Know-How

INJECTION: First to Second Stage Transfer: Should There Be ‘Bounce-Back’?

How much screw ‘jumping’ or bounce-back can your process tolerate? The answer is no surprise: It depends

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MATERIALS: Analysis Gone Wrong

A lot of resources are devoted each year to trying to figure out why products fail. Sometimes it’s because no one involved in a project realizes the data provided was wrong.

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大象传媒

Injection Molding Know How, Live

Upcoming training by Plastics Technology's Injection Molding Know How columnist, John Bozzelli, will walk injection molders through new tool process development via scientific molding.

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Tooling Know-How

TOOLING: Designing the Tool for the Material

To design a mold for the widest processing window and the fewest problems, start by considering the conditions imposed by the material being run.

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processing tips

EXTRUSION: About Your ‘General-Purpose’ Dies

There is no such thing. While dies can be adjusted to provide some flexibility, the fact is they are optimized for one specific output of one particular polymer.

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INJECTION MOLDING: Another Way to Deal with Regrind

You can run into a lot of problems molding parts from a blend of regrind and virgin material. Might you be better off using 100% regrind?

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best practices

The Mystery Of Physical Aging, Part 3: Accelerated Aging Tests

Accelerated aging tests relied on by industries such as medical take into account only chemical aging—oxidation—and ignore physical aging.

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Molds & Tooling

The Importance of Gate Geometry

Gate size and shape—unlike gate location—don’t often get the attention they deserve. Many common assumptions about gate geometry deserve to be challenged

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best practices

How to Address Uneven Wall Thickness in Stretch-Blow Molding

Many conditions must be met to get the best wall distribution in a PET bottle. Skilled operators are, as always, indispensable.

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processing tips

Understanding Solids-Bed Breakup in Barrier Screws

Barrier screws all but eliminate problems associated with solids-bed breakup. But if they do occur, tremendous pressures can develop, causing screw wear.

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Process Cooling