Injection Molding

Clare Goldsberry wrote a beautiful article "Not paying suppliers is NOT a winning business strategy." Yes, when working for a Goliath Corporation (P&G, The 'BIG 3 etc.), what never fails to amaze me is the arrogance these companies have, simply issuing a press release on how they will boost their profits with no care for their supply base.

Until recently, vacuum maker Bissell viewed the costs of its outsourced plastic parts as largely inscrutable, simply accepting their price structure and design facets as delivered.

Van Dorn Demag has long boasted one of the biggest installed machine bases in North America, an understandable claim given that its very first molding machines came off the production line at the old E. 79th St. plant in Cleveland in 1945. But perhaps just as impressive, is its installed people base.

While there were several papers presented on validation of mold-fill simulations, another type of validation was very intriguing: conformal cooling.

Editor's Note: PlasticsToday sent injection molding expert and 45-year veteran of the plastics industry, Bill Tobin to the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) ANTEC annual technical conference to get an expert's take on all things injection molding at the event. This is the second installment in a three-part series.

Why should you go to ANTEC? Most companies won't even pay for the dues for the Society of Plastics Engineers much less cough up the $1000+ that it will cost for the entry fee, airfare, hotels etc. for the three-day event. But they miss the point.

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.

Record 2012 sales for a key client translated to a huge new workload for Design Molded Plastics (DMP), but instead of being overwhelmed, the custom injection molder responded, and was rewarded with a Supplier of the Year recognition in April.

Two new members of BASF's biodegradable plastics family have been introduced: a thermoformable version for food trays and the first injection-molding grade for complex and high quality packaging, including thin-wall applications.

The shale gas boom in the United States is creating opportunity for an amorphous metal injection molding process that has struggled to find footing since its commercial launch in 2003.

Four of the six largest suppliers to the oil and gas industry are now testing prototypes of components that would be used in "shaped charges" used to complete wells. Shaped charges, also used in the military, are detonated at wellheads to perforate metal and concrete casings, permitting the influx of oil and gas.

The company behind the bench-top hand-operated injection molding machine that launched in November 2011 and has seen 60 units sold is now trying to find funding for a larger, upgraded model.