years in talks - plastic mould maker

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.

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

The iMFLUX process can be integrated with most machine types, including hydraulic, all-electric and hybrid injection machines. There are many OEM kits for new presses available for this technology from several major machine manufacturers, which provide fast and simple integration. However, iMFLUX can be integrated with existing machines as well. The process works efficiently with molds designed specifically for iMFLUX and with retrofitted mold and press combinations.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

Several years ago, P&G recognized the need to reduce the cost and lead time to launch new plastic part designs. The goal was to completely rethink how injection molded parts are made in order to deliver breakthroughs in speed, cost, and quality. A company-wide research effort was launched and involved its injection molding technology experts. After exhaustive research, testing and pilot-scale demonstration, the team developed a breakthrough new technology utilizing low constant injection pressure. This new process enables thinking differently about how parts and molds can be designed. With this new discovery, P&G decided to launch iMFLUX Inc. as a stand-alone, wholly owned subsidiary.

The iMFLUX technology controls the molding process by plastic pressure, rather than the conventional approach of filling a mold according to a volumetric flow rate (also referred to as velocity filling). Controlling the process by plastic melt pressure enables the melt to flow through a melt-delivery system and mold cavity without the potential to stall or hesitate. The constant, non-fluctuating pressure continuously advances the flow front at every point, even where it encounters ribs, bosses, or other features.

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

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).

Despite its integral role in a stable process and consistent parts, true melt temperature in injection molding can be an enigma. Learning more about these seven parameters may help you solve the puzzle.

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.

The iMFLUX process addresses several challenges raised by the conventional processing philosophy of using the rheology curve to establish an optimal filling velocity. This conventional philosophy generally results in filling the mold very fast, to take advantage of the shear-thinning properties of polymers.

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.

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

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.

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.

“Summit’s focus on customers during the design, prototyping, and low-volume production stages of a product’s life cycle perfectly aligns with Fathom’s unique customer-value proposition,” Fathom CEO Ryan Martin said in a prepared statement. “We’re excited to work with the Summit team to explore opportunities to even better serve its customers through Fathom’s comprehensive digital manufacturing platform while also providing Fathom’s existing customer base expanded domestic quick-turn precision tooling and molding capabilities,” added Martin.

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.

The iMFLUX process resolves these issues by using a constant low filling pressure, which results in uniform pressures in the molded part. Rather than using a constant injection speed, the velocity is allowed to vary to maintain constant plastic pressure. Figure 2 shows how velocity varies throughout an iMFLUX process.

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

Comparing short shots: Conventional injection molding (right) shows highly distorted part surfaces when filling is stopped. Since iMFLUX packs as it fills, the part shows fully formed surfaces at any point during fill.

These differential pressures inherent in a conventional molding approach result in multiple problems, including differential shrink (or warp), dimensional variations, flash, and the inability to accommodate wall-thickness transitions and part geometry.

Feedback from the mold sensors is essential to provide optimal pressure in the mold and to make real-time adjustments to injection pressure resulting from material, mold or process variations. A user interface is provided to allow entry of process parameters and to monitor the process. Figure 5 shows the elements of the proprietary control system.

In-house metalworking capabilities include engineering design, sheet metal shearing, punching and bending, roll forming, hardware integration, welding, grinding, polishing, painting, and assembly. Summit’s thermoplastics engineering expertise allows the company to process multi-shot and bi-injected tooling and perform insert overmolding. Pad printing, hot stamping, ultrasonic welding, and assembly are also offered by the company, which operates a 26,000-square-foot facility northwest of Chicago in McHenry, IL.

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.

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.

NPE2024: FimmTech is introducing online versions of its Nautilus process development software as well as its Scientific Molding and Design of Experiments (DOE) process development course.

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

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

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

Case Study 1: A polycarbonate medical part was converted to the iMFLUX process. The customer was experiencing high scrap rates due to an imbalanced 16-cavity mold with hot-runner valve gates, causing intermittent short shots. iMFLUX reduced scrap rate from more than 10% to less than 0.2% by improving the balance from part to part. This is due to constant-pressure filling. Every part experiences the same pressure and the geometry of the part tells the machine how to continually profile velocity, resulting in consistent packing conditions. On top of eliminating short shots and gaining 48% improvement in cavity balance, the cycle time was reduced by 30%. In this example the existing all-electric injection machine was retrofitted to run the iMFLUX system.

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.

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

iMFLUX essentially eliminates the conventional packing phase, along with some cooling time, because it packs as it fills.

Founded in 1996, Summit provides plastic injection mold design, precision mold making, and close-tolerance injection molding with a specialty in small to medium prototype injection molds. Summit primarily serves long-tenured customers in the medical and packaging end markets with its fleet of more than 30 machines, said Core's announcement.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Gene Altonen has been the Chief Technology Officer of iMFLUX in Hamilton, Ohio, since 2015. He is the inventor of the iMFLUX core technology, and leads the iMFLUX R&D organization. Gene has spent his entire 27-year Procter & Gamble career developing new packaging solutions, including numerous injection molding technology innovations. Prior to the iMFLUX launch, Gene was a Research Fellow leading major technology developments in the Injection Molding Capability organization within P&G. He holds more than 50 patents and has at least 35 patent applications pending. For more information about iMFLUX contact info@imflux.com; imflux.com.

Case Study 3: A PET packaging component was run in a four-cavity mold on a hydraulic press retrofitted with the iMFLUX technology. The new process achieved a 16% throughput increase over the conventional process. On average, retrofitted machines with existing molds achieve 15% to 25% throughput improvement. However, the iMFLUX process also reduced the cavity imbalance from 6% to 0.8%, nearly halved the amount of pressure needed to fill the part (from 1079 bar to 622 bar), and reduced the average part weight by 0.48% while maintaining all dimensional specifications. By packing as the part is filled, pressures can be reduced. Furthermore, while a conventional process fills at a high velocity and then packs the part, iMFLUX’s ability to pack while it fills eliminates unnecessary material, reducing part weight. Cycle time was reduced by 13%.

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.

iMFLUX Inc., established in 2013, offers this patented technology, which is available under license. The technology has been vetted at full production scale across hundreds of comercial applications. It is exclusively supplied by iMFLUX Inc., based in Hamilton, Ohio.

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.

Procter & Gamble is widely known as a consumer-products company but is perhaps less well known for its R&D on improving the technology of plastics processing. P&G is itself a major consumer of injection molded components for packaging, feminine-care products, toothbrushes, razor components, and other products.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

The new iMFLUX injection molding process involves a specialized controller that enables filling a mold at a lower, defined melt-pressure profile, allowing a variable filling rate that adapts automatically to the part geometry. The advantages include improved part quality, new part and mold design possibilities, sustainability improvements, and reduced capital expenditures.

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

Monroe Capital LLC provided financing for the acquisition. Winston & Strawn LLP provided legal representation to Core and Fathom in the transaction.

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

Injection machines of any type can be adapted for iMFLUX with kits available for new machines or for retrofit to existing presses. Key elements include a nozzle pressure sensor, cavity-pressure sensors, and proprietary control software with user interface screens.

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

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.

Core Industrial Partners’ portfolio company Fathom acquired the precision tooling and injection molding supplier serving customers in the packaging and medical markets.

Case Study 4: A PP automotive component was run in an eight-cavity tool on a 550-ton hydraulic machine. It previously ran on a 50-sec cycle, but after the iMFLUX process was integrated to the press, the cycle time was reduced by 8 sec, resulting in a 20% throughput improvement. As described in Case Study #3, simultaneous pack and fill created a 14% pressure reduction and a 1% part-weight reduction. On top of this, iMFLUX’s ability to dynamically absorb viscosity changes reduced the scrap rate from 18% to 0.2%.

Dan Martin, President of Summit, commented: “Since my wife, Michelle, and I founded Summit 25 years ago, we’ve been committed to providing outstanding quality and customer service to build the business into a leader in the design, engineering, and construction of molds and molded components. We’ve now reached an inflection point in our growth trajectory, and we believe Fathom is the perfect fit in terms of both culture and customer-value proposition to help take Summit to the next level.”

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

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

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

This system is in production in multiple industries, including automotive, medical, packaging and consumer goods. Running the process with a closed-loop, low, constant pressure control means that most polymers run better with iMFLUX than in the high-shear environment of a conventional process.

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.

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.

The process relies on the cooling of the melt in the mold to create resistance to flow, which in turn allows pressure to stabilize and remain constant in the interior of the flow path and at the flow front. Because the mold is filling very slowly, the polymer is continually cooling and densifying while the mold is being filled. The part actually “packs as it fills.”

“Summit’s leading customer base includes some of the largest and most recognizable players in the medical and packaging spaces,” said Matthew Puglisi, Partner of Core. “This acquisition significantly enhances Fathom’s domestic injection molding and tooling capabilities, and we’ll continue to actively pursue acquisitions, similar to Summit, that simultaneously broaden our customer base, enhance our service offering, and deepen our presence in attractive, recession-resistant end markets.”

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

A specialized controller is needed for the injection molding machine, enabling the process to be controlled by plastic pressure, rather than by velocity and holding pressure. A pressure sensor is added to the machine nozzle to provide real-time measurement of the plastic pressure entering the material delivery system. The controller uses plastic pressure as its primary control signal throughout the filling of the mold. Sensors are added to the mold, providing indication of pressure in the mold and flow-front progression.

Figure 3 shows short shots from an iMFLUX process and a typical conventional process. As you can see, the iMFLUX short shots are completely packed no matter where the flow front is stopped, while the conventional parts are not packed and continue to densify behind the flow front.

The world’s preeminent consumer goods company as a parent and a portfolio of 11 patent applications: from this enviable starting position, Procter & Gamble company iMFLUX is generating buzz in the plastics packaging space before it has even selected a location for its proposed injection molding plant.

P&G purchases many components from custom molders, and also manufactures internally within the Oral B toothbrush businesses and the Gillette blades and razors business. P&G continually innovates in this space to provide speed, cost, and design advancements.

A new injection molding process ‘breaks all the rules’ by using low, constant pressure to achieve faster cycles and better-quality parts.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

Case Study 2: For a PP household-cleaning implement, iMFLUX was brought in during the design phase for new molds and presses. Knowing the benefits of pressure reduction, the mold was designed to maximize the capabilities of the technology. The part previously ran in a servo-hydraulic 500-ton machine with eight cavities and a 52-sec cycle. The new iMFLUX mold and system allowed the use of a conventional hydraulic 400-ton machine, while expanding cavitation by 50% to 12 cavities and reducing the cycle by 21%. Together, that resulted in a 91% throughput improvement. Even with adding four cavities and reducing cycle time, the overall peak injection pressure was 30% lower than with the conventional process. While iMFLUX is effective on retrofitted machines with existing tooling, this case shows there are substantial benefits to designing new molds specifically for the iMFLUX process.

Chicago-based private-equity firm Core Industrial Partners announced today the acquisition of Summit Tooling Inc. and Summit Plastics Inc. by its portfolio company Fathom. The precision tooling and injection molding supplier is the fourth add-on acquisition to the Fathom platform since Core made its initial investment in 2018.

However, this approach has several disadvantages, as it generally results in very high molding pressures. Because the process uses a controlled filling velocity, the resulting melt pressure is highly variable across different regions of the molded part. Figure 1 illustrates how pressure varies throughout a typical part injection molded in the conventional manner.

The biggest breakthrough, which was unexpected and highly counterintuitive, was discovering that filling slowly resulted in faster cycle times.

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.