Plastics News Europe Magazine October Digital Edition by erkan indibay

OCTOBER ISSUE 2017

www.plasticsnewseurope.com

FAKUMA 2017: Full House in Friedrichshafen

‹‹ Detlef Scholz: In additive

manufacturing, design complexity does not add costs ‹‹

›› Michael Hehl: Our focus at this year’s Fakuma is on “smart” ››

publication

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THIS MONTH

CONTENTS Volume 44 • Number 7 • Incorporating European Plastics News and PRW • Price £22

Q&A INTERVIEW 37 Michael Hehl Arburg’s managing partner talks about the family business and the importance of the Fakuma show for his company

IN THIS ISSUE 7

Markets & Business Out of REACH? The plastics industry is hoping to maintain the existing legislative framework for plastics when the UK leaves the European Union, but obstacles are looming

Fakuma Fakuma turns 25 this year. A look at a – by no means exhaustive – selection of companies exhibiting in Friedrichshafen

26 3D Printing Serial production just around the corner? OS is launching what it claims is the first truly industrial laser sintering machine. An exclusive preview of the latest EOS technology that is “shaping the digital factory of the future” 30 3D Printing Additive Minds: 3D printing is about more than simply buying a 3D printer. According to Additive Minds, manufacturers need to adopt an entirely new way of thinking about product development and production. Only then can they profit from the advantages additive manufacturing has to offer

Markets & Business: “The UK.....must play the cards we are dealt as skilfully as possible.”

Fakuma: A preview of the world’s second most important trade show for the plastics industry

32 3D Printing 3D printing is changing the outlook for children who need prosthetics. A young start-up called Ambionics can print and fit a new limb in a mere five days

Polymer prices: Tighter supply due to outages and Harvey

33 Transportation E-mobility: Automotive industry faces tectonic shift

Important notice to readers

40 Colours & Masterbatch Adding that extra something

REGULARS 5

Reflection

Design Landmark Suprlid/Viora

45 Polymer Prices 48 Products and Services 50 Events & Movers

OCTOBER 2017

Colours & Masterbatch: Demand for technically advanced masterbatches is growing 3

The present issue is the last print edition of this year. Our November/ December issue will app ear in the digital version only, as will next year’s January/ February edition. Your em ail address is your key to access your digital edition, and to ensure your issue delivery is not interrupted, we do need to have your current preferred email address on file. To register, please go to: www.plasticsnewseurope .com/freedigital We thank you for your rea dership and support!

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reflection

the human experience

s the Fakuma show approaches, here at Plastics News Europe we’ve been rounding up the innovations and news from the many companies who will be exhibiting there this year to offer our readers – those who will be attending – an idea of what they can expect, and to those who won’t, an opportunity to nonetheless remain abreast of the state of the art in plastics processing. Because, above all, the Fakuma is an event for the ‘practitioners’ in the industry: people and companies whose business it is to process plastics into products. Once again, the overarching theme at the show will be represented by the word ‘smart’ – a concept that has permeated every aspect of the plastics processing industry. As the development of cyber-physical systems and advanced sensor networks continues to advance, smart machines that monitor, collect, exchange and analyse data, interacting without human intervention, are ushering in the era of ‘smart’ manufacturing. Engel’s Inject 4.0 programme and KraussMaffei’s Plastics 4.0 are two prime examples of how smart plastics processing technologies are be-

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OCTOber 2017

Karen Laird, Editor

coming. Reifenhäuser has founded an entirely new business unit called Reifenhäuser Digital for a focused development of intelligent production for and with its customers. No matter how ‘smart’ we become, however, the importance of a trade show like the Fakuma should not be underestimated. Cyber-physical systems may be taking over the industry; sensors and robots may have become as much as part of manufacturing as cranes and machines. But the ‘physical’ in cyber-physical – interacting personally with the people behind the scenes – is still the most effective way to conduct business. Trade show researchers have found that people are twice as likely to remember you if you shake hands with them. In fact, out there in the real world physical touch is said to be the most primitive and powerful nonverbal cue there is. Which is probably why shows like the Fakuma are thriving. We may live in a digital world – but analogue, face-to-face interaction is still how people truly connect. See you in Friedrichshafen!

Benelux, France Arthur Schavemaker Kenter & Co. B.V., Spoorstraat 21, NL-7470 AC Goor, The Netherlands Tel: +31 (0)547-275005 Fax: +31 (0)547-271831 Email: Arthur@kenter.nl Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Eastern Europe Randolf Krings Emcmedia UG, Kaiser-Friedrich-Ring 46, D-65185, Wiesbaden, Germany Tel: +49 (0)611 5324 416 Mobile: +49 (0)176 384 23044 Fax: +49 (0)611 5324 519 Email: epn@emcmedia.de Italy Fabio Potestà Mediapoint & Communications SRL, Corte Lambruschini, Corso Buenos Aires, 8, V piano - interno 7, 16129 Genova - Italy Tel: +39 010 570 49481 Fax: +39 010 553 0088 Email: info@mediapointsrl.it United States Patrick Cannon Sales Director, Plastics News 1155 Gratiot Avenue, Detroit, Michigan, 48207, USA Tel: +1 313 446 1625 Email: pcannon@crain.com

Plastics News Europe (incorporating European Plastics News) is published by Crain Communications Ltd. Registered Office: 100 New Bridge Street, London EC4V 6JA United Kingdom Registered No. 1576350 England. V.A.T. No. GB 577 6905 84 Printed by Warners Midlands, Bourne, Lincolnshire. ISSN 2058-7902 Advertising terms and conditions are available at www.plasticsnewseurope.com © 2017 Crain Communications Ltd. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reprinted without the permission of the publishers. EDITORIAL SUBMISSIONS Email to: epnnews@crain.com

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DESIGN LANDMARK

tail Photo: Re

inMotion

The integrated gauze of the Suprlid allows a fast-serve cafetière experience Design Landmark is researched and written by James Snodgrass

ast month we looked at a disposable product that has become the target of environmental campaigns, the disposable plastic straw. This month we return to the disposable beverage lid, another product that has become a target of environmental activists. But unlike the drinking straw sector, which has seen little to no development in the last 50 years (except, perhaps, for McDonald’s STRAW, a J-shaped device that allows two flavours in a milkshake to blend), new innovation in the beverage lid sector is flourishing, despite the threat to its very existence. For thirty years the predominant design of beverage cup lid has been akin to the Solo Traveler of 1984 (which we featured as our January 2014 Design Landmark). Its “landmark” feature was the indentation behind the aperture which allowed the user to drink straight from the

(2014)

cup, at a shallow angle, without hitting his or her nose. One innovation in recent years has been the Viora lid from Seattle, USAbased Vapor Path (Seattle has history with coffee innovation, being the home of global hot beverage behemoth, Starbucks). Taking a cue from the Solo Traveler’s design, the Viora is all about the nose. As well as having an indentation to prevent the nose from touching the lid, it also has a large aperture at its centre to allow the aroma of the freshly brewed coffee to reach the nostrils. Another innovation is the Suprlid, a plastic lid with an integrated gauze filter which brings new functionality: the ability to serve real ground coffee (not instant coffee) on trains and planes. Already in use with Deutsche Bahn, SunExpress, Ryanair, RailGourmet and Air Lingus, the Suprlid means that travellers can experience cafetière-style coffee (coffee purists, look away now). The paper cups contain a pre-portioned amount of ground coffee. The air/rail steward fills the paper cup with hot water and dons the Suprlid. A push down

The central hole of Viora lets you wake up and smell the coffee

Photo: Vapor Path

Suprlid/Viora L

aperture in the lid lets the consumer add milk or sugar. The enlarged drinking aperture contains a gauze, which keeps the coffee grinds from entering the drinker’s mouth. Suprlid was developed by the Dublin, Ireland-based design firm Boxclever from a concept suggested by Retail inMotion (also Dublin-based) a company that supplies new concepts for travel retail, and now market the Suprlid. Innovations like Suprlid may provide the plastic lid a stay of execution. Can we imagine a world, in the near future, where travellers are expected to bring their own cups onto trains and planes, when we face increased anxiety, scrutiny, and longer queues, through security?

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1708005ERE_Plastics News Europe.indd 1

09.08.17 12:03

OCTOBER 2017

MARKETS & BUSINESS

Out of REACH? W

ith the Brexit negotiations now underway in earnest, the plastics industry is clear about its ideal outcome – maintaining the existing legislative framework for plastics when the UK leaves the European Union (EU) – scheduled for March 29, 2019. This is essential for the health of the industry in the UK and its current EU partners, experts have told Plastics News Europe, with the third round of Brexit negotiations to start 28 August. “We don’t want to have to conform to two different legislative frameworks: one for the UK market and another for exports to the EU,” after Brexit, the British Plastics Federation (BPF) director-general Philip Law said, speaking on 1 August. The UK’s so-called ‘Great Repeal Bill’, which will convert all EU legislation into British law – scheduled to pass through the British parliament later this year – is a key part of this process. But it may not be that simple – for the BPF, key EU legislation includes REACH (the EU’s registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals regulation), the classification, labelling and packaging of chemicals (CLP) regulation and several packaging and waste-related directives. While some of these rules can be administered by UK national regulators, some – notably REACH – is all about assessments undertaken by EU regulators and member states (especially the European Chemicals Agency – ECHA). How its powers and responsibilities can be written into UK law as Britain becomes independent of EU agencies remains to be seen.

Smooth process Law is looking for the process to be as smooth as possible: “We’ve fought long and hard with our European industry colleagues to get the workable EU legislation we have,” the head of the UK’s leading trade association continued. “Our hope is that the UK will shadow EU legislation, with sections of it seen as state of the art.” At the Helsinki-based ECHA, a spokesperson told Plastics News Europe: “The direct application of the REACH regulation has undoubtedly been beneficial to chemicals’ safety in the UK.” ECHA is “still investigating the effects of the UK withdrawal on the EU chemicals legislation, with a view to providing advice to stakeholders and companies once respective answers are ready,” he added. European chemical industry association Cefic warned that losing par-

OCTOBER 2017

ticipation within REACH would be challenging for chemicals and plastics companies, bringing additional costs and complexity. “Withdrawal of the UK from REACH (‘out of REACH’ scenario) would trigger substantial changes, including disruption of chemicals trade,” Cefic’s executive director – industrial policy René van Sloten told Plastics News Europe. He highlighted the potential impact on the 5,000 plus registrations of chemicals already made by companies in the UK that guarantee their unhindered use within the EU.

Registration deadline After Brexit, chemicals shipments from the UK will be considered as non-EU imports and so maybe requiring a fresh registration by EU importers, he explained. With the UK expected to leave by 2019 (unless extension is unanimously granted by the EU-27), the problem will be exacerbated by the 2018 REACH registration deadline for chemicals made or imported in smaller volumes of between one and 100 tonnes annually. René van Sloten was concerned about dossier updates and data sharing for plastic chemicals registrations after 2019: “Who will be responsible for providing further information if originally a UK company was the lead registrant? If a UK company is the data owner, will a new EU registrant be needed?” For him, the most likely post-Brexit scenario would be “the UK adopting identical REACH legislation independently” – he noted REACH also applies in the European Economic Area (the EU member states plus nonEU Iceland, Lichtenstein and Norway). He said plastics manufacturers must comply with REACH when exporting to the EU-27. However, as the UK may take a more hazard-based approach than the EU’s current riskbased stance, “Brexit would allow certain chemicals in processing operations that cannot be used in the EU.” Plastics exports will also be affected by tariffs adopted after Brexit. According to the BPF’s Law, “No-one can predict the arrangements that will eventually fall into place but the weakness of sterling has not only boosted exports, it has enabled UK plastics companies to compete more effectively with imports. “Having said that, we want as much access to the single market as can be exacted in the negotiations,” he emphasised. Law was also confident plastics in-

novation would not suffer, given the UK plastics industry’s strong traditions in this area: “This is the country that ‘discovered’ polyethylene and developed PEEK [polyetheretherketone, used in engineering applications]. I don’t think this will change following Brexit. The government has highlighted research and development in its industrial strategy for the UK and there will be compensating funding for grants lost through EU withdrawal. “The UK is highly respected as a research partner,” Law continued, predicting “pressure from within the EU to keep the UK around the appropriate tables”. Acknowledging the UK plastics industry’s labour shortage, he said “one response to this could be increased innovation in productivity generally and automation in particular.”

”

Law, BPF: “It’s still early days to assess the imapct of leaving the EU” Similarly, while citing “some evidence” that investment decisions were being delayed, he argued “in our latest Business Conditions Survey [conducted in June/July 2017], a third of respondents planned to invest significantly over the next 12 months, predominantly in overseas business development, automation and staff training.” Ultimately, Law told Plastics News Europe: “It’s still early days to assess the impact of leaving the EU. The full impact will not be known for years,” so: “We have to play the cards we are dealt as skilfully as possible.” The Brexit timetable is also uncertain, although the indicative date for the fifth negotiation round is 9 October. The Commission expects talks to take 18 months – until October/November 2018. That would leave the UK House of Commons probably until late 2018 as the time when both British houses of parliament might have a ‘deal or no deal’ vote on the Brexit agreement.

FAKUMA

Celebrating 25 years of technology innovation F at

rom 17-21 October 2017, Friedrichshafen will once again be hosting the world’s second most important international plastics industry event: the Fakuma. As venues go, they don’t get much prettier: Friedrichshafen is located on the Bodensee, at the meeting point of Germany, Switzerland and Austria, and is a region known for its vegetable cultivation vineyards and, especially, orchards of apple trees. October is right in the middle of apple season, which means apples are everywhere and in everything- from the hors d’oevres at the start of any meal to the after-dinner, digestion-promoting Calvados, and most dishes in between. While apples are also often a common theme at many of the booths at the trade show itself, there, it’s the exhibits that attract the attention of most visitors. And with more than 1,700 exhibitors hailing from over 30 countries, all presenting their newest products, services and technologies, it is hard to know where to start. Fakuma is one of the very few technical events in the world to focus

on all currently relevant technologies for plastics processing: injection moulding, extrusion, thermoforming and 3D printing. The event, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year is expected to attract some 40,000 attendees and provide abundant opportunities for direct interaction between visitors and exhibitors.

It offers a forum to developers, manufacturers and distributors to build contacts and remain up to date on news and developments in the plastics processing world. Lightweight design, metal substitution, energy efficiency, sustainability, digitisation – these are among the trends and issues confronting the plastics

The Fakuma trade show will take place from 17-21 October 2017 at Messe Friedrichshafen, Neue Messe 1, 88046 Friedrichshafen, Germany. Opening hours are from Tuesday-Friday 09:00 am – 05:00 pm; Saturday 09:00 am – 03:00 pm. Tickets: A one-day ticket is €28.00; an eOne-day ticket for students and otherwise eligible persons with a document of identification is €20.00; a two-day is €47.00 Accompanying the exhibition is a programme of forums, workshops and special shows to which visitors have free admission.

industry today. The show, which styles itself as practice-oriented and hands-on, is this year once again showcasing the full array of solutions – new materials, processes, equipment, machinery, tooling – available to practitioners to keep up with these trends. A central theme will once again be the advancements relating to Industry 4.0 and the Smart Factory: rather than a sudden phenomenon, the ‘Factory of the Future’ is manifesting itself an ongoing development, an evolution in which industrial systems, ICT-enabled manufacturing and high performance manufacturing are all coming together and reshaping how factories and supply chains operate. As interconnected, data-driven, digital production continues to penetrate all areas of the plastics industry, not only is this leading to a greater integration of supplier and customers but also to the much closer interlinking of internal departments and processes. In addition, smart manufacturing in plastics processing is opening the door for the production of individualised, customised parts and the shortening of development, start-up and set-up times. Processors need to understand this and adapt their design, development and production processes accordingly. The strength of a show like the Fakuma is that it brings the different strands of these developments together, offering a platform not only to present the state of the art of the plastics industry but to share knowledge and to support the adoption of the new technologies as these become more accessible to practitioners throughout the industry.

OCTOBER 2017

BASF at the Fakuma hall B 4, stand 4306

17.-21.10.2017 Friedrichshafen Germany

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FAKUMA

Fakuma exhibitor profiles AKRO-PLASTIC Hall B2 Booth 2209

Akro-Plastic GmbH is focussing this year on lightweight design and lookand-feel quality. The company is presenting its Akroloy PARA ICF 40 aromatic PA MXD 6 compound offering excellent flowability, rigidity close to 40 GPa and 400 MPa flexural strength, hence ideal for achieving metal-like strengths. The compound delivers such a high surface quality that the components can be fitted without any coating into the 7 Series BMW. Also on display: the Akromid Lite type series (PA-based with chemically coupled PP), offering weight reduction and enhanced properties,

ALLTEC - FOBA LASER MARKING + ENGRAVING Hall 2 Booth 2112 FOBA is showcasing special marking solutions for different plastics, with a focus on the M3000-UV for sensitive plastics and new marking solutions specially made for day-night-design. The M3000-UV is a 2-watt UV-laser stand-alone marking station with optional integrated camera. Completing the existing range of wave

ALLTEC-FOBA laser engraving

Citos seat system made of Akromid B3 GF 25 9 by Franz Kiel

new compounds with halogen-free flame protection and Precite, a new product series based on the thermoplastic polyesters, PBT and PET. The portfolio focuses on the reinforced types with up to 50 % glass fibres; PBT/ASA and PBT/SAN offering a lower warping behaviour, making these suitable for larger components, are also available. www.akro-plastic.com

lengths in the M-series, this UV laser creates a low heat level, making it suitable for marking sensitive materials, including silicone, HDPE, PET or PVC. Thin multiple layers of lacquer on translucent plastics can be accurately removed by precisely tuned fibre lasers. The so-called day-nightdesign creates brilliant colour effects for best legibility in all lighting conditions, and characters and symbols that can be backlit in the dark. Manufacturers also use laser marking to ensure long-term traceability, to optimise logistics processes and as an anti-counterfeiting measure. www.fobalaser.com

ARBURG GmbH + Co KG Hall A3 Booth 3101 “Smart” machines, processes and turnkey solutions for efficient plastics

processing take centre stage at Arburg’s booth in hall 3. The company is debuting a hybrid Allrounder 920 H with a new design and new Gestica control system. The Gestica control system has a high-resolution full-HD screen and uses industrial multi-touch technology to reproduce the “look and feel” of smart mobile devices. The company will also present a practical Industry 4.0 application – elastic tension belts – for flexible injection moulding in single-unit batches. Visitors will be able to choose between rubber bands of different lengths and in different colours, as well as end pieces in hook/hook, hook/eyelet or eyelet/eyelet combinations and have their order recorded directly at a terminal. A vertical Allrounder 375 V with a 4-cavity mould (two cavities each for the eyelet and hook) flexibly produces the desired variant from shot-to-shot. The two corresponding cavities and hot-runner nozzles are controlled by means of slides. The inserts are handled by a six-axis robot. Further highlights are the production of ready-to-use LSR-LSR watches within the injection moulding cycle, newly qualified materials for industrial additive manufacturing as well as high-speed packaging application. Arburg will also have a recruiting stand in Friedrichshafen. www.arburg.com

BASF Hall B4 Booth 4306 At Fakuma 2017, BASF is presenting innovative plastic solutions for the construction, furniture, automotive and packaging industries. Among the exhibits are engineering plastics for the car interior – two unique special polyamides for the car interior

➡ Continued on page 12 OCTOBER 2017

ENGINE-PROOF POLYAMIDES THAT REALLY TAKE THE HEAT Radilon HHR, Radilon XTreme and Radilon Aestus T.

RADILON® enhanced heat-resistant specialities, from the more traditional HHR nylon 6.6 engineering polymers, featuring excellent high heat-ageing resistance at air temperatures of up to 210°C, to the new RADILON® XTreme line developed for hot-air applications at continuous service temperatures of up to 230°C. And, last but not least, the new Radilon® Aestus T polyphthalamide (PPA) family and other speciality PAs, the latest results of our company’s ongoing multi-generation product plan for the development of high performance materials.

FAKUMA

➡ Continued from page 10 will be launched – the chassis and the powertrain, including an overview of the expanded Ultramid range for the charge-air duct in combustion engines of today and the future. The booth floor is covered by Elastollan, a TPU noted for its particularly good mechanical properties and very high resistance to abrasion. Among the other highlights: chairs made from Ultramid SI (surface improved) PA; two new Ultramid copolyamides: the partially biobased Ultramid Flex F38L, soft, transparent and tear-resistant even at low temperatures and low humidity and Ultramid C37LC for shrink film in the food sector and for fishing nets and fishing lines; and samples of the new POM materials – labelled with the suffix ‘AT’ – produced at ‘Kolon BASF innoPOM, Inc., the 50:50 joint venture in Korea between BASF and Kolon Plastics. www.plasticsportal.eu www.polyurethanes.basf.de

BARLOG GROUP Hall A3 Booth 3209

The Barlog Group is represented this year by Barlog Plastics and BAHSYS. BARLOG Plastics is exhibiting new materials from its range of functionalised compounds and high-performance plastics. On display: the new range of Kebatron PPS compounds; the new Kebablend materials for metal replacement and lightweight construction, offering tensile strengths up to 380 MPa; new, functionalised masterbatches for the production of films for detectable food packaging; and the expanded range of compounds for the production of injection-moulded magnets. BAHSYS GmbH will be presenting its expanded range of services for injection moulding prototypes, product development, laboratory services and training courses. www.barlog.de

BIEGLO Hall B4 Booth 4106 Bieglo is a leading distributor of high-performance polymers in Europe. Its PEEK portfolio includes recycled and virgin materials. The company has also built up expertise in PP and PET compounds. This year at Fakuma, the company is showcasing its high-performance polymers for the production of medical parts – PEEK, TPI and PPSU. Bieglo also offers PEEK powder and granules (CoPEEK) for medical applications compliant to ISO 10993. Founded in 2011, Bieglo is the exclusive agent in Europe for the

Bieglo CoPEEK

CoPEEK from Panjin Zhongrun High Performance Polymer Co. Ltd. Panjin Zhongrun is one of the largest producers of PEEK raw materials with more than 1,000 tonnes of production capacity. www.bieglo.com

BRABENDER TECHNOLOGIE Hall A6 Booth 6213 Brabender Technologie is commissioning its new Technical Centre in Duisburg in time for Fakuma. The new facilities open entirely new opportunities, in terms of both the quantity and quality of the tests conducted by the company. The new building can accommodate the new feeder filling level and a 2-tonne overhead crane, which can lift standard packaging like big bags, silos, drums and sacks. Overall there are four full test lines available. Also, there is a separate area with the hygienic conditions required for food and pharmaceutical applications, and testing opportunities for customers. Brabender Technologie’s core skills are in manufacturing bulk-material weighing, feeding, discharging, controlling and flow metering equipment and systems. The company is showcasing a variety of solutions for the plastics industry in Friedrichshafen this year. www.brabender.com

CABOT SWITZERLAND GMBH Hall B5 Booth 5206 Cabot is presenting its expanded portfolio of electrically conductive products and new deep black formulations for moulding applications. Specifically featured are the new Cabelec CA6410 conductive and the XS6565A dissipative compound, tailored for PP injection moulding of crates, pallets and other thick section applications, providing very good surface resistivity combined with good

fluidity and low density while maintaining good mechanical properties. The speciality carbon black portfolio now also includes Vulcan XCmax22 carbon black, which delivers conductivity at low loadings, enabling compounders to balance conductivity and mechanical properties while delivering performance in automotive fuel systems, power cables and other applications. Also on display: new products providing improved covering power for recycled plastics, including the Plasblak PE6289 masterbatch. Also, the new Plasblak UN2019 masterbatch meets the stringent purity requirements of the US-FDA regulations allowing its use in plastics food contact applications. Cabot offers a large portfolio of compliant carbon blacks that meet EU food contact legislation. www.cabotcorp.com

COLLOIDS LIMITED Hall B4 Booth 4402 Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, Colloids is launching two new speciality masterbatches for manufacturing HDPE geomembrane liners at the show: a carbon black based premium UV grade MPE9D2203 for high performance HDPE geomembrane polymer liners needing long term UV weathering properties and high resistance to degradation; and MPE9D2219, an economy liner grade aimed at less demanding geomembrane applications where UV resistance is not critical. The new geomembrane masterbatches are the latest

Colloids carbon black

product innovation from Colloids’ R & D team of development technologists, following extensive research, testing and field trials. The new grades are formulated with a high-quality stabilisation system which uses specially selected additives to minimise elevated temperature oxidation degradation.

➡ Continued on page 14 OCTOBER 2017

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More information: www.technylforce-mobilegame.com

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SINTERLINE® by

FAKUMA

➡ Continued from page 12

Benefits include greater processing flexibility and a higher confidence level that extruded sheets will consistently be within specification, while also providing a longer service life for installed geomembranes. According to the Geosynthetic Research Institute (GRI) GM13 test methods for HDPE geomembranes, the new MPE9D2203 premium UV grade black masterbatch averaged 180 minutes Standard Oxidative Induction Time (OIT) – 80% above the minimum required OIT of 100 minutes (as per ASTM D3895, min avg. 5 samples). The more demanding Retained OIT after 90 days at 85˚C test recorded 70% retention of OIT results, outperforming current market leading grades in comparative testing. Colloids is co-exhibiting with Tosaf sister company Color-Service. www.colloids.co.uk www.color-service.de

COPERION AND COPERION K-TRON

clever flow aid device applies gentle vibrations to the hopper wall, hereby carefully activating the contained material with the optimal amplitude and frequency To significantly increase throughput rates of its first-class ZSK extruder series, Coperion has developed special involute screw and kneading elements with a new and patented cross section design. These screw elements are ideal for highly-filled recipes (7085% CaCO3, TiO2, mainly based on PP/PE and 20-50% talc for automotive grades) for which the dispersion rating and the incorporation of the filler represents a limitation. Besides higher throughput rates, these involute screw elements ensure higher loading of filler, better dispersion and homogenisation, lower energy consumption (SEI in kWh/kg) and a significant increase in profitability. www.coperion.com

COVESTRO Hall B4 Booth 4206

ENGEL

Hall A6 Booth 6406 Highlights at the booth of Coperion and Coperion K-Tron are high-accuracy feeding innovations and new involute screw elements for ZSK twin screw extruders. Thanks to the new modular design of the Coperion K-Tron Loss-in-Weight liquid feeders, various pumps and tanks can easily be integrated to constitute a reliable liquid feeding system for the specific application. The feeder on display comes with the ActiFlow technology that proactively and reliably prevents bridging and ratholing of poorly flowing bulk solids in feeder hoppers. The

Hall A5 Booth 5204.

The Sample Bar at the Covestro booth will offer visitors the chance to see and touch hundreds of samples. The Sample Bar features a range of materials that distribute and diffuse light, contributing to modern, energy-efficient LED light solutions. Holographic films like Bayfol HX offer unique options for design and functionality. Reaching out to designers, the company has developed a Sample Lab app as a supplement to the Sample Bar to support designers in making their visions a reality. The app can be downloaded on Google Play and from the App Store. Also on display: heat-conducting polycarbonates from the Makrolon TC series, developed for heat sink LED applications, offering enhanced design freedom and enabling new solutions for consolidating components and assembly processes. www.covestro.com

DR. BOY GMBH & Co. KG Hall A7 Booth 7101

Coperion K-tron liquid feeder

the new table top machine BOY XXS (63 kN clamping force) equipped with an energy-efficient servo drive and the intuitively operable machine control Procan ALPHA 4; a demonstration of PEEK processing on the BOY XS (100 kN clamping force) and the use of a new, energy-saving mould concept on a BOY 35 E, where only the mould area relevant for the injection moulding process – in this case the 3D-printed metal mould inserts – is tempered; a fast-running BOY 100 E (1,000 kN clamping force) will mould dosing caps for insulin pens in a large-volume 48-fold mould. The machine is equipped with a double servo pump of the BOY 100 E enabling the parallel build-up of nozzle-contact-pressure and high pressure at the beginning of the injection moulding cycle. At the end of the cycle, the two functions mould opening and ejector triggering can be performed in parallel by means of the servo double pump, further reducing cycle time. www.dr-boy.de

Injection moulding machine manufacturer Dr Boy will present a total of 14 BOY exhibits, ranging from the compact BOY XXS and BOY XS and the insert moulding machines and additional injection moulding units to the BOY 100 E. Among the highlights:

At the upcoming show, next to introducing various new products Engel is showcasing its Inject 4.0 smart factory technology, with a demonstration of its Inject 4.0 suite of systems for digitalisation and networking: iQ weight control, for consistent injected melt volume; iQ clamp control, which monitors mould breathing for optimum clamping force, and iQ flow control. As of Fakuma, the iQ weight monitor will be standard on all new Engel machines. New for Fakuma 2017 is an iQ clamp control version for the large hydraulic machines of the duo series. Next to the launch of the new ENGEL e-mac 280, among other products, a new viper 20 speed linear robot is also being highlighted. A new application for the company’s Clearmelt technology will also be shown on the stand: high gloss exterior panels will be produced on an Engel duo 2460/500. In the Clearmelt process, a thermoplastic base carrier is produced in the injection moulding machine, then coated with polyurethane in a second cavity. The process can be easily combined with IML, allowing for the use of decorative and capacitive foils as well as wood veneers. In a single step, Clearmelt technology provides pre-finished vehicle components that do not need to be varnished or post-processed in any way. The polyurethane coating provides the highgloss, scratch-proof surface. www.engelglobal.com

➡ Continued on page 16 OCTOBER 2017

EXTRUSION | PRINTING | CONVERTING

More Productivity!

VAREX The intelligent blown film line with TURBOCLEAN.

Experience “Passion for Innovation” Windmöller & Hölscher KG Lengerich / Germany Phone + 49 5481 14 - 0 · info@wuh-group.com www.wuh-group.com

FAKUMA

➡ Continued from page 14 EREMA Hall A6 Booth 6314 Erema has launched a new business unit called Powerfill, which is represented this year at Fakuma for the first time. The Powerfill portfolio consists of the filter systems produced by Erema – both the SW RTF partial surface backflush filter system and the

the surface and feeds them to an exit screw or discharge shaft. This enables the filter to be used fully automatically and without any disruptions over a period of weeks and months without having to replace the screen. Ettlinger filter systems can in future be very easily integrated into Industry 4.0 environments. www.ettlinger.com

FARRAGTECH FarragTech is launching its newly developed CARD R compressed air dryer system at the Fakuma this year. The series is based on the dual-circuit compressed air principle and can be additionally combined with a compressor and a heat exchanger. The CARD R system, a further development of the CARD M/L series, comes with a stand-alone compressor. The resin to be dried is preheated in the upper part of the hopper using heated ambient air. Actual drying takes place in the lower part, which means only about 30% of the amount of

Erema Laserfilter

Laserfilter – which have been slightly modified and are now available as individual components for existing extrusion plants. The EREMA Laserfilter offers a continuous filter system with screen fineness of 70µm for the first time. It processes input material with a degree of contamination of over 1% without any difficulty. The functional principle avoids dead spaces and makes for short dwell times which in turn prevents “black spots” with PET. The newly developed discharge unit reduces melt losses from the normal 1 to 2% with piston filters down to a tenth. www.erema.com

ETTLINGER Hall A6 Booth 6209 Ettlinger Kunststoffmaschinen GmbH, manufacturer of high performance melt filters and injection moulding machines for high shot weights, is presenting a new generation of melt filters at Fakuma 2017, claimed to yield an up to 28% increase in throughput for the same filtration quality and the same ultra-low melt losses. The new Ettlinger filters work with a rotating, perforated drum – the principle already familiar from the ERF and ECO series: there is a continuous flow of melt through this drum from the outside to the inside. A scraper continuously removes the contaminants that are held back on

Granula masterbatches

Hall A3 Booth 3205 Norm 13432. The colour range is based on 20 different colour and effect pigments. The all-colour concept masterbatches enable a quick certification according to DIN CERTCO or OK Compost for end products, such as biodegradable coffee capsules. www.granula.eu

HASCO Hasenclever GmbH + Co KG Hall A2 Booth 2202. Hasco is presenting its Vario Shot nozzle series, with its latest addition, Type 50, on display. The company is also showcasing its new screw-in Vario Shot fully mounted and electrically wired hot runner system for ready-tomount systems designed and manufactured individually to customer specifications. Simple mounting and removal from the mould are guaranteed, as is freedom from leaks.

Farragtech Card R

compressed air is required compared to standard compressed air dryers at the same material throughput. Waste heat, used to preheat the air in the secondary circuit, is recovered via oil or air heat exchangers, which exchangers are directly integrated into the housing of the air compressor. www.faragtech.com

GRANULA MASTERBATCHES Hall B4 Booth 4007 Masterbatch producer Granula has developed a new, all-colour concept for colouring bioplastics. All biobased Granula colour masterbatches comply with the strictest requirements regarding biodegradability and compostability, in accordance with EN

New from Hasco

Other highlights include a new, user-friendly low-budget electronic controller, ensuring maximum reliability during production; optimised locating guide bushes with a circlip groove and new, individually configurable nameplates for the identification of moulds. Temperature control innovations permit customised, practically oriented solutions for tool and mould making. Non-rotating ejector pins, flat ejector pins with two and four corner radii, adjuster plates for optimum pressure distribution and round, mechanical cycle counters

OCTOBER 2017

FAKUMA

constitute a well-rounded range of new components, with constant further additions enabling flexible applications. www.hasco.com

flexibly positioned without any negative impact on the temperature profile of the hot runner system www.hrsflow.com

I-MOLD

HEXPOL TPE

Hall A2-2304

Hall B1 Booth 1217 Hexpol TPE is showcasing its portfolio of thermoplastic elastomers. Highlights include: Dryflex products for automotive interiors designed to minimise emissions from volatile organic compounds (VOCs), helping to

HRSflow

pressure block clamping plates which, positioned between hot runner system and mould, support a uniform temperature profile and help to increase mould stiffness. They can be

i-mold is presenting new products for mouldmakers that help to save both design space and time. Included in the company’s exhibits are smaller tunnel gate inserts for low shot weights, including a particularly compact version of its TG type units, featuring an optimised sprue to

➡ Continued on page 18

Hexpol TPEs

address vehicle interior air quality (VIAQ) issues. Also on display: several new Mediprene grades for medical applications that, unlike traditional TPS based formulations, can achieve high bond strength with solvents, such as cyclohexanone. Representative Mediprene grades have passed cytotoxicity tests according to ISO 10993-5 and biocompatibility tests according to ISO 10993-10 (Intracutaneous Reactivity), ISO 10993-11 (Acute Systemic Toxicity) and USP Class VI. Mediprene solvent bondable TPEs for injection moulding are available in hardnesses from 70 Shore A to 45 Shore D and can be further expanded based on application requirements. Hexpol will also be presenting its extended range of Dryflex Green TPEs from renewable resources. HEXPOL TPE has further extended the range to include even softer grades, with new compounds available from 15 Shore A through to 55 Shore D. www.hexpolTPE.com

Hall B3 Booth 3203

HRSflow

The Hot Runner Platform that Exceeds All Expectations

Hall A2 Booth 2217 Highlights at HRSflow’s booth at Fakuma 2017 will include the new range of space-saving full compact nozzles, the servo driven FLEXflow One hot runner technology which – set by an external smart interface – requires no additional control unit: needle stroke and velocity can be individually set for specific applications, including multiple steps if required. Up to 24 valve pins per system can be individually programmed using this ESI. Also on display: newly developed

OCTOBER 2017

Precision gate geometry and pin guidance technology. Highest gate quality for millions of cycles.

Regardless of your molding application, Mold-Masters engineers a range of hot runner solutions focused on solving industry challenges that are proven to deliver precision, control, reliability and results. See how the Master-Series hot runner can solve your next molding challenge.Collaborate with us on your next system. milacron.com/master-series Fakuma: Hall B3 / Booth 3203

FAKUMA

➡ Continued from page 17 moulding volume ratio for producing mouldings with shot weights from 0.5 to 5 g. Also on display: hot runner nozzles for closer cavity spacings, easy-to-install “Fast Half” hot runner systems, and low-height linear drives for linear slider and core-pulling operations. www.i-mold.de at

INTERSEROH Dienstleistungs GmbH Hall B1 Booth 1125 Interseroh, a subsidiary of recycling specialist ALBA Group is showcasing its Recycled-Resource business at the Fakuma this year. The company produces recycled resin under the brand names Procyclen and Recythen. Studies show that the use of the recyclate cuts greenhouse gas emissions during manufacturing by 30 to 50%. The recycled-resource production process is based on a sophisticated upcycling recompounding process. Plastic waste is sorted and recompounded, resulting in a recyclate precisely tailored to customer requirements. The technology, allowing Interseroh to produce materials with

Interseroh recycled plastic

properties such as durability, transport safety, mechanical stability up to -30°C and UV-resistance, was developed at the company’s in-house competence centre in Maribor, Slovenia, which opened in September 2016. www.interseroh.de

K.D. FEDDERSEN Hall B2 Booth 2209. Responding to the trend seen in numerous industries for using lightweight, aesthetically pleasing mate-

rials, the engineering plastics portfolio of the Hamburg-based distributor K.D. Feddersen, offers a range of materials offering outstanding surface appearance targeted at lightweight applications. New additions this year include ABS and ABS blends from ELIX Polymers, which are sold in the Nordic countries, UK, Ireland and in France, in addition to Germany. The factory, based in Tarragona, Spain, was established by Bayer in 1975 and has operated independently under the name ELIX since 2012. From soft-touch PP, glass-fibre filled and moulded-in colour PP compounds from LyondellBasell to POM and PPS compounds from Celanese and ABS from Elix, whatever new fields open up, this company has the solution. kdfeddersen.com

KOCH-TECHNIK Hall A3 Booth 3213 Koch-Technik is showcasing its KEM series of direct colouring machines equipped with a new touch panel control with a memory capacity of 100 recipes. Programs can be selected to add masterbatch or additives to an injection moulding machine or

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OCTOBER 2017

FAKUMA

KRAUSSMAFFEI Hall 7 Booth 7308 At Fakuma, KraussMaffei is demonstrating the all-electric PX series as well as the hydraulic CX series in the clamping force sizes from 500 to 2,000 kN. All machines are equipped with the new enhanced APC plus function (adaptive process control), which ensures maximum process reliability and with it a uniformly high component quality. The PX series combines the advantages of an all-electric injection moulding machine with maximum modularity. At Fakuma, the PX 50-180 SilcoSet will demonstrate the manufacture of

Fresnel lenses made from silicone. As the process progresses, APC plus monitors the viscosity of the material and corrects the filling volume even in the shot. Thanks to the superfine moulding accuracy, the facet profile is of such high resolution that no structures are visible on the lens. Also on display: a PX 160-540 with a boosted injection speed of 270 mm/s, manufacturing thin-walled Fontane fliptops. The PP sealing caps, have a diameter of 28 mm and are designed with the short thread 1881 – a classic packaging application. The Fakuma also marks the market introduction of

➡ Continued on page 20

Koch-Technik will be showing direct colouring machines

TEMPERATURE REGULATION COMPONENTS extruder. Also, older machines in the series can be retrofitted with the new touch panel control. The KEM series allows for fully automatic precision colouring using volumetric chamber dosing throughout the whole operation of the screw conveyor, while the main component of the processed plastic material is added through a free input. Hence, no previously mixed material remains in the machine, which would otherwise have to be removed. At the same time, changes in dosage are visible immediately in production. www.koch-technik.com

KRAIBURG TPE GmbH & Co. KG

UP TO 200°C

Hall B5 Booth 5303 A specialist for custom engineered TPE solutions, Kraiburg TPE is introducing a new TPE material with outstanding adhesion to EPDM at this year’s Fakuma. The new compounds in the Thermolast K product group combine excellent adhesion to EPDM with high resistance to UV radiation and weather influences, in addition to good flow properties. The new material series targets automotive exterior applications. Pilot projects include window seals consisting of EPDM profiles with moulded TPE corner joints. Also on display: thermoplastic elastomers with soft velvety surfaces and superior adhesion to polar thermoplastics, as well as outstanding mechanical properties, for consumer electronics applications. All materials are manufactured at production sites in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region and North America. www.kraiburg-tpe.com

OCTOBER 2017

TEMPERATURE REGULATION SOLUTIONS FOR MORE SAFETY 17.–21.09.2017 Hall A2 Stand 2313

Order now from our Webshop! www.meusburger.com

FAKUMA

➡ Continued from page 19 the new LRX 100 small linear robot. The removal gripper is 3D-printed and thus lightweight and design-optimised. www.kraussmaffei.com

KUNSTSTOFFLAND NRW Hall B4, Booth 4404 Among the exhibitors at this joint stand are three partner institutes presenting the “Plastic optical components from Aachen” exhibit, a showcase of the latest developments in the injection moulding of optical components. The three Aachen research institutes – the Institute of Plastics Processing (IKV) at RWTH Aachen University, and the Fraunhofer Institutes for Production Tech-

operating temperatures of certain Durethan polyamides to over 230°C. A glass-fibre-reinforced polyamide 66 grade, Durethan AKV35XTS2 will be shown that can replace fully and semi-aromatic PA and PPS in high heat automotive applications. Flame-retardant PAs and polyesters that have major potential for use within electric vehicles and self-driving vehicle designs for e-vehicles, plastic-metal-hybrid technology (hybrid technology) and the Tepex-branded continuous-fibre-reinforced thermoplastic composites for lightweight automotive design will also be on show. The company is also presenting new blow-moulding PA grades – Durethan AKV320ZH2.0 and Durethan BKV320ZH2.0 – designed mainly for 3D suction blow moulding, of air ducts, for example. Both compounds that have been optimised for large-scale production have a wide processing window and provide components with excellent surfaces. www.lanxess.com

LEISTRITZ EXTRUSIONSTECHNIK Hall A6 Booth 6302

Three partner institutes will showcase latest developments

nology (IPT) and for Laser Technology (ILT) – together provide the requisite expertise at all stages of the production chain. The main topics are injection-moulded and compression injection-moulded optics, continuously manufactured optical film, and innovative optical materials and applications. The focus is on the production of micro-structured lenses from liquid silicone rubber (LSR), including a live demonstration. Its temperature and UV stability make this material is particularly interesting for LEDs, while its flexibility and elasticity open up possibilities for innovative design concepts. www.ikv-aachen.de www.ilt.fraunhofer.de www.ipt.fraunhofer.de www.aachen.polymeroptics.de

LANXESS Hall B4 Booth 4209 Lanxess is focussing this year on the sustainable in-vehicle applications of its thermoplastics and new forms of mobility. Highlights at the booth include the new XTS2 heat stabilisation system (Xtreme Temperature Stabilisation) that can boost the continuous

At Fakuma 2017, Leistritz is showcasing its ZSE 35 iMAXX twin screw extruder, specifically developed for masterbatch production, and featuring updated temperature control and easy maintenance due to the protective, closed stainless-steel cover and easy-to-clean surfaces. The cooling/ heating device is fully integrated in the frame. The ZSE 35 iMAXX is equipped with a synchronous drive for improved energy efficiency. Its standard frame size is designed for process lengths of at least 24 L/D up to a maximum of 48 L/D, however, the processing unit can be extended or shortened. Product-specific settings can be saved thanks to the network link with the S7 PC 477 control system, making the extruder user friendly, reliable and efficient. www.leistritz.com

LISTGROVE Hall B5 Booth 5402 Listgrove, an international business, with a specific focus towards the plastics, chemical, packaging and associated sectors is exhibiting this year again at Fakuma. The company provides recruitment & HR support to a wide range of organisations across the globe. Typical assignments range from; senior appointments through to specialist commercial, scientific and engineering roles covering all functions. Services are delivered through an experienced and interna-

tional team offering fluent language skills in; French, German, Swedish, Dutch, Spanish and Italian. Following on from a highly successful start to 2017, Listgrove has broadened its international presence with the opening of offices in Lyon, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Milan, Düsseldorf, Malmö and Dubai. This considerable investment will further develop the already strong localised service and market knowledge and will enable Listgrove to deliver greater cost effective project management. www.listgrove.com

MAAG Hall A6 Booth A6-6202 The four companies that make up systems solution provider Maag – Maag Pump Systems, Automatik Plastics Machinery, Gala Industries and Reduction Engineering Systems – are sharing a single booth at Fakuma 2017. The main display will be Maag’s PEARLO Underwater Pelletiser. The pelletiser is designed to process spherical pellets for raw materials, compounds, masterbatches, engineering plastics, wood and nature

Maag Pearlo underwater pelletiser

filler-filled polymer composites, thermoplastics elastomers, hot-melt adhesives and gum bases at capacities that can reach 36,000 kg an hour. Other exhibits include the new x6 class gear pump offering improved volumetric efficiency and pressure capabilities; the CSC series screen changers featuring a double-piston design for tailor-made adjustment of the filtration unit per the user’s specific process requirements; a WSG drycut strand pelletising system; and the mill stand of a REX basicPLUS pulveriser, consisting of a mill chamber with patented disposable disc, drive, feeder and control, that will demonstrate the advantages of Maag’s pulverising systems. www.maag.com

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FAKUMA

MEUSBURGER Hall A2 Booth 2313 Meusburger’s product highlights include a precision cutting and grinding machine – the GMT 6000 – which is debuting with a live demonstration at this year’s Fakuma and the newly developed E 2187 Isotemp, a high temperature hose equipped with a new silicone sheath for greater safety during the injection moulding process. Also on display: the new E 8630 gear unit for stack moulds, featuring ground and induction hardened gear wheels and gear racks in module 3 and 4, which can be tested in installed form. Meusburger is also introducing standard bars

in the new lengths of 300 and 1,200 mm. The company’s well-known the multifunctional H 1000 clamping system, for precise clamping of the plates with repeatable accuracy in the µ range will also be shown, as will the H 4062 cssembly table featuring an air cushion on the underside of the moveable plate supports for easy repair and assembly work on moulds. www.meusburger.com

MILACRON Hall B3 Booth 3203 Milacron will show its industry leading technologies, including Milacron injection moulding machines, Mold-Mas-

Milacron Elektron EVO 110

ters hot runners and control systems, DME mould technology solutions including Tirad high precision mould bases and Milacron Direct industrial supplies. Injection moulding machine cells on display include an all-electric cleanroom compliant Milacron All-Electric Elektron EVO 110 equipped with a 4-cavity Zahoransky medical syringe insert mould; cycle time is 14 seconds. Also on the booth: a fast-cycling Milacron Magna Toggle Servo 200-970 equipped with a 1-cavity automotive surface sample mould from Wirth moulds with a Mold-Masters TempMaster M1 controller, utilising Trexel’s Mucell system for physical foaming with SGI process in a 52 second cycle time; and a Ferromatik 360, Mold-Masters Master-Series hot runner with a fully IMM machine integrated Mold-Masters TempMaster iM2 controller, 4-cavity packaging container mould and in-mould labelling technology from Müller in a 4 second cycle time. Milacron will also highlight its Milacron 4.0 system providing a “full suite of observational, analytical and transactional systems and services”. www.milacron.com

➡ Continued on page 22

MULTI.

BMB eKW and KW Series machines; for complex products, multi-coloured and multi-material applications ranging from household appliances, automotive, housewares, tools and packaging. • Fast • Precise • Reliable • User friendly • Energy efficient

www.bmb-spa.com visit us at

hall A4 stand 4105

BMB Plastics Machinery Ltd Unit 215 Wolseley Court -Towers Business Park-Rugeley, Staffs. WS15 1UW Office: phone +44 (0) 800 093 0418 Contacts: Nigel.Baker@bmb-spa.com - Stewart.Leng@bmb-spa.com

OCTOBER 2017 PNE_adv_FULL_128x180_ottobre_2017.indd 1

22/09/17 08:41

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➡ Continued from page 21 NETSTAL Hall A7 Booth 7303 Netstal is debuting a complete system for manufacturing multi-layer coffee capsules. The capsules are produced on an all-electric ELION 1200 using a VNC-integrated Plasdan additional injection unit equipped with a 4-cavity Fostag test mould. In co-injection injection moulding, the melt from two injection units is injected into the mould cavities via the same sprue.

Mixing Screw, featuring a wave-style root geometry to enhance distributive and dispersive mixing; the Xaloy X-8000 screw encapsulation, a nickel-based alloy with high tungsten carbide content that provides twice the abrasive and corrosion wear life of standard high-velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF)-applied coatings; the Xaloy X-800 barrel inlay, a liner combining a nickel-based alloy with tungsten carbide that provides a high degree of abrasion and corrosion resistance and functions compatibly with the Xaloy X-8000 screw encapsulation; and an application-specific valve, designed to accommodate the viscosity and flow properties of highly filled compounds. www.nordson.com

NRC NORDMANN, RASSMANN - HEROFLON Hall B5, Booth 5212

Netstal co-injected coffee capsules

Here, one layer of barrier-forming EVOH is enclosed by two layers of PP, effectively creating an extremely thin sandwich with an overall wall thickness of just 0.4 mm. While the EVOH (0.06 mm) protects the coffee, the PP layers (each 0.17 mm) protect the EVOH, as the sensitive material would otherwise absorb moisture and lose its barrier effectiveness due to gas exchange. The result is an aroma-tight capsule that can be used without any secondary packaging whatsoever. The overall cycle time is around 4.9 seconds www.netstal.com

NORDSON CORPORATION Hall A6 Booth 6109 Nordson is introducing its new Xaloy high glass filled polymer system designed for injection moulding a wide range of resins with filler content from 10 to 60%. Applications include automotive, marine, electronic, and other parts that require very high levels of strength and stiffness. Components in the Xaloy package system include: the Xaloy Pulsar I

The NRC Group and co-exhibitor Heroflon are premiering their new range of Herolub FMA fluorinated micropowders additives providing cost-effective and eco-friendly solutions for high-performance thermoplastic polymers based on high-quality and virgin PTFE. These additives take advantage of pre-sintered products from manufacturing surpluses. The pre-treatment normally necessary to meet required particle sizes decreases the temperature stability of the raw materials to such a point that using them for high-temperature polymers such as PEI, PES, PPS and PEEK is not recommended – a dilemma which is resolved by the innovative and recently-developed milling technology that Heroflon utilises for Herolub FMA. The results allow for improved tribological effects as well as maximised temperature stability. The optimised process also facilitates savings on the PTFE base material, leading to reduced costs as well as reduced wastage. www.nrc.de

PROELL KG Hall A4 Booth 4123 Proell KG is specialised in the development of custom-made chemical products for coating/decorating plastics and other materials, as well as innovative ink systems for IMD/ FIM technology, and screen and pad printing inks. The company is presenting various new products, including Norilux DC, a formable, abrasion resistant Dual Cure screen printing lacquer suitable for use as a protective lacquer or hard coat on PC, PMMA, ABS and PP films. Glossy, various satin gloss, textured and matt grades, as well as pig-

mented and UV stabilised versions are available. Also on display: Noriphan XMR, a halogen-free two-component ink system for IMD/ FIM technology; Matt Lacquer ATM WB 6 is an amended water-based, UV-stabilised and formable matt lacquer system for overprinting polycarbonate film instrument gauges (speedometer panels). Printed films are deep-drawable by vacuum or high pressure forming. www.proell.de

PROTEC Hall B3 Booth 3119. ProTec Polymer Processing’s focus this year is on potential Industry 4.0 applications for Somos batch dosing units and resin dryers. As a one-stop shop supplier for materials handling, ProTec is presenting the capabilities of its

Protec RDM70 with conveying

components to communicate and interact in interlinked injection moulding, extrusion and blow moulding systems. Among the various Somos products: Batchmix dosing and mixing systems, the RDT-250 stationary resin dryer and RDM mobile dryers. These product ranges have been progressively introduced with a new, uniform design. All Somos dryers and dosing units are fitted with network-compatible PLC controllers, allowing real-time communication. Their 6” colour touchscreen with graphical user interface ensures intuitive operation. Also on display: the company’s custom pultrusion lines for high quality LFT compounds. www.sp-protec.com

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FAKUMA

process the film has still a temperature of over 50°C and is thus not fully crystallised. Stretching of the film is not only much easier while it is still flexible, but also more energy efficient than all other commonly available systems used at the end of the process. Further benefits include low investment costs, high functionality and flexibility. www.reifenhauser.com

ROEMHELD Reifenhauser Evolution Ultra Flat

REIFENHÄUSER Hall A6 Booth 6206 The Evolution Ultra Flat haul-off from Reifenhäuser Blown Film offers the solution to wave phenomena and not perfectly plane surfaces in blown film, allowing the production of flatter films, and ensuring better printability and lamination capability. According to Reifenhäuser, the secret is the position of the flattening system: instead of in front of the winder, EVO Ultra Flat is installed upstream between the haul-off nip roll assembly and turner bar system: the optimum location during processing for flattening the web. At this stage of the

Hall A1 Booth 1223 Germany’s Roemheld Group is showcasing its expertise in magnetic clamping technology, including quick-clamping systems suitable for high-temperature processes. A highlight is the introduction of Römheld Rivi, the new joint venture between Hilma-Römheld and long-term partner Rivi Magnetics S.r.L, of Italy, which will focus on the further development of magnetic clamping technology, among others for Industry 4.0 applications. The company will display its range of M-TECS magnetic clamping plates, which are suitable for working temperatures of up to 240°C – for use in processing rubber and high-tech thermoplastics such as polyetheretherketone (PEEK) or polyphenylene sulphone (PPSU). Römheld Rivi is the only company

For a lot more information and a fascinating 3D animated video, visit www.netstal.com/elios or scan the QR code and dive right into the world of the new ELIOS.

Roemhild magnetic clamping plate

worldwide that offers magnetic clamping plates for such temperatures. Next to magnetic systems, Roemheld also offers hydraulic and electro-mechanical clamping systems. Products for mould/die change such as die changing cart, media couplings, roller bars and carrying consoles complement the product range. www.roemheld-gruppe.de

➡ Continued on page 24

Performance, newly driven ELIOS – powerful, fast, precise The ELIOS series is setting a new standard in high-performance injection molding with its innovative drive technology. The result is more than fascinating: up to 7500 kN of clamping force, a dry cycle time of 1.9 seconds* and a never-before-achieved energy efficiency. In combination with the proven precision, reliability and usability of Netstal you get a highly productive premium system for successful realization of demanding applications. * ELIOS 7500, measured according to Euromap

Fakuma, hall A7, booth 7304

Engineering Excellence

FAKUMA

➡ Continued from page 23 SORTCO GmbH & Co. KG Hall A2 Booth 2101 Sorto specialises in the inspection, de-dusting, sorting and metal-separation of plastic pellets and pelletised raw materials. The company’s latest system is modular and mobile, which means it can be configured and positioned according to type of application. The new PelletSorter DS sorting

Sortco pelletSorter DS

all-electric IntElect series, an economical precision injection moulding machine that needs far less space and is more dynamic, precise and efficient than its predecessor model; a highspeed El-Exis SP machine for injection compression moulding of decorated thin-walled packaging lids and a multi-component Systec Multi injection moulding machine with an Industry 4.0 application. The Systec Multi 210/580-430h/200v will mould a car interior component. The polycarbonate (PC) support is overmoulded with ABS from the vertical plasticising unit to achieve partial galvanising. Following removal from the cavity, the robot transports the moulded part to a laser marking station. Instead of depositing the part here, it positions it in front of the Datalogic marking laser (www.datalogic.com) which applies a data matrix code (DMC). This means that the moulded part is uniquely labelled before the robot deposits it for the first time. In addition to the IntElect machine, the latest innovation on show is the servoelectric SDR 5P sprue picker. www.sumitomo-shi-demag.eu

WACKER Hall A6 Booth A6-6310

machine consists of a dedusting unit, with high-resolution CCD cameras on both sides, which can recognise defects as small as 60 µm; stainless steel modular pipework with detectable U-shaped seals manufactured by Jacob Söhne GmbH & Co. KG, Porta Westfalica; and an integrated metal detection facility. www.sortco.de

SUMITOMO (SHI) DEMAG PLASTICS MACHINERY Hall B1 Booth 1105 Highlights this year at the booth of Sumitomo (SHI) Demag Plastics Machinery include the latest generation of the

Wacker is premiering its new, extrudable Elastosil R plus 4350/55 solid silicone rubber for formulating heat-resistant, addition-curing silicone elastomers this year at Fakuma. Heat stabilisers enable the solid silicone to withstand temperatures of up to 300 °C for several days, without any substantial modifications to its elasticity or mechanical properties. Even temporary peaks of up to 400 °C pose no problem. Heat tests at 200 °C and 300 °C, respectively, show that Shore hardness and elongation at break change very little even after 2,000 hours, i.e., 80 days. Wacker supplies the product as a base rubber blend without additives such as colourants or heat stabilisers. As a result, proces-

sors can customise the rubber blend exactly to the specific application. www.wacker.com

WEISS Hall A5 Booth A5-5212 Founded in 1946, family-owned Weiss Kunststoffverarbeitung has since grown into a full-service injection moulder with capabilities that range from technical consulting and mould making to technical moulding and sub assembly installation. The company is

Weiss offers a full service

active in the automotive industry: demanding applications, such as chain tensioners made of polyamide have long been part of the production portfolio. Another example are housing and connecting components for the permanent magnet synchronous motors in drive trains of electric and hybrid vehicles. Such applications require a solid knowledge of materials, engineering and moulding technology to deliver the quality demanded by the automotive industry. A newly added competence is reverse engineering: using an optical 3D scanner (strip light measurement) to “convert” intermediate and end products into CAD files, which are then compared to the original data. This offers significant advantages, particularly in the production of prototypes, sample parts or the first series parts, since it saves time and reduces the number of optimisation

OCTOBER 2017

FAKUMA

loops when starting serial production of sophisticated plastic components and assemblies. www.weiss-kunststoff.de

WINDSOR Hall 7 Booth 7207

Wittmann EcoPower Xpress 400

Complementing its all-electric and hydraulic machine offerings, WINDSOR Kunststofftechnologie GmbH is highlighting the latest servo-hydraulic two-platen IMM with 5000kN clamping force, automated by a CAMPETELLA robot, from FCS, Windsor’s Taiwanese partner who builds hydraulic and servo-hydraulic machines for Windsor according to European standards and specifications. In return, Windsor is responsible for the maintenance and service of all FCS machines sold in EU and EFTA countries. FSC will be sharing a booth this year for the first time with Windsor. Also on display: the

Windsor all-electric JSW IMM

all-electric J180ADS–180 U from Japan Steel Works Ltd. (JSW). Windsor has been electric injection moulding machine manufacturer JSW’s trading partner for injection moulding machines in several European countries for more than 10 years. www.windsor-gmbh.de

WITTMANN BATTENFELD Hall B1 Booth 1204 The highlight this year is the new EcoPower Xpress 400, an all-electric highspeed injection moulding machine primarily geared to the requirements of the packaging and thin wall industry. The highly dynamic drive axes for injection as well as closing and opening of the EcoPower Xpress are designed for fast movements and ultimate control accuracy. Moreover, extremely high energy efficiency is achieved by using servo drives. Wittmann Battenfeld will demonstrate the functionality of this ma-

chine model on an EcoPower Xpress 400/3300+ manufacturing HDPE closing caps within a cycle time of 2.7 seconds in a 96-cavity mould supplied by the French company Plastisud. The caps will be cooled with the cap cooler from Eisbär, Austria and then deposited in boxes. The company’s main theme of smart multi-component technology for complex applications will be demonstrated on two machines from the servo-hydraulic SmartPower series and one machine designed for injection moulding of micro parts from the all-electric MicroPower series with compactly integrated multi-component technology. All exhibits will demonstrate the integration of the machines and peripherals into a network under Wittmann 4.0, including, for the first time, the integration of Witmann Aton material dryers into the Unilog B8 machine control system. www.wittmann-battenfeld.com

Disclaimer

The editorial descriptions contained in this preview are based on details submitted by the exhibitors. Claims made about the performance of materials are solely the responsibility of the contributors. The entries have been edited to a common style and, while every care has been taken in compiling them, no liability is assumed for any errors or omissions which they may contain.

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3d printing

Serial production just around the corner? EOS is launching a revolutionary 3D printing system for polymers this year at formnext, the additive manufacturing trade show in Frankfurt. A select group of customers and journalists were allowed a sneak peak in advance at the company’s Polymer Technology Day in September – by Karen Laird

dditive manufacturing is a relative newcomer to the world of industrial manufacturing. An umbrella term for a number of different processes, all of which have in common that 3D parts are built or formed in layers from CAD data, additive manufacturing processes started to emerge at various companies and research institutes around the world in the 1980s. The idea of making products simply by building these up layer by layer, without using tools or machines, caught the attention of Dr. Hans Langer, who was fascinated. He decided to enter the field, and in 1989, founded EOS Electro Optical Systems. Fast forward to 2017, and EOS is a thriving family-owned global business that, next to being a pioneer in the field of Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) is also a provider of additive manufacturing systems for plastic materials, based on laser sintering technology.

What is laser sintering? As far as 3D printing techniques go, laser sintering, also called Selective Laser Sintering or SLS, is a relatively

simple concept that can be used to create highly complex and intricate structures. However, as SLS printers tend to be both relatively large and costly, their use is usually restricted to professional environments. The technology is straightforward: a layer of metal or thermoplastic powder is spread on a building platform by what is known as a “recoater”. A laser pulses down on the platform, selectively melting together the powder particles in the shape of a cross-section of the object. After each cross-section is fused, the powder bed is lowered by one layer thickness, after which a new layer of material is applied on top. The process is then repeated until the part is completed. The part, encased in powder, is cooled, removed from the machine, ‘unpacked’ and, if necessary, it undergoes a finishing treatment. The technology offers almost unlimited design freedom, due to the fact that no supporting structures are needed, as the part is fabricated inside a powder ‘package’. The main thermoplastic materials used in this process are powdered

polyamides – PA 11, PA12 – which can be filled with glass or carbon, although PP, PEEK, PS/PMMA, among others, are also suitable for sintering. According to Fabian Stöver, product manager polymer at EOS, up until now, the systems manufactured by EOS were limited in the type of polymers that were suitable for use. “They were unable to handle anything over 200˚C. So, for example, PA 6 was a challenge,” he explained. But, he emphasised: “The new line changes all that.” The powder remaining after unpacking the part is collected and returned to the production cycle. The ratio of new and used powder can be as high as 50% for some parts, said Florian Lenz, regional coordinator at EOS and guide on the tour of the showroom on EOS’s Technology Day.

Towards man-less operation As a young technology, additive manufacturing still has a way to go to realise its full potential, said Stöver. “Today, a lot of the polymer printing process still involves manual steps. However, we are moving towards more semi-automatic processes and for the near future, the aim is to achieve automated serial operations,” he explained. “I see a parallel with injection moulding. There, there is not much more to ‘win’ in terms of automated production. We will go

➡ Continued on page 28 october 2017

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3d printing

➡ Continued from page 26 through the same transition.” Quality consistency and productivity, he said, remain the main concerns in stepping towards serial production. “Customer requirements need to be addressed regarding scalability and the integration of the machines into the production environment,” he pointed out. “Quality control is essential for successful industrial additive manufacturing.” Another focus area was to enable new materials and applications, to go beyond the existing limitations.

The new ‘Factory Line’ With the development of the new EOS P 500, EOS is convinced that it has gone a long way toward meeting these requirements. “The machine is a new book in laser sintering,” Stöver declared. “We have developed a high productivity platform, featuring brand new technology and offering new possibilities for high heat and integration.” The existing system lines Formiga P 110, EOS P 396, EOS P 770 and EOS P 800 will continue to evolve. The new platform does not compete with these. Called the ‘Factory’ line, EOS says it is the first truly industrial laser sintering machine for automated polymer production. “We gathered together all the learnings from the past 25 years of experience in laser sintering and put them in this machine,” said Stöver. The result is a laser sintering machine that delivers speed and efficiency, at far lower cost per part and offering extended parameter editing that will be able to handle a wide

Powder blasting machine

Powder cake with product inside

range of high-heat materials, up to 300˚C, enabling the development of new materials and opening up new markets.

What’s new? The EOS P 500 is a complete rethink of the laser sintering machine. Stöver: “Basically, what we did was to eliminate all the non-value-added steps from the machine. So, heating up and cooling down occur outside of the machine, instead of inside, as is the case in the traditional models, with the help of exchangeable frames. We wanted to get to the lowest spend-to-spend time, so that the machine is tied up for less long.” As a result, cycle time is reduced by two thirds; the cost-per-part is one-third less than for the EOS P 396. The set-up time is short: the machine can be ready to start printing a new part within 15 minutes after the previous one is completed. Moreover, cleaning is needed once a week; maintenance one a year. All this was achieved by introducing a number of technical innovations. First, the recoater, i.e. the roller that lays down a fresh layer of material after the laser has scanned the previous one, has undergone a major change: in the EOS P 500, it is equipped with a preheat module, which means that the applied material always has the same temperature. Rather than a welded frame, the frame of the new machine has been cast, and can weigh up to seven tons. The heavy frame enables high-speed recoating, for greater efficiency. Stöver: “The sheer weight of the machine means it will be handled in a different environment than previous machines. It is a modular platform, not just a new system.”

The machine is equipped with two CO2 lasers, “with the possibility to go to three”, said Stöver, adding that “the laser windows are exchangeable.” It has a six-channel heating system, but even better: it offers reproducible settings. “Standard heater positioning and controllable settings,

3D printed injection mould, complete with cooling channels

which means consistent product quality wherever the product is produced, on whichever machine,” he emphasised. “Part consistency is possible across the platform.” Other features include automatic and continuous overlap calibration and a three-stage filter system that includes a fine particle filter and a reactive coal filter that leaves no residuals

october 2017

3D PRINTING

”

in the process air. Hence, in the future even materials with strong outgassing behaviour will be able to be processed with no negative quality effects. “Theoretically you could even print POM with this machine, which would normally not be possible, because of the formaldehyde it contains,” said Stöver.

Fabian Stöver: “We have developed a high productivity platform, featuring brand new technology and offering new possibilities for high heat and integration”

Automation ready The machine has two cameras on board for optical and thermography purposes and is fully equipped with monitoring functions, which allows for central machine monitoring. “It’s a smart system,” said Fabian Stöver. “All the sensors send their data there for monitoring. For example, if there is a recoating problem, the optical camera will see this. The next step is to enable the machine to take counter measures – which we are working on.” The machine is automation ready and Industry 4.0 ready. “Automation ready means that the different processes, which are now still carried out manually, can easily be automated. Using periphery solutions, the powder – old and new – can be conveyed automatically to the mixer, where it is mixed and automatically fed to the

OCTOBER 2017

machine. When the build is completed, it can be automatically removed from the machine, covered and cooled under nitrogen. The powder pack can then be taken automatically to the packing station and unpacked, the product and powder separated and the product taken for further treatment, if desired. The big change is the constant build environment in the machine. The machine no longer needs to heat up or cool down, which slices a good ten hours off the production time.”

And Industry 4.0? Stöver: “The machine is capable of being fully integrated in the production environment. It uses a standard interface and can therefore talk to MES and ERP systems. Also, all the data preparation and CAD information can be integrated in EOS, which didn’t use to be possible. This cuts out a lot of steps, making the system completely plug & play.” He added: “This technology is truly shaping the digital factory of the future.”

3D PRINTING

Successfully integrating 3D printing into existing manufacturing processes to derive optimum benefit from using this technology requires a new way of thinking for management, designers, engineers, operators – in short, for organisations as a whole – by Karen Laird

Additive Minds N

ow that additive manufacturing (AM) has become a widely accepted technology for prototyping, and a growing number of companies are also discovering its advantages for preproduction and small series, the step to serial production appears imminent – at least, to those in the know, such as 3D printer manufacturers and early adopters of the technology. Yet many businesses continue to find it a challenge to turn the technology into an economically viable activity. For these customers, leveraging the advantages of 3D printing has proven to be unexpectedly difficult, said Thomas Weitlaner, business development director at EOS. “We discovered that 3D printing customers not only needed to learn about the technology, but had to adopt an entirely new way of thinking about product development and production. Only then could they profit from the advantages additive manufacturing has to offer.” 3D printing technology provides a completely new degree of freedom in construction and manufacturing, making it possible to create components which could never be made using conventional methods, such as parts with cavities, functional integrations or complex geometrical structures. However, to be able to take advantage of this, customers not only have to understand which of their applications are suitable for replacement by additive manufacturing, they must also gain insight into how AM technology can be integrated into existing production environments, linking additive manufacturing with conventional manufacturing technologies and continuously optimising the flow of data and parts. At the same time, there is a dearth of expertise and experience with AM in the market. 3D printing experts are far and few between. In fact, a 2016 Ernst&Young survey found that as many as 3 out of 4 companies had no experience of 3D printing, two out of three executives cited cost, and one in three lack of expertise in-house as the “crucial barrier to 3D printing application.” To meet this need, a separate, independent consulting branch called

”

Detlef Scholz: “Designers have learned to think according to the ‘laws’ of conventional manufacturing. They have to unlearn that”

Additive Minds was established by EOS specifically for providing the expertise, advice and training companies need to successfully adopt additive manufacturing. As Güngör Kara, Director of Global Application & Consulting at EOS explained it: “Innovative parts and business models are not simply created by purchasing a system and hitting the start button. Once a company has decided to begin using this disruptive technology, it needs to radically rethink its entire value chain. We support our customers wherever they need us – whether in the selection and optimisation of parts, knowledge development, or the implementation of our technology in production.”

The human factor According to Thomas Weitlaner, there are several key success factors for customers wanting to make the transition from conventional manufacturing to AM. “For customers seeking to realise the potential of AM, we have distinguished three important aspects: portfolio readiness, customer readiness

and the ecosystem – supply chain partnerships – must be put in place.” Mind-set is extremely important. As Detlef Scholz of Additive Minds explained: “The human factor – in other words, making sure that everyone is behind the transition – is very important in change. A successful transformation will start from the top down, right from the top management level, and bottom up, from the project level through the organisation. It is a process in which good communication is vital, to ensure organisational awareness and the readiness of everyone in that organisation to embrace AM. And: it is a good idea to start modestly, with a small project, and set up cross-functional teams that create an environment in which to experiment and learn.” He explained the importance of addressing the skills gap by providing training throughout the organisation, not just to designers and engineers, but to the organisation as a whole. He quoted from a whitepaper published by Additive Minds on how the

OCTOBER 2017

3d printing

‘best strategists’ manage the transition to AM: “A successful AM transformation enables production, organisation, and people. Especially employees need staunch support – and time – to transition to AM thinking. Transformation efforts need to build trust and give people a sense of empowerment as the organisation around them restructures and transforms.”

Design for additive manufacturing An important success factor is also identifying which products in the portfolio are suitable for AM and for which ones it makes no sense. The consultants from Additive Minds help customers to re-evaluate the portfolio, looking at everything from technology fundamentals, component choice for AM production, design and AM-compatible engineering, to production scaling and validation. “Designers have learned to think according to the ‘laws’ of conventional manufacturing,” Scholz said. “They have to unlearn that – AM allows for designs that are impossible to produce with conventional manufacturing. It involves completely ‘reimagining’ solutions. Parts can be

completely redesigned according to the principles of AM – multiple parts can be produced as a single part, for example, that will be lighter, stronger and offer better performance than the original one, but with all the same functionality.” In that case, when screening the portfolio for potential applications, what are the important points to look for? Scholz: “First, we look at the technical fit - does the application fit into the current AM systems? Are the necessary materials available for AM? If the materials of the original application design are not available, are there AM powders that would make a good replacement? Does it fit AM design rules?” But, to derive true benefit, there must be an economic fit as well, he pointed out. “Important questions are then: How high are the production costs? Do you save assembly steps? What are the savings in the supply chain cost? What value is added through AM?” he said. After answering these questions, the way forward is decided on. If the part is suitable for AM, the design will need to be revised and optimised, usually with the help of topology optimisation software, enabling the

integration of advanced structures, such as lattice and complex geometries based on bionic designs. “In AM, design complexity does not add costs. And the advantages of optimised topologies include shorter time-to-market, reduced cost and complexity of assembly and part inventory, and increased product value,” said Scholz.

Training opportunities Next to consultancy services, Additive Minds has also established the Additive Minds Academy, which offers Additive Manufacturing courses and workshops. EOS has also developed its own training programme in collaboration with the University of Wolverhampton, UK, and the SRH Hochschule Berlin, Germany. Participants can qualify as an AM Application Engineer within six months through intensive learning modules and practical exercises. The idea is simple. As Güngör Kara put it: “The huge innovation potential of this technology makes a key contribution to the current and future transformation process in industrial manufacturing. Based on our technology and extended consulting and training offers, customers can achieve the next level of innovation sooner.”

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3D printing

3D printing: a game changer in prosthetics manufacturing New materials and advances in technology make it possible to print lightweight, functional prosthetics for children – in a mere five days.

young company called Ambionics in the UK has set itself the goal of changing the way prosthetics are manufactured for children. Owner Ben Ryan founded the company after the birth of his son Sol in March 2015, who had to have lower half of his left arm amputated when he was just a few days old. When Ryan discovered that, under current National Health Service guidelines, Sol would have had to wait one year before a non-functional, cosmetic prosthesis could be fitted and over three for a myoelectric prosthetic, he took matters into his own hands. Studies into infant development suggest that children are more likely to reject a prosthetic if they are fitted over the age of two. The earlier a functional prosthetic is fitted, the more likely a child will be to continue using a prosthetic throughout childhood and into adulthood. Yet today, an infant whose arm is amputated in the early weeks of their life, will go almost three years before being fitted with a fully-functional prosthetic. As Ryan explained: “In founding Ambionics, it was my goal to ensure that limb deficient children like my son are not faced with the current con-

Ben Ryan, holding his son’s hand

The 3D printed prosthetic provides grasping capabilities

straints and delays of traditional prosthetic manufacturing. 3D printing enabled us to design and print a solution very quickly and cost-effectively.” He first researched ways to create a prosthetic for his own son, then started Ambionics in May 2016. He taught himself how to 3D print and a year later, his infant son Sol was able to enjoy the benefits of a fully-functional, 3D printed prosthetic arm. Ryan is now beginning beta tests with other infants. Ryan used a Stratasys Connex Multi-Material 3D Printer to produce his son’s prosthetic in just five days. After practicing with several prototypes, Ryan 3D printed a series of key parts for the double acting helical bellow (DAHB) of the prosthetic, including flexible actuators and a power splitting unit. According to Ryan, compared to traditional methods of manufacture, the time spent on design and production was reduced by 90% with cost savings of up to 76%. The biggest obstacles were to create something both functional and safe. Often arms with myoelectric sensors are unsuitable for use in children under three or four. The batteries in these devices are powerful, presenting the potential for injury to self and others. With application consultancy provided by Stratasys, Ryan designed and 3D printed the unique DAHB unit, resulting in a prosthetic that required no hazardous products, such as cables, springs or screws.

The 3D printed DAHB unit, which allows the child to open and close the thumb, can be connected to a motorised pump to provide assistive power or operated on body-power alone. The DAHB mechanism was able to be created with the help of Stratasys multi-material 3D printing, using the company’s rubber-like, tear-resistant Agilus30 material. The material offered great freedom to handle and test flexible parts and prototypes, said Ryan, with “no compromise on accuracy”. This material allowed for the creation of a stronger device that Sol could learn to use without the fear of breakage. “The ability to combine rigid and soft materials in a single print was vital to the success of the design,” explains Ryan. “Only Stratasys’ strong rubber-like 3D printing materials make the production and use of this system possible. The design is extremely lightweight, weighing in far less than a traditional myoelectric alternative, which significantly improves comfort levels for the infant.” An additional benefit is the fact that when the prosthesis needs to be replaced – children grow, after all – a new one can be produced in a matter of days at low cost. Ben Ryan has now patented his DAHB technology inside the prosthetic. Ambionics is currently taking the device into medical device usability trials with the ambition to launch this customised product to the mainstream prosthetics market.

october 2017

TRANSPORTATION

David Vink reports on changes in the automotive industry, where new challenges and innovations continue as before, but against a background of suppliers being increasingly able to bring new ideas over to the car producers

Automotive industry faces tectonic shift A

t the recent IAA 2017 automotive industry fair in Frankfurt/Main, Germany in September, Plastics News Europe spoke with two members of the senior management at Yanfeng Global Automotive Interiors, Tim Shih, VP design, based in Shanghai, China and Han Hendriks, CTO, based in Neuss, Germany about interiors development in the light of new trends in the car industry. Shih’s previous career included posts at the former Johnson Controls Interiors (JCI), of which Yangfeng used to be a part, in Germany, China and Japan and at BMW in Germany and Shanghai, whence he joined Yanfeng six months ago. His reasons for his return were simple: “I noticed that the whole industry is shifting, and when you walk around this show or any other you can sense a tectonic shift of the ground. And I think everybody, whether OEMs, suppliers, Tier one, twos, threes, fours, are curious about what the future holds.” A “tectonic shift”? Automotive OEMs, he said, are no longer laying down the law to the suppliers. For the first time, they are showing a willingness to listen to ideas and innovations. “If someone now has a substantiated well-founded answer, the auto industry is open to it.” He pointed to four areas of forthcoming change: autonomous driving, shared mobility, electro-mobility and new life styles. And with change comes uncertainty. Before, he said, there was an established “top down” hierarchy, with OEMS dictating “this is what we want, at this cost and this time.” But the dynamics have shifted now, with the industry “in flux”. Suppliers always had ideas, he noted, “but sometimes OEMs didn’t listen. Now they do and that is why I came back.” Certain changes in car interiors, however, take getting used to. It is still very difficult for consumers to understand a vehicle where there is no steering wheel. In that connection,

OCTOBER 2017

Yanfeng’s XIM 18 concept car at IAA 2017 shows a need for controls at seats, as the instrument panel is too far away

said CTO Hendriks, Yanfeng recently established a satellite design centre in California, “where the future of the automobile is being really invented, with a merger of information technology (IT) and artificial intelligence (AI).” “Everyone in the business agrees there are disruptive trends and it is our mission to find out how these affect interiors and our customers,” he declared. “Yanfeng is focussing on adaptable interiors so passengers can relax and work. There will be more interior storage volume, with instrument panels moving forward as smaller electrical and hybrid drives are also further forward.”

”

Tim Shih, Yanfeng: “You can sense a tectonic shift of the ground”

Another development platform focuses on intelligent and sophisticated decorative surfaces, capacitive switching and integration of heating, lighting, display and the human-machine-interface (HMI) functions. Looking at shared mobility vehicles, Hendriks drew a parallel with the hospitality industry: “When you enter your hotel room, you should feel that you are the first one to ever enter it, so we have to look at car interiors in the same way: self-healing and anti-microbial surfaces, slow-releasing fragrances and odour management, so you don’t smell the person or persons using it before”. BMW, said Hendriks, bases current car use on average on 4-year ownership and use by four people, but shared mobility has to be based on a four minute ride by 4,000 people, “so that’s a paradigm shift”. This alone will bring big changes in interiors and Hendriks believes that with autonomous driving in particular, “the interior will become the number one purchasing criteria, instead of exteriors and combustion engine performance”. Compared with combustion engines, electric motors are off-the-shelf products, so there is less

➡ Continued on page 34 33

TRANSPORTATION

➡ Continued from page 33 differentiation in that product area. With the smaller electric motor and a more forward-mounted instrument panel, associated climate management and acoustics impact the interior, “so a handful of disruptive trends”. Hendriks added that as combustion engines camouflage a lot of noise, “you need to control noise now in a different way”. Shih explained, “At low speeds you have NVH [noise, vibration, harshness] and the noise of the combustion engine, but at high speeds it is all tire and road noise. You also find in China, where I am based, more complaints about noise than in other markets”. On squeaking between plastic parts as they rub against each other, Shih admits there are engineering gap solutions, “but the low tech version is to put a bit of fabric between moving plastic parts”. Hendriks described the latest concept car at IAA 2017 as “80% more radical than the ID16 one at IAA 2015, it really captures our vision for the next living space”. He continued

”

Han Hendriks, Yanfeng: “Car sharing is a paradigm shift”

then to talk about the fourth development platform: “Advanced manufacturing technologies for cost-effective production of our ideas. There are also new opportunities here, through high levels of automation with robots and additive manufacturing”. He said in first discussions on additive technology, conservative colleagues “compared apples with apples and said it would never be competitive in the next 15 decades”. But Hendriks insists that when starting to think about designing for 3D production, “It is a whole new world, as you can firstly reduce the amount of material, taking weight and cost out, as you don’t need flanges for gluing, screwing and snapping, and you can print with multiple materials”.

Painted with red crackle paint, the Ferrari 488 GTB intake manifold produced by Röchling

Then there is greater production flexibility in managing changes: “You don’t have to wait for a mid-cycle enhancement because your investment is so high that you need at least three years with the same tool before you can change the design. It is definitely going to happen”. He supports this with the number and exponential growth of additive patents issued in this area in the past 6-7 years. Hendriks is convinced that the more patents, the faster the technology will mature and become manufacturing reality. It is especially exciting for designers, said Shih, because of the potential it opens up, in personalisation and “creation of your own ideas, on a small scale”. Hendriks added that working with Industry 4.0 principles “brings back personalisation of our products at a mass production level, and that’s very exciting”. YFAI displayed a door with a 3D Crystal depth effect trim insert “for a premium look & feel, and enhancing the night driving experience.” He pointed to another aspect: “When talking about 4 people and

one vehicle being owned for four years, you need to appeal to one person a lot so that they buy it – then the job is done for an OEM. Now, if you go to the 20 minute ride and 4,000 passengers, then you probably need to have more variety or flexibility to appeal to this whole range of people over the vehicle lifetime, to 4,000 people, so thank goodness for additive manufacturing.” At Yanfeng’s stand itself, the new “YaKoMo” or “Yanfeng-Kostal-Module” concept, a joint development of Yangfeng and Lüdenscheid, Germany-based mechatronics specialist Kostal was on display. Yanfeng director for smart interior surfaces, Dr Dirk Blomeyer, told Plastics News Europe that this curved glass centre console surface is really 3D rather than the 2.5D of a Porsche centre console that Plastics News Europe saw Porsche introducing several years ago, as made by Preh (Joyson Group). “And it has a haptic response,” he added. There is a flexible circuit foil behind the YaKoMo glass and a rigid plastic support structure, with Blomeyer revealing to Plastics News Europe that the intended GF-PP material had been simulated, to overcome the very different thermal expansion coefficients between glass and GF-PP. Plastics News Europe spoke later with Norbert Bendicks, technology development director at Kostal, who confirmed his active participation in both the YaKoMo module, as well in the latest KuGlas4 (KunststoffGlas) project of Kunststoff Institut Lüdenscheid. KuGlas4 starts in October 2017, continuing work on bonding plastics to glass panes, but now also involving liquid silicone rubber (LSR), with 3D thermoformed glass preform use the final aim in the 2-year project. Yanfeng innovation displays also included door panels made with visible natural fibres. These had clear PP film on top that could be printed for particular overlaying pattern effects.

Trial mouldings in a tool made for SMA of Polyscope’s new SMA/PP blend

OCTOBER 2017

TRANSPORTATION

This development is of course analogous to the BMW i3 visible panels produced in a similar way in the same types of materials by Dräxlmaier, but Yanfeng staff told Plastics News Europe that the company has perfected getting the panels to curve at their ends. Displayed for the first time at an IAA fair by Yanfeng were examples of natural fibre reinforced PP instrument panel carriers and door panels manufactured using the compression hybrid moulding (ChyM) process. The IP carrier was said to be 20% lighter than an equivalent 1.8mm thick LGFPP one, the ChyM door panel was fully 40% lighter than its conventionally moulded counterparts. There were more booths to be visited at the IAA than that of Yanfeng alone. At Faurecia, CEO Patrick Koller said the company used to present “zero innovation” at previous fairs, as OEMs insisted on keeping everything secret until cars were on the road. That no longer applies, Koller said. Highlights presented included work on plastic hy-

Hydrogen storage tank in development by Plastic Omnium

drogen storage tanks for fuel cell cars, with Plastics News Europe observing Plastic Omnium and plastics materials producer DSM both also showing capabilities in this type of tank, e.g. with blow moulded polyamide over-wound by carbon and/or glass fibre followed by thermosetting resin impregnation. Koller also stressed the joint development partnership with ZF on an automotive seat shown at the fair.

On the Röchling Automotive stand, innovations included inductive charging panels being developed on the basis of lightweight reinforced thermoplastics (LWRT), a central intelligent screen washing system with just one water filling point, LED-illuminated grille shutters and water injection into fuel to reduce consumption and emissions, an area in which Plastic Omnium said it is also working. Plastics News Europe spoke with Fabrizio Barillari, head of product line engine systems at Röchling Automotive in Leifers/Laives, Italy, who previously worked over 15 years at Daimler Chrysler Automotive and Toyota. Barillari explained details of a Ferrari air intake manifold assembled as two parallel units in GF30-PA6 joined at the top with a metal grid. Lower parts are vibration welded together, but the tops applied by gluing, “which, although it is a manual process, is a sensible operation when you are making just 2,000-3,000 units/year”.

➡ Continued on page 36

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➡ Continued from page 35 The manifold attracted Plastics News Europe on account of its unusual red crackle paint surface. According to Barillari this is a design element, since the manifold is deliberately exposed to view through the rear window of the Ferrari 488 GTB, with its rear 3.9 litre V8 Biturbo engine mounted underneath it. Barillari said that in general, Röchling can also use PP for air intake manifolds, and it is also investigating using CFPP. On the stand of Heerlen, Netherlands-based Polyscope, a producer of styrene maleic anhydride (SMA), CEO Patrick Muezers told Plastics News Europe that the company has developed a new Xiloy SG 100 30% glass fibre reinforced SMA/PP blend aimed largely at substitution of LGF-PP in instrument panels with a lower density, more cost effective volume cost material that, unlike PP, does not need treatment for bonding to other materials, such as PU foam. Muezers said instrument panels in LGF-PP tend to have high internal stress due to their higher crystallinity, leading to relatively high creep; he also felt the Xiloy material had better properties than PC/ABS blends.

Webasto is introducing wall-mounted car battery chargers for electric cars

Interestingly, polycarbonate glazing would no longer seem to be ‘a thing’, at least not for heating and roof system supplier Webasto. At IAA 2015, Webasto CEO Dr Holger Engelmann enthusiastically spoke about the PC 360 programme aimed at substituting glass with polycarbonate in glazing all around cars. This time, the word “polycarbonate” did not pass his lips. Instead, he talked about Webasto addressing newer electro-mobility

opportunities by introducing a range of (plastic housed) wall-mounted electric car charging units and becoming involved as a supplier of car battery modules. Asked why PC was not mentioned, Engelmann replied that it is still important, but the company focus is now directed more at the new electro-mobility opportunities. Glass glazing was mentioned however, with development of changing light diffusion of a panorama roof at the touch of a switch.

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october 2017

MACHINERY

Q&A

A family legacy

”

Michael Hehl, managing partner and spokesman for the management team at Germany’s injection moulding machine manufacturer Arburg, talks about being a family company, the importance of investing in education for the future and about the Fakuma, emphasising that “Wir sind da.” Arburg is a true family-run company and a highly successful multi-generational family business. As a member of the third generation in the company, what would you say best explains this success? Since its foundation in 1923, our company has been family-owned and is now under the management of the third generation. My sister Juliane Hehl, my cousin Renate Keinath and I head up the company in keeping with the tradition of the company’s founder Arthur Hehl and the philosophy of my father Eugen Hehl and my uncle Karl Hehl. Important factors here include our independence as a private company with short decision-making processes and horizontal hierarchies, growth using our own resources, the centralised production of our high-tech machines and systems in Lossburg, our international presence and our highly qualified and dedicated workforce. Added to the mix are a consistent customer focus, maximum production efficiency and a pioneering role in forward-looking areas such as Industry 4.0. Our brand promise “Wir sind da.” puts it in a nutshell: We are always present, wherever the customer may be in geographical, technological, mental or physical terms. We can be relied upon, just like a trusted family-member. And this is precisely what our customers all over the world appreciate about us.

Photo: Arburg

Michael Hehl: “We are always present, wherever the customer may be in geographical, technological, mental or physical terms”

Gestica control system for this large machine have delighted the international trade community. The next step is now set to follow at the Fakuma 2017: we are introducing the Allrounder 920 H with a clamping force of 5,000 kN in the new design and with the new control system. Moreover, as a system and technology partner, we will continue to expand our successful turnkey business internationally, as well as pressing forward with the topic of “Industry 4.0”, which we have promoted as an industry leader. In addition to our high-tech machines, our customers also value the first-class support provided by our highly qualified employees and the continuity in this

As, among other things, the managing partner of Arburg, you have a vision of the way you want the company to grow and develop. Can you say something about that? In line with our proven philosophy, we are strategically developing our company with the future in mind. This includes investments in our central production site, as well as in our international sales and service network. We gave an indication of the direction our machine technology is taking at the K 2016, when we presented the Allrounder 1120 H with a clamping force of 6,500 kN. The new design and the visionary

OCTOBER 2017

➡ Continued on page 38 37

machinery

”

➡ Continued from page 37 area. As in the past, we will continue to invest in the field of education and training in the future. In September of this year, for example, 63 trainees and students from the Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University began their traineeships with us. We have been offering this opportunity for more than 65 years, helping to launch more than 1,700 young people on a successful career.

Hehl: “Fakuma has always been extremely important in order to foster customer relations”

Arburg was one of the co-founding companies of the Fakuma. This year, the show is celebrating its 25th anniversary. In your view, how important is Fakuma to the industry? The Fakuma has always been very close to our hearts, as an exhibitor of the first hour and co-founder of the fair, so to speak. When Paul E. Schall presented his idea of a plastics trade fair at Lake Constance to my father Eugen Hehl for the first time, he was immediately taken with the concept behind the venture. The Fakuma combines practical relevance and professional competence with an almost family-like atmosphere and a strategically convenient location. For us, this fair has always been extremely important in order to foster customer relations and present the potential of our machines and systems with practical solutions. This year, we are once again very prominently represented, with a total of ten exhibits on our own stand and another eleven machines on show at our partners’ stands.

Smaller batch sizes, greater variant diversity, increasing automation, as well as time, quality and cost pressures in production demand the increased use of information technology and its linkage with production technology. Consequently, Industry 4.0, digital transformation and additive manufacturing will also play an important role. Innovative exhibits and applications relating to all these important topics can be seen on our stand. On several occasions, Arburg has sprung big surprises on the industry at this show. Can we look forward to another this year? Following the truly large-scale premieres at the K 2016, our focus at this year’s Fakuma is on “smart” and practical solutions for production-efficient plastic parts production. In addition to the two large machines in the new design and with the new control system, our latest practical example of Industry 4.0 will be a further highlight. We will use the example of bungee cords to show how customer requirements can be integrated into the ongoing injection moulding process online to manufacture products on an individualised basis. In industrial practice, such flexible production in single-unit batches is ideal for cable assembly for the automotive industry, for example.

What do you see as the main themes in the industry right now? Are they adequately represented at the show? The trend towards ever greater flexibility and production efficiency, as well as automating and integrating upstream and downstream process steps in the injection moulding process, continues. At the Fakuma 2017, visitors can expect innovations and practical examples relating to topics such as lightweight construction, multi-material combinations and functional integration.

about arburg

German family-owned company, Arburg is one of the leading global manufacturers of plastic processing machines. The product portfolio encompasses Allrounder injection moulding machines with clamping forces of between 125 and 6,500 kN, the Freeformer for industrial additive manufacturing and robotic systems, customer and industry-specific turnkey solutions and further peripheral equipment. The company places the topic of production efficiency at the centre of all its activities, taking into account the entire value-added chain. The objective is to enable Arburg customers to manufacture their plastic products, whether one-off parts or

high-volume batches, with optimal quality and at minimum unit costs – e.g. for the automotive and packaging industries, communication and entertainment electronics, medical technology or the white goods sector.

An international sales and service network ensures first-class customer support at the local level: Arburg is represented by fully owned organisations at 33 locations in 25 countries and by trading partners in more than 50 countries. The machines are produced exclusively at the parent company in Lossburg, Germany. Of a total of around 2,700 employees, about 2,200 work in Germany. About 500 further employees work in Arburg’s organisations around the world. In 2012, Arburg became one of the first companies to gain triple certifications: ISO 9001 (quality), ISO 14001 (environment) and ISO 50001 (energy). Further information about Arburg can be found at www.arburg.com.

october 2017

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colours & masterbatch

Photo: Colloids

Colloids offers a wide range of standard off the shelf colours and speciality coloured masterbatches, developed to meet the growing demand for more enticingly coloured consumer products and packaging, especially for the personal care and cosmetics market.

adding that extra something Polymer market needs and processing challenges have led to the development of technically advanced masterbatches to enhance properties and performance. An in-depth look at the importance of adding ‘that extra something’.

n today’s highly competitive business environment, globalisation has put even greater demands on manufacturing companies, which operate in a climate of heightened customer expectations in terms of quality, product performance and value in use. Polymer processing companies that underestimate the end product quality impact and processing cost benefits of using the very latest technical advances in masterbatch products do so at their peril. For masterbatch producers, innovation is an ongoing process, as UKbased masterbatch manufacturing specialist Colloids Ltd, part of the multinational Tosaf Group, can testify. The company has been assessing current global polymer market trends and challenges facing plastics processers, particularly for manufacturers of packaging products, consumer goods including personal care and electrical & electronic devices, and industrial products used in building &

construction, automotive and transportation market applications. The insights gained have helped direct R&D focus on developing new and improved solid masterbatch products to address the latest market needs for more technically advanced masterbatches. According to the company, customers are increasingly asking for new, more exotic colours and effects, reduced processing costs, and higher product performance. Plus, a growing number of environmentally conscious processors in the polymer industry are also looking to reduce energy consumption and to have the option to use raw materials from a sustainable source with compatible coloured masterbatch products.

Global masterbatch market overview A masterbatch is a formulated polymer that consists of additives, carriers and pigments or dyes which are added to a compatible plastic raw material during production. Masterbatches are primarily added to colour and enhance the performance of the base polymer, such as, for example, providing UV stability, flame retardation, anti-slip, anti-block, conductivity or anti-static properties. Depending on the process, desired colour effect, and end product being manufactured, the masterbatch used can be solid granules, a dry powder, or a

liquid blend of additives and pigments in a compatible polymer carrier. According to a recent assessment by Lucintel LLC, a leading US independent market research and consulting company, the global masterbatch market is expected to reach an estimated $10.9bn by 2022, with a forecast compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.2% over the next five years. Clariant AG, Polyone Corp., A. Schulman, Ampacet Corp., Cabot Corp., and Tosaf Group, are among the major current suppliers in the global masterbatch market. Asia Pacific (APAC) is expected to remain the largest region, [see Figure 1] with a forecast 5.5% CAGR over the period due to increasing urbanisation, rising construction and infrastructure activities, changing consumer lifestyles, and continued economic development, especially in China and India; all are key factors driving the increasing demand for plastic products and coloured masterbatches in the region. Colloids, as part of Tosaf Group, is just one of the major masterbatch players responding to the burgeoning growth of the Asian market: the company has now also established production facilities in China. A major factor influencing the global masterbatch market is the

➡ Continued on page 42 october 2017

25th Fakuma – International trade fair for plastics processing

Injection moulding machines Thermal shaping technology Extrusion plants Tool systems Materials and components

17. – 21. OCTOBER 2017 FRIEDRICHSHAFEN . GERMANY www.fakuma-messe.de

colours & masterbatch

Colloids is a technically-led company, with in-house R&D facilities research and technical expertise in manufacturing granular polymer masterbatches for extrusion, injection and blow moulding.

compounds; greater use of anti-shrinkage and flame retardant masterbatches for PP pipes and PC sheets; higher demand for sustainable and biodegradable masterbatch products.

Technically-advanced masterbatches While providing attractive colours and special effects for manufactured products is the key function of a coloured masterbatch, for a polymer processor it is the ability of more technically advanced masterbatches to provide production benefits which is now also critical. Increasingly, to remain competitive, masterbatch customers are looking for added value process benefits such as: faster haul of speeds; being able to down gauge extruded films without impacting dispersion and product quality; reducing

Colloids manufactures a wide standard range of high quality white, black, coloured, and additive masterbatches along with bespoke masterbatches and a comprehensive range of speciality compounds including conductive and anti-static.

Photo: Colloids

growing trend by designers of consumer and industrial products to specify higher performance plastics materials. For example, in building & construction, automotive, transportation and industrial markets, lighter, polymer-based thermoplastic and composite materials are increasingly replacing traditional materials such as metals, concrete and ceramics in certain applications. Packaging is expected to remain the largest segment for polymer masterbatches globally by value and volume, forecast to have the highest growth rate over the next five years. Packaging demand is being driven by a combination of continued growth of on-line shopping needing packaging materials for goods delivered by parcel post and courier, along with a growing global population buying and consuming more packaged goods and produce, including electrical and electronic products, coloured textiles and synthetic fabrics. Further insights from Lucintel’s investigation of the global masterbatch market indicates continued growth in colour masterbatches other than blacks and whites, driven by the increasing demand for consumer products with metallic, pearlescent, glitter and fluorescent special effects and vibrant new colours. By process type, film and sheet extrusion, blow moulding, injection moulding and extrusion coating are some of the major plastic manufacturing processes; film extrusion is expected to remain the largest process by volume, primarily due to the extensive use of extruded film products for plastic packaging and for electrical and electronic goods. Key emerging trends identified by Lucintel, expected to impact the masterbatch industry dynamics going forward, include: the growing use of silicone masterbatch for automotive PP/TPO (thermoplastic polyolefin)

Photo: Colloids

➡ Continued from page 40

energy consumption; better aesthetics and product performance. The need for more technically advanced masterbatches to provide both product performance and processing advantages is being addressed by a number of leading producers, including Colloids Ltd. Colloids has a clear aim to continue developing masterbatch products which offer added value processing benefits and improve the quality of finished products. To meet the latest trends and needs in the global polymer market, Bob Thomas, R&D director for Colloids discussed some of the masterbatch development projects that his team has been working on more recently, with a number already developed and launched.

New high-temperature masterbatches A major ongoing project, led by the company’s R&D team in China, is the development of new coloured masterbatches for high temperature engineering polymers, such as PEEK, PBI and PPS, capable of handling processing temperatures above a 300 0C ceiling, said Thomas. “We are currently developing a range of new, high temperature colour masterbatches which can be processed at 320-340 0C consistently to a high level of colour accuracy, without detracting from the mechanical performance of the high temperature base polymer,” he explained. “The project is in response to several customers looking to produce more aesthetically attractive high temperature parts not

october 2017

colours & masterbatch

only in natural, grey and black. This development could enable certain industries to create a new colour coding system for high temperature parts in some specified applications.”

Higher-performance packaging masterbatches The plastics packaging industry is dominated by extruded film products, with the market constantly looking for different colours and effects, along with also wanting lower cost, thinner, stronger, less permeable or more secure packaging options. Today, most consumers also want packaging to be more environmentally friendly, so recycled, biodegradable, and sustainable polymers are increasingly being used. To provide film packaging solutions to meet these and other market demands, the increasing trend is towards co-extrusion. One example of a key growth area has been in three-layer co-extruded polyethylene (PE) based blown film products, with demand primarily coming from clothes fashion retailers looking to use more robust, tear resistant film packaging to reduce the risk of handling damage during delivery and return of garments purchased on line or from a mail order catalogue. In order to be able to manufacture a thinner gauge, yet more tear and puncture resistant tri-layer packaging material, film, packaging producers now tend to use speciality ‘metallocene’ based LLDPE grades, which enable much thinner gauge films with improved tear strength to be extruded. Colloids has developed a range of masterbatches ideally suited for colouring these types of speciality polymers. Thomas explained the key product benefits: “By using these specially formulated masterbatches, the customer has been able to significantly down gauge the film thickness to use less material, yet still maintaining optimal opacity for product security and excellent colour dispersion. Critically there is also no negative impact from the masterbatch on the tear or puncture resistant properties of the film.”

the aesthetics of these special effect colours. Graham Cotton, technical and site manager at the company’s Rushden production site in Northamptonshire, explained the visual impact advantages of this new technical development: “From speaking with customers, we know these sorts of aesthetics production issues can be a real challenge for processors to overcome, particularly with pearlescent and other special effect colours. Our new ‘Smooth’ masterbatch formulation significantly reduces quality issues such as ‘die drool’ and extrusion ‘drag lines’, providing a visually superior surface

Special effect colour masterbatches The growing demand from producers supplying consumer products and packaging for the personal care and cosmetics markets is for metallic, pearlescent, glitter and fluorescent colours. The company’s’ R&D team has recently developed a new Colloids ‘Smooth’ enhanced masterbatch formulation, offered as part of its bespoke service, which improves

october 2017

finish, and enables a shorter cycle time, so also providing an added cost saving benefit.”

Ecofriendly masterbatches There are now a number of sustainable sources for producing ‘ecofriendly’, non-fossil fuel based polymers, which include: corn starch, soya bean, rape seed and sugar cane. The demand for both sustainable and biodegradable polymers has been steadily growing, and is forecast to continue. This trend was identified some years ago by Colloids, which

➡ Continued on page 44

colours & masterbatch

➡ Continued from page 43 already has a range of environmental coloured masterbatch products. Talking about the different types of products developed for flexible applications such as carrier bags and caddy bin liners, and for rigid applications such as food packaging and personal care products Thomas noted that, “To meet market needs, the D-K Environmental masterbatch range we developed includes product grades based on both biodegradable and compostable polymers, which are EN13432 and DIN CERTCO certified.” EN 13432 is the main European ‘requirements of packaging recoverable through composting and biodegradation’ standard.

Looking ahead

Article contributed by Nigel O’Dea, industrial marketing & PR specialist

The masterbatch market is one that is highly competitive. It is heavily populated by numerous global players, in addition to a great many regional and local producers. Seeking a means to differentiate themselves, masterbatch producers have therefore increasingly focussed on new product development in response to important trends in the market; trends that are leading to an increasing use of plastics in various end use industries, including

Global masterbatch market (us$ b) by key region (2016-2022)

Source: Lucintel

packaging, building and construction, consumer goods, transportation, electrical and electronics, and textiles industries. The demand for lightweight materials, especially, in the automotive industry is one such trend, fuelled by, among other things, EU legislation that sets mandatory emission reduction targets for new cars. There is a constant demand for masterbatch from the automotive manufacturers in EMEA and in Southeast Asia for manufacturing various automotive components. Colloids, with its automotive industry ISO/TS 16949 accreditation and manufacturing sites with ISO 9001 and 14001 approvals, is well

positioned to continue to benefit from this trend. The company currently works closely with OEM manufacturers in bespoke colour matching and the development of plastic component colours and special effects for the automotive industry worldwide. Moreover, as part of a multinational group with sister companies across the globe, Colloids can offer a global service to the plastics industry for colour, blacks, additive and special effect masterbatches. The future of the global masterbatch market is attractive with an abundance of opportunities. Colloids, for one, is ready to take full advantage of these.

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polymer prices

Tighter supply lifts prices across the board

Photo: Wikipedia Commons

n September, European standard thermoplastic prices resumed on an upward path following a temporary lull during August. Feedstock costs edged higher on the back of rising naphtha costs and growing supply concerns. Supply tightened across all polymer classes due to continued planned and unplanned plant outages and worries about the after effects of Hurricane Harvey on European polymer supplies. Demand also picked up as converters returned to work after the holidays. As a result, during the first half of September, all polymer classes registered higher prices. The L/ LDPE sector faced particularly tight supply and here prices increased around €20/tonne more than the rise in ethylene costs. HDPE prices increased in line with the €30/tonne rise in monomer costs. Base PVC prices also matched the proportionate impact of higher ethylene costs on the PVC cost base (+€15/tonne). Polypropylene homopolymers registered price gains in line with the €40/tonne rise in the propylene contract price whereas copolymer grades saw higher gains due to product shortages. The polystyrene sector was again subject to extreme feed-

50% of US cracker capacity was offline and ports were shut in the wake of Hurricane Harvey

stock cost volatility. Styrene monomer costs soared €190/tonne due to mounting supply concerns. Polystyrene prices largely mirrored the rise in feedstock costs. While tightness in the PET supply situation has eased, a further rise in raw material costs lifted prices once more.

Supply tight Polymer markets tightened during September due to a series of

prices monitor september 2016–september 2017 Source: Plastics News Europe

2.5

PS (general purpose) PP (homo injection) LDPE (film grade) HDPE (injection moulding) LLDPE (film grade) PVC (high quality) PET (bottle grade)

2.0

1.5

october 2017

Sept

Aug

July

June

May

Apr

Mar

Dec 2017 Jan Feb

Nov

0.5

2016 Sept Oct

1.0

planned and unplanned cracker and polymer plant outages. About 9% of European ethylene’s capacity or four crackers underwent planned maintenance in September to further tighten an already dry olefins market. Furthermore, 50% of US cracker capacity was offline and ports were shut in the wake of the tropical storm Harvey, which put additional upward pressure on European polymer markets. In addition, many companies in southwestern Germany, France and Switzerland are facing major transport difficulties. A section of the railway line is closed for repair down in the Rhine Valley, between the German towns Rastatt and BadenBaden until at least 7 October. This is leading to feedstock supply difficulties in many places or additional costs from diversions to alternative transport routes. The latest supply-related issues are summarised below: • JBF RAK is understood to be ready to sell off its 400,000 tonnes/year PET plant in Geel, Belgium to settle part of its outstanding debt. • BASF commenced planned maintenance work at its butyl acetate plant at Ludwigshafen, Germany in the first week of September. The turnaround is

expected to last three or four weeks. • Shell Nederland reported a return to full operations 24 August at its Pernis refinery in Rotterdam. Therefore, almost all production is back to normal again. • On 22 August a fire broke out at Rhodia Acetow, Freiburg, Germany and caused massive damage to a turbine that is central to the site’s steam and power supply. • BorsodChem lifted the force majeure for PU feedstock MDI, among others, at its site in Kazincbarcika 22 August. • Lotte Chemicals PET plant at Wilton UK returned to production in September following force majeure.

Demand picks up Demand picked up in September as would normally be expected following an end to the holiday season. Order intake for the rigid packaging and automotive sectors were reported as being particularly healthy.

October outlook Polymer demand is expected to remain robust and the supply tightness prevailing in polymer markets is unlikely to end any time soon. A possible rise in feedstock costs is therefore likely to translate into higher polymer prices.

polymer prices

plastics price report April 2017–september 2017 (€/tonne) MAy ’17

Jun ’17

JuL ’17

Aug ’17

Market Price SEP ’17

1450-1490 1380-1420 1470-1510

1410-1450 1340-1380 1410-1450

1350-1390 1300-1340 1360-1400

1355-1395 1300-1340 1370-1410

1390-1430 1330-1370 1400-1440

▲ ▲ ▲

LinEAr Low dEnSity PoLyEtHyLEnE (LLdPE) Film grade (butene-based) 1440-1480 1410-1430

1335-1355

1295-1315

1345-1375

▲

Low dEnSity PoLyEtHyLEnE (LdPE) Film grade 1535-1575

1475-1515

1400-1440

1350-1390

1355-1395

1405-1445

▲

PoLyProPyLEnE (PP) Raffia film Homo injection Copolymer injection

1425-1465 1365-1405 1460-1500

1410-1450 1350-1390 1440-1480

1360-1400 1300-1340 1385-1425

1310-1350 *1315-1355 1250-1290 1260-1300 1345-1385 *1350-1390

1355-1395 1300-1340 1410-1450

▲ ▲ ▲

PoLyStyrEnE (PS) General purpose High impact injection

1940-1980 2030-2070

1740-1780 1830-1870

1770-1810 1870-1910

1800-1840 *1785-1825 1900-1940 *1880-1920

1975-2015 2070-2110

▲ ▲

PoLyvinyL cHLoridE (Pvc) Pipe grade 1400-1440 High quality grade 1470-1510

1400-1440 1470-1510

1410-1450 1500-1540

1400-1440 *1395-1435 1510-1550 *1500-1540

1415-1455 1520-1560

▲ ▲

PoLyEtHyLEnE tErEPHtHALAtE (PEt) Bottle grade 1100-1140

1040-1080

1045-1085

1065-1105 *1110-1150

1125-1165

▲

Product

APr ’17

HigH dEnSity PoLyEtHyLEnE (HdPE) Injection moulding 1495-1535 Film (extrusion) grade 1410-1450 Blow moulding 1490-1530

*revised since last edition

Commodity resin pricing data based on average net prices for standard grades delivered in western Europe to large consumers in 20-25 tonne lots. Source: Plastics News Europe

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october 2017

polymer prices

petrochemical feedstock contract prices october 2016–september 2017 (€/tonne) oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

mar

Apr

may

Jun

Jul

Aug

change sep Aug/sepE

ethylene

940

970

940

985

1020

1050

1015

965

995

Propylene

725

755

725

770

815

865

880

840

790

830

Styrene

985

1025

1195

1300

1560

1650

1375

1130

1173

1200

1170

1360

190

benzene

597

603

631

806

983

937

745

754

737

695

645

655

Paraxylene

725

760

815

865

870

832.5

805

760

715

720

735

Source: Plastics News Europe

l/ l D p e

The September ethylene contract price settled €30/tonne higher at €995/tonne as a result of planned steam cracker plant outages plus the effects of the recent hurricane catastrophe on the US Gulf Coast. In response, L/LDPE producers aimed to at least recover the cost increase as well as broaden their profit margins. By mid-month, L/LDPE prices were up by around €50-55/tonne compared with the previous month. Supply remains tight and stocks are low. Several polymer

plants are down for planned and unplanned maintenance work. There is also a lack of imported LLDPE material into Europe. Furthermore, the closure of the Rhine Valley railway line in the south of Germany and the resultant shortage of road transport capacities resulted in widespread logistic bottlenecks and delivery delays. Demand picked up as the holiday season came to an end.

H D p e

In September, the ethylene contract price settled €30/tonne higher at €995/tonne as a result of planned steam cracker plant outages plus the effects of the recent hurricane catastrophe on the US Gulf Coast. In response, HDPE producers aimed to at least recover the cost increase as well as broaden their profit margins. However, by mid-month, HDPE blown film and blow moulding prices had risen by €30/tonne, which was line with the cost increase, while

injection moulding grades were up by around €35/tonne compared with the previous month. The HDPE sector is in a better balance than L/LDPE with fewer plant outages and adequate stocks for most grades. In addition, there is a steady supply of imports from the Middle East. Demand was good across most end-use sectors as converters returned to work after the holidays.

p p

In September, the propylene contract price settled €40/tonne higher at €830/tonne due to rising naphtha costs, announced maintenance turnarounds at refineries and the effects of the recent hurricane catastrophe on the US Gulf Coast. PP producers aimed to at least recover the €40/tonne cost increase plus an additional amount for margin improvement. By midmonth, however, PP prices were up by around €40-60/tonne compared with the previous month.

For homopolymers, material availability was adequate and prices increased in line with the higher monomer cost. Copolymers, on the other hand, faced tighter supply and prices increased by €60/ tonne. Supply tightened as major producers redirected material across the Atlantic due to shortages caused by Hurricane Harvey. As demand improves during September after the holidays and supply tightens, further price increases could be on the cards during the month.

p s

The September styrene monomer reference price soared €190/ tonne as a result of growing supply worries. There was significant styrene supply disruptions in the US due to Hurricane Harvey which meant export cargoes destined for Europe were delayed. In addition, scheduled and unscheduled plant outages in Europe are further tightening supply, including the force majeure at Total’s Gonfreville styrene unit in France. By mid-September, PS producers were managing to pass through

the cost increase to buyers with GPPS prices up around €190/tonne. The premium to the high impact material remained at around €100/ tonne following a €25/tonne rise in the cost of butadiene. Polystyrene production was naturally affected by the reduced availability of styrene and ongoing plant maintenance work is also restricting supply. In early September, PS demand increased in line with expectations after the holiday period.

p V c

In September, the ethylene contract price increased by €30/tonne over the previous month, which meant a €15/tonne rise in the PVC cost base from ethylene. PVC producers sought a price increase for base material which at least covered the higher cost of ethylene, and price increases for PVC compounds of up to €50/ tonne. By mid-September, PVC base material prices were up by €15/ tonne compared with the previous month with PVC compound

prices up by €20-25/tonne. PVC compound prices remain under pressure from tight supplies of titanium dioxide and plasticisers. Most PVC production plants are operating without disruption, but Shin-Etsu’s force majeure in Pernis, the Netherlands, remained in place. Delivery delays were being experienced due to the closure of the Rhine Valley railway line. PVC demand was normal after the holiday period came to a close.

p e T

In September, bottle-grade PET prices continued their upward trend as a result of supply tightness and rising feedstock costs. The final European September paraxylene contract price increased €15/tonne over August. The European monoethylene glycol contract for September had not yet settled at time of writing but was also expected to increase. PET sellers successfully passed through the higher raw material prices to converters as supply tightness continued. However, the

Lotte Chemical PET plant at Wilton, UK returned to production in September after an unplanned outage and aimed to return at least 70% of allocated volumes to customers during the month. There are still ongoing market concerns about JBF Industries shutting down its production facility in Geel, Belgium due to liquidity problems. PET demand slowed in September as the beverage bottle-making season drew to a close.

october 2017

products services

qualitY control

inJection moulding

new 360° surface inspection of coated profiles and tubes

it’s a baby BoY

Germany’s Pixargus, a specialised manufacturer of systems for the automatic surface inspection and dimension measurement of continuously produced long products, has launched the ProfilControl 7 DualVision XX. Where conventional systems inspecting large profiles and tubes only check the main visible surfaces of the products, this latest member of the ProfilControl 7 series offers a complete 360° surface inspection and shape measurement of large coated profiles and tubes in a single measurement, a cost-efficient, technological solution that is made possible thanks to a newly developed camera system and a new calibration technique. This enables flaws to be accurately detected in large multi-angle sections with very complex structures and edges. The inspection system calibrates electronically – mechanical actuation has been completely

ProfilControl 7 DualVision XXL dispensed with. The new system detects the smallest of defects in the paint, without any expensive colour cameras. The inspection system also easily copes with the strong reflections of the high-gloss coating. The PC7 DualVision XXL marks any defective profiles by means of a label printer. Defective profiles are later easily sorted out automatically, or manually at the visual inspection desk. www.pixargus.com

recYcling

new recycling initiative from pack2go “Reaching 4 recycling, calling 4 collection” is the name of a new major effort to promote the collection and recycling of on-the-go-packaging. It aims to create partnerships and systems to establish effective collection schemes for disposables used for on-the-go consumption. Pack2Go is supported by a European-wide network, which will be used to test new solu-

German injection moulding machine maker Dr Boy has launched a new, table-top machine for micro-moulding processes with 63kN clamping force, called the BOY XXS. Compactly designed, it features a reciprocating plasticising screw, with diameters from 8 to 18 mm that works according to the “first in first out” principle, specific injection pressures up to 2.750 bar. Equipped with proven techniques for a continuous industrial operation, e.g. an energy-efficient servo drive and the intuitively operable machine control Procan ALPHA 4,

The BOY XXS the BOY XXS is a welcome programme enhancement for users of most diverse industries. The mould changing system of the BOY XXS allows shortest set-up times, an important advantage in case of small series production and in the prototype construction. The mould fixing platens are specially designed to fit standard bolsters plate systems of most of the well-known bolster manufacturers for micro moulds. www.dr-boy.de

stretch Blow moulding

Forming and filling in just one step KHS Group, a manufacturer of filling and packaging systems for the beverage, food and non-food industries, has developed the FormFill process, which allows bottlers for the first time ever to form and fill bottles on a single machine. The machine first heats up the preforms according to the required temperature profile, the product is then forced into the PET preforms under pressure with a controlled volume flow. The bottle is formed by the product as it fills, rather than the compressed air used to date. The preform material is automatically distributed

tions locally that can then be scaled up to increase separate collection and recycling throughout Europe. The initiative is targeting food service operators using convenience packaging, recyclers, towns, municipalities, or anyone who is interested in launching recycling pilots and investing in the necessary infrastructure needed to support the project. www.collection4recycling.eu

along the inner contours of the container shape. The stretch rod aligns the bottle lengthwise and is automatically retracted from the container after filling. The given fill level is reached when the displacement volume is removed and before the cap is placed on the neck. KHS FormFill eliminates an entire function module; in the current test environment, the new procedure needs just 25% of the installation space of standard stretch blow moulder/filler blocks. The new machine can be integrated into existing packaging processes. www.khs.com

KHS FormFill

october 2017

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diary dates people

CoNFereNCes & eVeNts

rKW German packaging company RKW Group has appointed Reinhold Franke as a member of executive board and new head of packaging division at the group, effective 1 Sept. Franke took over the tasks of Matthian Kaufmann who left the company 31 Aug. The 57-year-old holds a degree in business administration

October 3 Controlling Energy Use in Plastics Processing – Conference Location: BPF House, London, UK Organiser: British Plastics Federation Tell: +44 20 7457 5000 Web: www.bpf.co.uk/bpf-energy/bpf-energy-events/controlling-energy-use-inplastics-processing.aspx

October 9-11 Polyolefin Additives 2017 – Conference Location: Vienna, Austria Tel: + 44 117 314 8111

Organiser: AMI Web: www.amiplastics-na.com/events

October 11-13 Global Plastics Summit Location: Chicago, Illinois Tel: +1 303 397 2801 (outside US)

Organiser: IHS Markit Web: globalplasticssummit.com

October 17-21 Fakuma 2017 – Trade Fair Location: Friedrichshafen, Germany Tel: +49 7025 9206 0

Organiser: P. E. Schall Web: www.fakuma-messe.de

October 27 Plastics Industry Awards Location: London, UK Email: jackiehughes@live.co.uk

Organiser: Crain Communications Web: www.plasticsawards.com

November 7-8 Plastics Caps and Closures – Conference Location: Amsterdam, the Netherlands Organiser: Crain Communications Tel: +44 7813 947161 Web: www.plasticscapsandclosures.com/caps2017

November 28-29 12th European Bioplastics Conference Location: Berlin, Germany Organiser: European Bioplastics e V Tel: +49 (0)30 2848 2358 Web: www.european-bioplastics.org/events/eubp-conference/

November 30 Global Plastics Industry Seminar – Conference Location: Cologne, Germany Tel: +44 (0) 117 314 8111

Organiser: AMI Web: www.amiplastics-na.com/events

November 30-December 1 Automotive Surfaces – Conference Location: Berlin, Germany Tel: +44 7813 947161

Organiser: Crain Communications Web: www.decorativeautomotiveplastics.com

November 30-December 1 Lightweight Vehicles – Conference Location: Berlin, Germany Tel: (+44)208 253 9640

Organiser: Crain Communications Web: www.lightweightvehiclesconference.com

December 5-6 Flexible Packaging Middle East 2017 – Conference Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates Organiser: AMI Tel: + 44 117 314 8111 Web: www.amiplastics.com/events

Feb 7-12 PlastIndia 2018 – Trade Fair Location: Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India Organiser: PlastIndia Foundation Tel: +91-22-26832911-14 Web: plastindia2018.plastindia.org

April 24-25 Plastics Recycling Show Europe (PRSE) – Conference & Exhibition Location: RAI Amsterdam, The Netherlands Organiser: Crain Communications Tel: + 44 7813 947161 Web: www.prseventeurope.com

and has “decades of experience in the sales and marketing of plastic films and flexible packaging,” said the Frankenthal, Germany-based group on 4 Sept. RKW’s packaging division develops and produces film solutions for consumer and industrial packaging at five locations in Europe and Asia.

Gerresheimer Dr. Christian Fischer (pictured) has been named as the new chief executive officer (CEO) of pharmaceutical and medical packaging firm Gerresheimer Ag, effective 1 Sept. He will success Uwe Röhrhoff, who left the German packaging company end of Augut. Fischer joined the manage-

ment board as a regular member on 1 Aug 2017, having previously been president performance chemicals at BASF SE in Ludwigshafen, Germany, where he spent 24 years. Christian Fischer holds a diploma degree in chemistry from university of Regensburg and a PhD in the same subject.

aKzoNobel AkzoNobel’s chief financial officer and member of board Maëlys Castella (pictured) has stepped down from her duties due to health reasons, the company announced 8 Sept. Castella is now on a leave of absence, and will return to her senior management role

following “anticipated recovery”, the Dutch chemicals company said. Current group controller Hans De Vriese will take over as interim CFO, while initiating a full internal and external search for a permanent replacement.

sudarshaN europe Sudarshan Europe, an India-based manufacturer of industrial chemicals and pigments has announced the appointment of Milan W. Krumbe as the new general manager of Sudarshan Europe B.V. in Am-

sterdam, effective 1 July. With this appointment, Sudarshan is emphasising its commitment to the European market and its intention to strengthen and expand its position in that market.

eVoNiK Evonik Industries AG has appointed Matthias Hau as the new regional president Eastern Europe, responsible for the further development of the business in the regional markets as well as the management of

overarching aspects for the sites all over Europe. Hau took over the position 1 Sept, succeeding Thomas Müller, who had been leading the activities of the European Region since 2011 and has now retired.

May 29-June 1 2018 Plast 2018 – Exhibition

reiFeNhäuser holdiNG

Location: Milan, Italy Tel: +39 02 8228371

Reifenhäuser Holding has reconfigured its management with Bernd Kunze and Karsten Kratz having been appointed to the management board effective 1 July. Kunze will serve as chief tech-

Organiser: A PIU s.r.l Web: www.plastonline.org/en/

June 11-13 Materials Science and Engineering – Conference Location: Barcelona, Spain Organisers: Materials Conferences Tel: 0 800 014 8923 Web: materialsscience.conferenceseries.com/europe

nology officer (CTO) taking shared responsibility for the digital transformation of the business. Kratz will be chief financial officer (CFO) and also responsible for the IT and Compliance divisions.

october 2017

Workaholic with iQ The new e-mac 280 The all-electric e-mac delivers what is needed in series production: stable processes, consistent precision and round-the-clock efficiency. And thanks to an advanced machine concept, it does this with low maintenance costs and a long, reliable life span. Your advantage: intelligent assistance systems from our inject 4.0 programme reduce rejects or downtime to nearly negligible factors. With a self-regulating e-mac, you can rely on problem-free production â&#x20AC;&#x201C; for the lifetime of an ENGEL machine. Now available in the 280 ton size.

e rienc Expe mac 280 ew e 17 the n kuma 20 at Fa ll A5 Ha 04 d 52 n a t S

be the first

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MORE POWER. LESS kWh. HIGHER PRODUCTIVITY FOR LESS

INCREASED EFFICIENCY FOR LESS

ACHIEVE ENERGY-SAVINGS REQUIREMENTS FOR LESS

JUST BY CHANGING YOUR HYDRAULIC FLUID

Injection molding gains a new perspective. Look to your hydraulic system to get a leg up on energy costs. And look to fluids formulated to DYNAVIS® technology standards to save 6% or more over standard hydraulic fluids. With their higher viscosity index, hydraulic fluids formulated to DYNAVIS® technology standards are easier to pump, requiring less drive energy than fluids that are more viscous – with no loss in equipment durability and no evidence whatsover of abnormal wear. Read the case studies at dynavis.com

DYNAVIS® is a brand of Evonik or one of its subsidiaries.