Jan H. Schut
Focused on Foam
John Bambara, president and CEO of Sentinel Products Corp. in Hyannis, Mass., and holder of over a hundred plastics patents, is launching yet another proprietary technology.
Read More
NPE Highlights Compounding's Growth Niches
Show exhibitors say long-fiber wood composites, direct extrusion/compounding, and reactive compounding are where the action is.
Read More‘Self-Reinforcing’ Thermoplastic Is Harder, Stronger, Stiffer Without Added Fibers
By the end of 2003, sample quantities will become available of a specialty high-performance thermoplastic whose inventors call it the first readily processable rigid-rod polymer.
Read More
'Father of Long Glass' Delivers a New Baby
Ron Hawley's lawyer keeps a collection of napkins and other bits of paper on which, over the years, Hawley drew the first sketches of a remarkable series of inventions.
Read More
Torque & Speed How Much Is Enough?
You may be thinking of buying one of the new ‘high-torque/high-speed’ twin-screw compounders in order to raise your output without going to a larger machine. But how much torque or speed do you really need? Underusing a high-powered extruder wastes investment dollars. So look carefully at what is required for the materials you run.
Read More
Why Long-Glass Molders Are Compounding In-Line
Compounding raw fiberglass directly into thermoplastic molded parts is growing rapidly in Europe, and now it’s coming here. D-LFT, as it’s called, promises to make large parts cheaper and stronger—but with new technological risks and higher up-front investment costs.
Read More
Twin-Screws & Kneaders Pack More Muscle
This K show demonstrated the continuing evolution toward higher torque, screw speed, and throughput rates in twin-screw compounders. There were also new developments for reducing wear when processing filled compounds and new processes available for license to compound wood and paper fibers with plastics. There were even some improvements in backflushing screen changers.
Read More
A Show Full of Surprises For Every Application
It doesn’t matter whether you extrude blown or cast film, sheet, pipe, profiles, or foam—the K 2001 show held something exciting and unexpected that will open your eyes to new possibilities.
Read More
Boltless Flat Die Opens Faster
Without changing the inner workings of the die, Extrusion Dies Inc., Chippewa Falls, Wis., has come up with a revolutionary way to assemble flat dies without bolts. The closing mechanism replaces conventional die bolts with rods actuated by hydraulic toggles to hold the die halves together.
Read More
Mulch Film Goes High-Tech
Mulch films come in a dazzling array of colors and multi-layered structures designed to manipulate light, temperature, and moisture and repel insects. But high-tech films are expensive and have found only niche markets so far. Processors now think coextrusion, downgauging, and better field testing can put this market on a fast-growth track.
Read More
Holes in the Screw Flights Boost PS Foam Output
Unusual tapered openings through the flights of a deep-channeled cooling screw can raise the output of extruded polystyrene foam sheet and planks by as much as 70%. So says the inventor of the patented Turbo-Cool screw, Jim Fogarty, president of Plastic Engineering Associates Inc. in Boca Raton, Fla. Turbo-Cool is believed to be the first screw to use cross-flight holes, which Fogarty says contribute better mixing and heat transfer while using less energy.
Read MoreCompounding (K 2001 Preview)
Compounding equipment at K presents not so much new technology as new modifications or combinations of equipment to improve output and conserve space.
Read More
