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Now, Jiang Guo and his colleagues from the A*STAR Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology have developed a method for fabricating molds that can quickly create microfluidic channels in polymer substrates. "The technology addresses a critical problem in mold insert fabrication for microfluidic chip production, and will enhance local industry," says Guo.

Coverage of single-use plastics can be both misleading and demoralizing. Here are 10 tips for changing the perception of the plastics industry at your company and in your community.

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.

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

New orders, production and backlog contracted at accelerated rates in July, driving the drop in the overall plastics index, with employment ‘holding its own’ to minimize the decline.

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

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

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

Injection molding enables large-scale production of polymer and plastic materials with micrometer-sized features. Now, A*STAR scientists have developed a method for creating mold templates with high precision and few defects.

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

The Industrial Production Index for plastics and rubber products manufacturing, however, saw a moderate pullback in June, decreasing by 0.4 points from May. The Index for plastic products manufacturing specifically decreased by 1.1 points. Both decreases are relatively shallow compared to data from January 2022 and are consistent with the plastics processing GBI’s modest declines in June and July.

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.

Guo and his colleagues started by milling their template for a microfluidic channel 100 micrometers in depth and 100 micrometers in width on a special aluminum alloy. The channel was 100 millimeters in length and included two fluid inlets, one fluid outlet and a serpentine channel as reaction chamber. They then polished this template using a method known as magnetic field-assisted finishing. Two magnetic rollers rotating in opposite directions on either side of the mold create a magnetic field. This field controlled a magnetic abrasive made of carbonyl iron powder and alumina particles bound together by oil, which removed any unwanted material and smoothed the surface.

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.

Given the widespread use of plastic products, changes in inflation-adjusted personal consumption expenditure provide valuable insights. Historically, annual consumer spending growth averaged 2.3 % between 2010 and 2019, a period without a recession. In the past two years, the average was 2.4 %. Including 2021, post-COVID-19 recession, the three-year average was 4.4 %. Could it decrease? It is possible. Is the economy currently operating at maximum capacity in plastics processing? It is not. Capacity utilization is low and there remains room for growth.

The U.S. labor market continued to show signs of weakness in July, with the unemployment rate rising to 4.3%. This marked the fourth consecutive monthly increase in unemployment. Compared to the 3.5 % rate in July last year, this rise was significant enough to cause concerns, particularly in the equities market when the July unemployment data was released.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

The index for custom processors fared better than the overall processor index in July, contracting more slowly, a one-point gain potentially signaling a small start to recovering from a significant GBI drop in May.

The Gardner Business Index (GBI): Plastics Processing contracted for the third month in a row, the good news being the magnitude is the smallest of the three declines. That said, the index is holding on at just one point higher than the November 2023 low that marked the lowest reading since May of 2020.

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).

GBI: Plastics Processing accelerated contraction in July, with custom processing activity contracting slower, landing almost two points higher than the overall index in July.

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A fluid behaves very differently when it is confined to micrometer-scale channels. This phenomenon already has several applications such as enabling the analysis of small samples of blood.

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

These microfluidic systems are small and portable, easy to use without expert knowledge, and disposable because they are cheap to produce. But this disposability means that microfluidic chips need to be quickly mass produced.

The researchers compared their template before and after this magnetic polish. They observed that the process preserved the height of the microstructure, although the edges were more rounded after polishing. The polish reduced the roughness of the surface by a factor of four, leaving a mirror-like finish. "The next step will be to use the polished mold template for actual injection molding," says Guo.

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

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.

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.

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

Manufacturing unemployment increased from 3.1% in June to 3.6% in July. Interestingly, unemployment in the plastics and rubber products manufacturing sector decreased from 5.2 % to 3.0 %. This decline suggests an increase in plastics and rubber products manufacturing ahead.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

It appears that accelerated contraction in new orders, production and backlog drove accelerated contraction in July’s overall Plastics Processing index. Contraction in exports also accelerated a little, while employment contraction stayed relatively steady within the tight range it has occupied for most of 2024. Supplier deliveries lengthened at a slightly slower rate in July, the second month in a row, which fits other metrics that suggest the manufacturing industry is not ‘on fire’ such that suppliers have a hard time keeping up.

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

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.

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.

More information: Jiang Guo et al. Magnetic field-assisted finishing of a mold insert with curved microstructures for injection molding of microfluidic chips, Tribology International (2017). DOI: 10.1016/j.triboint.2017.04.019

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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.

It’s all about sustainability and the circular economy, and it will be on display in Orlando across all the major processes. But there will be plenty to see in automation, AI and machine learning as well.

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

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.

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.

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.

Injection molding involves shaping a material while in a molten state using a metal template. It is cheap, fast, and useful for creating microfluidic chips. However, engineering a mold with precise micrometer-scale features and smooth surfaces is challenging as burrs and tool marks create defects. A post-polishing process can fix some of these imperfections, but it is difficult for polishing tools to access the recessed corners of microstructured surfaces and remove unwanted material uniformly.

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

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

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

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.

The Gardner Business Index (GBI): Plastics Processing (43.5) for July is down one point relative to June’s 44.5. The index is based on survey responses from subscribers to Plastics Technology. Indices above 50 signal growth; below 50, contraction.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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