Know-How
The Effects of Temperature
The polymers we work with follow the same principles as the body: the hotter the environment becomes, the less performance we can expect.
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Improve Quality & Productivity With Advanced Screw Design
Most molders are still running with screw designs that haven’t changed much in 30 years. But they don’t need to.
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Stop Controlling Your Injection Molding Process with Machine-Only Settings
Monitor and record process outputs instead of the machine setpoints to ensure a validated process regardless of any machine deterioration, viscosity changes or other alterations.
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How to Stop Flash
Flashing of a part can occur for several reasons—from variations in the process or material to tooling trouble.
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Cooling the Feed Throat and Screw: How Much Water Do You Need?
It’s one of the biggest quandaries in extrusion, as there is little or nothing published to give operators some guidance. So let’s try to shed some light on this trial-and-error process.
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A Simpler Way to Calculate Shot Size vs. Barrel Capacity
Let’s take another look at this seemingly dull but oh-so-crucial topic.
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How to Get Rid of Bubbles in Injection Molding
First find out if they are the result of trapped gas or a vacuum void. Then follow these steps to get rid of them.
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Understanding Strain-Rate Sensitivity In Polymers
Material behavior is fundamentally determined by the equivalence of time and temperature. But that principle tends to be lost on processors and designers. Here’s some guidance.
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Density & Molecular Weight in Polyethylene
This so-called 'commodity' material is actually quite complex, making selecting the right type a challenge.
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Creating a Capable Process Using Process Capability
Know your Cp from your Cpk and how parts can meet dimensional specifications but still not be “capable.”
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