Plastics processing is a complex system of dialing in and maintaining quality parts as efficiently as possible. Companies with solid process setups start presses quickly, producing no more than three to five pieces of scrap as the press cycles in, and can then maintain cycle times above what was quoted. They are also able to consistently run with zero scrap, preferably, but no more than 1.5% in most cases. The…
Fall reminds me of falling leaves, which most of us will see. Not too many extruders in deserts or on mountain tops. The leaves are made of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and a little water. They dry out, decompose, and return some of the carbon to the air as carbon dioxide. This blocks the cooling of the earth and makes the ocean warmer. No miracles, but it reminds us that…
Solvay has been appointed the primary composite material supplier to Beta Technologies, an electric aircraft company based in Vermont. Solvay will provide Beta with qualification support and advanced materials for the production of its Alia CTOL fixed-wing electric aircraft and Alia VTOL electric vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft, developed for a variety of applications, including medical, cargo, and passenger transportation. Solvay is a leading supplier of carbon-fiber-reinforced materials as well as…
Portugal-based compounder Cabopol is nearing completion of its first North American facility in Monterrey, Mexico. The supplier of thermoplastic and crosslinked compounds expects the production unit to be online by this December. The plant initially will have two production lines in operation, with potential for expansion, and is expected to reach a production capacity of 25,000 tons per year. The 10,000-square-meter (108,000-square-foot) plant is located in the heart of Monterrey’s…
Pyrolysis-based advanced recycling can reduce greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions and increase US recycling rates, according to a peer-reviewed life-cycle study published in the November 2023 issue of Journal of Cleaner Production. The research conducted by the US Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory reportedly is the first to look at the full cycle of post-use plastic from recycling to its integration in new plastic products at multiple facilities. The study collected operating…
Fakuma will welcome nearly 1,500 exhibitors presenting innovations in plastics processing equipment, materials, and services to Friedrichshafen, Germany, from Oct. 17 to 21. In this slide show, we highlight some of the new injection molding products making their debut at this year’s event. They all share a promise to bring productivity improvements to the injection molding process, but they do so in unique ways. Seeing is believing, as they say,…
After being the first in India to launch a 1-liter bottle made of 100% recycled PET (rPET) for Kinley brand water, Coca-Cola India announced October 4 it is taking another meaningful step toward a circular economy with the launch of Coca-Cola in 250- and 750-mL rPET bottles. These rPET bottles are being manufactured by Coca-Cola bottling partners Moon Beverages Ltd. and SLMG Beverages Ltd. Two days later during the opening ceremony…
September brought higher contract prices to both the US polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) markets, driven primarily by stronger domestic sales and higher feedstock costs. Sales data through August showed both domestic and overall PP sales reaching their year-to-date highs on the month. Domestic PP sales in North America through the first eight months of 2023 are down 4.5% compared with the same time period of 2022. Meanwhile, domestic PE…
Polyolefins producer Braskem has unveiled a novel demonstrator part that combines Braskem’s polypropylene (PP) resin in combination with Rebar for Plastics reinforcing technology from WEAV3D Inc., an advanced manufacturing and materials startup. WEAV3D’s thermoplastic composite lattice technology is based on unidirectional, fiber-reinforced composite tapes and enhances the performance of PP for structural and automotive material applications. The WEAV3D lattice technology enables lightweight PP parts to replace metal materials such as…
Pharmaceuticals companies looking for more sustainable packaging materials have a new option in Diofan Ultra736, a polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC) coating with ultra-high water vapor barrier from Brussels-based Solvay. The coating’s robust barrier properties enable reduced coating thickness vs. competing mid- to high-barrier PVDC coatings, with no adverse effects on package performance. Reduced coating thickness, in turn, enables thinner, more sustainable films for blister-pack thermoforming. Films coated with the material feature…