best practices
Is Your Profile Die the Problem? Or Is It the Heaters?
When a profile is not being extruded to the tolerances of previous runs, the die is often suspect—but the real problem may be the heaters. Learn the five heater-band principles before you do any profile die work.
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Service Helps Manufacturers Buy Energy When the Time is Right
Insulating manufacturers from market volatility can pay off big, as one firm can attest.
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Understanding Fountain Flow in Injection Molding
The phenomenon of fountain flow affects almost every aspect of the molded product—starting with filling, extending to pack and hold, and ultimately manifesting in part defects like bubbles and voids.
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Three Keys to Managing a Successful Tool Transfer
How to effectively manage a tool transfer despite rundown tools, an outdated automation system and difficult materials.
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Use Pressure Control to Minimize Process Variations in Single-Screw Extrusion
You can improve process stability in extrusion by using pressure-control feedback. The stability of the process is based on the pressure variation in the adapter after the extruder. Trials on a variety of polymers revealed how effective this approach can be.
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Make Your Auxiliaries More Energy Efficient
Don’t overlook your auxiliaries when you’re looking for areas to cut energy consumption. Implementing simple changes won’t break the bank and could pay off big by improving your bottom line and reduce your carbon footprint.
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The Long and Short of It (Part 1)—Tips for Molding Long Fiber-Reinforced Polymers
In Part 1 of this series, we address long-fiber processing fundamentals and best practices, including practical tips and guidance on maintaining fiber length and deriving maximum advantages for demanding end applications. Part 2 will provide the same information for short-fiber materials.
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How to Stop Melt Leakage and Carriage Blow-Back
Follow these tips when you have melt leakage around the machine nozzle and sprue bushing or injection-carriage blow-back.
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November’s Most-Viewed Stories
What did visitors to Plastics Technology read in November—the right injection machine for you; controlling and optimizing pack and hold times; resin pricing; polyolefins insights (compounding, density, strain rate); automating pipette production; improving mold cooling and more.
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How Does Your Molding Machine Control Pack Pressure?
It seems some new machines have pack velocity issues, as machine builders are confusing processors with controllers that are more complicated than they need to be and less user-friendly.
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