ten years ago. Cavalier Tool was doing decent business making molds for vehicle parts and commercial products. But Bendig, who was vice president at the time, wanted the shop to graduate into the big leagues of moldmakers in North America.

WHAT GREAT RECESSION? As part of his plan to turn this ambition into reality, he began 18

One of Cavalier Tool’s high-capacity tool changers.

taking work trips whenever possible around Canada, the U.S., and beyond, looking for cutting-edge moldmaking technologies and innovative business philosophies that could be implemented on the Cavalier Tool shop floor and in its boardrooms. But he returned each time with the same paradoxical conclusion: that the shop should double down on what it did best, which was building molds. “We don’t build fixtures, and while we do participate in trial runs, we use outside contractors for these rather than buy our own presses,” Bendig said. “Our goal is simply to make molds, and to make them better than the competition does. It’s simple: we don’t compromise on having the latest technology and we don’t cut corners on either cost or quality. And we want to be able to do more with less.” Bendig took ownership of the company in 2009, which was his first real chance to implement many of the changes he had in mind — but that was the same year, you might recall, that

All photos courtesy of Creative Technology Corp. and MoldMaking Technology magazine.

Cavalier Tool president Brian Bendig on the shop floor.

Canadian Plastics October 2015 www.canplastics.com

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moldmaking

R TOOL ACTURING

he basics

ker

By Mark Stephen, editor

nology also enables the company to concentrate on complex or high-risk jobs where pricing is a secondary consideration, Bendig said. “When you’re building a simple product, everyone is talking about price because there’s nothing else to talk about,” he explained. “When you’re in the high-risk product range, however, customers don’t often talk price — you can command a better dollar, provided you can deliver the results. Our EDMs and other equipment allows us to deliver, and we’ve been able to position the company as a ‘safe bet’ for problematic projects. Some moldmakers say they can’t afford to invest in these technologies; we say we can’t afford not to.”

ONE HUNDRED AND TEN PER CENT

the Great Recession hit its deepest trough. What to do? “We With the post-recession Windsor moldmaking community basically proceeded as though the recession wasn’t happen- resembling the first few seconds after the shootout at the O.K. ing,” Bendig said. “We identified the things we needed to have Corral — lots of fallen bodies and a few cooler heads left in order to succeed, and went out and acquired them.” standing — Cavalier Tool’s ability to survive and thrive, BenA lot of what they acquired came via the umpteen machin- dig said, comes from a combination of three things: people, ery auctions being held in the Windsor area and beyond in process, and equipment. “Our success is contingent on having those dark days: a slew of quality equipment available at dis- all three of these components gel together: the right people counted prices. “This helped lay the groundwork for our trans- doing the right process on the right equipment,” he said. “A formation into the shop we wanted to become,” Bendig said. shop might have state-of-the-art equipment, but if it’s not run After that, another big step forward came in 2012, when Ger- efficiently then it’s not an advantage.” man machine tool builder OPS Ingersoll supplied Cavalier Part of running an efficient moldmaking shop in today’s Tool with an Eagle-brand sinker EDM. “This machine saved brave new world, Bendig believes, involves taking on a bigger us more than $100,000 in the first year alone, in graphite, car- workload than the shop can handle. It might seem counterinbide, and related cut times,” Bendig said. tuitive, but Bendig believes it’s the ideal solution to the notoriFast forward to today, and Cavalier Tool has just taken yet ous boom-bust cycle — too much work one week followed by another leap ahead courtesy of a new EDM cell. Installed in too little the next — that currently plagues so much of the August, the cell incorporates two new OPS Ingersoll machines and the one the company bought three years ago, and is intended to help boost productivity while reducing costs. “Speed to market is perhaps its biggest benefit,” Bendig said. “The second is cost reduction, because live EDMs require two or three electrodes for a burn, whereas this machine only requires one electrode. Third, the cell allows part designs and tool paths to be completed well in advance, which means our operators can load the EDM carousels and tables, punch in a suitable program or job sequence, and walk away to concentrate on other activities.” The cell can also run unattended for days at a time, he added, allowing for considerable savings in labor costs. The EDM cells and other capabilities have also allowed the shop to increase its focus in automotive work, which has ballooned from about 15 per cent of business two years ago to almost 50 per cent today — the company’s fastest growing business segment. Projects in the recreational, heavy truck, and commercial Scenes from the Cavalier Tool shop floor, clockwise from top left: a CNC machinist, an end markets round out the rest of Cavalier automotive mold, and a young apprentice learning the trade. Tool’s product mix. Utilizing advanced techwww.canplastics.com October 2015 Canadian Plastics

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CP Re

moldmaking

moldmaking industry these days. “Our goal is to achieve 110 per cent capacity, so that if 10 per cent of our programs get put on hold, we’re still operating at 100 per cent,” Bendig said. “And in the event that all 110 per cent is on order, we can outsource the less cost-effective extra work to our trusted partners throughout the city and still satisfy the needs of our customers.” The strategy seems to be working: Cavalier Tool makes in excess of 250 molds per year, Bendig said, and its sales grew by over 30 per cent last year. Cavalier Tool’s healthy staff size of approximately 115 employees helps it to manage this heavy workload. The annual turnover rate of workers is low — about five per cent — and whenever it becomes necessary to either shore up or expand the ranks, the company gets most of its new hires from the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP). “Currently, we have six OYAP students on our staff, and have also set up our own training centre within our own building where senior staff train younger workers,” Bendig said. “More than 100 of our employees have come out of OYAP over the years, and we’re big supporters of it.” The company’s history with youth training programs, OYAP and otherwise, goes back a long ways. “Cavalier Tool has been involved with youth apprenticeship programs since the 1980s, and we actually helped start a few,” Bendig said. “Members of our team regularly visit schools in the Windsor

area, and we also give advice on putting together technical curricula. Additionally, we often open our facility up for tours for students and their parents; it’s a great way to let them all know that there are exciting, well-paying jobs available for young people in the moldmaking sector.” And these efforts haven’t gone unnoticed: in 2013, the company received an award from the Greater Essex County District School Board for its contributions.

FLYING ABOVE THE RADAR A final piece of the puzzle involves just the right amount of self-promotion, about which Cavalier Tool could probably teach Donald Trump a thing or two. In sharp contrast to the many moldmaking shops that seem to shun publicity almost like the plague, the company works with a public relations firm to maintain a high profile at trade shows and other industry events, and has also been quick to exploit the many possibilities of modern day advertising, marketing, and even social media. So just six short years into Bendig’s turn at the helm, Cavalier Tool seems on course to achieve pretty much everything he envisioned for it. “Everyone wants to aspire to more — that’s just human nature — and when people see that we have the latest technologies and that we’re doing interesting things, they want to be part of our team,” he said. Here’s hoping things go half so well for Prince Charles. CPL

Canadian Plastics October 2015 www.canplastics.com

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hot runners

HOT

STUFF With umpteen new hot runner technologies dropping this year at NPE and Fakuma, don’t be surprised if a few went under your radar. Here’s a look at some of what you might have missed. By Mark Stephen, editor

ife is full of mixed blessings. Your worst enemy driving off a cliff in your new Ferrari is one. Hot runners can feel like another. They provide an array of benefits, including reduced material use, faster cycles, and overall better part quality. But they usually make the mold more expensive to manufacture and run; and they can be complicated, since they have to maintain the plastic material within them heated uniformly, while the rest of the injection mold is being cooled in order to solidify the product quickly. For this reason, hot runners are usually assembled from components pre-manufactured by specialized companies. And you better believe these guys keep busy, with no letup of new technologies. And that goes double during an NPE and Fakuma year like 2015. Worried that you might have missed some of it? You’re probably not alone. So here’s a look at some of what’s new, now.

DROP-IN ANYTIME Drop-in hot runner systems with nozzles screwed into the manifold can offer several advantages for moldmakers: the systems come completely assembled including wiring, piping, and all connector boxes, and are easy to integrate into the mold construction. The next generation of Ewikon Molding Technologies Inc.’s L2X drop-in hot runner system — available in either hot tip or valve gate configurations — is a preassembled and pre-wired hot runner system with nozzles that are directly screwed to the manifold using a unique screw mechanism. “This design, consisting of a connecting collar, screws the nozzles to the manifold, but enables the nozzle to 22

Ewikon Molding Technologies Inc.’s L2X drop-in hot runner system is pre-assembled and pre-wired, with nozzles that are directly screwed to the manifold. Photo Credit: Ewikon Molding Technologies Inc.

rotate freely during the installation in order to precisely align the connection cables with the cut-outs in the mold,” said company owner Dave Boxall. “The nozzle position is then fixed by tightening the connecting collar, thereby eliminating the possibility of plastic leakage between the manifold and nozzle.” The system comes with two fully balanced manifold versions, nozzles in lengths up to 350 mm, and flow channel diameters from 6 mm to 12 mm. Other dimensions are available upon request. In addition, the nozzles use an integrated heater design, with the heater pressed into a heater channel that’s milled directly into the melt-carrying pressure tube. “Compared with conventional heating that uses heater bands or heater elements slid onto the pressure tube, the L2X heating design offers a theoretical advantage due to the direct heating of the pressure tube,” Boxall said. “With minimal heat lost, the result is an even temperature profile along the whole length of the nozzle.” Topping the list of new items from Milacron LLC is the Mold-Masters Fusion G2 hot runner series for automotive and large-part molding applications. Fusion G2 is a drop-in system with a single point of connection to the injection press, which eases installation while promoting faster start-up, oper-

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hot runners

ation, and maintenance. Four models are offered — F4000, F5000, F6000, and F7000 — that handle shot weights ranging from 15 grams to 3,500 grams. Fusion G2 features include field-replaceable manifold and nozzle heaters; screw-in, slimprofile nozzles, and multiple heater zones per nozzle for an optimized thermal profile; a valve-disk design that enhances the hot runner’s ability to execute a color change; and an integrated, leak-proof design. Also, nozzle lengths have been extended for series flexibility. Compound nozzles are used to avoid interference with cavity cooling lines and can be positioned in very tight areas. Heated flange nozzles are available in addition to the standard screw-in nozzles that are threaded directly to the manifold. Nozzle lengths of the Fusion F7000 system range from 80 mm to 700 mm. The system is also available with a new valve-pin speed control, featuring a position sensor for pin movement.

with a single-cavity mold can be directly transposed to multi-cavity applications,” Hasco said. A new hot runner offering from Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd. is the UltraHelix valve gate, which the company said can mold better parts and provide the lowest total cost of ownership when compared to any other valve gate. “Coming as close as possible to zero gate vestige performance, the UltraHelix valve gate dramatically reduces molders’ cost of quality, continues to build on Husky’s impressive track record of thermal uniformity, and virtually eliminates mechanical wear on the valve stems and cavity steel,” said Gerardo Chiaia, Husky’s president of hot runners. “UltraHelix also boasts a highly consistent thermal profile, so molders don’t have to worry about altering the balance between cavities after changing a replaceable heater.”

VALVE GATE VARIETY

New to North America, HEM hydraulic valve gate cylinders from Incoe Corporation are compact and said to be wellsuited for back-molding of large, natural-fibre mats used in such automotive applications as door trim. Features include enhanced thermal separation of distributors and cylinders, which prevents the hydraulic oil from reaching critically high

Adequate water flow in a hot runner mold is critical for protecting water and valve gate seals, which will overheat and potentially leak without properly chilled circulating water. The new Water Flow Monitoring option from Gammaflux, which can be added to its G24 temperature controller, employs dual output flow and temperature sensors in the molding cell to monitor and ensure proper water flow throughout the mold. “Good parts are highly dependent on adequate cooling in the mold to control various aspects of the molded part, including finish, shrinkage, and general dimension repeatability,” said Mike Brostedt, Gammaflux’s director of market development. “Monitoring multiple points of temperature, pressure, and flow throughout the mold can identify problems prior to quality control rejection and document production for critical applications.” The Water Flow Monitor feature supports 16 analog channels (8 dual output sensors) as a standard, and an optional second module provides 32 total channels of monitoring (16 dual output sensors). It also includes data logging capability that lets the user graph a single chart for various increments, for up to four days of continuous operation. Needle valve gate nozzles located centrally in the mold almost always constitute a particular challenge, since the central melt feed means that the drive cylinder cannot be positioned axially behind the needle. The new SNV-06/ SNV-12 single needle valve gate nozzle from Hasco is available as a ready-to-install, all-in-one unit with either hydraulic or pneumatic drive, and includes a flanged-on nozzle. “The use of standardized components and interchangeable parts, as well as the identical fitting space required for the hydraulic and pneumatic versions, make the unit particularly service-friendly,” the company said. The single needle valve gate nozzle is designed for use with nozzles of the company’s TechniShot Z33 series. Also, needle diameters of 2 mm to 6 mm and needle strokes of 8 mm to 12 mm help ensure low pressure losses. “Melt guidance similar to that in multi-cavity distributor systems means that results achieved

GETTING AN UPGRADE

www.canplastics.com October 2015 Canadian Plastics

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hot runners

temperatures during operation. The higher thermal separation also protects moving parts and seals. The upgraded design eliminates the need to cool the components when production work is complete. With their smaller dimensions, the miniature hydraulics create space for supply lines. Outlets for the cooling lines can be arranged in four directions. HEM is available in a range of possible gating points. Mold Hotrunner Solutions Inc. has updated its pneumatically-driven Rheo-Pro internal valve gate to better operate in low- or high-cavitation hot runner systems, including singleface molds, stack molds, and multi-material injection molds. The Rheo-Pro system allows molders to produce parts on smaller machines using lower clamp tonnages. Users can build single-face or stack molds with a tip-to-tip length of 285 mm, and a pitch (or gate-to-gate distance) of 63.5 mm. The design allows the system to operate without elastomeric seals, lubricants, or cylinder cooling. Rheo-Pro can be serviced from the front of the mold parting line — including the nozzle, valve actuator, and valve pins — by stripping the cavity plate onto the core side while the entire mold remains inside the machine. The valve gates are designed for durability, and eliminate the need for components prone to wear, such as O-rings, hoses, tubes, belts, motors, or cooling elements. The latest addition to Synventive Molding Solution’s

activeGate product family is a pneumatic valve gate control for hot runner systems. The nuGate system is designed to precisely control the valve pin’s position, acceleration, velocity, and stroke for pneumatic actuation in the hot runner system. Benefits include more accurate material flow for improved surface finish, higher production rates, less scrap, faster mold start-up, and the injection molding of parts with complex geometries. So with all these new technologies at hand, maybe hot runners don’t have to be such mixed blessings after all. CPL RESOURCE LIST Ewikon Molding Technologies Inc. (Rockford, Ill.); www.ewikonusa.com; 815-874-7270 Gammaflux (Sterling, Va.); www.gammaflux.com; 703-471-5050 Hasco Canada Inc. (Toronto); www.hasco.com; 416-293-5044 Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd. (Bolton, Ont.); www.husky.com; 905-951-5000 Incoe Corporation (Troy, Mich.); www.incoe.com; 248-616-0220 Mold Hotrunner Solutions Inc. (Georgetown, Ont.); www.moldhotrunnersolutions.com; 905-873-1954 Mold-Masters Ltd. (Georgetown, Ont.); www.moldmasters.com; 800-387-2483 Synventive Molding Solutions Canada Inc. (Toronto); www.synventive.com; 416-428-4693

INTAREMA® The new system generation from EREMA.

Efficiency at the fore. High capacities have never been as easy to achieve as with the new INTAREMA®. Counter Current technology makes it possible. Because the extruder handles more material in a shorter time. And this means for you: constant, top throughput within a considerably larger temperature range. For more productivity, flexibility and process stability.

EREMA North America, Inc. 23B Old Right Road / Ipswich, MA 01938 (978)356-3771 / www.erema.net

CHOOSE THE NUMBER ONE.

Canadian Plastics October 2015 www.canplastics.com

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AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT

Precise vacuum dryer enhances efficiency and versatility The enhanced VBD vacuum resin dryer from Maguire Products Inc. incorporates load cell technology to increase accuracy and reliability, providing plastics processors with new capabilities for controlling and documenting their use of material. The VBD dryer now uses load cells for continuous control of the resin level in two of the three vessels in the system: the vacuum chamber and the retention hopper. The load cells operate on a loss-in-weight basis, providing real-time data on material throughput that is unaffected by variations in bulk density. They achieve accuracy of +/- 0.5 per cent. Material usage documentation is available via a USB port, making possible proactive monitoring of inventory. Load cells also enable the microprocessor to run a resettable flow totalizer, which is

displayed on the screen and entered in the event log. The VBD system eliminates most moving parts, using gravity to move material through vertically arranged stages of the drying process. It is typically a continuous batching operation carried out in three heavily insulated, stainless steel-lined vessels arranged vertically. High-speed slide-gate valves for dispensing material from one vessel to another have an accuracy per dispense of +/- 4 grams, and are of the same design widely employed in other Maguire equipment. The system uses ambient air that’s circulated by a blower that has a variable-frequency drive to save energy. Maguire Canada/Novatec Inc. (Vaughan, Ont.); www.maguirecanada.com; 905-879-1100 Barway Plastic Equipment Inc. (Vaudreuil-Dorian, Que.); www.barway.ca; 450-455-1396

Updated remote control system enables easy monitoring The third generation of the ControlWorks universal remote control system from Conair makes it possible to monitor the operation of blenders, loaders, dryers, heat-transfer units, and other equipment, and make changes to primary process

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set-points — all from one PC interface. This newest version of ControlWorks uses SCADA (which stands for supervisory control and data acquisition) technology to monitor and control most Conair equipment. The system allows users with any Internet-connected device — computer, tablet, or smartphone — to view control screens and interact with the equipment just as if they were standing in front of the machine control panel on the plant floor. It is also self-loading — just as any computer recognizes when a new device is connected to it, most Conair auxiliaries have a special identifier built in so that ControlWorks can recognize it as soon as it‘s added to the system. If desired, the user can then specify where it belongs in the organizational hierarchy of ControlWorks. The data-acquisition functionality built into SCADA also allows ControlWorks to gather process data from all connected equipment and store it for analysis. While many machine controls have data-logging capabilities, storage space is limited and the data on each machine is saved separately. With SCADA-based ControlWorks, a virtually

unlimited amount of data can be stored in a single database, allowing for analysis, tracking of trends, and prediction of maintenance requirements. The Conair Group (Cranberry Township, Pa.); www.conairgroup.com; 724-584-5500 Dier International Plastics; (Unionville, Ont.); www.dierinternational.com; 416-219-0509 Industries Laferrière (Mascouche, Que.); www.industrieslaferriere.ca; 450-477-8880 The Turner Group (Seattle, Wash.); www.turnergroup.net; 206-769-3707

INJECTION MOLDING

App for quick, easy check of machinery status The new WiBa QuickLook app from Wittmann Battenfeld — available for free from the Apple iOS App Store and Google Play as an Android app — is designed to provide a very simple and comfortable way to check the status of injection molding machines and robots via your smartphone. The new app links up with the latest software versions of Wittmann R8.3 robots and Wittmann Battenfeld Unilog B6 control systems. Through this link, the production data and condition of the most important equipment operating in a given production cell can be checked quickly and easily. Prerequisites for the use of WiBa QuickLook are the software versions 8.21.00 for R8 robot control systems, and V07.2 for Unilog B6 machine control systems. Depending on the model, the minimum requirement for the smartphone itself is the installation of either iOS 7 or Android 4. The volume of information which WiBa QuickLook app users can access has been deliberately kept manageable. Users carrying out a check will be given a quick, well-founded overview of the most important current parameter settings in a given production cell — those which concern the injection molding machine and any one or several robots involved. To retrieve special details or to adjust parameter settings in the equipment, users are still required to go directly to the relevant processing machines and handling devices. Wittmann Canada Inc. (Richmond Hill, Ont.); www.wittmann-canada.com; 905-887-5355

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Small footprint, energy-efficient units Built atop a footprint that’s 30 per cent smaller than that of comparable three-platen machines, the new HSII series of general-purpose, two-platen, hydro-mechanical machines from HPM North America are energy-efficient, driven by a high-efficiency servo-hydraulic system that cuts energy costs by as much as 30 to 40 per cent over conventional hydraulic systems. The series is powered by high-efficiency servo-motor drive systems that range in size from 80kW to 500kW. Together with friction-free tie bars, linear-guided injection units, and other high-efficiency features, these drive systems enable the HSII Series to deliver superior energy savings while reducing machine noise during operation. Available in sizes from 900 tons to 3,500 tons, the HSII Series is engineered to offer a wide range of application flexibility. The series offers clamping capacity capable of accommodating even the largest molds, enabling HSII machines to handle production of even deep-cavity injection molded parts. The series also offers a range of modular injection units, so that molders can optimize screws, barrels, and injection pressures to suit particular application requirements. Rapid and precise mold opening and closing is facilitated by diagonally-positioned high-speed cylinders, a short clamping stroke, and a patented moving base for the sliding platen to ensure stability and parallelism. HPM North America (Marion, Ohio); www.hpmmachinery.com; 740-382-5600

efits to compounders. First, quick change allows for fast, easy screwset changeovers. A new self-alignment feature takes the worry out of installing the screws into couplings. Guards come off quickly, and go back on the same way. All necessary tools for changeover and maintenance are mounted at point-of-use on the extruder. Second, the quick clean frame design deflects dust and keeps the machine clean under the hood, with an optional device that allows for fast, easy barrel cleaning. Third, quality control is ensured through the use of quality components manufactured in Entek’s shop. The new features include quick-align shaft to gearbox couplers, shroud covers that incorporate single-turn fasteners, quick-open guards for easy access to screw couplings and clutch, an air deflector on the end of the motor, and a point-of-use tool kit with all necessary tools mounted in the holder on the machine. Entek Extruders/Entek Manufacturing Inc. (Lebanon, Ore.); www.entek-mfg.com; 541-259-1068

EXTRUSION

Expanded “QC” capabilities to co-rotating twin-screw models Entek Extruders has now added its QC3 control features to both its 27MM and 53MM co-rotating twin-screw extruders, following the introduction of the features to the Entek QC3-43MM co-rotating twin-screw extruder at NPE 2015 in Orlando, Fla. QC3 stands for quick change, quick clean, and quality control, and represents features that provide important ben-

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ROBOTS & AUTOMATION

plastics data file Wittmann Innovations

Innovations — Wittmann’s quarterly newsletter — offers plastics processors detailed insight into ways to improve their businesses with news and application stories covering Robots and Automation, IML, Injection Molding Machinery, Material Conveying, Drying and Blending, Granulation and Temperature Control. It is available in print and on-line. Wittmann Canada Inc., 35 Leek Crescent, Richmond Hill, ON L4B 4C2•Tel: 1-888-466-8266 www.wittmann-canada.com

Collaborative robot works alongside humans

The new CR-35iA collaborative robot from Fanuc America Corporation is designed to work alongside human operators without the need for safety fences, helping manufacturers solve ergonomic challenges by handling applications that are physically demanding for humans, such as heavy lifting. Featuring six-axis articulation and a 35 kg payload, the robot has a soft foam green cover that protects workers who are in direct contact with it. The robot’s shell is green to distinguish the collaborative robot from the

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advertising index Advertiser AceTRONIC Bandera Bulk Tech Canadian Plastics CanPlastics TV videos CPA Canada Engel Erema North America Inc. IESO IMS Lorenz Conveying

Page 26, 27 8 29

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www.channelpa.com www.engelglobal.com www.erema.at www.saveonenergy.ca/business www.imscompany.com www.lorenzproducts.com

Advertiser Page Novatec 9 Piovan 20 Plastic Process Equipment, Inc. 31 Progressive Components 26, 27 Rechner Automation 15 Shred-Tech 23 Sorel Forge 17 Staubli Corp. 25 The Conair Group back cover WEIMA America Inc. 25 Wittmann Battenfeld 17

Website www.novatec.com www.piovan.com www.ppe.com www.procomps.com www.rechner.com www.shred-tech.com www.sorelforge.com www.staubli.com www.conairgroup.com www.weimaamerica.com www.wittmann-group.ca

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standard yellow Fanuc robots. The highly-sensitive robot gently stops if it comes in contact with the operator, allowing the robot and human to work side by side. Certified to meet the requirements of ISO 10218-1:2011, the CR-35iA can work in a variety of applications alongside human workers, including machine tending, handling heavy payloads that require lift assist devices or custom equipment, higher payload mechanical assembly, palletizing or packing, and tote or carton handling. The CR-35iA comes standard with Fanuc’s R-30iB controller, which features the company’s exclusive and easy-to-use iPendant with 4D graphics. The iPendant displays process information and the actual process path directly on the iPendant screen, enabling easier setup and troubleshooting. The R-30iB controller is also compact, providing customers with significant space savings; energy-efficient, requiring less power consumption than previous models; and available with an optional power regeneration feature. Fanuc Robotics Canada Ltd. (Streetsville, Ont.); www.fanucrobotics.com; 905-812-2300

MATERIALS

Colorful PVCs for automotive exterior trim

The new Apex 1545 series custom color-matched PVC compounds from Teknor Apex Company are designed to give automotive exterior moldings and trim the pure color, consistent gloss, and smooth, high-quality surface required for meeting the Class A finish specifications of automotive OEMs. The materials are 85 Shore A PVC compounds, and are particularly well-suited for the external layers of coextruded automotive parts, such as roof ditch moldings between roof and body sections, window trim between A pillars and windshield, and body trim. Teknor Apex has currently formulated Apex 1545 compounds in more than 60 colors, a number of which are in commercial use on such Chrysler LC-22 Platform vehicles as the Dodge Challenger. Teknor Apex Company (Pawtucket, R.I.); www.teknorapex.com; 800-556-3864

PURGING COMPOUNDS

CPC for the 3D printing industry The Dyna-Purge division of Shuman Plastics Inc. has partnered with 3Dom USA, a distributor of 3D printing filament and materials, to service the rapidly growing 3D printing industry with a new grade of Dyna-Purge purging compound: Dyna-Purge 3D Clean, a non-abrasive, non-chemical, engineered thermoplastic purging compound specially formulated for 3D printing technologies. The compound is designed to purge all resins used in 3D printing, and can be used before or after printing a part for color or resin changes, especially when composite materials such as glass-filled nylons are being processed, and for preventive machine maintenance. The cleaning formulation has a processing temperature range from 320°F to 575°F (160°C to 320°C). Available in eight-inch strands and packaged in a clear cylinder, Dyna-Purge 3D Clean is simple to use, and is safe and non-hazardous, with no chemical additives. Additionally, the ingredients comply with FDA regulations. Shuman Dyna-Purge (Buffalo, N.Y.); www.dynapurge.com; 866-607-8743

EnginEErEd for StrEngth. finiShEd for durability. SMooth-WallEd StoragE tanKS and hoPPErS.

Smooth-wall welded storage tanks in a wide range of standard sizes and diameters & Custom engineered storage solutions to meet your needs. www.bulktech.ca Tanks available 519-625-1550 with exposed leg or skirted design email: office@bulktech.ca www.canplastics.com October 2015 Canadian Plastics

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technical tips

How to fine-tune your mold cooling system By Philip Burger, Burger & Brown Engineering

ou probably don’t need to be told that molding is a complex business. Molders must be versed in materials science and the workings of a molding press; in hydraulics and electrical controls; and they should even be at least “shade tree” tooling experts, familiar with steels, heat treating, runners and gates, and mold cooling. Of these tooling facets, it could be argued that mold cooling is one of the most important. A slight difference in cooling conditions can add or subtract seconds from the molding cycle, making the difference between a profitable and unprofitable molding job. Critical

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dimensions, surface finish, and part warpage are all affected by cooling conditions. It’s ironic, then, that mold cooling is the neglected step-child in many molding shops. There’s more to know about the finer points of mold cooling and heat transfer than most of us care to learn, and we’re not going to consider those complexities here. Instead, let’s look at some of the simple, common sense points that can give you better information and control over mold temperatures. Let’s start with some engineering basics. Most of you have heard something about turbulent flow, and that it’s good for cooling. But just what is turbulent flow, and how does it help? Turbulent flow begins when the velocity of fluid in a channel increases to a critical level. Above this critical velocity, vigorous internal mixing of the fluid occurs as it flows. This improves heat transfer by mixing warmer fluid near the wall of the cooling passage with the relatively cooler interior fluid. The precise velocity for turbulent flow depends on several variables, including the cooling passage geometry, fluid viscosity, and roughness of the pipe walls. The formula for a ratio known as Reynold’s number includes these variables. A Reynold’s number greater than 4,000 denotes turbulent flow. That said, in some cases turbulent flow doesn’t matter too much, while in other cases it matters a lot. In one example, the cycle time for a coffee mug with a 0.200-inch-thick wall was very poor. The molder wanted to improve the cooling in the mold cores with the goal of achieving a substantial cycle improvement, and spent a significant sum making cooling “improvements”. When the mold was sampled, the molder was surprised to

learn that the cycle was about the same as before. What was going on? The answer is, the best cooling system in the world won’t take away heat any faster than the molded part will give it up. Most unfilled resins transfer heat at a rate one-tenth to one-twentyfifth that of steel. The outer walls of a thick part insulate the mold from the heat trapped in the centre of the part. The message here is that for very thick parts, the cooling system will have relatively little effect on cycle time. On the other hand, let’s say you’re running a very thin PE lid. This part can give up its internal heat quickly because of its thin walls, and typically runs on a fast cycle. These factors combine to greatly increase the demands on the cooling system, so good cooling performance requires well-placed passages in the mold as well as greater flow rates to carry away the heat. Thus, it’s generally true that if the molded parts will give up their heat, it’s worthwhile to use higher cooling flow rates. And it’s true that the faster the flow rate, the more total heat you remove, even though the change in the temperature of the water flowing through the mold is very slight. Intuition may suggest that the water would pick up more heat at a slower flow rate, but it won’t. Although the temperature of the water increases more at a slower flow rate, total heat CPL removed does not. Philip Burger founded Grandview, Mo.based Burger & Brown Engineering in 1978 and served as president until 2005. Burger currently works part-time for the firm and has also developed an educational program called “Scientific Cooling” that was launched in October 2013. Contact him at 816-878-6675, trumpetman44@hotmail.com, or visit www.smartflow-usa.com.

Canadian Plastics October 2015 www.canplastics.com

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Represented in Canada by: Dier International Plastics l Greg Reid l 416.219.0509 Industries Laferriere l Francois Laferriere l 450.477.8880 l Injection Molding, Quebec F M Mecanique l Jocelyn Fournier l 514.953.5307 l Extrusion, Quebec The Turner Group l Chuck Roehm l 206.769.3707 l British Columbia and Alberta 1.800.654.6661 • 724.584.5500 • info@conairgroup.com • www.conairgroup.com

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