NPE2009 observations: Design competition goes international in style

The innovative IM products that won top honors attracted a lot of attention during Chicago’s big show.

I attended my first National Plastics Exposition in 1958. Back then everything was new and exciting. After all these years, NPE still shows me new and useful things that get me excited.

The hottest topic at this NPE was the economy and show attendance. I’m convinced that no one knows what’s happening with the economy. Everyone does, however, agree that sooner or later the American system will pull us out of another recession.

As was to be expected, the economy held attendance down to a total of only 44,000. Whenever the head count doesn’t break records, the promoters always claim it was a quality instead of a quantity attendance. In this instance they were correct. All of the exhibitors that I asked claimed to be at least satisfied with the number of attendees and pleased with the quality of their sales leads. One recurring comment was that they had hesitated, but were glad they decided to participate.

Everything seemed bigger, faster, and more automated. Any injection machine that didn’t run automatically was equipped with a robot. They were not only picking and placing parts, but also helping with gate trimming, decorating, labeling, postmold assembly, inspection, and packaging.

There appeared to be a lot more moldmakers and their suppliers. Some showed impressive and creative rotating molds for multimaterial, assembly, and labeling. One could not help but notice the increase in the number of hot runner system suppliers. Nearly every machine on the floor was using a runnerless mold.

Optical inspection was much in evidence. Mold protection and automated inspection capabilities have been increased. If you haven’t looked at this technology for a few years, it’s time to reconsider.

Inmold labeling and decorating, which is big in Europe, has finally been accepted by American suppliers. The molding machines, molds, and automated systems for feeding labels and removing parts were some of the most interesting high-tech exhibits at the show. The first molders to adopt this technology will pick the low-hanging fruit. Those who don’t are in danger of being left behind.
This meeting was more international than any previous NPE. Roughly 34% of exhibitors were from outside the U.S. It was impossible not to notice the large number of Asian exhibitors. One cannot help but wonder where we would be today if more American plastics companies participated in international trade shows.

IM design award winners
This NPE had a lot of interesting exhibits, but my favorite was the display for the International Plastics Design Competition (IPDC; www.plasticsdesign.org), which was hosted by the SPI’s Alliance for Plastics Processors. This competition confirms that injection molding is the product designer’s first choice for producing plastic parts: It accounted for 67% of the competition entries. Winners were chosen in 15 categories, and IM items won eight of those awards (one entry won in two categories).

The iSecure syringe won first place in the medical category and was also selected for the prestigious Industrial Design Society of America and Plastics News Design Awards. This unique product achieves the reliability and low cost required for a disposable product by multimaterial molding and inmold assembly. The four-piece product is produced in one mold. The transparent barrel is a copolyester. The blue plunger is polypropylene, and the two green parts are low-density polyethylene.

Another winner that caught my attention was the Target shopping cart, winner in the retail category. Plastic shopping carts have been tried before, but they required steel reinforcements to provide the required loading. The only metals in this cart are in the fasteners and the casters. This retail category winner is molded by Bemis Mfg. using conventional, gas-assisted, and coinjection molding with glass-reinforced nylon, polycarbonate, PC/ABS, and HDPE.

Every engineer dreams of designing the perfect office chair. This probably accounts for why there are so many different styles in the market. The winner in the furniture category was the Herman Miller Embody chair. This ergonomically correct chair actually claims to improve one’s health by adapting to the user’s unique back curvature. If you have the opportunity, try sitting in this chair. It does have a unique feel. The Embody Chair, which was designed by Jeff Weber and the late Bill Stumpf, uses acetal.

One category that always gets a lot of attention is the People’s Choice, where all NPE attendees have an opportunity to cast an online vote for their favorite product. Of the 10,200 votes cast, more than 3500 were for the winning prepaid energy meter. The meter is used by low-income people in Colombia who cannot afford continuous electric power in their homes. This device allows the purchase of electric power by the hour. It is also part of an electronic invoicing system that simplifies billing in isolated areas. This device is credited with contributing to social and cultural development in Colombia. The material is mostly postconsumer recycled PET soda and water bottles.

The winner in the lawn and garden/agricultural category was a complex polycarbonate one-piece seed tube from John Deere that improved the placement of seeds in the soil. This extremely difficult-to-tool tube replaced a less accurate two-piece structure.

The packaging and materials handling award went to an injection molded polypropylene pallet. This product replaces a more costly structural foam pallet. Injection molding allows a lower unit cost, but cannot provide the same stiffness and impact strength. This award-winning pallet attains the required stiffness and impact strength by injection molding foamed, recycled polypropylene into selected open sections in the injection molded pallet.

The sustainable consumer product award was won by a nicely styled injection molded, reusable bottle for potable water, the KOR One hydration vessel. Use of this highly engineered, sophisticated product will help reduce the more than 60 million bottles that Americans discard every day. BPA-free Tritan, a new material developed by Eastman, was chosen for its excellent clarity, good impact strength, and rich feel.

Hands-on excitement
The IPDC display was located at the entrance to the McCormick West building. I must have walked by it a dozen times. SPE’s Product Design & Development Div.’s booth was right by that display. I manned that booth for a half day. Every time I looked there was a crowd of people walking through, touching and photographing the competition entries. Some pushed the shopping cart and turned it over, looking for the metal reinforcement. Others tested the several plastic chairs. One group argued over how they got the seed tube out of the mold. People were still milling around the display when I left at 2:30 p.m. on Friday.

The IPDC display may very well have attracted and held the attention of more attendees than any other NPE booth. This is as it should be, as manufacturers can only produce what engineers design.

This was my nineteenth NPE. Being there was worthwhile. I wish more had attended, but the economy wouldn’t allow it. In spite of that, I had a good time and nobody promised me that each NPE would be bigger than the last. NPE is a business and a learning opportunity. It can also be a lot of fun. When you finish walking the last aisle and think about it, one of the best parts of NPE is reconnecting with old friends.

I wonder what my twentieth NPE will be like? —Glenn Beall