best practices
Improving Molding Process Capability: Understanding the PVT Graph, Part 1
Process capability is related to the variation in part dimensions from shot to shot. High values of process capability require the shrinkage of the material to be identical on each shot, which can be confirmed from the pressure-volume-temperature (PVT) graph.
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‘Follow the Plan’ When Installing and Commissioning Compounding Lines
A fully operational and documented system doesn’t happen by chance. An efficient, well-designed installation plan, prepared well in advance, will put you on the path to maintaining a timeline and budget.
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Getting Started with Medical Molding: First Consider the ‘Four E’s’
Global medical molder Nypro provides first-hand guidance on what you need to get into the medical molding business.
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Plastics-to-Oil Recycler Finds New Niche in Polystyrene
Agilyx is in an innovative area of recycling: extracting value from waste plastic streams. The company has expanded to develop the first full-circle chemical recycling of PS.
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Tooling: Clamp Pressure and Cavity Land Area
What you need to know to prevent flashing and mold damage.
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Extrusion: Barrier Screws: Metering Section or Not?
A barrier screw without a metering section can reduce output and increase melt temperature.
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Injection Molding: A Practical Approach to Calculating Residence Time
Toss the formulas. The best way to determine residence time is to conduct a simple experiment.
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A Processor's Most Important Job, Part 5: POM Polymers
Using a mold temperature above a polymer’s Tg ensures a degree of crystallinity high enough to provide for dimensional stability, even if the part must be used at elevated temperatures. But POM is an exception. Why?
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Tooling: What You Need to Know About Jump Gates
Many molders don’t care for jump gates because they have to process around them. But here are some tricks of the trade.
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Extrusion: Why There Are No Truly Universal Dies
Flow characteristics of different polymers vary considerably. So while adjustment features are available, for the most part dies must be designed for an individual polymer.
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