best practices
Think Your Molding Operation Is Productive? Find Out How You Stack Up Against Others
Participate in Plastics Technology’s ”Top Shops” benchmarking survey and gain access to a free customized report measuring your key metrics against the cream of the crop.
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People 4.0 – How to Get Buy-In from Your Staff for Industry 4.0 Systems
Implementing a production monitoring system as the foundation of a ‘smart factory’ is about integrating people with new technology as much as it is about integrating machines and computers. Here are tips from a company that has gone through the process.
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Profile Processor Looks Beyond Windows and Doors
Intek Plastics intends to maintain a leadership position in its core fenestration ´óÏó´«Ã½. At the same time, it’s on a mission to leverage its expertise in materials know-how, engineering, technology and customer collaboration to become a force in other profile extrusion markets as well.
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Mold-Clamping Details for Profit
Taking time to sweat the details of clamping is not much fun, but they do make a difference in a company’s bottom line.
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PART ONE How to Determine Viscosity Data Using a Slit-Die Viscometer
Using a slit-die viscometer connected to a lab extruder can generate accurate data on melt viscosity at various shear rates and temperatures, a useful QC tool in processing.
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Simple Scale-Up Calculations for Melting
You can avoid complicated melting equations when designing or evaluating a screw by using simpler methods that can save time and provide good results.
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Heat Deflection Temperature vs. Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (Part 3)
DMA provides a rich and detailed picture of polymer performance, and it can be challenging to understand all the things that we can and should know about our materials. But the fact that it may be hard does not mean that it should not be attempted.
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Molder Increases Capabilities—But Not Risk—With Flexible Two-Shot Technology
A customer request for multi-material molding presented a market opportunity and potential financial peril: How do you add two-shot without also overextending yourself from an investment perspective?
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Time to Turn Up the Heat on Your Hot-Runner Maintenance Program
Molders are running more hot-runner manifolds than ever, a trend that’s expected to continue. But once you have them, you need to keep them in shape. Follow these tips to get going.
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What’s With All the Static?
Static buildup on polymers can cause a variety of problems, some rather unpleasant. Yet there’s an inexpensive way to eliminate it, and we have data as proof.
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