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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

These recent investments in additional injection moulding capacity and dedicated tooling resources are part of Omega Plastics Group's ongoing commitment to continuous improvement and customer satisfaction.

New polymer formulations in response to highly innovative fifth generation (5G) telecommunications network development that will help increase speed to market and design flexibility for 5G base station antenna manufacturers have been unveiled by PolyOne Corp., Avon Lake, Ohio.

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.

During that time investments have also been made in the toolroom, including the acquisition of a Puma GT 2100 CNC Lathe, a new surface grinder, an Agie Carmilles EDM drill and a Fanuc ROBOCUT wire EDM, as well as in metrology software and capabilities. These investments allows Omega Plastics to aim to consistently meet customer demands and provide cutting-edge tooling solutions.

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

In addition to the press expansion, Omega Plastics based in Gateshead, has established a dedicated tool trial cell to support its UK toolroom and in-house tool manufacture, operating independently of planned production activities. This specialised validation facility enables Omega Plastics to test and validate new tools without any impact on ongoing production processes.

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

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.

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

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.

The trial cell is equipped with two injection moulding machines, including a 40-tonne machine and a 100-tonne machine. This dedicated resource ensures optimal flexibility and precision during tooling validation processes, enhancing the overall customer experience.

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.

Over the past five years, the group has added seven additional injection moulding machines, significantly expanding its injection moulding machine capacity from 23 to 30 machines, ranging from 40T to 1,300T. Further significant investments have been made in warehousing, and material handling systems to support the additional moulding capacity.

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.

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

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

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 trial cell offers a dedicated area for comprehensive testing, allowing for analysis of key characteristics such as fill patterns, thermal imaging, gate freeze studies, cycle time efficiencies, and their direct influence on final product quality. By introducing this dedicated trial resource, Omega Plastics can support customers by providing insights and expert validation of tooling solutions.

Peter Sayer, group commercial director at Omega Plastics Group, said: "At Omega Plastics Group, our mission is to provide high-quality plastic injection mould tooling, components, assembly, and technical solutions on time and with exceptional customer service. These recent expansions and investments in our capabilities and resources demonstrate our commitment to our customers, ensuring we continue to exceed their expectations and deliver innovative solutions."

Across the wide press range, Omega Plastics Group can produce components with shot weights ranging from less than 1g to 4kg. The group has capability to mould complex technical hand loads and overmoulds through to fully automated robot demoulding with integrated conveyor systems.

Signal Plastics, based in Washington, has recently acquired a state-of-the-art Yizumi 700-tonne injection moulding press. This strategic acquisition aims to bolster production capabilities and meet the increasing demand from an existing customer as part of their production ramp-up. Equipped with a Sepro robot for demoulding and a conveyor belt to enhance productivity, the new 700-tonne press will significantly contribute to meeting customer requirements efficiently and effectively.

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

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.

With it acquisition of DuPont’s engineering resins, Celanese’s resin solutions for automotive electrification, e-mobility and consumer electronics are plentiful.

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

Omega Plastics Group, an integrated plastic injection moulding group has announced the addition of new injection moulding press capacity at both Signal Plastics and Omega Plastics.

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.

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

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.

New polymer formulations in response to highly innovative fifth generation (5G) telecommunications network development that will help increase speed to market and design flexibility for 5G base station antenna manufacturers have been unveiled by PolyOne Corp., Avon Lake, Ohio.

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.

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.

Says Flight Xu, general manager, PolyOne’s specialty engineered materials Asia, “Telecom equipment manufacturers all over the world are readying themselves for the explosion of 5G. We see 5G deployment as a tipping point in which seamless connectivity will become an expectation not only for mobile users, but for industry as well. We’re confident that our innovative material solutions and product development support will enable telecom manufacturers to make that expectation a reality.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The new customizable Edgetek Formulations for 5G (currently 12 all based on PPE resin with dielectric constant (DK) ranging from 3.0 to 9.0), feature specific Dk values and reduced dissipation factors (Df), enabling faster design qualification and shorter lead times. Another new formulation within this product family is compatible with SMT (surface mount technology), allowing greater design flexibility and increased speed to market for 3D circuit boards. Both materials reportedly can help 5G base station antenna manufactures to streamline their design and process development.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.