While prices moved up for three of the five commodity resins, there was potential for a flat trajectory for the rest of the third quarter.

While the melting process does not provide perfect mixing, this study shows that mixing is indeed initiated during melting.

Comar, a supplier of custom medical devices and assemblies and specialty packaging, announced today it has acquired Automatic Plastics Ltd. (APL), a contract manufacturer of injection molded products primarily for the medical device and pharmaceutical sectors headquartered in Wicklow, Ireland. The deal represents Comar’s first step in a global expansion strategy.

Exhibitors and presenters at the plastics show emphasized 3D printing as a complement and aid to more traditional production processes.

“As part of our global vision, we believe it is critical to have a presence in Europe to better serve our medical and pharmaceutical customers, many of whom have global reach,” said Comar CEO Mike Ruggieri in a prepared statement. “APL has superb quality, best-in-class manufacturing, and a spectacular management team that can carry our strategic initiatives forward. We look forward to a successful partnership and continuing our growth journey together.”

Learn about sustainable scrap reprocessing—this resource offers a deep dive into everything from granulator types and options, to service tips, videos and technical articles.

Based in Ballygowan, Northern Ireland, CCP Gransden produces custom composite parts for aerospace, automotive, security and defense. Faster production, simplified processes, and recyclability are reasons why the firm is placing growing emphasis on TP composite technologies. The principal driver is the automotive industry, but aircraft manufacturers are also increasingly requesting thermoplastic solutions from CCP Gransden. Explains Peter Quigley, engineering manager, “We adapt processes developed for the automotive industry to aircraft manufacturing. The exciting thing is that we often bring back the optimized processes into the automotive industry, thus increasing efficiency and performance there.”

Mike Sepe has authored more than 25 ANTEC papers and more than 250 articles illustrating the importance of this interdisciplanary approach. In this collection, we present some of his best work during the years he has been contributing for Plastics Technology Magazine.

Introduced by Zeiger and Spark Industries at the PTXPO, the nozzle is designed for maximum heat transfer and uniformity with a continuous taper for self cleaning.

Additive technology creates air pockets in film during orientation, cutting down on the amount of resin needed while boosting opacity, mechanical properties and recyclability.

Discover how artifical intelligence is revolutionizing plastics processing. Hear from industry experts on the future impact of AI on your operations and envision a fully interconnected plant.

Thousands of people visit our Supplier Guide every day to source equipment and materials. Get in front of them with a free company profile.

Sustainability continues to dominate new additives technology, but upping performance is also evident. Most of the new additives have been targeted to commodity resins and particularly polyolefins.

Mold maintenance is critical, and with this collection of content we’ve bundled some of the very best advice we’ve published on repairing, maintaining, evaluating and even hanging molds on injection molding machines.

An injection molder of trash cans, pallets, totes and other plus-size components, Rehrig Pacific’s machine fleet is composed of larger tonnage presses whose size makes material changes at the feed throat a potentially dizzying exercise.

August 29-30 in Minneapolis all things injection molding and moldmaking will be happening at the Hyatt Regency — check out who’s speaking on what topics today.

Mixed in among thought leaders from leading suppliers to injection molders and mold makers at the 2023 Molding and MoldMaking conferences will be molders and toolmakers themselves.

Multiple speakers at Molding 2023 will address the ways simulation can impact material substitution decisions, process profitability and simplification of mold design.

In operation for 50 years and led by owner and managing director Al Lawless and commercial director Andrea Cawley, APL specializes in custom design, development, molding, and assembly of medical devices and rigid pharmaceutical packaging. Its production facility, certified to ISO 13485, houses 30 injection molding machines ranging from 25 to 485 tons. The company has expertise in design and development, overmolding, two-shot molding, automation, packaging, and custom printing.

Ultradent's entry of its Umbrella cheek retractor took home the awards for Technical Sophistication and Achievement in Economics and Efficiency at PTXPO.

Second quarter started with price hikes in PE and the four volume engineering resins, but relatively stable pricing was largely expected by the quarter’s end.

In the composite overmolding cell, a six-axis robot places organosheet blanks in an IR oven (right) and then in the press for preforming and overmolding.

Core Technology Molding turned to Mold-Masters E-Multi auxiliary injection unit to help it win a job and dramatically change its process.

Formnext Chicago is an industrial additive manufacturing expo taking place April 8-10, 2025 at McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois. Formnext Chicago is the second in a series of Formnext events in the U.S. being produced by Mesago Messe Frankfurt, AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology, and Gardner Business Media (our publisher).

Say “manufacturing automation” and thoughts immediately go to the shop floor and specialized production equipment, robotics and material handling systems. But there is another realm of possible automation — the front office.

Plastics Technology’s Tech Days is back! Every Tuesday in October, a series of five online presentations will be given by industry supplier around the following topics:  Injection Molding — New Technologies, Efficiencies Film Extrusion — New Technologies, Efficiencies Upstream/Downstream Operations Injection Molding — Sustainability Extrusion — Compounding Coming out of NPE2024, PT identified a variety of topics, technologies and trends that are driving and shaping the evolution of plastic products manufacturing — from recycling/recyclability and energy optimization to AI-based process control and automation implementation. PT Tech Days is designed to provide a robust, curated, accessible platform through which plastics professionals can explore these trends, have direct access to subject-matter experts and develop strategies for applying solutions in their operations.

Join KraussMaffei for an insightful webinar designed for industry professionals, engineers and anyone interested in the manufacturing processes of PVC pipes. This session will provide a comprehensive understanding of the technology behind the production of high-quality PVC pipes: from raw material preparation to final product testing. Agenda: Introduction to PVC extrusion: overview of the basic principles of PVC pipe extrusion — including the process of melting and shaping PVC resin into pipe forms Equipment and machinery: detailed explanation of the key equipment involved — such as extruders, dies and cooling systems — and their roles in the extrusion process Process parameters: insight into the critical process parameters like temperature, pressure and cooling rates that influence the quality and consistency of the final PVC pipes Energy efficiency: examination of ways to save material and energy use when extruding PVC pipe products

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.

technotrans says climate protection, energy efficiency and customization will be key discussion topics at PTXPO as it displays its protemp flow 6 ultrasonic eco and the teco cs 90t 9.1 TCUs.

Gifted with extraordinary technical know how and an authoritative yet plain English writing style, in this collection of articles Fattori offers his insights on a variety of molding-related topics that are bound to make your days on the production floor go a little bit better.

Take a deep dive into all of the various aspects of part quoting to ensure you’ve got all the bases—as in costs—covered before preparing your customer’s quote for services.

While the major correction in PP prices was finally underway, generally stable pricing was anticipated for the other four commodity resins.

Across the show, sustainability ruled in new materials technology, from polyolefins and engineering resins to biobased materials.

In this collection of articles, two of the industry’s foremost authorities on screw design — Jim Frankand and Mark Spalding — offer their sage advice on screw design...what works, what doesn’t, and what to look for when things start going wrong.

To explore the TP composite field, in 2016 CCP Gransden installed an Engel v-duo injection machine—one of the first of these units in the U.K. This is a servohydraulic machine with a vertical, two-platen clamp. It was developed specifically for composites applications. Its low operating height simplifies manual tasks and suits the machine well to R&D uses. The clamp can be equipped with a sliding table, facilitating a variety of automation concepts.

In this collection of content, we provide expert advice on welding from some of the leading authorities in the field, with tips on such matters as controls, as well as insights on how to solve common problems in welding.

Baystar's Borstar technology is helping customers deliver better, more reliable production methods to greenhouse agriculture.

Explains Quigley, “At the point of injection molding, the preform is in a molten state. This ‘melt-melt’ interface allows polymer chains and fibers to cross the bond line, resulting in an extremely strong and stable bond between the organosheet preform and the overmolded functional elements.” He adds: “We are already achieving cycle times today of under two minutes. This is the key to realizing the costs per unit demanded by the automotive industry.”

Successfully starting or restarting an injection molding machine is less about ticking boxes on a rote checklist and more about individually assessing each processing scenario and its unique variables.

Join this webinar to explore the transformative benefits of retrofitting your existing injection molding machines (IMMs). Engel will guide you through upgrading your equipment to enhance monitoring, control and adaptability — all while integrating digital technologies. You'll learn about the latest trends in IMM retrofitting (including Euromap interfaces and plasticizing retrofits) and discover how to future-proof your machines for a competitive edge. With insights from industry experts, it'll walk you through the decision-making process, ensuring you make informed choices that drive your business forward. Agenda: Maximize the value of your current IMMs through strategic retrofitting Learn how to integrate digital technologies to enhance monitoring and control Explore the benefits of Euromap interfaces and plasticizing retrofits Understand how retrofitting can help meet new product demands and improve adaptability Discover how Engel can support your retrofitting needs, from free consultations to execution

In business for more than 70 years, Comar provides injection molding, injection blow molding, injection stretch blow molding, and extrusion blow molding along with a full suite of value-added services. Headquartered in Voorhees, NJ, Comar is majority owned by Morgan Stanley Capital Partners.

Despite price increase nominations going into second quarter, it appeared there was potential for generally flat pricing with the exception of a major downward correction for PP.

A collaboration between show organizer PLASTICS, recycler CPR and size reduction experts WEIMA and Conair recovered and recycled all production scrap at NPE2024.

Across all process types, sustainability was a big theme at NPE2024. But there was plenty to see in automation and artificial intelligence as well.

This month’s resin pricing report includes PT’s quarterly check-in on select engineering resins, including nylon 6 and 66.

While prices moved up for three of the five commodity resins, there was potential for a flat trajectory for the rest of the third quarter.

Core Technology Molding turned to Mold-Masters E-Multi auxiliary injection unit to help it win a job and dramatically change its process.

Injection molding was brand-new to CCP Gransden, so its team relied on Engel experts in the U.K. and its Center for Lightweight Composite Technologies in Austria. CCP Gransden learned the process on its new 1100-metric-ton v-duo press, equipped with a six-axis articulated robot from Stäubli. The entire process, including the IR oven, is centrally controlled by the v-duo’s C300 control panel. “This is a huge advantage for us,” says Quigley. “Integration of all control simplifies operation and provides a better overview, especially when the processes are complex.

When, how, what and why to automate — leading robotics suppliers and forward-thinking moldmakers will share their insights on automating manufacturing at collocated event.

This machine has given CCP Gransden an entry into the promising technology of what the firm calls single-stage overmolding—which Engel calls the organomelt process. Long-fiber-reinforced blanks or organosheets—prepregs with a thermoplastic matrix--are heated in an infrared oven (incorporating special features of the molder’s own design) and then placed in the mold, where they are formed and directly overmolded with thermoplastic to create ribs, attachment points, and other functional elements. “Combining thermal forming and functionalization in the same mold and in a single stage make this process extremely efficient,” says Steve Taylor, sales engineer for Engel in the U.K. “Many competitors are still separating thermoforming of the organosheets and overmolding into two independent work stages, requiring two molds and often two machines. The integrated and fully automated process in a single machine is not only faster and more cost-effective, but also results in better part quality.”

In a time where sustainability is no longer just a buzzword, the food and beverage packaging industry is required to be at the forefront of this innovation. By adopting circular packaging processes and solutions, producers can meet regulatory requirements while also satisfying consumer demand and enhancing brand reputation. Join Husky to learn more about the broader implications of the circular economy — as well as how leading brands are leveraging this opportunity to reduce costs, increase design flexibility and boost product differentiation. Agenda: The cost and operational benefits of embracing circularity Key materials in circular packaging — including rPET and emerging bioplastics How to design a circular food and beverage package Strategies for selecting sustainable closures to future-proof packaging solutions Optimization and streamlining of production processes for enhanced efficiency How Husky Technologies can enable your sustainable success

Plastics Technology covers technical and business Information for Plastics Processors in Injection Molding, Extrusion, Blow Molding, Plastic Additives, Compounding, Plastic Materials, and Resin Pricing. About Us

The Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS) has released final figures for NPE2024: The Plastics Show (May 6-10; Orlando) that officially make it the largest ever NPE in several key metrics.

Ireland is one of the world’s major medtech and pharmaceutical industry hubs — 14 of the world’s top 15 medical device manufacturers have a presence on the island and the manufacturing base exports €13 billion worth of goods to more than 100 countries annually, according to Enterprise Ireland. Comar said that the acquisition provides an exceptional foundation for supplying its multinational customers and grow in European healthcare markets. The combined company will have 11 manufacturing facilities and more than 1200 employees worldwide.

In this three-part collection, veteran molder and moldmaker Jim Fattori brings to bear his 40+ years of on-the-job experience and provides molders his “from the trenches” perspective on on the why, where and how of venting injection molds. Take the trial-and-error out of the molding venting process.

Join Wittmann for an engaging webinar on the transformative impact of manufacturing execution systems (MES) in the plastic injection molding industry. Discover how MES enhances production efficiency, quality control and real-time monitoring while also reducing downtime. It will explore the integration of MES with existing systems, emphasizing compliance and traceability for automotive and medical sectors. Learn about the latest advancements in IoT and AI technologies and how they drive innovation and continuous improvement in MES. Agenda: Overview of MES benefits What is MES? Definition, role and brief history Historical perspective and evolution Longevity and analytics Connectivity: importance, standards and integration Advantages of MES: efficiency, real-time data, traceability and cost savings Emerging technologies: IoT and AI in MES

Processors with sustainability goals or mandates have a number of ways to reach their goals. Biopolymers are among them.

In addition to the PEEK and PPS resins established in aircraft construction, CCP Gransden has applied the v-duo machine to processing nylons preferred in automotive and has experimented with PPA. So far, the company has worked primarily with organosheets, but is putting increasing focus on unidirectional reinforced TP tapes, which allow even more precise control of part properties.

Join Engel in exploring the future of battery molding technology. Discover advancements in thermoplastic composites for battery housings, innovative automation solutions and the latest in large-tonnage equipment designed for e-mobility — all with a focus on cost-efficient solutions. Agenda: Learn about cutting-edge thermoplastic composites for durable, sustainable and cost-efficient battery housings Explore advanced automation concepts for efficient and scalable production See the latest large-tonnage equipment and technology innovations for e-mobility solutions

Resin drying is a crucial, but often-misunderstood area. This collection includes details on why and what you need to dry, how to specify a dryer, and best practices.

Productive Plastics has created an extensive collection of 3D printed manufacturing aids that sharply reduce lead times.

After successfully introducing a combined conference for moldmakers and injection molders in 2022, Plastics Technology and MoldMaking Technology are once again joining forces for a tooling/molding two-for-one.

CCP Gransden started out using the machine for R&D sample parts with the new machine in both overmolding and HP-RTM, but customers pushed to use it for commercial overmolding production. “We are launching series production with the first customers,” states Jim Erskine, owner and managing director. “We can produce up to 100,000 composite parts per year from one tool.”

In this collection, which is part one of a series representing some of John’s finest work, we present you with five articles that we think you will refer to time and again as you look to solve problems, cut cycle times and improve the quality of the parts you mold.

CCP Gransden knows composites—since the 1960s it has established itself in thermoset RTM, vacuum infusion, and filament winding. In 2012, the company saw new opportunities for growth in thermoplastic composites. Today, it offers press forming and compression molding of TP composites, along with its newest technology—injection overmolding of TP prepregs.

The aim of this presentation is to guide you through the factors and the numbers that will help you determine if a robot is a smart investment for your application. Agenda:  Why are you considering automation? What problems are you trying to solve? How and why automation can help Crunch the numbers and determine the ROI

This Knowledge Center provides an overview of the considerations needed to understand the purchase, operation, and maintenance of a process cooling system.

A specialist in thermoset composites since the 1960s, CCP Gransden is a relative newcomer to thermoplastic composites and to injection molding. Its exploration of organosheet overmolding has opened up new potential.