Matthew Naitove Contributing Editor
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Global Materials Database Offers More Data, More Functionality
The Plastics Technology online materials database has a new name, a new look, and lots of new capabilities to help find the right material for a particular job.
Read MoreWhat Goes Around Comes Around
I don ’t want to sound Pollyanna-ish about the hard hits that North American molders and moldmakers have taken from overseas competition lately, but the good news about this globalization thing is that the globe is round, not flat.
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Hourly Rates Rose in Second Half
Custom injection molders raised their machine-hour rates an average of 1% from June to December 2007, according to responses from 93 molders to our latest semi-annual survey.
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Sequential Hard/Soft Injection Molding with Water Assist
In 2004, the value of pairing two-material injection with water assist was demonstrated in production of two-layer automotive pipes and ducts (see Learn More). Further potential for this combination of advanced techniques in sequential injection of hollow automotive parts with rigid and flexible sections is being developed at the German Institute of Plastics Processing (known as the IKV). Water injection technology (WIT) was first developed at the IKV in the 1990s.
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Resin Database Goes Global
This month marks a new phase in the evolution of Plastics Technology’s online plastics materials database.
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PUR Machinery Gains in Versatility and Economy
Polyurethane equipment at K 2007 in Dusseldorf showed incremental advances in cost-effectiveness and ability to handle a wide range of applications.
Read MoreMaking History in Aachen
Aachen, Germany, is a very old city. The Romans enjoyed its hot springs, and Charlemagne made it the capital of his new Holy Roman Empire in 800 A.D. The cathedral, or Dom, once Charlemagne’s private chapel, dates from that era. Since 1950, Aachen has been making history in plastics processing, as well.
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'Jet-less' High-Pressure Mixhead Reduces Cost and Complexity
A radically new design for high-pressure polyurethane mixing heads is said to apply a more efficient mixing concept that requires lower pressures and thereby simplifies system design. It eliminates the usual internal jets, thereby reducing the level of operator skill needed for flow adjustments and permitting a wider range of flow rates.
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New Material Cures LSR Molding Headaches
For some problems the solution is to be soft but also be strong.
Read MoreIs It Something in the Air … Or Maybe in the Water?
I doubt I’m the only one to have noticed that there’s been quite an eruption of anti-plastics headlines in the news lately.
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Additives and Colorants Score Dramatic Advances
Among the host of new additives at K 2007 were a number of unusual entries: additives to add scratch resistance or reduce odor, leaps ahead in PP clarifying, specialized antioxidant protection for nanocomposites, a growth enhancer for greenhouse films, and a naturally free-flowing TiO2. In addition, “Green” was the theme of exhibits that highlighted “all-natural” additives for biopolymers, and colors to enliven recycled resins.
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