Jan H. Schut
Web Processors Saw Plenty of 'Firsts' at CMM Show
April's Converting Machinery/Materials show in Chicago displayed many new patented technologies--including several first-time achievements--in flexographic printing, coating, winding, and web inspection. The new technologies are more flexible, less polluting, and above all, faster.
Read MoreCorrugated Pipe-Multi-Wall Takes Off
Dual-wall corrugated pipe is growing larger and running faster. Even smaller sizes are finding new markets. Forming integral bells in-line is catching on. Now, look out for annular triple-wall pipe!
Read MoreExtrusion Goes 'Just in Time' With Quick Die Changers
Two unusual new processes from Germany allow changes of profile, pipe, and pelletizing dies in just a few seconds.
Read MoreTime for a Switch to Electric Heater Rolls?
Web processors and converters who use liquid-heated rollers for orienting, annealing, laminating, and embossing should take a look at recent advances in electric-heated rolls. You could get better temperature control with less maintenance and downtime.
Read MoreAir Rings--Make Them Work for You, Not Against You
Air rings do more than just blow cooling air on your film. Their complex aerodynamic effects also help form and stabilize the bubble. Yet operators often misuse air rings because they don't understand how the stabilizing function works. Here's a practical guide to making an air ring be your trusty helper instead of an unruly troublemaker.
Read MoreWood is Good for Compounding, Sheet & Profile
Extruding composites of wood and plastic has long been a "black art" practiced by a few specialists. But in the past year, this "hidden" market has burst into the sunlight as new producers and new applications sprout up all over.
Read More'Non-Denting' Ceramic Coating Gives PVC Sheet a Smooth Ride
Over the past four years, vinyl sheet extruders have proven the value of using nip rolls with a thick, "non-denting" ceramic coating developed by American Roller Co., Bannockburn, Ill. Four processors have installed the multi-layer ceramic rolls, producing clear, rigid PVC sheet with greatly reduced maintenance and downtime.
Read More7 Layers Stretch Film Properties
What do extra layers add? Plant manager David London says they let Quintec make "the strongest films on the market today.
Read More15 Ways to Raise Blown Film Productivity (Without Breaking the Bank)
Blown film processors, many of them small enterprises with a single plant or a single costly line, may have limited resources, in both capital and manpower, to devote to optimizing their productivity. Yet avenues of improvement are open for even the most over-extended entrepreneur. And some of the most effective modifications cost little more than a phone call or a small change in procedures. The 15 tips presented here include ways to optimize areas of your operation from employee training to better customer communications.
Read MoreSheet Extrusion Competition Ups the Ante on Technological Sophistication
As sheet extruders consolidate, they're modernizing operations to raise output and efficiency. The pressure is on to run faster, wider, with more layers and innovative combinations of materials. The challenges multiply as sheet extrusion is teamed with in-line compounding and downstream operations like thermoforming.
Read MoreExtrusion Close-Up
Easier-to-use software is making computer flow simulation more popular for designing dies for sheet, profiles, and film. Even the apparently simple case of a "spaghetti" die for pelletizing shows how flow simulation can be an essential tool for diagnosing and solving difficult processing problems.
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