Plastic link v 2 i 2 apr 2010

PLASTICS

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HIPF G r a d u at i o n D ay C e l e b r at i o n

Dr. Khalid Al-Ghefaili, the Executive Director of HIPFhas announced that the Graduation Ceremony for the first, second and third batches of our trainees would be held on Sunday, the 21st of March, 2010 at HIPF Campus. This landmark event is under the sponsorship of our much respected His Excellency Dr. Ali bin Nasser Al-Ghafees, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of HIPF and Governor of the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC).

The special guests for this occasion would be our sponsors from about 44 companies. Many from the Kingdom’s plastics fabrication industry are expected to attend the event.

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Yo u r L i n k t o t h e P l a s t i c s W o r l d

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S h o rt Courses HIPF

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HIPF is offering short courses for the benefit of our Saudi Plastics Fabrication Industry.

The short course on Strategic Plastics is scheduled for April 3-6, 2010. Stretch Blow molding has scheduled a short course on May 1-4, 2010. Short course on Sheet and Thermoforming is being conducted during August 9-11, 2010.

Further details on short courses can be found in our website. You may also contact our office for details.

Saudi Arabia has a growing market for cooked foods and usually two wrappings are used for cooked food products, an inner one made from plastics and an outer one made from paper. In many ways the use of synthetic paper is advantageous.

Synthetic Paper is a product that is seen, felt, behaves, and used as traditional paper, but it is synthetic. The paper is made with high-density polyethylene, calcium carbonate, pigment and other components in small quantities, which may vary according to the formulation that is to be prepared. It is used in the fast food, industrial butter areas to wrap moist or greasy foods and to wrap candies. The wrap has little memory, good fold, good twist and its high impermeability prevents grease to cross over. The market impact has been excellent and consumers are very satisfied. The synthetic paper is printed using flexographic and rotogravure using inks diluted in alcohol.

QUARTERLY ISSUED BY THE HIGHER INSTITUTE FOR PLASTICS FABRICATION

S pecial P oints of I nterest: • Recent Path Breaking Innovations in the field of Plastics.

• Selected International Plastics centered events and exhibitions.

• HIPF Graduation Day Celebrations

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I n T his issue : • • • • •

Synthetic Paper from Plastics 1 Tips for Drying Plastics Materials 2 Innovative Blending Technology 2 Efficient Compounding and Injection of Composites 3 Bio-Degradable Plastics from Renewable Sources 3

T ips f o r D ry i n g P l a s t ics M at e r i a l s

Desiccant based drier The ideal temperature for most drying beds is 55ºC.

To dry the material properly the air going into desiccant beds must be below 65o C. Therefore, if you are running the dryer hotter than 80o C, you need to have an aftercooler on the return line to cool the air for the desiccant. The ideal temperature for the beds is about 55oC. This is the reason for some dryers to have an aftercooler in the return line to the cabinet.

Clean the filter frequently to avoid blockage of air flow. If you have lots of regrind its better to check the filters every day.

Check the desiccant frequently. A general rule is to change the desiccant every 18 months. Read the supplier’s instructions and check the dessicant. Desiccants can become contaminated or ruined by offgases from processing certain resins.

Check the seals crushed hoses for any leakage. One of the main reason to get resin granules melting together in the hopper is the dryer bringing on stream the

newly regenerated desiccant before it is cooled down properly. With some dryers, you can get a slug of 175o C to 230o C air going into the drying hopper when the system switches desiccant beds.

The most resins will pick up moisture in 15 to 30 min even after drying. So its not advisable to convey from a central hopper to the machine, or leave it in the machine’s hopper, without a blanket of dry air.

Hot air will only travel upward. Air takes the path of least resistance. The bottom of the hopper is usually blocked; hence there is a chance to remain the moisture in the material at the bottom. So the resin at the bottom must be removed and put back on top of the hopper load before you start molding.

If you dry the materials that emit volatiles like cellulosics, TPUs, flexible PVC, TPVs, and some other soft-touch resins, check the desiccant’s condition every six months.

I n n o vat i v e B l e n d i n g T e ch n o lo g y to r e p l a c e C o m p l e x F e e d B lo c k s An innovative mixing process for extrusions has been developed by Smart Blending Technologies LLC in USA. This structured fluid dynamic mixing process known as chaotic advection, causes unusual micro scale and nano scale phase morphologies.

Presently, for extrusions in multi-layered and complex feed blocks stock materials, the inner and outer layers are coextruded with a tie layer

there between.

In the innovative mixing technology, melt streams to be combined by their respective extruders into the “smart blender,” a barrel or cylinder containing two or more independently rotating stir rods that cause the chaotic advection motion and create a defined melt structure rather than a homogeneous blend. The rods’ rotation stretches and folds two or more melt streams into a “marble cake” pattern, but on a micro scale. A specific rod rotation sequence can create morphologies with hundreds or even thousands of layers. A variety of melt structures can also be derived from the layers, formed by repeated stretching and folding, which break up the layers to form derivative shapes like ribbons, long fibers, and thin platelets, as well as the more conventional morphology of droplets of one material dispersed in the other.

Smart Blending’s latest device so far is for blown film, which was delivered in 2008. Potential polymer combinations include pairs of immiscible polymers or polymers with different surface tension like LDPE/EVOH, PP/EPDM, PS/PP, nylon 6/EVOH, or LDPE/PS. Smart Blending Technology helps to create films or other extrusions with special properties such as electrical conductivity or additive-release characteristics.

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E ffici e n t Compounding and Injection In the conventional molding of thermoplastic composites, the injection unit and screw create shear and damage the glass fibers resulting shorter fiber lengths and lower mechanical properties.

In this new development, compounding and Injection molding are integrated to minimize fiber breakage, leading to higher mechanical properties of the molded part. This reduces cost of long glass fibre thermoplastic composites for automotive parts.

This is a Direct long fiber Thermoplastic process (DLFT) in which the twin screw provide melting and mixing and the injection unit acts only as a piston to pump material into the mold .The injection unit is plunger type hence minimizing fiber damage as there is no screw and check ring.

The injection molded parts from this technique deliver both cost saving and product performance benefits as compared to metal, SMC, GMT or auto

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body parts. KraussMaffie offers IMC (Injection molding compounder) which can process PC/ABS, PC/PBT or Nylon/PPO with 10% glass .IMC can process iron oxide, barium sulphate fillers also. Similarly Engel has added IMC to its product line too.

IMC has other advantages like: a) Reduced thermal degradation of material as single heat history, b)Changing glass content is very simple, c)Produce complex parts with non uniform thickness, ribs and holes .There is also no need for post molding, trimming, punching or milling operations d)Higher throughput than a reciprocating screw e)Twin screw plasticizing with self wiping screws enable faster color and material changes IMC is a booming technology for automotive sector and other specialized products.

B i o -D e g r a d a b l e P l as t ics R e n e wa b l e S o u r c e s Biodegradable plastics can be produced from renewable raw materials of vegetable, microorganism and animal origin. These materials are especially suitable for packaging segment e. g packaging film, trays for fruit, vegetables ,eggs, cups, bottles, nets , bags, blister and skin packs, agricultural film etc.

Bio-flex 219F Polylactide copolyester is one of biodegradable polymer which has properties similar to those of LDPE and can be processed on conventional LDPE blown film units. It is blend of polylactic acid and copolyester with compatabiliser and natural organic fillers. The Bio-Flex film can be produced up to a guage of 8Âľm with good tactile properties and compostable to a level of 90% after 12 weeks .The materiel can be used for food contact applications .

Another grade Biograde 200C is cellulose based with biodegradable plastic which can be processed on conventional flat film lines as well

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as injection molding machines. The products have high stiffness , excellent transparency and good barrier properties with comparable properties of PP.

BIO-Flex has similar properties to LDPE and can be processed on conventional machines.

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02 LINK 2010 PLASTICS

I n t e r n at i o n a l P l a s t i c s E v e n t s

www.hipf.edu.sa

EXHIBITIONS:

Higher Institute For Plastics Fabrication

7495 AlKharj Road, New City Industry, Unit #1, Riyadh 14332 - 4073 Tel.: +966 1 498 9600, +966 1 498 9678 Fax: +966 50 107 9961 Contact Details: Tel.: +966 1 498 9678 Fax: +966 1 498 9650 e-mail: info@hipf.edu.sa www.hipf.edu.sa

PLASTICS LINK Your Link to the World of Plastics The establishment of HIPF aims to prepare Saudi youth to participate as skilled technicians in the booming plastics industry of the Kingdom and to develop the technical knowledge and skills of Saudi workforce towards localization of plastics fabrication technology.

The Editorial board of the Newsletter would like to remind the reader that the articles in this newsletter are collated from the various sources of information. HIPF does its best to verify the sources and confirm the authenticity of the articles published in the newsletter. The HIPF will not assume any legal liability for the content, quality, accuracy or completeness of said information and materials. The sources of the articles and the ‘terms and conditions’ of the newsletter ‘Plastic Link’ are available with the board of Editors and are available on request.s