Canadian Plastics November 2012

CanadianPlastics www.canplastics.com

NOVEMBER 2012

RESIN PRICING

FORECAST

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Behind the numbers in our PIPE & PROFILE EXTRUSION SURVEY

CPLnov2012 p01 cover-chalk.indd 1

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POLYOLE FINS: China feedsto ck supp ly _ _ _n e_ w_ _crack __ _____ e_ rs_ $$$

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contents

Canadian Plastics NOVEMBER 2012 VOLUME 70 NUMBER 6

LOOKING BACK...

They might be hard to take seriously after the horrors of the Great Recession, but the plastics industry had weathered a slew of economic downturns prior to the 2009 meltdown. The July/August 1983 issue of Canadian Plastics reported on the stronger than expected plastics industry recovery that followed the recession of 1982. The available data showed a higher than anticipated 15 per cent increase in machinery shipments compared to the year before; and the Canadian industry’s growth rate by the spring of 1983 was eight per cent in real terms, compared to a previously forecast three per cent. Based on these and other figures, our report concluded, the industry had already recovered the loss of output it experienced in 1982.

RESIN G N I C I PR ST

A C E ____ R _ _ O _ F ____ ____

20

Number of the month:

$18.98*

* Average hourly operator wage in a Canadian pipe & profile extrusion shop, excluding benefits. (See pg. 28)

in every issue 4 Editor’s View: • Good and bad omens for 2013 5 Ideas & Innovations: • Plastic-to-oil conversion technology helps warm Canada’s North 6 News: • Injection molder Poly-Nova Technologies rethinks & renovates to stay competitive • NPE returning to five-day format in 2015 • Onex buys KraussMaffei for US$730 million • Supplier News & People 10 Executive’s Corner: • Ten lethal pricing mistakes 30 Technology Showcase 31 Plastics Data File 32 Advertising Index 33 Classified Ads 34 Technology Tips: • Molds: That leaking feeling

12

24

cover story

12 RESIN OUTLOOK: Expert calculations for 2013

As the manufacturing sector gears up again, global resin consumption is on the rise and capacity is being introduced to handle the increase. But that doesn’t mean that life will get simpler for resin buyers, as prices remain volatile (at best). Need some advice? The pricing experts give it their best shots, inside.

features

16 INJECTION MOLDING: In-mold assembly is a snap

The drive to eliminate secondary operations has pushed injection molding towards the final frontier: assembling separate components in the tool. In-mold assembly isn’t for every application, but if you’re doing multi-shot molding, it might just be the right fit.

22 EXPOPLAST PREVIEW: Coming together in Montreal

Back from hiatus and under new ownership, Quebec’s only plastics trade show is also Canada’s only plastics trade show this year. Here’s what you need to know at a glance about November's big event.

24 EXTRUSION SURVEY: Pulling out the facts

Wondering what shape Canada’s pipe & profile extrusion shops are in as the Great Recession recedes? Looking for info on buying intentions, markets served, machine utilization rates, and more?

It’s all here. Our sixth annual Extrusion Benchmark Survey gives you a snapshot of the industry you won’t find anywhere else.

Visit us at www.canplastics.com www.canplastics.com November 2012 Canadian Plastics

CPLnov2012 p03 TOC.indd 3

3

12-10-02 8:03 AM

editor’s view Canadian Plastics magazine reports on and interprets develop­­ ments in plastics markets and technologies worldwide for plastics processors, moldmakers and end-users based in Canada.

Good and bad omens for 2013

W

hat with the yearly invasion of editorial space by our “Season’s Greetings” message below, I find myself feeling a bit constricted. But events march onwards anyway, two of which deal with news items that were touched on in my recent editorials. So call this a bad news/good news update as 2012 shuffles toward the dustbin of history.

The bad news — at least for our industry — involves shale gas fracking.

Quebec’s new Natural Resources Minister has signaled that the newly elected separatist government wants to place severe restrictions — to put it mildly — on developing the province’s ultra-rich Utica and Lorraine shale gas formations, saying she doesn’t believe hydraulic fracturing is safe. “We want a complete moratorium, not only on extraction but also on exploration of shale gas,” said Martine Ouellet. “I don’t foresee a day when there will be technology that will allow safe production of it.”

It’s a regrettable stance towards a technology that has increased natural gas supplies and transformed North American producers of such resins as polyethylene into some of the most cost-

competitive producers in the world.

Now for the sunny side. It seems that Toronto’s execrable plastic shopping bag ban, set to take effect on the first day of 2013, might not be in the bag just yet. Toronto’s Municipal Act says judges can’t invalidate any bylaw passed in “good faith”, but the gathering consensus among legal experts is that the city’s case for good faith is undermined by the fact that the ban was initially approved on the same June day it was unexpectedly proposed, with no notice. This opens the door for weakening or reversing Toronto council’s reckless decision — possibly even by the time you read this. If so, kudos to the Canadian Plastics Industry Association, which has launched a first-ever information website — www.AllAboutBags.ca — that examines the facts and explodes the myths regarding plastic bags; it’s a welcome development that can only help our chances of shooting down the ban.

So here’s my Christmas wish: that cooler, industry-friendly heads prevail in Quebec and Toronto in 2013.

Mark Stephen, editor

mstephen@canplastics.com

Season’s Greetings

Wishing you a happy & prosperous New Year from

www.canplastics.com EDITOR Mark Stephen 416-510-5110 Fax: 416-510-5134 E-mail: mstephen@canplastics.com ART DIRECTOR Andrea M. Smith PRODUCTION MANAGER Steve Hofmann 416-510-6757 E-mail: shofmann@bizinfogroup.ca PRINT PRODUCTION MANAGER Phyllis Wright SENIOR PUBLISHER Judith Nancekivell 416-510-5116 Fax: 416-510-5134 E-mail: jnancekivell@canplastics.com SALES MANAGER Brayden Ford 416-510-5124 Fax: 416-510-5134 E-mail: bford@canplastics.com CIRCULATION MANAGER Anita Madden 416-442-5600, ext. 3596 Fax: 416-510-6875 E-mail: amadden@bizinfogroup.ca HEAD OFFICE: 80 Valleybrook Drive, Toronto ON, M3B 2S9. 416-442-5600, Fax: 416-510-5134 CANADIAN PLASTICS is published 7 times a year by BIG Magazines LP, a div. of Glacier BIG Holdings Company Ltd., a leading Canadian information company with interests in daily and community newspapers and business-to-business information services.

2012 SUBSCRIPTION RATES

6 issues Canadian Plastics, plus Dec. 2012 Buyer’s Guide: CANADA: 1 Year $70.95 plus applicable taxes; 2 Years $115.95+ taxes; Single copy $10.00+ taxes.

USA: US$79.95; FOREIGN: US$124.95 B uyers’ G uide only : CANADA: $103.00 plus applicable taxes and $5.00 shipping USA & FOREIGN: US$103.00 plus $5.00 shipping.

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The contents of this magazine are protected by copyright and may be used only for your personal non-commercial purposes.

All other rights are reserved and commercial use is prohibited. To make use of any of this material you must first obtain the permission of the owner of the copyright. For further information please contact Judith Nancekivell, 416-510-5116.

For reprints call RSiCopyright, Michelle Hegland, msh@rsicopyright.com USPS 745-670. U.S. Office of Publication, 2424 Niagara Falls Blvd., Niagara Falls, NY. 14304-0357. Periodical Postage paid at Niagara Falls NY USA. Postmaster: Send address changes to Canadian Plastics, PO Box 1118, Niagara Falls NY 14304-0357.

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Judith Nancekivell Publisher & Editorial Director

and the rest of your friends at 4

Mark Stephen Editor

Brayden Ford Advertising Sales Representative

CanadianPlastics

MEMBER: Canadian Business Press, Canadian Plastics Industry Association.

We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund (CPF) for our publishing activities.

Canadian Plastics November 2012 www.canplastics.com

CPLnov2012 p04 Editorial.indd 4

12-10-02 8:14 AM

chillersinc_Innovation_Chillers:Layout chillersinc_Innovation_Chillers:Layout1 1 chillersinc_Innovation_Chillers:Layout1 1 chillersinc_Innovation_Chillers:Layout

Innovation Innovation Innovation Innovation

ideas & innovations

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Plastic-to-oil conversion technology helps warm Canada’s North

Digital Digital Scroll DigitalScroll Scroll Digital Scroll Compressors Compressors Compressors Compressors

Energyefficient efficientcapacity capacity ••Energy Energy efficient capacity efficient capacity control controlsaves saves up up to to20% 20% ••Energy

I

t’s funny how some things have a certain circularity.

Take people; we come into the world toothless, nearbald, and incontinent and, if we live long enough, a lot of us will leave it pretty much the same way. So it makes sense that plastics, which derive from petroleum, should be made to return to petroleum, of a sort.

That’s precisely the transformation taking place in a Whitehorse, Yukon recycling plant, where researchers are testing a newly installed machine that can convert used plastics into oil.

The machine, developed by Japanese recycling equipment supplier Blest Ltd., can chew through 240 kilograms of plastic every day and produce enough oil to heat about 70 homes.

The contraption is the first of its kind in North America, and takes over an area roughly the size of a pool table at the warehouse at P&M Recycling. Plastic that has been cut into coarse granules is fed into a trough, and moves through various tubes and chambers until it turns into a gas and is cooled. At the end, the oil drips from a spigot into a receptacle.

The machine, which was modified to function in a cold climate, produces about 10 litres of oil every hour, and can run continuously. The oil that comes out is a blend of gasoline, diesel, kerosene, and some heavy oils. It can be fed directly into an oil furnace, or can be processed further into something that could go straight into a diesel engine.

Pat McInroy, owner of P&M Recycling, plans to use the diesel as heating oil for his

•• •• •• ••

600-square-foot operation over the winter. McInroy estimates the synthetic diesel will easily save the $18,000 he spent on heating oil last year. He will also save the labor costs of sorting and baling the plastic, and the cost of transporting it south.

“The vast majority of this plastic has zero value. It can be recycled, but not here, only by trucking it 1,500 miles south and that costs me money every time,” he said.

Cold Climate Innovation (CCI), part of the Yukon Research Centre at Yukon College, will be testing the machine over the next year in the hopes that it will prove cost effective and robust enough to take on the road to Yukon communities, where most homes are heated with oil-burning furnaces. The $175,000 cost of the plastic-to-oil machine has been jointly supported by the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency and CCI, with P&M Recycling contributing new equipment and power upgrades to support the machine’s operation.

Now if only they’d invent a machine to tackle all of those embarrassing oldage problems.

CPL www.canplastics.com November 2012 Canadian Plastics

CPLnov2012 p05 Ideas & Innov.indd 5

control savesup uptoto20% 20% control saves of of compressor compressor of compressor of compressor energy. energy. energy. energy.

Provides Providesbetter better Provides better Provides better temperature temperature temperature temperature control. control. control. control.

Operates Operates Operates Operates efficiently efficientlyover over over efficiently over aefficiently awider widerload load a widerload load a wider profile. profile. profile. profile.

Energy Energyefficient efficientnon-ozone non-ozone Energy efficient non-ozone Energy efficient non-ozone depleting depleting R410A R410A depleting R410A depleting R410A refrigerant refrigerant refrigerant refrigerant

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Water-Cooled model 10 10 tonton Water-Cooled model

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news

Injection molder Poly-Nova Technologies

RETHINKS & RENOVATES

TO STAY COMPETITIVE

The home base in Guelph, Ont.

T

here’s no shortage of bad facelifts out there — seen Wayne Newton lately, for example? Poly-Nova Technologies LP is currently undergoing a good one: the Guelph, Ont.-based custom injection molder has just

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On the shop floor.

completed the first phase of a facility renovation designed to make the 100-employee strong company more competitive by boosting the efficiency and quality of its production processes.

It’s a tall order for any manufacturing outfit, and a lot of shops that consider the idea never get past the “maybe” stage. Poly-Nova carried it out in a thorough and specific fashion, beginning with new molding machines, robots, and upstream and downstream automation. “We added multiple new horizontal and vertical Engel injection presses, ranging from 100 tons to 300 tons,” said Geoff Valeriote, the company’s sales and marketing manager.

“The units came with machine controllers that provide better process control, which leads to a higher quality and lower cost part, and with dual material feed systems to eliminate downtime for material changes.” The new injection molding machinery will be used for the molding of both homogenous rubber parts and insert overmolded parts, Valeriote continued. “All molding technology used in conjunction with these machines will be wasteless and flashless, which eliminates inconsistencies, provides minimal material waste, and supplies a cost savings benefit,” he said.

The 17-year-old company has also built a new prototype and material development lab to meet the growing demand for prototyping. “The facility has been equipped with lab scale molding machinery, and also serves as a research and development space where our engineers can perform material formulation,” Valeriote continued. The company’s building has also been renovated from top to bottom with energy efficient lighting, and a bus system has been added for all electrical and process services to allow quick and efficient machine installations. Finally, Poly-Nova is updating its quality management system to ISO/TS from ISO 9001:2008.

According to Valeriote, the changes are a reflection of a new corporate commitment to standardization and automation. “We’re now better able to standardize our processes and improve overall cost-effectiveness, allowing us to be even more competitive in the global marketplace,” he said.

CPL

......stay connected with

Canadian Plastics November 2012 www.canplastics.com

CPLnov2012 p06-9 News.indd 6

12-10-02 2:50 PM

news

NPE returning to

FIVE-DAY FORMAT IN 2015;

I

organizing committee named

t’s official: NPE2015 will run Monday through Friday, March 23-27, 2015 — a return to a full five days of trade show exhibits.

The NPE2012 show earlier this year had only four exhibiting days, the first time the exhibits had run on a four-day schedule instead of five days. It also marked the triennial NPE’s move to the Orange County Convention Center from its longtime home of Chicago’s McCormick Place.

Robert Martino, a spokesman for show organizer SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association, told Canadian Plastics that attendees and exhibitors at NPE2012 had expressed a preference for a return to the traditional five-day show format that the Chicago-era shows had always followed.

And in another initiative for NPE2015, Washington, DC-based SPI has also appointed the NPE2015 organizing committee. Jim Murphy, president of the extrusion systems business at Davis-Standard LLC, and Glenn Anderson, senior vice president at machinery supplier

Pioneers assemble for regional meetings

A

section of the Canadian Plastics Pioneers (CPP) gathered in Barrie, Ont., on Sept. 26, as part of the organization’s new plan to become more accommodating to its retired members. “A lot of our members have moved away from Toronto and can’t attend our annual Toronto dinner meeting, so we’re trying to come to them,” said CPP chairman Doug Winter (bottom row centre in photo). In addition to the get-together in Barrie, the CPP has also staged meetings in Guelph and Cobourg, Ont. Membership in the CPP is restricted to those with 25 years involvement or more in Canada’s plastics industry.

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Milacron LLC, will head the committee. Other committee chairs include Operations chairman Thomas A. McGwire, president of Industrial Heater Corporation, and vice-chairman Larry Doyle, president of The Conair Group; Content chairman Michael McGee, director of technology for Nypro Inc., and vice-chairman Robert Janeczko, president and CEO of i2Tech LLC; and Marketing and Sales chairman Christopher E. Parrillo, national sales manager for Yushin America Inc., and vice-chairman Stephen C. Montalto, director of sales and marketing for Parkinson Technologies Inc. CPL

Jim Murphy

Glenn Anderson

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12-10-02 8:18 AM

news

G

Canadian bioplastics provider Solegear making moves

reen things tend to grow — witness the weeds on your lawn — and green technology firm Solegear Bioplastics Inc. is no exception. The Vancouver, B.C.-based bioplastics supplier is teaming up with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) to jointly develop new biomaterial, using their respective proprietary formulations and technologies.

“The Polymer Bioproducts team at the NRC is world-renowned for their understanding and expertise in stabilizing bioplastics, and is a great fit with our technology for modifying specific performance characteristics of bioplastics,” said Solegear founder and CEO Toby Reid. “This project sets the stage to deliver significant technology breakthroughs that would be otherwise unachievable if we both worked independently.”

Solegear has been partnering with Ottawa, Ont.-based NRC since 2007, Reid added.

Solegear is currently producing bioplastics on a commercial scale.

The company’s bioplastics production process uses fermented plant starch as the primary feedstock and molecular backbone for its proprietary bio-based polymers, which are said to be suitable for use in highperformance applications.

The announcement comes on the heels of Solegear securing Series A financing from Vancouver investment firm Yaletown Venture Partners and a number of leading angel investors.

CPL

Onex buys KraussMaffei for US$730 million

O

nex Corp., Canada’s largest buyout firm, has purchased processing machinery manufacturer KraussMaffei Group from Madison Capital Partners for US$730 million (568 million euros).

Munich, Germany-based KraussMaffei manufactures machinery for the injection molding, extrusion, and reaction process segments. It has approximately 4,000 employees and operates key manufacturing facilities in Germany, Switzerland, Slovakia, and China.

The deal is expected to close by March 2013.

“With Onex’ backing, we intend to strengthen our global presence and build on our success at the high-end of the industry,” said Jan Siebert, CEO of KraussMaffei.

Toronto-based Onex has experience with plastics companies: it previously owned Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd., and currently owns extrusion equipment supplier Davis-Standard LLC. CPL

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Canadian Plastics November 2012 www.canplastics.com

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12-10-02 2:51 PM

news

SUPPLIER NEWS

PEOPLE — Extrusion equipment manufacturer Gloucester Engineering Co. Inc., headquartered in Gloucester, Mass., has named Bob Fulford as vice president of purchasing and supply management.

Bob Fulford

Godfrey Sandham

— Equipment manufacturer Ex­trusion Dies Industries LLC (EDI), headquartered in Chippewa Falls, Wis., has appointed Godfrey Sandham as vice president and general manager.

— T he Toronto, Ont.-based Canadian Plastics Industry Association has named Michael Hill as its director of membership development.

Michael Hill

— Software supplier JDL Technical Services, of Windsor, Ont., has been appointed North American sales representative for ToolMaster CNC automated machining software, which is made by American firms Tools + and 3 Axis Corporation.

— Factory automation supplier Advanced Motion & Controls Ltd., of Barrie, Ont., has been appointed Canadian distributor for conveying system manufacturer Hytrol Conveyor Company, of Jonesboro, Ark.

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12-10-02 8:20 AM

executive’s corner

Ten lethal pricing mistakes

By Mark Borkowski, Mercantile Mergers & Acquisitions Corporation

T

he vast majority of manufacturing companies have spent years achieving gains through cost cutting, outsourcing, process reengineering, and the adoption of innovative technologies. That’s good. But all too many continue to use simplistic pricing processes, and some can’t even identify their most profitable products, product lines, customers, or customer segments. That’s bad. This lack of information means too many management teams have their sales staff focusing the bulk of their time servicing their least profitable customers.

Here’s a list of 10 of the most common mistakes companies make when pricing their products and services.

1

asing prices on costs, not customers’ perceptions of B value. Pricing based on costs invariably leads to prices that are too high or — more often — too low.

2

asing prices on “the marketplace.” Management teams B must find ways to differentiate their products or services MH Equipment:Layout 1 9/24/2012 4:40 PM Page to create additional value for specific market segments.

CP

1

3

rying to achieve the same profit margin across different T product lines. For any single product, profit is optimized when the price reflects the customer’s willingness to pay.

4

ailing to segment customers. The value proposition F for any product or service varies in different market segments, and price strategy should reflect that difference.

5

olding prices at the same level for too long. Most comH panies fear the uproar of a price change and put it off for too long; savvy companies acclimate their customers and their sales forces to frequent price changes.

6

I ncentivizing salespeople on revenue generated, rather than on profits. Volume-based sales incentives create a drain on profits when salespeople are compensated to push volume at the lowest possible price.

7

hanging prices without forecasting competitors’ reacC tions. Smart companies know enough about their competitors to predict their reactions and prepare for them.

8

sing insufficient resources to manage pricing pracU tices. Cost, sales volume, and price are the three basic variables that drive profit.

9

ailing to establish internal procedures to optimize F prices. The hastily called “price meeting” has become a regular occurrence, a last-minute meeting to set the final price for a new product or service.

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pending too much time serving your least profitable S customers. Get to know all of your customers better; 80 per cent of a company’s profits generally come from 20 per cent of its customers.

Compounding these problems, too many companies rely on salespeople and other customer-facing staff for intelligence about the value perceptions of their customers. It’s a mistake, since a customer will rarely volunteer the whole truth to a salesperson.

Don’t let it happen to you. Savvy companies implement price optimization schemes and focus on building their organizations to serve their most profitable customers. It’s the best way to do business in the modern world.

CPL Mark Borkowski is the president of Mercantile Mergers & Acqui­ s­itions Corporation, a Toronto-based brokerage firm that spe­ cializes in the sale of privately owned, mid-market companies. He can be contacted at www.mercantilemergersacquisitions.com.

Canadian Plastics November 2012 www.canplastics.com

CPLnov2012 p10 Exec Corner.indd 10

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12-10-02 8:23 AM

Y T N I A T R E C

resin outlook

UN

d r a o b e h t s s o r ac

As the Great Recession recedes, global resin consumption is on the rise and capacity is being introduced to handle the increase. But don’t expect life to get easier if you’re a resin buyer, as prices remain volatile (at best).

I

t’s a strange time for plastics processors. Two years ago, you had the materials and not the orders; now, you have the orders but can’t always get the materials to fill them. And what the heck is going on with the U.S. and European economies?

By now, this uncertainty is almost the new normal. In 2010 and 2011, attendees at the annual Canadian Plastics Resin Outlook conferences knew they were in the middle of, or barely out of, an almost unprecedented financial meltdown. This time around, no one knows what to expect — and probably nothing could have really shocked the attendees anymore.

It’s a hard climate in which to forecast, but our speakers gave it their best shots. The consensus? Demand in general is ticking upwards and capacity is being introduced to handle it.

But from polycarbonate to polypropylene to PVC, factors specific to each material, and the various markets they’re used in, will make for unique and specific pricing trajectories.

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

David Tulk, senior macro strategist with TD Financial Group, outlined the full measure of uncertainty of today’s global economy.

“We still see the world as very vulnerable for economic growth,” he said. “There’s some altitude between us and the ground but not much; given the shocks of the last few years, every little disruption, whether it’s political or a natural disaster, has a very pronounced impact.” The bottom line? The recovery is on, but it’s slow-moving.

“In Europe, some very important structural challenges remain unresolved, which leaves North America vulnerable,” he said.

Closer to home, Tulk continued, there’s a slightly kinder economic backdrop now in the U.S. than in previous years.

“There have been improvements in the housing market and in the flow of credit, and these are building a firmer platform,” he said. “For the north/south relationship, it’s a time of cautious optimism.” Not that the financial situation in the “south” part of that equation is anything to email home about. “We’re still forecasting anemic growth, low inflation, and a lurking vulnerabil12

By Mark Stephen, editor ity for the U.S. economy,” Tulk said.

Within the Canadian economy, manufacturers are being hurt by the persistent strength of the Canadian dollar, he continued.

And we’d better get used to it: “I don’t think the strong dollar is going away anytime soon,” Tulk said. Also, there’s some fatigue beginning to show in consumer spending and in the cooling domestic housing market.

Blame both on outside forces. “Canada has benefitted from the early stages of the recovery, but we’re having a harder time getting any further along without global support,” Tulk said.

“We’re actually less confident about the Canadian economy now than last year, given the fatigue we’re seeing.”

Recognizing the ongoing weaknesses of the U.S. and Europe, the federal government is encouraging Canadian businesses to consider east/west, as opposed to north/south, economic relationships. In a word, Asia. “In the longer term, stronger business ties with China and other Asian nations will put Canadian businesses in better positions to adapt to the changing marketplace,” Tulk said. “But it takes time to build these relationships, and it doesn’t necessarily help with the short-term outlook.”

POLYOLEFINS

One of the most popular of today’s resins, polyolefins are used in everything from appliances to automobiles to medical components to diapers. Taken as a whole, polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) resins represent over 60 per cent of the estimated 211 million metric ton global thermoplastic market in 2012, according to Robin Waters, director of polyolefins for IHS Chemicals.

“Globally, both PE and PP are projected to see improved growth for the next five years compared to the past five years,” Waters said. “Both resin groups, however, show remarkable disparity between emerging market economies and more mature, developed regions; this is reflected in the wide range of demand growth rates across countries and regions, with global growth being driven by the emerging economies.”

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For PE, shale development is enabling the North American ethylene producer to become one of the lowest cost producers in the world. “Combined with the Middle East, over 40 per cent of the global ethylene capacity is cost-advantaged,” Waters said. PE investments are increasingly concentrated in these two feedstock cost-advantaged regions, he added, as well as in high demand growth areas — led by China, which represents nearly onequarter of current global demand and 39 per cent of global demand growth over the next five years. “These trends are driving industry consolidation and operations optimization in higher cost regions, particularly in Europe,” he said. “In North America, low cost feedstock from shale gas is revitalizing the PE business, making exports highly competitive globally. In response, several producers have announced new capital projects that are currently scheduled to come onstream in the second half of the decade.”

But the energy drivers benefiting North America PE producers are having the opposite effect on PP producers. “The ongoing preference for light cracker feedstocks and reduced propylene from refineries continues to put North America in an unfavorable cost position, complicated by extreme price volatility,” Waters continued. “Some relief is in sight with planned-on-purpose PP production, but not until the latter part of the five-year planning period.” The result? “While North America will maintain a net export position, albeit decreasing, the Americas region as a whole will increase its net import position due to improving growth rates and lack of capacity projects in South America,” he said.

“Oversupply in China will continue to suppress global prices and resulting margins for producers to the region.” In addition, expect China to become more self-sufficient, Waters added, with projected capacity additions over the next five years, putting additional pressure on other regions that currently export PE to China.

STYRENICS

Here’s an obscure but important fact: the North American market for polystyrene (PS) has consolidated into just three main suppliers: Total Petrochemicals, Americas Styrenics, and Styrolution — or four if you count Mexico’s Resirene, which is also an active participant. It’s important because, with so few producers, any supply disruption can affect the market. And it does. Take the weather: the PS market is extremely vulnerable to weather-related disruptions,

and this summer a hurricane and drought kept PS supply tight and prices high. According to Michelle Klump, markets editor for ICIS, there’s a small measure of good news — at least in the short term — around the corner. “Supply constraints are expected to ease in October, and demand for PS should pick up slightly in preparation for the holiday season — although there’s probably not enough time to regain lost demand,” she said. “Some market participants predict an overall drop of two per cent for the rest of 2012.”

In the larger picture, PS is forecast to enjoy a modest global growth rate of 2.9 per cent through to 2016, due mainly to growing demand for packaging, which will remain the biggest source of PS demand going forward.

And price? The cost of PS in North America is getting marginally higher — up to about US$0.97 per pound in August 2012 — due to tighter benzene supply, Klump said. That’s a good price compared to Europe, where PS hit about US$1.15 per pound in August; but not so good compared to Asia, where it remains at less than US$0.75 per pound. Whatever the price of PS, the costs of alternative materials have traditionally risen at even faster rates, providing PS with a built-in silver lining. But this might not be the case anymore. “Lately, PS has been losing its price advantage to PP, as the price of benzene — which is the biggest factor in PS pricing — rose by 41 per cent between December 2011 and March 2012, dragging PS prices up too,” she said. “The price of PP plummeted from US$1.10 per pound in June 2011 to about US$0.63 per pound in August 2012, while PS rose from US$0.90 to US$0.97 per pound during the same period.” In the end, take any predictions about PS prices in the future with a few boxes of salt. “The price volatility of benzene makes predicting PS prices in the longer term extremely difficult,” Klump said.

And as always with PS, there’s an environmental backdrop to the story...and it isn’t pretty. “The U.S. National Toxicology Program included styrene in its June 2011 Report on Carcinogens, a fact which continues to hurt demand and, related to this, communities throughout Canada and the U.S. continue to consider measures banning PS food and other packaging,” Klump said.

PVC

When it comes to polyvinyl chloride (PVC), it’s all about new construction; PVC remains the plastic of choice for the hous-

AT A GLANCE

Polyolefins Shale development is driving PE costs down; reduced propylene from refineries continues to put North American PP in an unfavourable position.

Robin Waters, IHS Chemicals

Styrenics PS supply constraints are expected to ease in October, with demand expected to pick up in time for the holiday season. Some market participants expect an overall drop of two per cent for 20122013. In the long run, PS will lose its price advantage over PP. Michelle Klump, ICIS

PVC Strong international demand will lead to higher PVC prices in the short term; long-term, oversupply of PVC precurser ethane will bring prices back down.

Jim Seidewand, Resin Technology LLC

Polycarbonate Expect the price to hold steady at between US$1.60 and US$1.80 per pound until the beginning of 2013.

Paul Blanchard, Chemical Market Associates Inc.

Nylon New caprolactam capacity announced in China has been built ahead of demand, which might lead to a buyer’s market.

Paul Blanchard, Chemical Market Associates Inc.

www.canplastics.com November 2012 Canadian Plastics

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resin outlook

ing and commercial space industries, and demand correlates with the health of the construction industry. The effects of this fact on PVC pricing can’t be overstated. According to Jim Seidewand, the president of Resin Technology LLC, North American housing starts are projected to slow in 2013, hindering domestic PVC demand. But higher growth in developing regions such as South America, the Indian subcontinent, and Africa — and global operating rates of up to 90 per cent — will lead to higher PVC prices overall: expect to pay between US$0.07 to US$0.08 more per pound in the first months of 2013, he said. In the longer term, supply of PVC precursor ethane will increase faster than demand, keeping ethane prices reasonable, which should help bring PVC back down slightly.

Look for some unintentional help here from Asia. “China will be uncompetitive in the PVC export market, which should provide a global price ceiling,” Seidewand said. China currently has the vast majority of new PVC capacity — a whopping 50 per cent, triple its capacity of a mere seven years ago — while Asia is responsible for two-thirds of the current world capacity, Seidewand continued. Demand in China will continue to grow at approximately six per cent per year over the next 12 months, he said. In the longer term, expect PVC imports to China to diminish and exports to the Indian subcontinent to grow dramatically.

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And Europe? European PVC resin, with its high oil and operating costs, will not be a major factor in international trade, Seidewand said, except in the Middle East. Russia in particular will be hungry for PVC for windows and siding in new construction projects. Continuing consolidation of PVC production in Europe is expected — but until then, it’s a good time to be an exporter. “The U.S. ethylene cost position, coupled with its chloro-alkali cost advantage, will allow the U.S. to export almost five billion pounds of PVC,” Seidewand said. It’s an export demand that Canadians can jump all over too, he added.

NYLON

Thirty-seven per cent of all global nylon 6 demand is for the automotive industry, and as that industry roars back to life — with North American operating rates for nylon 6 averaging approximately 90 per cent into 2013 — producers and buyers should expect the material’s popularity to improve, according to Paul Blanchard, a senior consultant with Chemical Market Associates Inc. There was a nylon 6 pricing problem in 2010 and 2011, and here’s why: all nylon 6 is made with caprolactam, and the new nylon 6 demands — particularly in China — tightened caprolactam supply and pressured polymer prices upward globally.

But that was then. Heading into 2013, buyers have an ace in the

Canadian Plastics November 2012 www.canplastics.com

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resin outlook

hole: new caprolactam capacity announced in China has been built ahead of demand, which might just create the oversupply that leads to a buyer’s market.

For nylon 6/6, Blanchard noted that intermediaries face a constrained global supply of key precursor adiponitrile that supports high prices levels — which won’t be helped by the likely delay of Invista’s Shanghai investment in intermediates. But prices still may not be high enough to suit nylon 6/6 makers. “This year, the costs have escalated much faster than the prices have, resulting in an erosion of margin,” he said. “In some cases, nylon 6 and 6/6 prices are reaching parity, which is very unusual: usually nylon 6/6 has a US$0.15 to US$0.20 price advantage.”

Blanchard forecast nylon 6/6 operating rates in North America to climb to 80 per cent and higher by 2014. “It’s not a situation that lends itself to low prices anytime soon,” he said. Pricing should remain tight — but if it comes down at all, thank China.

“Suppliers in China are without a basic source of adiponitrile, making it the most expensive country from which to buy nylon 6/6,” he said. “This means you’re getting a comparative bargain if you’re buying America or Europe.”

ResinConf TksAd Octfrom 11 either CPL North 10/11/11 2:50 PM Page 1

POLYCARBONATE

In some ways, these are tough times for polycarbonate (PC).

“The hope that Blu-ray recordables would save the market has

proven unfounded, and other electronics are taking over that don’t require PC,” Blanchard said. “The new great hope for PC is vehicle windows, which could increase the global demand by about 40 per cent, although vehicle windows currently make up only two per cent of global PC demand.” For the foreseeable future, though, whatever PC growth there is will be led by the electronics segment, which currently makes up approximately 21 per cent of global demand for PC. That’s not to say that PC is passé: the industry continues to invest in product application development for long-term growth of the business, and a lot of new capacity is coming onstream in Asia and the Middle East, including projects by Mitsubishi, Sinopec, Bayer, and Kayan. “Globally, recent demand has been very good, especially in the third and fourth quarters of 2011, resulting in a tight supply that allowed PC prices to rise,” Blanchard said. “But the markets are easing now, and the prices should ease also, helped by a combination of lower benzene costs and the new Kayan start-up in Saudi Arabia. We expect the price to hold steady at between US$1.60 and US$1.80 per pound until the beginning of 2013; after that, when the effects of the Kayan plant have been digested, we expect to see upwards pressure.” The long-term outlook is dependent on the strength of demand growth from China and India, Blanchard concluded, and on the rate of increase in new production capacity.

CPL

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Photo Credit: Engel

injection molding

IN-MOLD ASSEMBLY:

All together now

The drive to eliminate secondary operations has pushed multi-shot injection molding towards the final frontier: assembling separate components in the tool.

Got in-mold assembly in your plant yet?

16

I

By Mark Stephen, editor

f the manufacturing sector learned one thing from the Great Recession it might be this: get more efficient, fast. In multi-component injection molding, efficiency means eliminating secondary operations by assembling separate components in the tool via snap-fits, welding, and co-molding of incompatible materials. Or in three words: in-mold assembly.

IMA 101 The term “in-mold assembly” (or IMA) is — like a lot of things in life — subject to varying definitions. In this article, we’ll distinguish it from the general field of basic multi-shot molding or hard/soft overmolding. Although IMA generally requires multiple shots, the essence of the concept is putting together inside the mold separate components that would otherwise be assembled outside the mold through snap-fits, welding, or adhesive bonding.

The special technology for IMA is more likely to be found in the tooling than in the molding press. Machine builders such as Engel, KraussMaffei Corporation, and Sumitomo (SHI) Demag maintain that a machine for IMA is not much different than one for other multi-component molding jobs; the distinguishing factor, they add, is the know-how to integrate the automation and program the sequence of operations In some cases, suppliers of special tooling for IMA have teamed up with particular press builders. An example is the partnership between Ferromatik

Canadian Plastics November 2012 www.canplastics.com

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injection molding

and Foboha, a German builder of molds with one or more four-face turning “cubes.” Likewise, Denmark’s Gram Technology, a supplier of molds with multi-face turning “spin stacks”, has cooperated in several projects with Sumitomo (SHI) Demag. Engel takes a multi-faceted approach. “We either build the mold ourselves or work with partners in North America,” said Joachim Kragl, Engel’s director of advanced injection molding systems. “Since we also build the machines for multi-component molding and have our own automation capabilities, IMA is a significant area of expertise for us.”

For their part, mold builders have developed a variety of ways to implement IMA. Some approaches use single-face tools with sliding or rotating plates, while others use multiple-parting-line stack molds in traditional linear or newer rotary table designs. In many cases, single-face tools use rotating or sliding plates to change cavity configurations between shots; an older but still useful single-face IMA concept produces hollow parts by molding two separate halves and then bringing them together via sliding plates. Both single-face and stack molds gain added versatility with one or more turning centre turrets, each of which can have four faces to perform different functions. And many applications utilize a robot or similar device to transfer parts between cavities or even between machines.

cesses along with perhaps a complex automation line for the conventional approach.”

In addition to eliminating the need for separate presses and molds, the IMA process can really streamline your production. “Compared with dropping the parts or shipping them elsewhere, IMA assembly gives you a much better service assembly,” said Michael Uhrain, a regional manager for Sumitomo (SHI) Demag.

Want a concrete example? At the recent NPE2012 trade show, KraussMaffei integrated a CXW 200-380/160 SpinForm swivel-platen machine with German moldmaker Zahoransky’s TIM Stack (Total Integrated Manufacturing) IMA assembly process for a cap-and-closure application. “The lightweight, three-part plastic closures made of polypropylene came out of the machine ready to assemble onto a bottle,” said Paul Caprio. “The manufacturing cell was designed to save floor space, labor, and other resources.”

Floor space aside, IMA can open up a world of other savings and benefits as well. Let’s start with money. While it’s true that the initial investment to get into IMA is more than for conventional molding — often significantly more — this outlay has built-in savings over the longer run.

“Every step that can be done inside the mold takes tremendous amounts of cost, complexity, risk, and demand for

A GOOD FIT Okay, so now that we understand what IMA is, why should molders use it — especially since IMA almost invariably means a more complex molding setup? Turns out there are lots of good reasons. “The most important benefit of IMA is that the single parts stay in the mold position before and during assembly,” said Paul Caprio, president of KraussMaffei Corporation. “That means that in every cycle the same cavities will be assembled together with the same conditions of cooling and shrinkage, which reduces tolerances, is easier to adjust, and leads to smaller total tolerances for higher part quality.”

And if you’ve heard that the added complexity of IMA guarantees a more complex process (as opposed to setup) than a conventional molding approach, don’t believe it. “The complexity of the overall manufacturing process is actually reduced with IMA,” said Joachim Kragl. How so? Every step outside the molding machine added to provide the part or assembly with the functionality needed to fulfill the requirements in its final application is essentially — as the Kaizen business model would put it — “muda”: wasteful and non-productive. IMA puts paid to that. Take your average three-component part, for example. “Conventional molding of a three-component part usually involves molding the parts separately and then feeding them to either inline or offline automation equipment for assembly,” Kragl said.

“Utilizing IMA, only one machine and process is to be controlled, compared with three individual machines and pro-

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injection molding

The complexity of the overall manufacturing process is actually reduced with in-mold assembly. process control out of the manufacturing process,” Joachim Kragl said. “The most obvious savings are in cost for parts or work in progress being stored for subsequent operations — such as assembly, printing, joining, et cetera — and the equipment and personnel required to do these tasks.”

Conventional molding of multi-component parts also requires space for storage before performing post-mold operations, which IMA eliminates — and there’s a cashsaving aspect here, as well, since storage requires increased internal logistics that add to administrative costs.

A possible caveat is that IMA usually requires high part volumes. “Tooling for IMA can cost between 30 to 70 per cent more than for standard molds with the same cavitations,” said John Westbeld, engineering manager for >SAS<

Automation LLC. Sources generally agree that jobs with a part volume of around 250,000 are good candidates for IMA. Molders located in damp or humid climates know the havoc these factors can play with plastics parts by causing shrinkage or affecting dimensional stability. The IMA process delivers here, too, since parts aren’t being stored on the shop floor to shrink, warp, or — literally — gather dust while waiting for a secondary operation.

p

Li d ch A w

A

TAKE IT TO THE LIMIT As useful as it can be, are there any limitations to IMA? “There are very few technical limitations, as long as the part design allows the assembly in or at the mold cavity or core; a limitation here is if assembly from both sides of the mold is necessary,” said Paul Caprio. “Other factors that might weigh against using the IMA process include a very small production quantity per year or a very short planned production period; usually, neither adds up against the investment sum of the machinery.”

In short, keep the law of diminishing returns in mind.

“Typically, a three-component or three-material part is the natural limit of what can be assembled efficiently in the mold, because you usually have a rotary table or index plate

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injection molding

Squeeze tube application uses IMA to help squeeze cycle time A one-step process for molding squeeze tubes, developed by Dutch packaging firm Plasticum Group BV, makes good use of IMA. As demonstrated on an Engel e-motion T 280-ton all-electric tie bar press with a rotating “cube” mold from Otto Hofstetter AG in Switzerland, the process starts with rolling polypropylene (PP) in-mold labels outside the press and inserting them into four annular cavities using Beck Automation robotics. The soft PP copolymer is then molded inside the labels; the mold then opens,

rotates 180°, and PP homopolymer is in­jected by a second barrel mounted on the moving platen to form the integral flipPhoto C redit: En gel top closure. The robot assembles the shoulder, neck, and cap, and then flexes the living hinge to close the caps before the finished tubes are ejected.

Total cycle time? Exactly 12.5 seconds.

to do spinning around, and it gets prohibitively difficult beyond three different materials,” said Joachim Kragl.

As with any cutting edge processing technology, developments in IMA are always coming, and fast. One area to keep an eye on is a process recently introduced by Engel called organomelt; the aim is to replace overmolded sheetmetal assemblies with an all-polymer solution for enhanced recyclability and improved bonding. “The biggest advantage that this technology offers is to produce parts and assemblies with the same mechanical properties as the steel sheet-metal counterparts, but at half the weight or less,” Kragl said. “This is done by using continuous carbon, glass, or aramid fibre sheets that are impregnated with a

polymer of choice to best match the material used for overmolding. In the production process, the sheet is preheated outside the molding machine and then inserted into the mold. During the closing movement, the sheet is preformed in the machine and then supporting structures and/or functional elements are attached onto it. With the sheet using the same polymer material as the overmolded features, a superior bond is achieved.” Organomelt can also be combined with gas or water injection technologies, Kragl added, to create hollow structures and tubes within a part, for even higher load-bearing capabilities and improved mechanical properties.

PRECISION

Adding value to automotive parts has been the main driver for new IMA processes for years now, but there’s a growing demand for the technology in one of the fastest growing plastics components segments of all: medical parts molding.

How well is IMA stepping up? “There’s a real desire in the medical industry to do assembly molding, but the amount of medical parts currently being manufactured with IMA is nonetheless small,” Kragl said. “The technology is wellsuited for mid-sized parts, but small- and micro-sized parts are prohibitively difficult and not cost effective at present.”

That seems to be the consensus view. “The IMA medical part applications that >SAS< Automation has worked on have been few and far between because of the incredibly small size of the parts,” said John Westbeld.

Some medical parts aside, then, IMA for multi-shot molding is a snap.

CPL

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20

MEDICAL? MAYBE

RESOURCE LIST Engel Canada Inc. (Waterloo, Ont.); www.engelglobal.com; 519-725-8488 KraussMaffei Corporation (Florence, Ky.); www.kraussmaffei.com; 859-283-0200 Industries Laferrière (Mascouche, Que.); www.industrieslaferriere.ca; 450-477-8880 >SAS< Automation LLC (Xenia, Ohio); www.sasgripper.com; 888-727-3628 Verick International Inc. (Vaughan, Ont.); www.verick.com; 888-783-7425 Sumitomo (SHI) Demag/Plastics Machinery Inc. (Newmarket, Ont.); www.pmiplastics.com; 905-895-5054

Canadian Plastics November 2012 www.canplastics.com

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Advertorial

CASE STUDY:

Piovan at Greiner:

outstandinG

enerGy savinGs By working with Piovan and installing a free cooling system, an injection molder of plastic packaging and technical components in Europe is reaping impressive energy savings.

Since its new cooling technology was installed towards the end of 2011, Greiner Assistec is saving on an annual basis 693,857 kWh of electricity, which equates to 70,000 Euro (approx. CAD$88,600) in operating costs.

Given the substantial quantities of processing machinery and of processed material, Greiner Assistec’s production process requires a significant cooling capacity. This is a crucial part in ensuring the firm meets its production output targets and manufactures high quality products that are built to last.

The original cooling system consisted of a number of centralized chiller units which produced the low temperature cooling water for the mold circuit, and other chiller units for the hydraulic motor circuit of the injection molding machines.

Greiner Assistec’s production plant is situated Slušovice in the Czech Republic , where temperatures range from -25°C to +35°C. However, for 80% of the year temperatures stay between 0°C and +20°C, while temperatures recorded above +26°C represent just 1% of the whole time. These climatic conditions enable cooling system operating costs to be optimized thanks to the Piovan process water cooling system, the most efficient on the market.

The total heat load of the molding process is more than 600 kW, covering the injection molding machine hydraulics and the dryer cooling load. An analysis of the annual electricity consumption

of the chillers came up with a figure of 1,135,220 kWh. The first stage of the project consisted of a joint assessment of the existing system’s operating conditions. Then, possible alternatives were considered using return on investment (in view of the expected energy savings) as the main evaluation criteria. It was concluded that the free cooling system was the best option, especially for the cooling circuit of the processing machinery hydraulic system. The free cooling system allows the cooling water (max. temperature 30°C) to be used all year round, with the heat load exceeding 66% of the total load.

For this project, an external free cooler model with automatic draining device was placed on the roof above the plant room containing the pumps and compressors. Doing this enables even more energy to be saved. This kind of set-up allows the cooling system to work correctly without having to use glycol-based anti-freeze substances. More energy was thereby saved with the removal of the existing plate heat exchanger, which was causing further heat loss of at least 3°C. Another technical benefit of the Piovan free cooling system is the adiabatic function. Basically, on days when the air temperature is high, the free cooler works in partial adiabatic mode (like a cooling tower), so the process cooling water will have a lower temperature than the air temperature. Given the high nominal power of the existing free cooler and the high number of fans, EC (electronically commutated) fan technology was used to control the operation speed and ensure immediate efficiency. This type of technology saves up to 50% of the electricity required to power traditional fans and around 15% of the electricity required to power fans with frequency converters (under normal chiller load conditions).

Free cooling technology can be used in developing new central process water cooling systems or to upgrade or enhance existing systems. Using a free cooling system in conjunction with other kinds of Piovan refrigeration technology (particularly the thermorefrigerators from the Digitemp range and the Ecosmart chillers) can lead to even more spectacular energy savings.

Free cooling technology is just one of the numerous solutions Piovan offers the plastics industry. The firm also produces highly efficient and environmentally sustainable dryers, plastic granule feeding/conveying solutions, dosing equipment and quality management tools such as supervision software.

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expoplast preview

EXPOPLAST

2012:

Ready, set, go to Montreal Back from hiatus, Quebec’s only plastics trade show is also Canada’s only plastics trade show this year.

Here’s what you need to know at a glance.

I

t never really went away, but the Expoplast plastics trade show is back.

The Montreal show has a 35-plus year history as the dedicated resource to custom and captive molders in the region, featuring the top suppliers of processing machinery, auxiliary equipment, molds, molding components, materials, and services providers. Last staged in October 2008, Expoplast 2012 takes place on November 14-15 at Montreal’s Palais des congrès centre.

And it’s about time. There are almost 650 plastics processing establishments in Quebec, producing more than 26 per cent of all plastic products made in Canada.

Quebec’s plastics industry employs 21,336 people, according to the Institut de la statistique du Quebec, generates an annual payroll of $926 million, and spends over $2 billion on materials and supplies used in production. And according to the Canadian Plastics Industry Association (CPIA), Quebec processors posted 2009 sales of $7.7 billion. So there’s a big market to serve — and it hasn’t been served by its own trade event in the recent past. Why? Traditionally a tri-annual event, the three-year cycle was broken after the show was purchased — along with Toronto’s Plast-Ex event — by California-based trade show operator UBM Canon in 2009.

But it’s back now and bigger than ever, being co-located with seven other manufacturing trade shows: PACKEX Montreal, Process Technology/Powder Bulk Solids Montreal, Design & Manufacturing Montreal, Contract Manufacturing Expo, Automation Technology Expo Montreal, AeroCon, and Sustainability in Manufacturing. “After four years without a plastics trade show in Quebec, the industry seems very enthusiastic about Expoplast 2012,” said Tom Sockett, UBM’s event manager in Canada. “It’s definitely not a market that’s been overworked, meaning there’s pent-up need for what we’re doing and a high level of interest among Quebec and other Canadian industry members.”

And did we mention that it’s free to attend? “For the first time, the Expo admission is free, with online registration available throughout show days,” Sockett said.

In addition to the new element of co-location with other events, Expoplast 2012 will spotlight one of the hottest segments in plastics processing: medical parts molding. “The show will feature a medical manufacturing zone,” Sockett said.

“It’s our way of helping attendees learn more about this fast-growing segment.”

So after all this time, the plastics stars are once again lining up over Montreal. “The marketplace is improving and people are feeling more confident as a result,” Sockett said. “I think these factors should translate into a very good Expoplast show.”

CPL WHERE: P alais des congrès de Montreal 201 avenue Viger Ouest, Montreal, H2Z 1H2 WHEN:

ednesday, November 14, 2012: 10:00 am – 5:00 pm W Thursday, November 15, 2012: 10:00 am – 4:00 pm

WEB:

www.expoplast.org

CONFERENCES/ TECHNICAL SEMINARS* Fees and registration at www.expoplast.org or www.spequebec.org (E= in English; F= in French) Wednesday, November 14th, 2012 10:00 Carol Hochu (CPIA) (E) CPIA: Shaping the future 10:30 Teodor Veres, CNRC (National Research Council Canada) (F) Polymer-based rapid medical diagnostics: Challenges and opportunities 11:00 Break 11:15 Pascal Vuillaume (CTMP) (F) Impact resistance improvement of bio-sourced polyesters: Strategies and results 11:45 Marc J. Olivier (CTTÉI) (F) The invasion of bio-based plastics: From supply processing to sorting centres 12:15 Lunch 13:30 Aldjia Begriche (CTT Group) (F) Smart textiles: Applications and future trends 14:00 Guy Deschêne (Bayer) (F) Ecodesign 14:30 Break 14:45 Koen de Winter (Hippodesign) (F) Design process of the new recycling bin of the City of Montreal 15:15 Caroline Romaniak (Solid Expert) (F) Rapid prototyping 16:30 Networking cocktail in collaboration with FEPAC

Thursday, November 15th, 2012 10:00 Michel Labonte (CREPEC) (F) CREPEQ and Quebec plastic and high performance composites industry 10:30 Martin Vines (Revenu Canada) (F-E) Tax credits for research & development 11:00 Break 11:15 Vijay Kudchadkar (Compuplast North America) (E) Analysis of extrusion and co-extrusion problems using simulation 11:45 Peter Duserick (Dynisco) (E) Properly caring for transducers and sensors on extruders (care & handling) 12:15 Lunch 13:15 Manuel Diaz (Mo-di-tec) (E) Low-speed grinders for injection machines 13:45 Fritz Rechburger (Next Generation Recycling) (E) One-step recycling technology 14:15 Robert Sinclair (ECM Biofilms) (E) How biodegradability makes plastic products more sustainable 14:45 Break 15:00 Louis Brisson (Brisson Consultation) (F) Water, your indispensable ally in plastics processing 15:30 Rick Dunne/Pierre Maillet (Cyframe) (F) The five best management practices that processors can do to significantly improve margins * Schedule as of press time

22

Canadian Plastics November 2012 www.canplastics.com

CPLnov2012 p22 Expoplast preview.indd 22

12-10-02 2:57 PM

Cost Savings with Wide Open Spaces.

ENGEL victory spex.

Start with the economical and design efficiency of the tiebarless machine, with lots of wide open space – for easy robot access, for quick and easy mold change, for the ability to put a larger dimensioned mold in a smaller tonnage machine – resulting in savings of investment cost and space.

Add the energy efficiency of the ENGEL ecodrive, which puts this hydraulic machine into the energy saving range of an all-electric press. The addition of ecodrive provides energy savings of 50 % over a standard hydraulic machine.

Combine these with the economical pricing of the ENGEL victory spex line for the best value in the industry.

Saving space. Saving energy. Saving money. All with the quality and service that comes standard with ENGEL. See us at Expoplast, Booth #501

ENGEL spex ENGEL Canada Inc. | 550 Parkside Drive, Unit B12 | Waterloo | Ontario N2L 5V4 | Canada phone: 519 725 8488 | email: sales@engelglobal.com | www.engelglobal.com/na

be the first.

4538.10 a ENG ANZ CAN 206x276 en 120717.indd 1 CPLnov2012 p23 Engel AD.indd 23

12-10-02 8:42 AM

extrusion survey

PIPELINE TO T Wondering what shape Canada’s extrusion shops are in as the Great Recession becomes history? Looking for info on buying intentions, markets served, machine utilization rates, and more? It’s all here. Our sixth annual Extrusion Benchmark Survey gives you a snapshot of an industry segment that you won’t find anywhere else.

T

his time last year, we opened our fifth Extrusion Benchmark Survey by noting that the worst of the worst recession in living memory was behind us. Twelve months later, we’re fairly certain it’s true. But what do some of Canada’s extrusion shops hope...and what do they think? Has business bounced back? If so, what product markets are they relying on to keep the bounce going? And is new equipment part of their plans? These — and a lot more — are the questions our latest extrusion survey installment tries to answer.

THE BASICS When asked how many employees worked at their plant, we received answers ranging from five to 200, with the average shop employing 68 people.

Last year, the survey respondents ranged from shops with five workers to 225, with the average employing a compara-

tively low 43 workers. In 2010, there was a 52-worker average. It seems, then, that the streamlining that must certainly have occurred during the Great Recession might be over.

Of this year’s respondents, 81% are involved in profile extrusion, 33.7% in tubing extrusion, and 28.6% in pipe extrusion. In 2011, 63.3% were involved in profile extrusion, 31.8% were involved in pipe extrusion, and 27.3% in tubing extrusion. Additionally, 40.9% of this year’s respondents say they’re involved exclusively in proprietary extrusion, 18.2% exclusively in custom extrusion, 13.6% in custom extrusion with some proprietary work, and 27.3% in captive with some custom extrusion.

Last year, 26.1% of respondents said that they were involved exclusively in proprietary extrusion — down almost 14% from this year — 26.1% were involved in exclusively custom extrusion, 34.8% were involved in captive

The 2012 Canadian Plastics Extrusion Benchmark Survey, consisting of 35 questions, was emailed to approximately 340 people at pipe, profile, and tubing extrusion facilities throughout Canada, with one respondent being selected per manufacturing facility.

We received 36 completed surveys.

24

with some custom extrusion, and 13% were involved in custom with some proprietary extrusion.

Last year, the majority of respondents — almost 74% — reported that their shops were involved in the construction and building market. This year, 45.5% said the same, which is no big surprise given the ongoing weakness of the U.S. housing market. Also, 40.9% of this year’s respondents are extruding for packaging applications (up from 26.1% in 2011), 27.3% are involved in automotive work (compared to 26.1% last year), and 27.3% are doing consumer goods work (up slightly from 21.7% in 2011).

No surprise here: as with every other year, the vast majority of respondents (72.7%) are located in Ontario, with

BY THE NUMBERS Average hourly operator wage, excluding benefits

$18.98

Machine utilization rate at the average extrusion shop

68%

Number of workers at the average Canadian extrusion plant

68

Shops planning to buy a new extruder or extruders in the next 12 months

36.4%

Canadian Plastics November 2012 www.canplastics.com

CPLnov2012 p24-28 Extru Survey.indd 24

12-10-02 8:53 AM

extrusion survey

O THE FACTS 22.7% in Quebec, and one lonely shop this year in Prince Edward Island.

When we asked our respondents to tote up the number of extruders at their plant, 33% said they have 15 or more machines, the same ratio as last year. At the high end this year, our largest respondent reported having 62 extruders, compared with a high water mark of 70 last year. As with last year, the vast majority this year (77.3%) use single screw extruders (compared with 69.6% in 2011), with 22.7% using co-rotating twin screw designs, and 13.6% using counter-rotating twin screw designs — an inversion of the 13% using co-rotating machines and the 34.8% using counter-rotating twin screw units in 2011.

Attention extruder suppliers: on average, 70% of the machines in respon100

PAST PURCHASES (BY %) Yes

80

new capacity. Doing the math thusly, it seems our respondents in the brave new world of 2012 — well past the supposed “recovery year” of 2010 — remain skittish about the likelihood of adding capacity in the months ahead.

The tight-fistedness loosens slightly

dents’ shops this year are five or more years old (50% don’t have any machines less than five years old) — this is a big leap from the 49% that were five or more years old in 2011. Either this year’s respondents are atypical, or there’s a lot of older equipment rattling around out there, just possibly due to be replaced.

But are the respondents in buying moods? Not really. Thirty-six per cent of respondents this year say they plan to buy a new extruder within the next 12 months — which sounds bad until we compare it to the whopping 90% who weren’t planning on buying last year.

And here’s another indicator of the peculiar lay of the post-recession land: exactly 50% of respondents this year said the equipment they planned on buying would replace old machinery rather than add capacity. In 2011, 80% was to replace old units and 20% for

TO BUY OR NOT TO BUY

80

By Mark Stephen, editor

WHAT CATEGORY BEST DESCRIBES YOUR PLANT? Captive with some custom extrusion 27.3% Exclusively proprietary extrusion 40.9%

(N=31)

INTENT TO PURCHASE (BY %)

70

No

Exclusively custom extrusion 18.2% Custom with some proprietary extrusion 13.6%

Yes

No

60 50

60

40 40

30 20

20

10 0

18.2

81.8

Extruders

(N=30)

55

45

Downstream extrusion equipment

52.6

47.4

Auxiliary equipment

36.4 0 (N=30)

63.6

Extruders

60

40

Downstream extrusion equipment

50

50

Auxiliary equipment

www.canplastics.com November 2012 Canadian Plastics

CPLnov2012 p24-28 Extru Survey.indd 25

25

12-10-02 8:53 AM

POWERFUL PLASTIC PARTNERS:

Y

Auxiplast…

I

…These suppliers of quality injection molding, extrusion and auxiliary equipment…

A full range of auxiliary equipment

Pressure and temperature sensors, rupture disks, temperature controllers, testing instruments

Tw E o

Injection molding machines – all electric servo from 35-940 tons; hydraulic from 200-500 tons

Drawer magnets, magnetic separation equipment, metal detectors Extrusion dies, calibrators, and downstream equipment

Compounding systems

Granulators, pulverizers, shredders

Extrusion systems for blown/cast film, blow molding, compounding and pelletizing, elastomers, extrusion coating/laminating, fiber, laboratory, pipe/profile/tubing, reclaim, sheet, wire & cable, wood fiber.

eq di

Low-speed granulators

Feeders, blenders, material conveyors, dryers, heating/cooling equipment, size reduction equipment

Rotary filtration systems and screen changers

Cooling equipment, including fluid coolers – direct replacement of cooling towers

Robots, EOAT, IML, turnkey automation for special projects

m co gr M se A

Recycling equipment

Hot runner controls, sequential valve gating, mold temperature controls, production monitoring

In-line measuring, monitoring and control systems

…And YOU! Let us help you source the best equipment for your needs, and make you more competitive.

CPLnov2012 p24-28 Extru Survey.indd 26

Fr ex bu of th w in ye de

12-10-02 10:53 AM

N G of sc ca

YOUR EXPERT ALLY IN

INJECTION MOLDING AND EXTRUSION Two dynamic entrepreneurs have joined forces and have formed Auxiplast Extrusion Division and Auxiplast Injection Division to offer you a complete line of injection molding, extrusion, auxiliary equipment, and parts and service.

Francois Cote founded Auxiplast in 1994 to serve the extrusion industry. Over the past eighteen years he has built up a team of experts and made his company one of the largest equipment suppliers in Canada. Earlier this year, he was joined by Stephane Bourdages, whose company Automatisation S.A.B. specializes in injection molding equipment. Bourdages has eighteen years of experience in the plastics industry and a great deal of expertise in designing automated work cells.

Auxiplast has been a leader in extrusion equipment for years. Now the company has two divisions: Injection Molding and Extrusion.

Equipment such as Toyo injection molding machines, Harmo robots, S.I.S.E. hot runner controls, Green-Box coolers, and Moditec low-speed granulators are now available through the Injection Molding division. The Injection Molding division also sells all of the product line already available through Auxiplast Extrusion.

It has been a year of tremendous growth for Auxiplast.

New principals on the extrusion side are: NGR Next Generation Recycling Machinenen GmbH, a supplier of recycling machines; Gneuss, a supplier of continuous screen changers; and Great Tooling, a supplier of dies, calibrators and downstream equipment.

Service to customers has been strengthened by adding five new employees this year: one in customer service, three service technicians, and one in the rebuilding and reconditioning department. Altogether, Auxiplast now employs fifteen people.

Each person at Auxiplast is an expert in their field and passionate about serving customers with the best possible equipment for their situation. They listen and understand exactly what you make.

The Auxiplast team travels the world to stay informed about what is best in terms of equipment for you. They guarantee you the experience and skills to optimize your plastics operations. Put them to the test, as did many thousands of satisfied customers in Quebec, Ontario and the Maritimes.

In the near future, Auxiplast plans to add three more sales representatives across Canada and is looking to expand its services to Western Canada.

1 866 922-AUXI(2894)

info@auxiplast.com www.auxiplast.com 2041, rue LĂŠonard-de Vinci, Ste-Julie QuĂŠbec J3E 1Z2

CPLnov2012 p24-28 Extru Survey.indd 27

12-10-02 10:53 AM

extrusion survey

when we look downstream. Sixty per cent of respondents this year are planning to purchase new downstream extrusion equipment within the next 12 months, compared to only 30% who said the same last year. But it gets a little worse again with auxiliary stuff, as only 50% of respondents this year plan on purchasing new auxiliary equipment within the next 12 months.

Machine utilization rates have held incredibly steady since last year. The average machine utilization rate among respondents this year was 68%, exactly the same as in 2011 — right down to the one very hard working shop that reported a 100% utilization rate this year and last year.

MARKETS SERVED BY YOUR PLANT Automotive 22.7% Consumer goods 27.3% Construction & building 45.5% Electronic 13.6% Packaging 40.9%

THE PRICES OF DOING BUSINESS In 2011, extrusion firms allocated an average of 2.6% of their annual budget to employee training, and 6.3% to product research and development. How do those numbers stack up against current expenditures? The figures shifted, but not by much: on average, almost 2.8% was allocated to employee training in 2012, while money earmarked for product R&D rose to an average of 6.9% — still, this last number pales in comparison to the 9% average spent on R&D in 2008, our alltime survey best.

And how are the men and women on the shop floor far-

Other 31.8% (N=32)

0

10

20

30

40

50

ing? According to this year’s survey, the average hourly operator wage, excluding benefits, is $18.98, an improvement on last year’s relatively parsimonious $17.10 per hour. But it’s still a fall-off from the comparatively generous average of $19.68 per hour paid out in 2010 — at the height of the Great Recession, no less.

GOING GLOBAL (OR NOT) In this brave new globalized world, how are Canadian extruders faring when it comes to doing business, or establishing a presence, on foreign soil? Approximately 50% of survey respondents this year said their facilities ship 50% or more of finished products outside of Canada, a doubling of the 25% that reported doing so last year.

As far as setting up shop beyond our fair shores, 57.9% of respondents have a presence in the U.S. (down slightly from 64.3% in 2011), 15.8% are in Mexico (up from zero last year), 10.5% have a presence in India (down from 7.1% in 2011), and no one has a presence in China (down from 14.3% in 2011).

Digging a little deeper, 80% of the respondents whose shops have a foreign presence are maintaining at least a sales office, 50% have a manufacturing facility, and 25% are warehousing. In case you’re wondering, 20% reported having a joint venture with a local firm last year, compared with no one reporting a JV this year.

Of the extrusion shops without a foreign presence, 54.5% are quite happy to keep it that way, and have no plans to plant the company flag on foreign soil in the next 12 months.

Sounds like a lot, until you compare it to last year, when 80% said they had no plans to enter these markets inside of the next 12 months.

CPL



To view the full survey results, go to http://www.canplastics.com/survey/archives/ 2012CPLPipeExtrusionSurvey.pdf

28

Canadian Plastics November 2012 www.canplastics.com

CPLnov2012 p24-28 Extru Survey.indd 28

12-10-02 2:58 PM

From Materials to Machinery, Find Your Plastics Processing Solutions HERE! November 14–15, 2012 Palais des Montreal • Montreal, Canada

Featuring Technical Seminars presented by the Society of Plastics Engineers- Quebec Section.

Why Attending Will Make Your Job Easier:

1

See New Products—The internet is great for a quick search but nothing beats seeing hundreds of new products “in-person”.

2

Meet Leading Suppliers—With the latest

3

in; conveyors, dryers, dust collection, feeders, mixers, blenders, storage, weighing systems, filtration and so much more, you’ll find the solutions you need to cut costs, eliminate downtime and increase speed to market.

Network—Spending the day out from behind

4

Strengthen Current Relationships—

5

Speak to the Technical Experts—

Everyone likes the personal touch and by attending you will be able to meet with current suppliers to discuss future projects and specifications face-to-face.

Our exhibitors come prepared to answer your questions and map out solutions for your current or ongoing projects. Put their expertise to use to help make your job easier!

your desk meeting with your peers, colleagues and even your competition will help you stay inthe-know on trends in the processing industry.

Presented by:

Sponsored by:

Conference by:

Supported by:

ExpoPlast.org Produced and managed by UBM Canon • ubmcanonevents.com

CPLnov2012 p29 UBM Canon AD.indd 29

Please use Promo Code: AB

23644_CN_EXP12

Register Online TODAY:

12-10-02 8:56 AM

technology showcase

AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT

Finally, the drum cage offers quiet operation while rotating.

Dynamic Conveyor Corporation (Muskegon, Mich.); www.dynamicconveyor.com; 800-640-6850 Plastics Machinery Inc. (Newmarket, Ont.); www.pmiplastics.com; 905-895-5054

Improved performance tumbler separator Dynamic Conveyor Corporation has redesigned its DynaCon plastic parts tumbler separator to offer better reliability when separating plastic parts from their scrap runners that result from the injection molding process.

Solid one-piece rings have been designed to replace the previous ring construction which included twelve segments joined together to create one ring; two rings are needed for the manufacture of each drum cage needed for the parts separation systems.

This new one-piece ring is designed to be sturdy and longlasting, and provides a smooth rotation of the drum cage.

Also, the time needed to manufacture one-piece rings versus 12-piece segment rings is greatly reduced, allowing shorter delivery times for the tumbler separators. Reduced manufacturing time equates to lower costs; therefore, the price of the parts separator has been reduced.

Continuous blender handles dissimilar ingredients

The cascade mixing technology used in the new TrueWeigh continuous blender from The Conair Group is designed to give a more homogeneous blend, even when additives need to be dosed in very small quantities, making the unit wellsuited for extrusion applications where an accurate blend of dissimilar ingredients is critical.

The new blenders can be configured to handle from two to six different components in total throughput ranges of up to 700 lb/hr (320 kg/hr) or up to 3,000 lb/hr (1,365 kg/hr).

Ingredient hoppers and dispensing augers can be sized to deliver any amount up to the maximum or as little as ¼ lb/hr (115 gm/hr), with metering accuracy within one-half per cent of setpoint, depending on the material.

Two standard configurations are available: a standmounted unit that dispenses blended material into a holding bin, or a machine-mounted version. The latter includes an integral TrueWeigh hopper to control and maintain the desired weight per hour or weight per length extruded, regardless of changes in process conditions.

Up to six ingredient hoppers are available and each is mounted on a load cell that reads the loss-in-weight of material as it’s dispensed.

The Conair Group (Cranberry Township, Pa.); www.conairgroup.com; 724-584-5500 Dier International Plastics; (Unionville, Ont.); www.dierinternational.com; 416-219-0509 Industries Laferrière (Mascouche, Que.); www.industrieslaferriere.ca; 450-477-8880

INJECTION MOLDING 2 at 1 s 20 1 U 0 t sit as 20 Vi opl h # p ot Ex Bo

30

Flexible, accurate large tonnage machine The new 550 ton MacroPower XL 550 modular unit from Wittmann Battenfeld is a large machine meant to offer a minimal footprint, high speed and precision, and cleanness.

The unit offers moving platen support via precise,

Canadian Plastics November 2012 www.canplastics.com

CPLnov2012 p30-33 Tech Show.indd 30

12-10-02 2:59 PM

technology showcase

PACKAGING

smooth running linear guides, with no adjustments necessary for heavy molds. Highly sensitive mold protection is ensured, and lubrication expense is minimized.

New from Hunkar Packaging Inc., the Brute 3550 side panel Additionally, diagoplastics data file nally positioned high-speed traveling cylinders and four pressure boxes on the fixed platen provide quick, even clamping force build-up.

Wittmann Innovations High rigidity and stability is achieved by short tie bars Innovations — Wittmann’s quarterly and FEM-optimized platen design. newsletter — offers plastics processors detailed insight into ways to At the rear, the top side of the safety guard has been improve their businesses with news lowered to the upper edge of the tie bar to facilitate and application stories covering Roparts removal by a robot. The generous opening way bots and Automation, IML, Injection of the rearward safety gate is a further facilitation to Molding Machinery, Material Conveying, Drying and Blending, Graninsert the mold. This enable molds to be mounted from ulation and Temperature Control. It the side via the bolt-free area. is available in print and on-line.

The flexible drive concept, based on electrically Wittmann Canada Inc., adjustable DFEE delivery pumps, enables dynamic 35 Leek Crescent Richmond Hill, ON L4B 4C2 movements and short cycle times. Parallel movements Tel: 1-888-466-8266 and higher injection performance can also be achieved www.wittmann-canada.com with an optional twin pump system.

Wittmann Canada Inc. (Richmond Hill, Ont.); Get free information from the companies that interest you most. Contact the company www.wittmann-canada.com; 866-466-8266 directly using the telephone number, e-mail address or web site listed above.

Smooth, accurate side panel labeling system

WE’LL EARN YOUR BUSINESS WITH

TOP MARKS

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✓ COMPLETE PRODUCT LINE ✓ TECHNICAL KNOW-HOW ✓ CUSTOMER-DRIVEN FOCUS ✓ GLOBAL REACH; LOCAL SOLUTIONS Here’s what you can expect when you do business with CPA Canada:

• Engineering, Specialty Compounded, Commodity Plastics and Rubber Polymers from world-class producers.

• Dedicated polymer specialists with proven experience, technical know-how and a passion to serve.

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• As part of Ravago and its global capabilities, we can respond quickly and competitively to your needs.

Distributor of polymers from these world-class suppliers:

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CPA Canada 416-977-5456 Toll Free: 888-777-4390 www.channelpa.com

www.canplastics.com November 2012 Canadian Plastics

CPLnov2012 p30-33 Tech Show.indd 31

31

12-10-02 9:01 AM

technology showcase

labeling system is designed to match the speed of any product conveyor, providing smooth and accurate label application onto virtually any product surface.

The system consists of a Brute 3550 wipe-on labeler with a belt conveyor and a top trap or hold down conveyor; the top trap holds the products firmly in place as the labels are wiped down.

The Brute 3550 features heavy-duty aluminum construction and a stepper motor drive with label feed rates in excess of 1,000 inches per minute.

Also, the 3550 has user-friendly controls with a touchscreen interface and programmable presets.

Hunkar Packaging Inc. (Covington, Ky.); www.hunkarpack.com; 859-431-0060

HOT RUNNERS

Improved edge gate nozzle for side entry gate locations Incoe Corporation recently unveiled a new edge gate nozzle design, added to its Direct-Flo Gold series of hot runners, designed to simplify integration and maintenance and offer good thermal control and sustainable part geometry in applications requiring a side entry gate location.

Example applications in­clude medical vials, syringes, and pipettes.

The new edge gate system features include split mold

insert design, simplified assembly, variable nozzles lengths, a profiled and integrated heater, and quick disconnect wiring.

Variable nozzle lengths from 80 mm to 120 mm can be specified to the exact dimension required, providing complete design flexibility. The dual heater design ensures processing reliability, and is integrated into the nozzle body and gating area. The heater is profiled, applying heat where needed with thermocouple location placed precisely near the gate for optimized thermal control.

The TIR results demonstrate the improved part geometry realized when using the new design.

The edge gate nozzles are available in three configurations that allow for 1-2, 1-4, or 1-8 thermal tip gate locations around the circular nozzle head. Tips are coated for added durability and performance.

Incoe Corporation (Troy, Mich.); www.incoe.com; 248-616-0220

TESTING EQUIPMENT

Safe, inexpensive nylon characterization A new gel permeation chromatography (GPC) method for characterizing nylon, developed by researchers at Malvern Instruments, is said to significantly reduce the cost of analysis while simultaneously improving safety, when compared with conventional techniques.

advertising index Advertiser AceTRONIC Arburg Arkema Auxiplast Inc. CPA Canada Canadian Plastics CanPlastics TV videos Chillers Inc. DynaPurge Engel Canada Inc. Hamilton Plastic Systems Ltd. IMS Ingenia K 2013 Show Travel Lorenz Conveying Products Maguire Products Canada Niigon Technologies Ltd. PCS Company Piovan Plastics Process Equipment, Inc. PolyOne Distribution Canada Ltd. SPE Ontario UBM Canon (Expoplast) UltraPurge Wittmann Canada Inc.

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Page 6-7 back cover 19 26-27 31 34 5 17 23 25 10 14 9 30 11 8 8 21 35 2 18 29 28 18

Telephone

E-mail

800-803-8871 860-667-6500 800-567-5726 866-922-2894 888-777-4390

905-895-9667 866-607-8743 519-725-8488 905-890-0055 800-537-5375 800-991-9000 888-510-5133 800-263-1942 866-441-8409 705-375-0770 800-521-0546 905-629-8822 800-362-0706 888-394-2662

416-572-7684 877-884-3129 888-466-8266

sales@acetronic.com usa@arburg.com polymers.canada@arkema.com info@auxiplast.com Andrew.Spicer@ChannelPA.com

sales@chillersinc.com info@dynapurge.com sales@engelglobal.com sales@hamiltonpsl.com sales@imscompany.com

ahoule@voyagelm.ca sales@lorenz.ca info@maguirecanada.com sales@niigon.com sales@pcs-company.com info@piovancanada.com sales@ppe.com

ultrapurge@ultrapurge.com info@wittmann-canada.com

Website www.acetronic.com www.arburg.us www.arkema.ca www.auxiplast.com www.channelpa.com www.canplastics.com www.chillersinc.com www.dynapurge.com www.engelglobal.com/na www.hamiltonpsl.com www.imscompany.com www.ingeniapolymers.com www.lorenz.ca www.maguirecanada.com www.niigon.com www.pcs-company.com www.piovan.com www.ppe.com www.polyone.com http://speontario.com/ www.expoplast.org www.ultrapurge.com www.wittmann-canada.com

Canadian Plastics November 2012 www.canplastics.com

CPLnov2012 p30-33 Tech Show.indd 32

12-10-03 8:43 AM

technology showcase

The new method uses formic acid as a solvent for nylon, in place of the traditional choice of hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIPA), a relatively expensive, aggressively corrosive solvent with poor health and safety characteristics.

Malvern’s new approach achieves complete dissolution using formic acid, a solvent that’s typically around one per cent of the cost of HFIPA. In addition, formic acid has a

more favorable health and safety profile. The new technique can also handle residual water from the polymerization process and doesn’t require the addition of corrosive salts (such as potassium trifluoroacetate KTFA), reducing wear and tear on the chromatography system.

These benefits add up to a considerable advance for nylon characterization, an improvement in health and safety coupled with significant potential for cost reduction.

Malvern Instruments Canada (Montreal); www.malvern.com; 800-932-0101

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www.canplastics.com November 2012 Canadian Plastics

CPLnov2012 p30-33 Tech Show.indd 33

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technical tips

MOLDS: That leaking feeling

By Steve Johnson, ToolingDocs LLC

W

ater leaks, both internal and external, continue to be one of the biggest causes of unscheduled mold downtime.

In molds, most water leaks occur around static seals where dissimilar metals, such as a P-20 plate, contact hardened steel tooling, such as A2, D2, or S7. This dissimilar contact sets the stage for the formation of Fe203, the reddish form of iron oxide that we know as rust. The oxide is a larger molecule than iron, so it puffs up and cracks, exposing more bare metal. Mobile oxygen in the metal moves deeper into the base steel, continuing destruction and creating the “rust lives” mythology.

Cavity blocks and cores are the typical victims, where the walls and bottoms of glands pit and erode until the O-ring

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can no longer conform to the depth of the pit and water seeps past. The leaks can be enhanced by a mold’s opening and closing, acting as a virtual pump by slightly moving or shifting tooling with every cycle, and by opening stress cracks that would normally not leak during a static bench test of the circuits.

The end result? Thousands of company dollars lost per year, not only through excessive repair hours and tooling, but also press idle time, scrapped parts, and missed or late orders. In the longer term, molds and components get prematurely replaced that could have — and should have — made thousands of more cycles and parts.

All too often, eroding steel goes untreated until the leak is sufficient to stop production, at which point all hell breaks loose. From there, the focus often revolves around doing what’s necessary to get the mold back into production as quickly as possible, rather than around discovering how to stop the rust. Stopping the leak is usually either a matter of stuffing a larger O-ring into the pitted gland, stuffing two O-rings into the gland whose combined cross-sections are slightly larger than the single O-ring, or cleaning the pits by milling/re-cutting the gland area oversize and installing the next larger sized O-ring.

These and other tricks of the trade are all cheap, short-term fixes; if any of them work, great. If not, then try again... and again.

A second option is to get proactive and eliminate water leaks as a whole. It is, in my experience, the better choice — and the costs of leaks to a typical shop will, if analyzed, back me up. I was involved in analyzing one U.S. company’s year-long water leak costs, for example, and it revealed some startling facts. Twenty-eight molds in all for the year were stopped for internal water leaks, and four more for external leaks where hose lines popped off or were too short or worn through (which soaked

the entire mold instead of just one area), for a total labor and tooling cost of $11,472.50 (all figures US). The problem was spread among 14 different molds, incidentally, with two molds accounting for 36 per cent of the total leakers in frequency and costs.

Direct tooling and labor costs were only part of the company’s total expenses.

The total labour hours (173.25) were applied to press idle time, in this case $45.00 per hour, for another $7,796.25.

Add in an average of three hours for each of the 28 stops for mold pull, reset, and start-up times for another $4,200, and the result was a whopping $23,468.75 in total costs for water leak issues!

We also discovered that one mold accounted for six stops, so this was a good place to begin repairs. Further review revealed the mold had four O-ring groove locations that were pitted and in need of welding, re-facing, and then stripping and plating of the entire 18-inch by 24-inch by 2-inch-thick plate in nickel.

The cost of this repair was $675.00 to weld and spot face the four grooves and another $300.00 to apply nickel plating, for a repair cost of $975.00 — making the return on investment for this repair about four months, since volumes were to remain constant in the upcoming year.

Looking at it from this perspective, the decision to fix it right was a no-brainer.

The morale of this story? Don’t assume that the cost of putting up with random water leaks is cheaper than the cost of eliminating them. Once you understand the total costs of this common problem, it becomes an easy, justified decision to fix the mold right. CPL Steve Johnson is the operations manager for ToolingDocs LLC, part of the PCIC Group of Companies. He also has his own business, MoldTrax in Ashland, Ohio. He can be reached at steve.johnson@toolingdocs.com or 419-289-0281.

Canadian Plastics November 2012 www.canplastics.com

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CPLnov2012 p35 PPE AD.indd 35

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12-10-02 9:04 AM