Electrical/electronics

Transfer molding with a thermosetting compound and a proprietary tool is being positioned as an alternative to use of thermoplastics and standard injection molding in the production of some semiconductor devices.

Dutch firm Sencio BV (Nijmegen) says its nCapsulate technology can deliver better isotropy and thermomechanical stability than thermoplastics and standard injection molding.

A joint venture of Arabian Chevron Phillips Petrochemical Co. and The Saudi Industrial Investment Group is on track to start up the Middle East's first nylon 66 plant in late 2013. Petrochemical Conversion Company Ltd. (PCC) recently announced the successful transport of four process modules to the Port of Jubail in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the company's new 50,000-tonnes/year plant under construction in Jubail II Industrial City.

ResTech Plastic Molding (Hudson, MA) has acquired custom injection molder TechAtlantic (Berlin, CT), adding that company's 22 injection molding machines and customers in fluid filtration systems, medical components, cosmetics, automotive, personal care, and electronics industries.

Just three years ago, Mexico was on the comeback trail as more U.S. manufacturers looked to our southern neighbor for labor cost savings that were starting to erode in China. Mexican states competed heavily for foreign investment with “unprecedented” financial incentives, according to a report from www.mexicogov.org released in March 2010.
   

When Plante & Moran LLC, a certified accounting, tax and business consulting firm, held a seminar in March regarding manufacturing in Mexico, they were hoping to get 40-50 people. Scott Sneckenberger, partner Global Services for Plante & Moran who led the seminar, told PlasticsToday that they were totally surprised when 87 people showed up for the Detroit-area event.
   

Liquidmetal Technologies has enough cash to last into 2014 and is currently pursuing three strategies to boost its future cash position, CEO Thomas Steipp said in an interview with PlasticsToday.

"Our revenues at this time are relatively modest, but what we are really measuring is the growth of prototypes going out into the market. We raised money in the middle of last year that is being amortized through equity and that runs through August of this year."

A new optical pellet screening system employs a combination of LED illumination, cameras, and air blowers to detect and remove pellets with black spots from a stream of resin pellets with a resolution (spot size) of 0.03 mm. The Super Platon KP-10000T from Kubota (Tokyo) was recently installed at an Asian elastomer compounder.

Liquid metal injection molding is a potentially disruptive technology for the production of precise, small parts for medical devices. Series production costs are much lower than machining, an advantage that grows as volumes rise. Considerable strength derives from the material's amorphous atomic structure.

Lightweighting, high-performance underhood components, and structural and impact-resistance applications are among the trends in the automotive sector that have prompted a Japanese-invested compounder in Michigan to implement a multimillion dollar investment in new capacity.

Seoul—One machine builder present at Koplas, Sumitomo (Tokyo), noted that recent trends in cameras in mobile devices may also bring business back to Japanese processors. "Lenses for more than 8-megapixel built-in cameras will generally require the expertise of Japanese molders," believes Shoji Yonezawa, general manager of SHI Plastics Machinery (Shanghai) Co. "Thirteen megapixels will soon be the norm for high-end phones and we expect Japanese molders to dominate."