June PE resin contracts held flat, maintaining the $0.03/lb increase that was implemented in May. Despite more price increases on the table for July and August, PlasticsExchange writes that it might be difficult for sellers just to maintain current contract levels this month. PP contracts wiped away a solid dime in June, bringing the two-month drop to a hefty $0.17/lb. Polymer-grade propylene (PGP) monomer costs continued to erode, indicating another likely decrease for July PP contracts. While the market cools, the Gulf waters continue to heat up, and forecasters are still calling for a very active hurricane season. Something for processors to keep in mind . . . .

Spot PP trading was good, but fell short of great, with prices falling another $0.03/lb this past week. PP transactions outstripped those for PE at the PlasticsExchange trading desk. Completed deals spanned from Prime homo-polymer PP Raffia and mid-melt Injection to very high melt for melt-blown applications. There was demand for co-polymer PP frac No Break, mid-melt impacts, and lower-end compounding resin. Some processors took advantage of comparatively well-discounted resin pricing, while other buyers required immediate shipments to tide them over until their late railcars arrived.

The tape-stacking cell was developed by Engel. In order to achieve the shortest possible cycle times here too, it relies on the pick-and-place principle. This means that tapes can be deposited and spot-welded together at three-second intervals. Since the quality of the stack depends on the accuracy of the tape positioning, Engel has equipped the stacking cell with a measuring system comprising high-resolution camera technology. The measuring system delivers data that is used for actively intervening in the depositing process, thus guaranteeing the greatest possible depositing accuracy.

At the same time, suppliers are under pressure to reduce inventory positions during July, as warehouses remain packed near capacity and have been ratcheting up packaging and storage fees, which are poised to escalate further. Logistics remain an issue, with a limited rail embargo on resin shipments into California from Texas and several other states. Rail services in other parts of the United States are also facing extreme difficulties and backups.

Additional downward pricing pressure emerged after Heartland, a new Canadian producer, announced the first PP railcar loading at its facility in Fort Saskatchewan, AB. It has been making pellets since late June and intends to gradually ramp up production through the remainder of the year. The added capacity and continued unraveling in spot PGP and PP prices are setting the stage for another decrease in July PP contracts, according to the PlasticsExchange. That would follow the sharp $0.17/lb drop in contracts over the last two months.

The tape stacking cell developed by Engel uses high-resolution camera technology to produce precise stacks from tape blanks.

After the successful May $0.03/lb increase, the June resin price increase has officially been pushed to July and the July increase has been pushed to August. For now, the market still feels weak, according to the PlasticsExchange. Ample supplies are available, so other than just playing out the cycle, it might take a production disruption to put resin pricing power firmly back into producers’ hands, said the Chicago-based resin clearinghouse.

Besides organic sheets, Engel’s organomelt technology is also suitable for unidirectional (UD) glass and/or carbon fiber reinforced tapes with thermoplastic matrixes. Tapes make it possible to design semi-finished products in line with requirements and thus make even better use of the components' lightweight design potential. The components are either partially reinforced with just a few tapes or are produced from tape stacks several millimeters thick.

The consolidation press can be seamlessly integrated into the overall process, which significantly increases efficiency in the production of tailor-made tape solutions.

Global materials company Trinseo and its affiliate companies in Europe announced on July 5 a price increase for all polystyrene (PS), polycarbonate (PC), ABS, and SAN grades. Effective July 1 or as existing contract terms allow, the contract and spot prices will increase as follows:

The two half-shells are produced in the same mold in a one-shot process. For this purpose, the two organic sheets are simultaneously heated in the IR oven, inserted into the mold, shaped there and directly “functionalized” by means of an injection molding process taking place in the same mold. The Tepex dynalite type organic sheets provided by Bond Laminates are based on glass fibers in a polypropylene matrix. Glass-fiber reinforced polypropylene is also used for overmolding.

The fully automated, large-scale production system solution supplied by injection machine builder Engel consists of a duo 1700 injection moulding machine with 17,000 kN clamping force, three easix articulated robots for the preparation of multiple metal inserts as well as for the handling of the organic sheet, a viper 90 linear take-out robot and a size 5 IR oven. Engel provides this cell as a system solution all from a single source.

The processing and functionalization of thermoplastic continuous fiber-reinforced semi-finished products, such as thermoplastic fabrics or UD tapes, using the Engel organomelt process will be one key focus at Engel's trade fair stand this year at Composites Europe 2018. The world's first large-scale application has been launched in the US. Valeo Front End Modules manufactures front-end carriers with integrated air ducts for a renowned German OEM in Smyrna, Tennessee, believed to be Volkswagen in Chattanooga, Tennessee. In July of this year, the structural components won an Automotive Award from the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) for their innovative production based on organic sheets and its outstanding properties. The parts contain a high organic sheet fraction, resulting in significant weight savings and improved crash performance. In addition, it was possible to integrate the air ducts directly into the support using a double-shell structure.

Stephen has been with PlasticsToday and its preceding publications Modern Plastics and Injection Molding since 1992, throughout this time based in the Asia Pacific region, including stints in Japan, Australia, and his current location Singapore. His current beat focuses on automotive. Stephen is an avid folding bicycle rider, often taking his bike on overseas business trips, and is a proud dachshund owner.

Two systems are used for the production of the blanks. A pick-and-place tape stacking cell with optical image processing and a consolidation press, which Engel will be presenting for the first time at Composites Europe. "With this new development, we have succeeded in consolidating stacks of fiber-reinforced thermoplastic tapes in the injection moulding cycle," says Dr. Norbert Müller, head of Engel’s center for lightweight composite technologies. "The consolidation press can be seamlessly integrated into the overall process, which significantly increases efficiency in the production of tailor-made tape solutions."

Pick-and-place stacking technology with optical image processing offers highly flexible use. The tapes can have almost arbitrary widths and contours. Because the stacks obtain their shape required for the component during stacking, consolidation can be followed by forming and functionalisation in the injection moulding step without the need for intermediate trimming. Engel is already using this kind of solution for the manufacturing of its own products. The rotation arm of the e-pic robot consists of carbon fiber reinforced tapes.

The consolidation press developed by Engel in cooperation with its partner Fill (Gurten, Austria) can be used to consolidate fiber stacks with deliberate fiber orientation and different wall thicknesses. All process steps are automated. All told, the consolidation process integrates inserting the fiber stack into the mould, transferring the closed mold to the heating press, heating, transferring the mold to the cooling press, consolidation, cooling and transferring to the initial station, where the mold is opened, the consolidated semi-finished product (blank) removed and a new fiber stack inserted so that the cycle can start again.

Truckloads were the preferred size, more so than railcars. Processors have generally been limiting new purchase volumes in favor of working down their current resin supplies, hoping to buy their next batch of resin when prices have eased even further. Producers remained willing to deeply discount off-grade materials, but were a bit coy with spot railcars as they try to keep domestic prime levels buoyed.

PE activity was similar to the previous week, as spot resin prices resumed their downward trend, falling another $0.02/lb following the $0.04/lb slide seen in spot levels during June. Despite the limited trade volume, transactions were spread across most key commodity grades, said the PlasticsExchange.

To be cost-effective in large-scale production, the stacks must be made and consolidated inline and within the cycle of the injection molding process. As a system supplier, Engel is in a position to offer integrated and fully automated solutions for the entire process – from individual tapes through to functionalisation in the injection moulding process – from a single source.

Previously, Trinseo announced price increases for all of its PC/ABS and ABS resins for the automotive market. Effective July 1, the Pulse PC/ABS resins rose €370 per metric ton and the price for Magnum ABS resins went up by €450 per metric ton.

Spot resin market activity was a bit sluggish following the Fourth of July holiday, but by midweek a good flow of fresh off-grade and some Prime railcars rolled into the spot market. Sensing a challenging sales month ahead, resellers were looking to offload some of their July commitments.

Prime polyethylene (PE) resin prices shed $0.02/lb last week, while $0.03/lb were squeezed from the polypropylene (PP) resin market at the PlasticsExchange trading desk, amid falling monomer costs, lax demand, and growing bearish sentiment. Many resellers and processors have been de-stocking their resin inventories to minimize exposure during this down leg of the resin pricing cycle, reports the PlasticsExchange in its weekly Market Report. Consequently, there is ongoing demand for quick shipments of packaged truckloads of resin, which helped to kick start the week, month, and quarter. Some of the sharply discounted off-grade PP railcars were also compelling to processors, who snagged some later in the week.

Styron general-purpose polystyrene grades, Styron and Styron A-Tech, Styron C-Tech, and Styron X-Tech high-impact polystyrene grades by €290 per metric ton;

At Composites Europe 2018, Engel is setting a further milestone on the road to economical production of thermoplastic composites: The Engel organomelt process is being used for the first time world-wide in the large-scale production of front-end carriers with integrated air ducts.

This reproducible thermoplastic approach enables integration of the forming process and functionalization, and to merge the supporting structure and functional elements in an adhesive manner. "The fully automated one-shot process contributes considerably to the low unit costs required by the automotive industry," emphasizes Christian Wolfsberger, Business Development Manager Composite Technologies at Engel's headquarters in Schwertberg, Austria. A further benefit: the exclusive use of thermoplastic polymers simplifies the development of recycling strategies with the aim of returning the components to the material cycles at the end of their service life. "We can see that thermoplastic-based composite lightweight design is increasingly becoming the focus of product developers, both in the automotive and aircraft industries," stresses Wolfsberger.