Steel and As Light as Plastic - hemp plastic injection molding

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.

So they had to pull things out, cut the fiber bundles back then splice in a new section. I assume they also figure out a better way to seal the top end of the cover channel to keep out more exploring tree rats.

“We are very open and honest with our employees and communicate frequently on the state of our business and outlook,” Murphy says. “We have always had a great culture at PRD where everyone feels like family. For some it is just a job, but many feel ownership and accountability for our success. We try to provide clear production goals, learn from our mistakes and celebrate our successes.”

Jim Goerges, president of Precision Tool Technologies Inc. (PTT) in Brainerd, Minn., another Top Shops honoree, says that even before the pandemic, the company had a goal of unattended machining through all 168 hr in a work week, investing in lights-out capable machines over the years to get there. “Our investment in the right automated machining technologies put us in a strong position to navigate the issues related to increased social distancing during the pandemic,” Goerges says.

But why aren’t reports more common? Given the range of manufacturers and model years listed in the class-action lawsuits, it seems this issue should be more widespread. Is there another variable at work? The Forbes article claims a representative from a Volvo dealership in Michigan let slip that the issue only seems to crop up in more rural areas, never in cities. Perhaps food scarcity has to hit a certain level before rats will get a taste for soy-based insulation? While we’re on the subject, are soy-based bioplastics the only ones susceptible to this problem? Do we need to add rats and mice to the list of things we must protect our rolls of PLA from?

On the equipment side, the average fleet size for Top Shops and the other respondents registered at 21 and 20 injection molding machines, respectively. So, we are looking at basically the same amount of workers utilizing the same amount of machines in the same amount of space for the two groups, but there are also some key differences.

Try this. Take some of your old chewed extension cord, hopefully you didn’t throw it all away. Cut it into 1 or 2 ft pieces, and wipe each one down with something different. Bleach, ammonia, baby oil, etc. Don’t let the bleach and ammonia get close to each other or you’ll make nerve gas. Then put the pieces out where they can be chewed. Keep track of which one is which with masking tape labels or something similar. Then just use what works on all the new cords . Experiment. Try various extracts like mint, or those little bottles of air freshener or oregano oil. Then… and this is very important… post your results for all to see, right here on HackaDay. Good luck!

A few months later, a similar lawsuit was filed against Toyota for the same soy wiring used in vehicles between 2012 and 2016. Yet another lawsuit targeted Kia. Forbes even published an interview in early 2017 about a woman who’s 2016 Volvo was constantly being attacked by critters, to the point that she had to order coyote urine off the Internet and sprinkle it around her car every night as if she was performing some magic ritual.

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

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

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

Materials run by our survey entrants largely tracked along similar lines, with other shops running slightly more polyolefins than Top Shops (63% to 52%), while Top Shops processed more engineering resins (87% to 76%). Only in LSR and bioplastics was the gap noticeably wide, with 9% of Top Shops running LSR and 17% bioplastics, compared with 2% and 7%, respectively, for other plants.

Sure enough, a Google search for “soy wires” will get you plenty of hits about people who are experiencing a very strange problem. During the night, animals are getting up into the engine compartments of their cars and eating the insulation off the wiring harness. It isn’t just one or two cases either, it’s enough of a problem that some car manufacturers are getting hit with class-action lawsuits.

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

“Yeah, that’s what I thought. Mynocks. Chewie, check the rest of the ship, make sure there aren’t any more attached. They’re chewing on the power cables.”

Toilet bowl cleaning block zip-ty’ed to the cables in the engine compartment seems to de the trick so far. The Toyota garage was a bit confused by this solution but no other side effects. Replace every few months.

So when he recently told me about all the trouble people are having with soy-based electrical wiring, I thought it was just the latest conspiracy theory to join his usual stories. I told him it didn’t make any sense, there’s no way somebody managed to develop a reliable soy-derived conductor. “No, no,” he says, “not the conductor. They are making the insulation out of soy, and animals are chewing through it.”

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

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.

It’s a common problem here in the Netherlands as well in rural areas. But it’s not rats gnawing on the wires here! It’s beech/stone martens (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beech_marten) I suspect it’s probably similar rodents responsible in the US too.

Last week my parents had to spent 120€ on their 6 month Volkswagen Golf after visiting us for the birthday of our son. Interestingly the mechanic told them it’s a known problem. It didn’t bother him to take the money…

Found something. TL;DR – rodents are persistent, and there’s not much you can do to stop them. (Albeit maybe not using organic compounds to tempt them might be a good idea).

+1 Who wants/needs/“thinks it’s a good idea to have” degradable electrical insulation? That is just a ticking time bomb that will force obsolescence of the new cars and make people buy new cars as their old cars deteriorate or get eaten by rodents… On second thought maybe there are two different motivations at work here.

Looking more deeply into the numbers, while the Top Shops and the other respondents were very close in average fleet size, the presses on Top Shops’ floors had considerably less miles on them, boasting an average age of nine years compared with 14. The Top Shops ran horizontal machines exclusively, while 9% of the other facilities also had vertical presses in their plants. Top Shops operated slightly fewer hydraulic machines (62% vs. 71%) than other survey entrants; and far more all-electric presses (65% vs. 50%) and hybrid (50% vs. 26%) machines.

True story: my wife (German) was trying to explain to me why people put chicken-wire grates under their cars. She had thought the martens were into timing belts (which they may be for all I know).

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.

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

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

They may have been attracted by the French Fry aroma of the bio-fuel, and decided to have a side of insulation. Can you imagine what hot soy and bio-fuel must smell like to a rat?

Now that’s a bit different. I was already well aware of the growing popularity of bioplastics: the PLA used in desktop 3D printers is one such example, generally derived from corn. It certainly wasn’t unreasonable to think somebody had tried to make “green” electrical wiring by using a bioplastic insulation. While I wasn’t about to sit down to a hot bag of peas for dinner, I had to admit that maybe in this case his claims deserved a look.

long chain of reactions, so I do not know if it was already mentioned, but this is text from a patent from a google search on using fish oil in wires: “I have found that if ordinary rubber is dissolved in a heat treated oil, such as a vegetable or fish oil, a new and improved rubber varnish or enamel is obtained. Preferably this is accomplished with the use of a vegetable oil which has already been heat reacted to its resinous point so that it is in the form of a fiuid oil resin. Among the oils suitable for this purpose are, soya bean oil, cashew oil, China-wood oil, etc. I may also use an animal oil such as menhaden, 3 sardine or one of the other fish oils. ”

“16 Signs Japan Is Obsessed With Soybeans” “Why have young people in Japan stopped having sex?” “What happens to a country when its young people stop having sex? Japan is finding out…”

“The biggest challenge was the unknown,” explains Mark Murphy, president of molder and moldmaker PRD Inc. in Springville, Ind.—one of PT’s 23 newest Top Shops. “We had gone for so many years with growing sales and a growing economy. We knew this could probably be the event that brought it all to a halt.”

I’ve got a friend who tells me at every opportunity that soy is the downfall of humanity. Whatever ails us as a society, it’s the soy beans that did it. They increase violent tendencies, they make us fat and lazy, they run farmers out of business, and so on. He laments at how hard it is to find food that doesn’t include soy in some capacity, and for a while was resigned to eating nothing but chicken hot dogs and bags of frozen peas; anything else had unacceptable levels of the “Devil’s Bean”. Overall he’s a really great guy, kind of person who could fix anything with a roll of duct tape and a trip to the scrap pile, but you might think twice if he invites you over for dinner.

Plasticized PVC insulation has historically been cheaper than PU material though PU material is mechanically and chemically and safety and longevity and environmentally wise a much better material.

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

as an auto-spark I con confirm this is a thing, and its been going on a long time never knew it was soy tho, always figured it was something in the cloth wrapping that protects teh wiring from abrasion.

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

Looking into some of these class-action lawsuits, we can see that they are often quietly dismissed. This is of course quite common in cases like this: the manufacturer writes a fat enough check and the plaintiffs willfully dismiss the case, generally with the understanding they won’t mention the situation again. Who can blame them? If Honda or Toyota handed me a check with 4 or 5 zeros, I can’t say I’d push the issue either.

On vacation, we parked our Subaru outside and left it unused for a few days. Some rodents got to the wiring. The dealer told use that the Boxer engine is the perfect size and shape to make a nest for rodents! So, some models had problems with animals, and some did not. Presumably they all had similar wiring harnesses, but different sized engines. I don’t buy it that soy is the problem.

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.

Mercedes had a similar problem in the early – mid 90’s. “Biodegradable” wiring harnesses because of environmental standards. I’m not sure what’s environmental about replacing your wiring harness…

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006IGZSM/ref=azfs_379213722_WolfUrine_1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-5&pf_rd_r=6TB2YSSBFDFYX7KEY57J&pf_rd_r=6TB2YSSBFDFYX7KEY57J&pf_rd_t=1401&pf_rd_p=b2221a79-ff14-4ef4-b23f-effaa47b3b34&pf_rd_p=b2221a79-ff14-4ef4-b23f-effaa47b3b34&pf_rd_i=1001388321

My google-shui is failing me, but hasn’t the telecom industry (somewhat) solved this problem with bad tasting layers in outdoor wiring? If true, would the foul-flavoured additive defeat any environmental gains the soy products provide?

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.

So, putting more soy into wire insulation will decrease the rat population, resulting in less wires being chewed by rats!

I recall reading a decade or so ago, to not buy a certain era Mercedes because of “faulty wiring”. I had no idea what they meant. I was wondering If Lucas was building their wire harnesses.

Examining other key metrics more closely, we see that Top Shops had more active molds (398 vs. 219) that molded more total parts (73 million vs. 32 million) for more active customers (102 vs. 56). Ultimately, it is that ability to wring maximum production from every person, every square foot, every tool and every machine that is part of what characterizes a Top Shop.

We’re curious to hear what the good readers of Hackaday think about this rather unique problem. Do potential issues with bioplastics give you concerns about using them in your personal projects or commercial products? What about the poor souls who are stuck putting rat traps under their tires every night? Is there some solution the Hackaday community can come up with to counteract this particular quirk of bioplastic insulated wires?

There’s even a website called, get ready for it, howtopreventratsfromeatingcarwires.com that collects information on this peculiar situation. The owner of the site details the trouble they had with their own 2015 Honda Civic, and lists makes and models of vehicles which are known to use soy wiring. There’s even a fairly regularly updated blog with articles ranging from the rationale behind using bioplastics to identifying rat droppings in your engine compartment.

This will be the kind of problem that gets stalled/settled/spun until nearly all the cars are off the road from age and then there’ll be a recall (looking at you, Volkswagen wiring division)

The news story below tells you all you need to know about the problems grey squirrels are causing all across this country. If Muslims were causing 3,456 power outages EVERY YEAR ! it would be considered a national emergency, and the news media would be dedicating entire shows to tell us about it.

Here in Australia I haven’t encountered anyone mentioning a situation about rodents eating insulation, but then again I live in a major city and not in the country. My biggest problem are GECKOS. These sure-footed litle b**tards walk all over everything, leaving their little calling cards, which can be on vertical or sometimes even upside down surfaces. They get into small spaces such as through the vents in compressor motors and computer cases, and also the house roof ventilation slots. Having a tarpaulin over a vintage car means nothing to them, they just go inside. Absolute pests, they are.

If you check your statutes, it is likely a fineable offence, because some wires are insulated with clorated plastics that release dioxins when burned.

I have no doubt that rats and other animals are fond of chewing wire insulation containing soy products. They may do it for the taste though I think it’s mostly for the joy of chewing (you should see my dog go to town on the plastic chew toys we give him – probably made of the same stuff). I do have an issue with the first few sentences of this post, however. While I acknowledge that Mr. Nardi was referring to a friend’s hopefully tongue-in-cheek opinion, I think that the notion that “….soy is the downfall of humanity. Whatever ails us as a society, it’s the soy beans that did it. They increase violent tendencies, they make us fat and lazy, they run farmers out of business, and so on.” is a bit of a stretch. Just so you know, half the world eats soy products daily in all three meals and have been doing so for centuries with no violent tendencies whatsoever. I’ve lived most of my life in Asia and I can tell you that the people here are some of the most peaceful, fit and productive people I have ever known. Then again, there is always the exception, whom I need not mention by name. Makes you wonder what kind of insulation they’ve been eating…

I have been experiencing chewed electrical cords for years. It is very common to have damaged electrical wires in our vehicles, old or new. Also, the mice nest and breed in the cabin air intakes. Why those are open to a rodent entering it is beyond me. Seems to me as it should be sealed off to rodents. This is how they then enter the cab of the vehicle, and begin to chew, everything. So out come the traps… Then I go to my workshop, where the insulation and waterproofing is chewed on the extension cords. The cords are damaged and unsafe so I replace them. The new cords must be especially tasty because they are almost cleaned of insulation in the night. So the extension cords are replaced and rolled up and hung high every evening. Oops, they got my sander cord. New replacement sander cord tasted even better apparently, so I have two great sanders with mended cords. They don’t chew on the piece with the breaker, but that is blown because the cords are damaged. So I ask, why am I the only one with electrical damage? Why do I have to be the lucky one? I keep waiting to find the culprit laying there dead in the morning. Not once. So I set traps and reduce the population. This thread is the first conversation about cord damage I have encountered. This brings me some peace of mind, if nothing else. This is a very real problem that can result in serious injury. I brought my damaged new replacement cord back to the hardware store to show the electrical dept head. I did ask for the brand of cords that the rodents don’t eat. I had to show them I wasn’t just a “crazy lady of the day”. They had never seen or heard of it before. As I replace hundreds of dollars worth of commercial grade extension cords and tools, I have come to notice that the replacements are damaged immediately. My bad. The electricity supply now hangs down from above. They will find it there eventually. Therefore, do these rodents aquire a taste for the insulation or are the new cords MORE tasty. I do have a home and workshop in the country. Where do I find toxic electrical cords that are rodent proof? You know, the ones that don’t set the country side on fire. P.S. The coyotes already pee all over the place.

Gotta save a few bucks on the ENTIRE WIRING HARNESS FOR THE CAR, simply to save a very, very small amount per vehicle after all!

Now wait a minute! Soybeans has been grown and consumed in Japanese cuisine for centuries, and the authors are telling us that all of the sudden “young people in Japan stopped having sex”?

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).

Plastics Technology’s 2020 Top Shops benchmarking survey reveals that the most effective molders are, not surprisingly, the most efficient, accomplishing more than their peers from a smaller manufacturing footprint.

“We listen to each others’ ideas to make the best choices and become closer as a team,” IEMSA’s Salazar says. “We also allow doubts and mistakes to happen—we let the learning process be part of our daily life—always taking care of the situation and solving the issues.”

There are so many points of contention with this soy wiring insulation story. Are the rats actually consuming it or are they using it for bedding? I doubt they could use it for food after it has been polymerized. The whole thing almost sounds like a shade tree mechanic theory run wild.

No doubt. But the theory is hinging on the rats choosing the supposed “soy based” insulation to chew on more than they would standard insulation.

I’d argue that carried on into the early 2000s. I’d keep getting strange CAN bus errors on my S80 T6 that were not based in fact. I would say my Volvo was an early source of “fake news”. I had connectors fall apart in my hands so they were probably made of the same air soluble material.

When you use google to find news stories for “squirrels” it very seldom involves good news. Most frequently squirrels are mentioned in stories about house fires or some other type of catastrophe, stories about some bizarre incident, or stories about some crazy person who thinks a grey squirrel is his or her friend.

The new industrial event from the publisher of Plastics Technology will feature data, sourcing and technology updates for manufacturing businesses, including injection molders.

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

Properly cured PU material actually has no real appreciable odor, unlike PVC which constantly gives off both odors and flavors as well as phthalates, which PU doesn’t need to have to make it flexible nor does it contain. Animals have been consuming or chewing on PVC based wires for many years.

During WW2, Illinois (and perhaps other states) issued plates made of compressed soy to save on metal going to the defense factories. Goats had a field day going around eating them.

Fully 83% of Top Shops and 80% of other shops experienced a skills gap in 2020, with all participants looking to address the issue, just in different ways. On the people side, Top Shops outstripped other respondents in flexible schedules, mentor programs, and outreach at local schools by 18, eight and 26 percentage points, respectively. As for partnering with area schools for open houses or staff recruitment, 64% of Top Shops took that step, while only 28% of the other respondents did so.

Someone once told me that cheaper wires sometimes use peanut oil as a plasticizer, rodents love it. Some quick googling seems to confirm this.

On the non-people or robotic side, 52% of Top Shops increased automation in 2020, compared with 35% of the rest of the shops surveyed. Those investments add to an already sizable fleet of robots for top shops, fully 96% of whom said their facilities used automation, compared with 68% of others.

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.

While this is technically a survey of injection molders, in reality, nearly all of its participants are more accurately described as contract manufacturers. A purchase order for molding a single component dropped from the cavity with nothing else done to it—inspection, decoration, assembly, packaging—is most definitely not the business model for today’s molders. Fully 78% of Top Shops and 81% of other shops provide assembly for customers, with 70% of Top Shops and 60% of the remaining survey respondents offering customers collaborative design services. Where Top Shops go even further is in shipping/packaging/labeling, with 87% of our honorees providing those services, compared with 66% of others.

So in order to improve the quality of the insulation they dissolve rubber in vegetable or fish oil, and use the result like a varnish. Guess that leaves a bit of the taste of it in there, especially if gets too hot (go google fishy smell in house for instance).

Insulators are one of the really legit uses for immortal plastics. Biodegradable plastics would be great for the uncountable little wrappers and bits of packaging in the world, but making electrical insulators out of it is a big stupid greenwashing campaign gone wrong.

I have had similar issue, however the explanation was that the rodents and especially martens, are attracted to the fish-oil based release lubricant used during the production of the rubber hoses in cars, this is especially an issue with new cars, once they are half a year old the problem seems to go away. Standard car insurance (in Switzerland) covers damage due to martens chewing on cables and hoses.

Might not smell too good, but something like (modern) mothballs might help keep them away. I dunno if you wanna put the old fashioned naptha ones in your engine bay or not where they might combust.

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

Local governments and/or power companies should be paying people a bounty to trap grey squirrels. Most people are too lazy and/or too stupid to do this without some financial incentive

I have an 06 Hyundai Tuscon and have been through two wiring harnesses due to this, not only is a pain but very expensive…..

The 2019 Plastics Technology Top Shops Survey shows that for its highest-rated respondents, injection molding is just one element in a growing suite of services and capabilities offered to customers.

Start by picking a target melt temperature, and double-check data sheets for the resin supplier’s recommendations. Now for the rest...

But Marderschaden waaaay predates using soy in wire insulation. I guess they just like the way it feels in their teeth or something. (Tell me you’ve _never_ chewed on insulation after stripping a wire.)

Fully 70% of Top Shops perform regular, formal business reviews, compared with 54% of others, with 83% of Top Shops applying business-metric goal setting vs. 42% of others. And 87% of Top Shops have regular management meetings, compared with just 63% of others.

Mix some million scoville capsaicin extract into the plastic before molding it. It works to keep squirrels off pumpkins at halloween, I have to think it would make the insulation less delicious.

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

The easiest way to protect bird feeders and car wires is to trap grey squirrels with a Havahart model 1083 and then put them in a fish tank for about 10 minutes. I’ve sent more than 200 grey squirrels to squirrel heaven in less than 4 years. The 1083 is much more effective than the old fashioned Havahart traps. It can be set with one hand in less than 10 seconds.traps

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.

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.

Rodents chew things, They have to because their teeth never stop growing, And im sure it helps if it is less distasteful.

Unbeknownst to Plaintiffs, however, a real and contentious unintended and undesired consequence of this soy-based insulation material is that it attracts rodents and other animals that are drawn by the soy content of the insulation, and proceed to chew through the insulation and electrical wires that the insulation coats

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.

Scrapyards usually don´t buy burned/charred copper because of the chance of it being from stolen wires, not exactly because it is burnt. Also, sometimes people will mix non-copper wires and burn them along with the real copper ones, to increase weight.

Because of the wrinkle of the global pandemic, or perhaps in spite of it, Plastics Technology’s annual Top Shops survey received its best-ever response as injection molders seemed anxious to take a deep dive into operations that stayed open as essential businesses, while other segments of the broader economy faltered.

The reason here also was a visit for midnight-snack by a stone martens… It happened in Saxonia / Germany. Volkswagen needs a greener image.

Cable companies have been plagued with rodents for decades. This study references challenges in 1943. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1388&context=gpwdcwp

A thought, this could all be a conspiracy by a nation-state to destroying an enemies industrial infrastructure by using wildlife as a proxy. Brilliant!

Meetings may be the bane of many in the business world, and certainly the running butt of a slew of jokes, but the communication, goal setting and goal measuring that well-designed and organized meetings facilitate are very much a part of Top Shops’ winning strategies.

At the start of 2021, as it does every year, Plastics Technology asked injection molders to look back on the year prior and take stock of their operations. The only difference this time: COVID-19.

Had the problem in my 2015 Toyota RAV4. Not the least bit humerous. Dryer sheets seemed to help but I developed a terrible abersion to their smell. Spent $1200 having a screen installed. Seems to have worked. No problems for about 2 years now.

I read some years ago in a telco magazine about a phone company that had problems with squirrels chewing their overhead lines. So they had a company come up with a way to mix capcaisin oil into the insulation plastic. The squirrels developed a taste for hot pepper insulation.

i would rather release phosgene gas when burning the wire to strip it for scrap or using the hot wire stripper tool than to have wires chewed and burn down the car or house and even kill a couple sleeping (csi the theory of everything)

https://www.amazon.com/AuSable®-Brand-Coyote-Urine-Gallon/dp/B00LPPBVIE/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_200_tr_t_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=25GK5KZ5E8FNSYEWGSND

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.

As for their fleets’ clamp-force ranges, Top Shops and other entrants tracked closely in the 0-100, 101-500, and 501-1000-ton ranges, but only 9% of Top Shops utilized machines over 1000 tons, vs. 15% of other entrants. Top Shops also offered more specialty injection molding technologies, outstripping other entrants in providing two-shot, gas/water-assist, in-mold label and insert molding.

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

Those challenges, just like the virus, didn’t stop at the border. Aida Cecilia Mercado Salazar of Mexican Top Shop molder and moldmaker IEMSA in San Luis Potosi, said her company had to adapt to and embrace how the pandemic changed day-to-day life and work. “The first big challenge was to get used to the new normal,” Salazar says, citing the two most recognizable aspects of the pandemic: masks and uncertainty. “In the beginning, we were scared because we didn’t know how safe we actually were.” Ultimately, IEMSA, like so many of the molders we surveyed, never halted operations and came through the crisis even stronger. “We became a closer team, and because of that trust it was easier to overcome the challenges in the way.”

The APPA reported that in 2016, utilities reported 3,456 outages “caused by the ubiquitous rodents” that cut off power to more than 193,873 customers.”

… Incurring even more environmental waste as would happen normally. This is just a cynical PR move, not a serious attempt at helping the environment. And it’s probably gonna catch someone’s car on fire.

My thoughts exactly, I am afraid that I have damaged my brain, too. I never said I (believe I) am a human now, it was just your unfounded assumption. But, how did you know ?!

I totally agree that in this case something has gone wrong, however i feel the need to set something straight that is also misleading in the article: I think this is about biobased polymers (the better term according to IUPAC; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioplastic) which are probably “greener” if you only look at manufacturing compared to petrol based stuff. However it nowhere says that this story is about biodegradable polymers (not all biobased polymers are biodegradable).

It takes an insanely small amount of Bitrex for something to taste (really) bitter…and since you’re not supposed to dump antifreeze into the drain anyway, the small amount of Bitrex should a lot more good instead of bad.

Five industry pros with more than 200 years of combined molding experience provide step-by-step best practices on mounting a mold in a horizontal injection molding machine.

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

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

In terms of physical space, individual employees and machine fleet, the two groups in this year’s benchmarking survey were virtually indistinguishable. The average floor space of a Top Shops entrant was 88,184 ft2, with the rest averaging 79,614 ft2. Total employees at Top Shops averaged 95 vs. 98 at other entrants, with workers directly involved in plant-floor operations coming in at 73 for Top Shops and 78 at all others.

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

Where the gap between the groups widens further is the volume of resins processed, with Top Shops nearly doubling the other entrants’ poundage, running an average of 22.3 million lb of material in 2020 vs. 12.5 million lb average for the others. In addition to more material, our honorees processed more kinds of resins. Top Shops ran an average of 43 different material categories, compared to 18 for the remaining survey participants.

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.

My 1992 Mercedes 500se had soy wiring. I do believe the manufacturer was trying to be green and not cut corners. However the heat and movement would destroy it. I completely rebuilt the upper engine wiring harness but other cooler wires were fine. Apparently Mercedes changed back to normal plastic once this issue was identified. So don’t buy an early model. There was not a uk recall.

Somwhere late in the 80’s Elektor had a pcb for a ferret repellant. Supposedly in germay ferrets ate insulation under the hood. Back then this was due to fish oil being used in the insulation

Satellite cable used to be a ribbon of 4 cables. 2 for signals (C/Ku), one for dish pointing and one to run the polarity servo. About a dollar a foot wholesale. I had a run that went from my apartment, out my balcony and up to the roof. Somebunny’s bunny got loose and snacked on the balcony part of it. Splicing was not an option. Over $100.oo to replace! Cockroaches used to (and may still) eat the insulation in TVs and stuff too.

On the injection side, this firm deploys all-electric presses with integrated parts-handling robots and machine-monitoring systems that can run unattended. “We also mounted cameras strategically throughout our facility so remote operators can log in from their phones.”

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

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

Reminds me of the biodegradable wiring that some European cars used in the ’90s, except that often gave about 10 years of service before falling apart. On those cars, there’s not much to do other than get wiring with better insulation, and that may be the only fix for soy wiring too.

Daniel Dobbs, et al. v. American Honda Motor Co. Inc claimed that Honda vehicles manufactured from 2012 to 2015 made use of soy insulated wires on the basis of it not only being better for the environment, but cheaper than traditional insulation. Unfortunately, this type of insulation is also very popular with the local wildlife:

One of the toys my daughter got for Christmas this year had a little slip of paper in the box explaining it had been treated with a “bitterant” to dissuade children from putting it in their mouths (at least, more than once). So if it works on toddlers, I suppose might as well try it on other wild animals.

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.

I think the author was trying to set a mood by suggesting his friend was a bit crazy. Thus making the whole idea, and story, more entertaining. If anything Soy would feminize people a bit because of the phytoestrogen. Because we all know how placid women are. (I already slapped myself for that last bit, so no flames please)

Now in its fifth year, this benchmarking survey of injection molders queries participants on demographic data, performance indicators, and business and process strategies. A selection of those performance metrics are then scored, with the highest scoring companies named Top Shops for 2021 based on their 2020 operations. The Top Shops display some stark contrasts with all other entrants, but in many ways they are quite similar.

True, but at what point does this cancel out the “green-ness” of the product? And if you use some kind of repellant it might wear off in a few years, plus it wouldn’t protect against becoming brittle or biodegrading in nastier climates. So you’d need some kind of preservative. Seems like it misses the point.

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.

PRD’s Murphy says his company has thrown people and automation at the skills gap, which is “by far the biggest challenge. We have implemented automation where possible, increased wages, and gone out of our way to ensure our employees know how much we appreciate them,” including discretionary bonuses. “Unfortunately, I don’t hear anyone with a good answer to the predicament we find ourselves in. Everyone talks about the end of extra unemployment benefits, and while they do not help the situation, I am not convinced this well be the solution.”

Many moons ago, I think it was the early 90s, I experienced a strong fishy odor that I eventually tracked to an 8mm video cam from (Insert all brand names here). Several companies were making the same model with slightly different features. The thing is, to fit all the necessary components into such a small package, they had over rated the electrolytic capacitor voltages. (Lower voltage caps are smaller). I discovered that there were “Cap Kits” available from several parts sources, and so concluded that this was a “Known Problem”. It turned out that the smell was a highly carcinogenic by-product of the PCB based oil electrolytes they used (Also to allow them to make the caps smaller). The smell got much worse when the units were warm. If you have one of these things, put on your rubber gloves, place it in a thick plastic bag, and call HasMat. Or check to see if rats like them enough to eat one.

This won’t be remedied without pervasive lawsuits because guess what — animal damage is excluded from the warranty, so it doesn’t cost the carmakers anything.

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.

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.

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.

“We think our coworkers have a feel for how our operation is doing and strive to maintain a high level of engagement in operational efficiency and quality,” Porter says, noting that PlastiCert has a monthly “all coworker” meeting, which has become two meetings an hour apart as the business grows. In these meetings, leadership communicates revenue trends, areas of operational interest, new internal developments, and items of interest in the surrounding community. “We also pick a customer to tell workers more about how what we do for that customer contributes to its mission,” Porter says.

In my experience many rodents like mice will happily eat through things definitely not made of organic materials. So consider that before trying to solve something the wrong way.

A nearly identical number of all survey participants said their facilities featured an in-house tool room (78% of Top Shops and 77% of all others), with both groups utilizing them in equal measure for mold building (rather than just repairs)—44% of Top Shops and 41% of other entrants. While 36% of Top Shops’ molds featured hot runners, only 22% of tools at the other facilities applied this technology. Only 9% of the Top Shops’ tools and 8% of the other entrants’ molds had more than 16 cavities.

Hell, when I was a toddler, even I chew the insulation on wires, and also shiny polished furniture (nitrocellulose, or acetate, I presume), I remember it crackled so nicely under my teeth – so, I understand why rodents would do it. I hope I didn’t damage my brain :( …

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.

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.

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.

https://buffalonews.com/2018/11/18/more-than-12500-without-power-in-erie-county/ Squirrel knocks out power for more than 12,500 in Erie County By Keith McShea | Published November 18, 2018 “Squirrels are a leading cause of power outages. In 2016, a survey by the American Public Power Association said that wildlife, notably squirrels, were the leading cause of power outages, followed by failure of overhead equipment, weather and vegetation.

Burning insulated wire? Bad practice – you’re not only damaging the environment (and probably your own lungs) but also degrading the copper. Many scrapyards won’t take it if they notice.

That could explain why our ginny pigs keep eating the wires insulators of our equipments (computer and Phone chargers, all kind of New power cables). This issue doesn’t happen with old cable.

At one point there was a push to include it in antifreeze but concerns about its persistence in the environment nixed it.

Markets served for both groups largely mirror each other, except for two sectors: medical/healthcare and building/construction. While 74% of the other respondents serve the building/construction market, only 35% of Top Shops generate business from it. And 74% of Top Shops have medical customers, vs. 54% of other survey respondents.

Not a new problem. The famous/ incomparable/rascallious ? Joe Dodge ( see: https://www.outdoors.org/resources/amc-outdoors/history/joe-dodge/ ) was the first to try setting up emergency telephone lines between Joe Dodge Lodge (in those days nicknamed Porky Gulch due to the large porcupine population) and the Ski patrol hut in Tuckerman Ravine ( see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuckerman_Ravine ) on the south-eastern slope of Mount Washington NH. The ravine area can get ~ 50 feet (15m) snow depths during winter and so has been the setting of many avalanche fatalities. Back in the 1940s Gutta-percha ( see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gutta-percha ) was the predominant insulator used on telephone wires and it was found that porcupines and rodents found it quite nutritious. As a result the lines required replacement every year. Joe Dodge was quite a character and his biography is worth chasing down and reading.

My point exactly. I once had to deport a rabbit who chewed through every wire he could find. Speaker cables, computer cables, extension cords etc etc etc. Rabbits may look all cuddly and fluffy but they’re EVIL !

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.

In New York, rodents have eaten up plastic wiring in walls, well before any “environmentally friendly” plastics came to be. In fact, the local electrical code requires all electrical wiring to be sheathed in steel conduit. Admittedly, this might be because the local breed of rats is particularly aggressive, but I think this just illustrates that it’s not unreasonable that animals might just randomly munch on any plastic wiring for random reasons. Maybe it’s a normal occurence, and now everyone who’s been trying to figure out why animals have been hiding in their car is attributing it to soy-based wiring.

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.

It doesn’t have to be nutritious for them to be tasty. Besides, rodents chew things even just to have something to chew on, to sharpen, or just scratch the itchy teeth …

Volvo used some really lousy wiring insulation for a few years in the 80’s. Some people call it air-soluble insulation. It just falls apart after a while, along with several other plastic parts in the cars.

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

For example, my immediate guess is that they switched from some PVC-base to a polyurethane-base polymer. PUs are nice polymers, and they’re sort of easy to make ~50% bio-derived – the polymer is typically made through a reaction between an isocyanate and a polyol. Polyols are organics with lots of alcohol groups – and yep, they’re also known “sugar alcohols,” and many edible sugars (including sucrose!) have been used to make PUs.

My suspicion is that the edibility of the wires was influenced more by the change from PVC to PU, rather than the soy base. If the polymer was formulated correctly, that original purified polyol feedstock should have been fully reacted and I doubt there’s much that was still digestible in them.

PlastiCert’s Porter says his company’s location in a small, rural farming community in Minnesota situated between two large cities equates to a shallow talent pool. Its answer to that geographic challenge: “First and foremost, we have created a desirable and accommodating workplace environment, resulting in turnover being practically negligible,” Porter says. The company has also sought to raise its visibility in the community and  to partner with a nearby state university for a stream of interns.

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.

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.

In the last century humans in North America hunted squirrel predators like hawks, foxes, coyotes etc nearly to extinction and since humans have created this squirrel crisis it is now our job to fix it. Some states have extended their squirrel hunting seasons in recent years for this explicit reason but that is not going to have any impact on urban and suburban squirrel populations.

Anyone have chemical details on using plastic insulation derived from soy? It’s a bit naive to think the end product necessarily has any trace of the soybean source, and really kind of misleading to the public if it has nothing to do with the environmentally friendly nature of the polymer.

Squirrels will happily munch on fiber. The CLEC here had a sudden outage. They traced it to a fiber junction on a pole at the end of the alley behind their office and server building.

What surprised me was that the VW-mechanic admitted that it is a known problem of the current model which uses plastics including meat-and-bone meal for the wiring.

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.

“The biggest challenges were maintaining operations, assuring customers that we were taking steps to sustain their order flow, and keeping our coworkers safe,” says Craig Porter, president and owner of another Top Shop, PlastiCert in Lewiston, Minn.  “As a small manufacturer, keeping track of COVID legislation, mandates and programs around finances for the company and our employees was a full-time job for people that typically already wear multiple hats.”

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

Things are starting to change though quite slowly and most consumers can’t tell the difference until things like their entire cord grows mold or animals eat their cords happen because the cord’s insulation was made from PVC.

When the tech removed the cover a squirrel jumped out and ran. It had somehow squeezed itself down the cover channel on the pole, despite it being mostly full of cable, then when it got to the box at the bottom it tore up a large number of fibers.

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

In fact, average plant-floor employee age, plastics/manufacturing experience, turnover rate and hourly wages were nearly identical for all survey participants—41/40 yrs; 17/16 yrs; 17/16% ; and $17/$16—for Top Shops/Others in all those categories, respectively.

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