Plastics Engineering Magazine - Volume 75 Issue 1, January 2019

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AN OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF SPE

New Year, New Tech We Talk Machinery and More with Plastics Pros

JANUARY 2019

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NORTH & SOUTH AMERICA EUROPE • INDIA SOUTHEAST ASIA • CHINA MIDDLE EAST • JAPAN

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CONTENTS

Volume 75 ■ Number 1 ■ JANuArY 2019

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Obituary In Memory of William (Bill) R. Carteaux sPe chief executive officer Patrick Farrey pays tribute to William (bill) carteaux, chief executive officer and president of the Plastics industry Association (PlAstics), who passed away Dec. 10

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SPME Focus On: Dr. Scott Alan Eastman scott Alan eastman, sPe’s vice president of sections, talks about being an sPe volunteers, his love of science facts, and ANtec® memories

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8 Injection-molded PP container with one-touch lid function and integrated spoon

Tokyo Pack Exhibition Tokyo Pack Introduces Innovative Plastic Packaging Ideas from Asian Exhibitors

By Conor Carlin the 27th tokyo Pack exhibition held in october spotlighted robot-human cooperation for plastic packaging production, among other innovations from Asia

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Design Notes New Mono-Material Flexible Pouch Follows Cradle to Cradle Principles

By Robert Grace A detachable, decorative pouch for Frosch brand detergent from Werner & mertz gmbH is helping to lend momentum to the cradle to cradle design movement

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14 The new Frosch detergent pouch features detachable, printed panels on both front and back to help enable recycling

Interview: SABIC

SABIC Exec Sees Growing and Diverse Product Lines at K2019

By Pat Toensmeier Plastics Engineering contributing editor Pat toensmeier spoke with Alan leung, sAbic’s vice president of specialties, about the company’s plans for the coming year, as well as what to expect at the K show in Düsseldorf, germany

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22 Scanning a traditionally produced aircraft video shroud using FARO 3D scanners and Geomagic® Design X reverse engineering software from 3D Systems

Cover Story

Buying Power

By Geoff Giordano industry 4.0 will play a big role in plastics manufacturers’ purchasing decisions in 2019 and coming years

AN OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF SPE

JANUARY 2019

New Year, New Tech We Talk Machinery and More with Plastics Pros

About the cover: An early step toward evolving into industry 4.0 is by using a manufacturing execution system like Arburg’s Als host computer system and cloud services. courtesy of Arburg

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CONTENTS

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3D Printing

Plastics Engineering’s New Frontier: Embracing the Brave New World of 3D Printing

By Jim Romeo Additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, is gaining momentum in the plastics industry as companies use it for rapid prototyping, customization, and more

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INSPIRE Program INSPIRE SPE provides a schedule for its new INSPIRE program at ANTEC® 2019 March 18 to 21 in Detroit

42 Fabricating polycarbonate materials using sustainable feedstocks

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Plastics in 2019

Plastics Engineering in 2019: The Technological Runway Ahead

By Jim Romeo As 2019 cranks up, automation, bioplastics, and sustainability are proving to be lasting trends for plastics manufacturers

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SPE Automotive Innovation Awards

SPE’s 48th Automotive Innovation Awards Celebrates Achievements in Auto Plastics

By Peggy Malnati A host of awards honored outstanding innovations in the automotive plastics sector in Troy, Mich., this past November

48 Hyundai Motor Co.’s NVH timingbelt cover achieves a 2 to 3 dB improvement through the combination of both part redesign and a unique compound

Correction: Remarks about additive manufacturing by Victrex Chief Executive Officer Jacob Siggurdson in the November/December issue of Plastics Engineering (p. 48) were incorrect. Siggurdson said, “Additive Manufacturing is a key productivity tool of the future, which grew at about 21 percent last year.” Siggurdson was referring to the industry’s percentage growth in AM in 2018, not to the company’s AM growth last year.

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Thermoset TOPCON Preview

Thermosets Bring Benefits to New Markets and Applications

By Nancy D. Lamontagne SPE’s annual Thermosets TOPCON, scheduled for Feb. 19 to 20 in Charleston, S.C., will spotlight thermoplastics’ applications

Departments SPE and Partnered Conferences, SPE Meetings, and Non-SPE Events

Industry News ..........60

Events ......................74

Patents ....................70

Market Place ............76 Editorial Index ..........78 Advertisers Index ....80

A roundup of industry news

Our Regular Roundup of Notable Patents

By Dr. Roger Corneliussen

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TOKYO PACK EXHIBITION

Tokyo Pack Introduces Innovative Plastic Packaging Ideas from Asian Exhibitors

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By Conor Carlin CMT Materials, Inc.

he 27th Tokyo Pack Exhibition held Oct. 2 to 5, 2018, was a visual and tactile wonderland of ideas, materials, products, and technologies for packaging designers, engineers, material scientists, and automation enthusiasts. Held at Tokyo Big Sight Convention Center at Ariake on Tokyo Bay, the event drew over 700 exhibitors from mostly Asian countries, with Japan providing the lion’s share of participants. The official total was 62,000 unique visitors over a four-day period.

There were various events hosted by the Asian Packaging Federation, a group celebrating its 50th anniversary, as well as keynotes from PUMA and iKEA on sustainable packaging strategies. in addition to iKEA, nordic influence was extended through a Swedish packaging technologies seminar where fiber-based materials developments were presented as an alternative to polymer-based materials.

Separate zones were set up for pharmaceutical packaging, mail-order and gift packaging, material handling, and package design, while a large segment of the hall was set aside for the Japan “Good Packaging” winners, an array of over 100 packages from all over the country. A seamless blend of art, design, whimsy, and innovation, Tokyo Pack reflected the cultural and technological charms that we have come to associate with Japan.

Japan Packaging Industry

Tokyo Pack is organized by The Japan Packaging institute (JPi) which is responsible for promoting and reporting on the packaging sector in Japan. According to official statistics for 2017, the shipment value of packaging materials and containers was ¥5.6 trillion ($49 billion), down 0.4 percent from the previous year. For machinery, the production value was ¥497 billion ($4.3 billion), an increase of 3.4 percent over the previous year.

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in late 2017, Japan Polypropylene Corp., owned by Mitsubishi Chemical, announced an emergency shutdown at the Kashima production plant due to cracks that had appeared in an agitator shaft of a reactor. The plant has an annual capacity of 300,000 tons per year which represents approximately 10 percent of the country’s production. Despite making up the shortfall by importing PP from Thailand and other overseas sources, the impact was felt throughout the plastics supply chain, including in the automotive (bumpers), electronics (appliances), and packaging industries. Operations resumed in Share in shipment value Paper & paper products 43.7% Plastic products 27.6% Metal products 16.2% Glass products 2.2% Wooden products 2.5% Other materials 7.8% Total 100%

Share in shipment volume 64.7% 19.1% 7.0% 6.2% 3.0% — 100%

Table 1: Share of packaging materials in shipment value and volume (2017) | Source: Japan Packaging Institute (JPI)

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Figure 1: Shipment Value of Packaging Materials & Containers in Japan. Source: JPI

Figure 2: Shipment Volumes of Packaging Materials & Containers. Source: JPI

January 2018, though the company expects the financial impact of the shutdown to reduce operating profit by ¥5 billion ($45.6 million).

Mirroring overall macroeconomic trends in Japan, the packaging industry shows moderate but stable growth.

Over the past three years, the value of plastics packaging materials and containers has declined while the volume has increased slightly, suggesting a shift in plastic packaging formats from heavier, rigid parts to lighter, cheaper, flexible parts. Many of the plastic parts at the exhibition displayed flexible packaging solutions with multilayer constructions and novel cap and closure innovations.

Paper and paperboard products are moving in the opposite direction, however, indicating a preference for this material segment driven by environmental concerns and the rise in e-commerce.

Robots & People: Collaborating and Adapting

It is a well-documented fact that Japan faces a serious labor shortage, with a long-term decline in population seemingly unstoppable. In the packaging industry, like other sectors of the economy, companies struggle to find enough people to fill all available positions. Robots offer efficiencies and speeds that can automate and acceler-

ate repetitive tasks including pick-and-place functions on high-speed lines, as well as box packaging, labeling, and marking. Several companies displayed new end-ofarm tooling with tPE-based suction cups that adapt to irregularly shaped items such as soft fruit and vegetables. Fanuc Corp. of Japan (Oshino, Yamanashi) displayed several manufacturing modules where advances in camera technologies, 3D vision sensors, and Iot connectivity combined to illustrate how the factory of today is already adapting to the labor shortage.

Fanuc manufacturing cell with collaboration between human and robot. All photos courtesy of Conor Carlin

While it is clear that workers will have to adjust to the new realities of automation, packaging itself is also evolving to deliver benefits to an aging population. Food companies in Japan have introduced engay (easy-to-swallow) foods to address the problems of dysphagia (swallowing disorders). Unlike paste-like foods or food cut into smaller bites, what makes this development unique is that the foods themselves have the same appearance as their non-modified counterparts. New containers like the “Innobox” have been developed for hospitals and care facilities where engay foods are served. Developed

by Shikoko Kakoki Co. ltd. (tokyo), the injection-molded PP box has a special lid that opens with one-touch and eliminates storage and stacking limitations associated with previous pouch-based packages.

Underlining the importance of packaging in an aging society, JPI released new publications on this topic. Japan has been a major driver in the creation and establishment of ISO 17480:2015 (“Packaging Accessible Design – Ease of Opening”) which includes provisions for ergonomic “opening methods for packages and containers as well as evaluation methods thereof.” In February 2018, a new standard in the Japanese Industrial Stan-

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TOKYO PACK EXHIBITION

dards (Jis) based on isO 17480 was released, further refining efforts to clarify terms that can be used across borders and languages by packaging designers. illustrative of these developments, toyo seikan of Ōsaki, tokyo, a major player in the packaging industry with expertise in glass, paper, metals, and plastics, introduced Open innovations, a series of new packaging designs. With names like tap tap and simply slide, designers from the company showed how a tethered bottle cap could be opened and closed with a single push.

rugated is also impacting fuel and logistics costs, ultimately resulting in higher prices for consumers. Japanese consumers are renowned for their willingness to pay for quality and this extends to packaging. in addition to corrugated, new developments in pulp molding pose a threat to certain types of plastic packaging, especially lined food containers. the thermoformed tray market in Japan is significant, with annual sales volumes of approximately $5 billion. new drying technologies for enhanced properties along with new additives that help to reduce part weight mean fiber-based containers will compete more frequently with PEt and PP on supermarket shelves. still, polymers play a critical role in the production of paper-based items, especially as PE- or Pla-based liners. Beyond liners, the combination of cellulose fibers and polymers creates parts with increased tensile strength and creep resistance which helps to prevent boxes from collapsing. södra, sweden’s largest forest-owner association, has developed a line of biocomposite materials under the Durapulp brand. Durapulp “combines the tactile environmental qualities of paper with the strength and moldability of plastic.” the material is a mixture of cellulose pulp and Pla and can be composted.

Injection-molded PP container with one-touch lid function and integrated spoon.

Paper Versus Plastic

as the swedish delegation made clear in their seminar, Japan and sweden both feature an abundance of forests which provide ample materials for bio-based packaging materials. Forest management (FM) certification and associated chain of custody (coc) certification programs are now commonplace. the promotion of rules and regulations by the authorities appear to have influenced the choice of materials in several packaging designs, with reports of some beverage manufacturers choosing only Fsc-certified materials for cartons; there still exist corrugated materials that are not Fsc certified. the increasing value of paper-based packaging materials is also linked to increased prices driven by the growth of e-commerce.

Major corrugated board manufacturers have announced material price increases, but the larger footprint of cor-

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“Cool Shock” flexible pouch from Toyo Seikan with 3D form.

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Flexible packaging is very popular in Japan, with many of the good Packaging Awards going to pouch-based packs. toyo seikan presented a new technology called cool shock molding, which creates a three-dimensional form simply by compressing one side of a film with a convex mold. the effect adds a visual and tactile impression that separates the pouch from basic printed materials.

Many pouch-based packages are designed for boil-inbag and microwave cooking. seven & i Holdings of chiyoda, tokyo, the parent company of 7-Eleven stores, won a food packaging award for a bio-based iB-PEt pouch. the plant-based portion of the material is derived from sugarcane molasses and retains high transparency and barrier properties. Multilayer pouches were described as having “iB” layers (“innovative barrier”) which, after further investigation, typically means barrier films created through physical vapor deposition (PVD) or chemical vapor deposition (cVD) with either aluminum oxide or silicone oxide layers on PEt substrates. companies such as DNP and sun A. Kaken, both of tokyo, are major suppliers of this type of solution, used by food companies for steamable, microwaveable, or boilable bags.

Design Aesthetics: Form + Function

the tokyo Pack organizers had outlined five key topics in their official press release: environmental awareness, food issues, international marketplace, labor shortage, and improving production. While elements of each topic could be found throughout the Big sight halls, the most eyecatching features almost always centered on package design, both visual and functional. Many booths featured the importance of printing via ink, videojet, and laser solutions. Dic Packaging solutions of tokyo, a fine chemicals company, had a data-driven booth with specific details on many of their packaging-related products, including environmentally friendly biomass inks, retortable waterbased flexo inks for reverse printing, and coextruded multilayer films for frozen and chilled foods, including PP/PE structures for use in form/fill/seal systems. Dic and others highlighted easy-peel sealants suitable for a variety of containers in APEt, Ps, PE, and PP. One example was a highly functional drain lid by tomowel, a division of Kyodo Printing co. ltd. of tokyo. the film lid was composed of three layers—inner, easy-peel, and outer, designed to allow the user to drain or to partially drain liquid from the base container (think about Dole fruit containers that splash open when you tear the seal).

Another good Packaging Award winner in the Daily Necessities and general Merchandise Packaging Award was a dedicated case for a laundry soap stick by Kao corp. (the people who bring you Bioré facial care products and John Frieda hair products, among others). the hexagonal case, made from injected-molded PE, features a ratcheting mechanism that is easy to feed and use with

Winning package design from Kao Corp., “Laundry Stick with Ratchet Mechanism”

one hand. For this reason, improved usability was a significant factor in the winning criteria given Japan’s overall leadership in improved ergonomics for packaging.

While there were a lot of winning packages in a variety of specialist categories, it is clear that Japan’s mature market has led to wealth of talent in package design where competition drives innovation. to make a product stand out on a busy supermarket shelf is an expensive proposition in all developed countries, but Japan’s densely populated metro areas, relatively limited household storage, and legacy of regulation on store sizes mean there are many shelves in many retail-level stores. the tokyo subway and train system, for example, is home to large and diverse shopping malls, many of which contain innumerable restaurants, food halls, coffee shops, and bakeries. Wikipedia offers that the average daily ridership of the tokyo Metro (not the only train system in tokyo) is 6.84 million people. New York has 5.7 million, by comparison. Retail sales have been increasing since July 2016, a trend that will certainly continue as the city and country get ready for the 2020 Olympics. there were over 30 companies who exhibited in the Package Design Pavilion, highlighting expertise in graphical and structural design. the organization that represents the design firms is the Japan Package Design Association (JPDA) who, in addition to organizing local and national events, arranges an international grand tour where members visit U.s. and European design companies. the designs—colorful, modern, sleek—help to reinforce the image of Japan as a playground for packaging engineers, though they also reveal a core criticism of packaging in the land of the Rising sun: over-packaging. Many items at the retail level are packed in two or three levels of plastic or paper, sometimes for practical reasons e.g., keeping items separate and warm/cool and sometimes for imprac-

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TOKYO PACK EXHIBITION

Design is highly prized in the world of Japanese packaging.

tical reasons e.g., wrapping individual pieces of fruit in elaborately decorated, super-expensive boxes such as those found in high-rent shopping districts like ginza.

Circular Economy and Sustainability

Unlike many similar expos in the U.S. and Europe, Tokyo Pack did not have a strong thematic emphasis on circular economy models, recycling, or sustainable materials. Though the organizers did state that environmental awareness was a major area of focus for the industry, it was during a keynote speech by Michael nieuwesteeg of apparel and sporting goods company PUMa that attendees heard details on the impact of packaging on the physical environment. PUMa is in the midst of developing a corporate roadmap, a project that “aims today to end packaging as [a] worldwide environmental issue tomorrow.” according to nieuwesteeg, packaging as an activity occurs 100,000 times per second around the world. He defined waste as an unwanted byproduct of a manufacturing process. While materials can be recycled, the activity of producing those materials cannot be undone in the current linear model of pack-use-empty (PUE). If we say yes to packaging as a society, we implicitly say yes to using packaging materials, the majority of which will be emptied and discarded very shortly after their creation. Therefore, a collect-control (CC) model must be implemented so that we can also say yes to the subsequent utilization of the empty packaging materials. In PUMa’s log-

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ic, the PUE model relies on front-end (production) machinery while the CC model relies on backend technologies which have not yet been optimized. nieuwesteeg assumes that the glass is half-full, however, as he ended his talk by reminding designers, engineers, and entrepreneurs in the audience that there are 100,000 opportunities per second to change this paradigm. recycling in Japan is highly efficient due in large part to public policies enacted in the 1990s and the public’s willingness and ability to sort materials in accordance with municipal rules and regulations. In 2013, the utilization rate of plastics i.e., the amount used via thermal, mechanical and feedstock recycling, in Japan was 82 percent, up from 50 percent in 2001. The unutilized portion—18 percent of plastic waste—is incinerated without power generation or heat recovery, or landfilled. Sifting through official statistics from the Ministry of Environment, one finds that plastics represent a very small portion of overall industrial waste (990 million tons, or 0.3 percent of the total) and that over 50 percent of all industrial waste is recycled in some way after treatment. Other reports show that 86 to 93 percent of post-consumer PET bottles are recycled, and Japan makes use of chemical, thermal and mechanical methods. Challenges remain, however, as overall packaging volumes continue to climb. and though Japan did not have as much exposure to China as Western countries—and therefore was not as dramatically impacted by the imposition of national Sword policies—the country faces a growing concern about the accumulation of waste. global market forces exert the same pressures here as they do in other parts of the world, rendering virgin materials cheap and plentiful, while recycling technologies and recycled materials struggle to build the required momentum to drive the heavy fly-wheel that powers the nascent circular economy.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Conor Carlin is the Boston-based sales and marketing manager for CMT Materials Inc., a company specializing in lightweight composite materials for applications in plastics, packaging, aerospace and buoyancy markets.

He began his plastics industry career in 1998 with Sencorp Inc., a leading maker of thermoforming and packaging equipment. He has served on the SPE Thermoforming Division’s board of directors for eight years, and in 2007 took over as managing editor of division’s Thermoforming Quarterly publication. He also recently was elected SPE’s VP of marketing and communications.

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DESIGN NOTES

New Mono-Material Flexible Pouch Follows Cradle to Cradle Principles

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Werner & Mertz partners with Mondi, three others to close the loop on package design

By Robert Grace

lbin Kälin wants to close the loop. For more than 25 years, the swiss native has steadfastly encouraged the creation of products that adhere to so-called cradle to cradle® principles. these principles provide the basis for a global system for developing and certifying sustainable economic feasibility. He continues to urge that transformation today, with the aim of achieving a more circular economy.

the cradle to cradle (or c2c) concept has been around since the early 1990s, but many companies still do not fully understand it, much less practice it. a recent plastics packaging development in Europe, though, provides an excellent model for others interested in proceeding down the c2c path. after almost four years of development, Vienna, austria-based packaging and paper producer Mondi group enlisted the support of several partners—to include Kälin’s own EPEa switzerland gmbH—to develop a fully recyclable, all-polyethylene, stand-up pouch for a german maker of cleaning products. created to hold Frosch-brand detergent from Werner & Mertz gmbH, this patented, mono-material pouch features detachable decorative panels and—through painstaking planning and research—overcomes many shortcomings of the recycling process.

Werner & Mertz plans in 2019 to introduce this pouch, which will replace conventional flexible packaging for its Frosch-brand products. the design resulted from an intensive joint effort by five partners. in addition to brand owner Werner & Mertz and packaging supplier Mondi, the team included: • EPEa switzerland gmbH, whose role in the project was to assess—down to the molecular level—which materials (to include all the resins, inks and

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EPEA Switzerland's Albin Kälin: "One company cannot do this alone anymore .... We have to remake everything that we make today." courtesy of EPEa switzerland gmbH

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www.epeaswitzerland.ch

constituent components) were environmentally acceptable and suitably recyclable for the desired end product.

• institut cyclos-HtP, the institute for recyclability and Product responsibility, which strove to ensure that those materials would work within existing recycling structures and throughout their extended lifecycle.

• and finally, Der grüne Punkt—Duales system Deutschland, which researched and confirmed the potential market value of the resulting recycled materials. the c2c design approach dates back a quarter century and has its roots in the collaborative work of american architect William McDonough and german chemist Dr. Michael Braungart. in 1992, the two published “the Hannover Principles: Design for sustainability.” and a decade later, they published “cradle to cradle: remaking the Way We Make things.” they describe the c2c process as “encapsulating a journey of discovery about materials as biological or technical nutrients and their use periods and their evolution.” they jointly then created a framework for quality assessment and innovation called the cradle to cradle certified™ Products Program. the c2c concept is circular in nature and, Kälin notes, requires a whole new approach to product design. in it, he says, waste materials in an old product become the “food” for a new product. the aim is to use materials over and over again instead of downcycling them into lesser products. this contrasts with the more linear cradle to grave approach to product lifecycles, which still results waste at the end of the cycle. the cradle to cradle term is now a registered trademark of the charlottesville, Va.-based McDonough Braungart Design chemistry consultancy (www.mbdc.com). MBDc previously handled c2c product certification as a proprietary service, but in 2010 licensed to an independent nonprofit called the cradle to cradle Products innovation institute, or c2cPii (www.c2ccertified.org). the institute

says it aims to be an agent of change through opensource information.

Once a product is designed and developed along c2cc guidelines, it still needs to be vetted and c2c certified by c2cPii through an accredited organization such as EPEa switzerland. in the cradle to cradle model, all materials used in industrial or commercial processes are grouped into one

The new Frosch detergent pouch features detachable, printed panels on both front and back to help enable recycling. courtesy of Werner & Mertz gmbH

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DESIGN NOTES

of two categories––"biological" or "technical" nutrients: • “Biological nutrients” are organic materials that, once used, can be disposed of in any natural environment and decompose into the soil, providing food for small life forms without affecting the natural environment.

• “technical nutrients” are strictly limited to nontoxic, non-harmful synthetic materials that have no negative effects on the environment. they can be used in continuous cycles as the same product without losing their integrity or quality.

Kälin—who was managing director of switzerland’s rohner textil ag from 1981 to 2004—served as cEO of Hamburg-based EPEa internationale Umweltforschung gmbH from 2005-2009, when he left that role to found EPEa switzerland. (EPEa, he notes, stands “Environmental Protection Encouragement agency,” and his firm is one of just 15 worldwide accredited as general assessors for the cradle to cradle certified™ certification.)

Kälin says the process employed by Werner & Mertz and its partners for developing the new Frosch pouch was “fairly radical.” it involved “learning by doing and has never been done in this way.” He goes so far as to describe it as “a lighthouse for all industries for how new products can be created.”

Family-run Werner & Mertz—which was founded in 1867 in Mainz, germany—says it was told by a number of packaging suppliers that what it wanted to do on the Frosch pouch was not achievable. then, in 2014, it approached Mondi, which said it was up for the challenge. “the project was truly ambitious,” the brand owner says. “it was not about developing flexible plastic packaging that is only theoretically recyclable—packaging likely to end up in landfill. rather, the design aim was to ‘reverseengineer’ the recycling process, to create packaging fit for every stage of the recycling process.” a crucial and often neglected step in the recycling process is sorting, explains immo sander, head of packaging development for the Werner & Mertz group. Failure to sort the collected packaging into material streams that recyclers can use leads to downcycling—that is, the production of recycled material no longer suitable for its original application. “if you want to avoid a ‘garbage in, garbage out’ scenario,” sander notes, “the entire value chain must be aligned—from packaging producers through players in sorting and recycling, to buyers of recycled material.” institut cyclos-HtP, according to co-managing director Joachim christiani, offered early suggestions on package design, appropriate materials to use, and the availability

W&M's Immo Sander: "The entire value chain must be aligned—from packaging producers through players in sorting and recycling, to buyers of recycled material."

W&M CEO Reinhard Schneider demonstrates how easily the glue- and adhesive-free printed panels peel away from the pouch itself.

courtesy of Werner & Mertz gmbH

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courtesy of Werner & Mertz gmbH

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of sorting and recycling facilities in Europe.

Dr. Markus Helftewes, managing director for Der grüne Punkt, meanwhile, praises the strong cooperation between all five of the project’s partners, suggesting it provides “a good example of the progress that can be made” toward closing the circle and reducing product waste.

“Everyone,” sander stresses, “must depart from the status quo and accept that risk is a necessary condition for serious technological advancement. if you want to develop something new, you have to be willing to put in hard work, to take the hurdles of ‘restrictive thinking’.”

Developing a viable pouch for easy recycling meant it needed to be a mono-material construction, while not sacrificing end-use performance.

“Our collaboration with Werner & Mertz shows, in the best possible way, how challenges can become solutions,” says Jens Kösters, manager of technical services for Mondi consumer goods Packaging. “We worked our way through an ‘innovation funnel’—testing different materials until we arrived at a designed-for-recycling concept that convinced everyone at each point of the value chain.

Furthermore, the concept offers clear benefits related to sealing strength and maximum filling volume.” the development partners finally needed to resolve the issue of recycling printed plastic materials. the pouch

illustration courtesy of Mondi group & Werner & Mertz gmbH

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14-19 Grace Design Notes_046854 IndustryNews.QXD 12/21/18 6:00 AM Page 18

DESIGN NOTES

has two low-density polyethylene layers, including detachable decorative panels.

“We dress the pouch up in an eye-catching ‘outer garment’ that is printed with brand design on the front and consumer info on the back,” says sander. “When the pouch is empty, we ‘undress’ it automatically by shredding and sorting the two components into separate recycling streams.” about 85 percent of the package’s lDPE material, including the spout and cap, is unprinted, meaning the transparent material can be recycled while retaining its original performance properties. the balance of the material is still fully recyclable, since the package uses no glues or adhesives. additionally, for user convenience, the patented pouch features a die-cut handle. the resulting flexible pouch also uses 70 percent less material than its rigid bottle counterpart. (Werner & Mertz cEO reinhard schneider discusses the development in this brief video: bit.ly/Mondi_Frosch_pouch. He calls this new innovation with Mondi “a promising start to a new partnership.”)

For his part, Kälin notes that most organizations struggle to effectively implement the cradle to cradle concept.

“Very few companies ‘get it’ the way Werner & Mertz and Mondi did,” he says, adding that he hopes the project inspires other companies in the plastics, packaging and beyond to undertake similar journeys.

S “One company cannot do this alone anymore,” he adds.

“You need an innovative design and a network of experts S to create products for a circular economy. We have to remake everything that we make today.”

Featured at ANTEC 2019

albin Kälin will be one of the featured speakers at sPE’s upcoming antEc 2019 international technical conference (www.4spe.org/antec) in Detroit this spring. He’ll be part of the event’s newly created insights sessions on the last day and a half of the March 18 to 21 conference.

Watch for additional details about the presenters and sessions for that portion of the program, which will focus on packaging, sustainability, transportation, building and construction, additive manufacturing, and emerging materials technologies such as graphene and nanotechnology.

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Cradle to Cradle® Projects Reference Model

1. Define purpose of the product 2. Determine the metabolism: biological or technical 3. Define closing-loop scenarios 4. Define areas of innovation (chances/risks) 5. Develop the product criteria and product purposes 6. set the priorities of the criteria 7. aBc-X categorization of the ingredients 8. Develop the positive list 9. Phase out plan X (red) substances 10. implement the product design 11. implement the production and supply chain processes 12. strategically implement the closing-theloop scenario 13. Develop the marketing statement (certification yes/no) 14. influence consumer behaviors 15. Financial investments 16. Decide on marketing focus 17. after-sales service following the product launch ©

2011 EPEA Switzerland GmbH

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

robert grace is a writer, editor and marketing communications professional who has been active in B2B journalism since 1980. He was founding editor of and worked for 25 years at Plastics News, serving as editorial director, associate publisher and conference director.

He was managing editor of Plastics Engineering from July 2016 through October 2017, and now is both editor of sPE’s Journal of Blow Molding and directing content strategy for sPE. He runs his own firm, rc grace llc, in Daytona Beach, Fla., and can be contacted at bob@rcgrace.com .

| Plastics EnginEEring | JanUarY 2019 | www.4spe.org | www.plasticsengineering.org

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20-21 Toensmeier SABIC Interview_046854 IndustryNews.QXD 12/21/18 5:47 AM Page 20

INTERVIEW: SABIC

SABIC Exec Sees Growing and Diverse Product Lines at K2019 Alan Leung, SABIC’s vice president of specialties, spoke with Plastics Engineering about the company’s plans for the 2019 K Show, as well as the company’s expectations and its plans to merge portions of its business lines with Clariant

T

By Pat Toensmeier

he triennial K Show runs from Oct. 16 to 23 in Düsseldorf, Germany. Some 3,000 exhibitors will display products to over 200,000 attendees. Among the major exhibitors is SABIC, a polymers and diversified materials producer, which will have stands in Hall 6 (D42 and N-02 and 03).

SABIC is coming off a profitable 2018, a year in which the Saudi Arabia-based company with a U.S. office in Houston announced plans for global capacity expansions, signed a memorandum of understanding to combine parts of its specialties business with colorants and coatings producer Clariant, and reported investments in key technology and market areas.

Alan Leung, the Houston-based vice president of specialties, provides insights into SABIC’s operations in this area and its focus on performance plastics, in this first of a series of interviews with major K2019 exhibitors and attendees.

Plastics Engineering: How is SABIC preparing for the K Show, and what impact will it have on business?

Alan Leung: The K Show is a prime opportunity for companies to share recent developments and create awareness for their brands. As SABIC is one of the top three global petrochemical companies, we will be featuring the latest innovations, developed with and for our customers, that showcase our purpose and competitive edge.

PE: What business opportunities will SABIC highlight this year and at the K show?

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Courtesy of SABIC

SABIC vice president of specialties Alan Leung.

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Leung: sABiC has a long and strong track record of growing businesses organically and inorganically, through joint ventures and co-investment in companies. As such, sABiC has invested in both the organic and inorganic growth of its specialties business. in terms of organic growth, during 2019, we look to make more progress toward previously announced capacity expansion projects. We have ongoing projects in Asia and the Netherlands designed to increase global capacity for two of our high-performance engineering thermoplastic materials, Ultem polyetherimide and Noryl modified polyphenylene ether. We plan to expand our Ultem footprint in singapore where we have compounding operations, pending final government clearance. The planned new production facility there is expected to go online in the first half of 2021. We also plan to recommission operations at our Bergen op Zoom PPE resin plant in the Netherlands in first-quarter 2020 to produce the base resin for our line of Noryl resins and oligomers.

These resins are widely used in sensing technologies, mass transportation, renewable energy, water management, and electric mobility. We are also focused on the expansion of our additive manufacturing product portfolio, featuring specialty filaments, compounds, and powders.

Turning to inorganic growth, in september 2018, sABiC became the largest shareholder of Clariant and signed a memorandum of understanding on a potential transaction to combine elements of our specialties business with Clariant. This potential deal is under discussion; we expect to know the outcome in 2019.

Examples of other recent investments are: • Black Diamond structures, an innovative start-up in nanotechnology with a patented Molecular Rebar technology, suitable to meet the needs of manufacturers of energy storage applications.

• The majority stake of Fibre Reinforced Thermoplastics B.V., a composite tape manufacturer that developed a proprietary high-pressure fiber impregnation technology to produce high-performance unidirectional Udmax tapes. This advanced thermoplastic composite replaces incumbent materials, such as wood, metal, and thermosets, providing a combination of low weight, high stiffness, and low manufacturing cost.

• The capital investment in composites specialist Airborne of the Netherlands, a technology leader in the design, production, and industrialization of advanced composite products for aerospace and marine sectors, to enable the Digital Composites Manufacturing line, a full automation and industrialization of thermoplastic composite laminates.

PE: What does your company seek to accomplish in business development, new product commercialization, and technology innovations this year?

Leung: Our specialties business is founded on the principle of helping customers overcome innovation challenges.

Our investments are driven toward innovative players who are involved in the emerging technologies related to industry 4.0, such as artificial intelligence, additive manufacturing, renewable energy, and electric transportation. From materials to technical expertise, we aim to enable faster transmission of data, powerful energy storage, and meet stringent regulatory demands in heat resistance, toxicity, and lighter weight with stronger mechanical performance.

Our offerings also support the rise of smart manufacturing processes, such as additive manufacturing and digital automation, allowing our customers’ innovation breakthroughs to be viable at industrial scale in a faster way than ever before.

PE: What is your outlook for business in 2019?

Leung: With the increasing call to innovation, our customers continue to seek materials solutions that meet a range of electrical-thermomechanical requirements. sABiC’s specialties business continues to see a world of opportunity for high-performance materials, as we work with customers to develop next-generation solutions.

PE: How was business in 2018?

Leung: in the first nine months of 2018 (through sept.

30), sABiC achieved net profits of sR (saudi riyals) 18.3 billion, ($4.87 billion) compared with sR 14.73 billion ($3.92 billion) for the same period in 2017, an increase of more than 24 percent. That total is nearly equal to our net profit for all of 2017 (sR 18.4 billion or $4.89 billion).

Further, gross profits increased by more than 20 percent, to sR 44.95 ($11.96 billion) in the first nine months of 2018 from sR 37.44 billion ($9.96 billion) in the same period a year before.

PE: How much growth do you expect for your polymers business in 2019 compared with 2018?

Leung: sABiC experienced strong overall growth during 2018, and we expect that trend to continue.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Pat Toensmeier is a Hamden, Conn.-based freelance writer and reporter with more than 35 years of business journalism experience, much of it with Modern Plastics and Aviation Week. Over the years he has specialized in writing about manufacturing, plastics and chemicals, technology development and applications, defense, and other technical topics.

www.plasticsengineering.org | www.4spe.org | JANUARY 2019 | PlAsTiCs ENgiNEERiNg |

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22-27 Romeo 3D Printing_046854 IndustryNews.QXD 12/21/18 5:41 AM Page 22

3D PRINTING

Plastics Engineering’s New Frontier: Embracing the Brave New World of 3D Printing

T

By Jim Romeo

he Toly Group is a small manufacturer on the island of Malta that creates packaging for the cosmetics industry: lipstick holders, compacts, cream jars and bottles, and the like.

Thanks to three-dimensional (3D) printing (also known as additive manufacturing), the company is able to rapidly prototype design variants to determine shape and use with its customers—and showcase proposed designs before a purchase and production decision is made.

The flexibility and low cost of 3D printing makes a fast turnaround possible.

Elsewhere, when the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences in Brussels displayed its first mammoth skeleton in Western Europe, they planned to create a skeletal model by scanning the entire skeleton, then mounting it on an invisible internal structure. The scan will be used to produce a lifelike, accurate model of the ancient animal. The painstaking project required scanning 320 mammoth bones. Scientists then digitally constructed the skeleton in collaboration with the museum’s resident paleontologist and expert to produce utmost anatomical accuracy.

Prototyping is a boon for engineers, designers, production managers, and product marketers. The unique capabilities it offers create a factorial of possibilities for additive manufacturing and a new frontier of material production.

For the plastics industry, additive manufacturing is emerging as a valuable tool to not only prototype but also enable mold-making and, in many cases, produce finished goods. It also allows for testing colors, resins, and other product variants to better plan and produce products.

The market for 3D printing is booming. According to data from Infoholic Research LLP, the global 3D printing plastic market is expected to grow at an annual rate of 26.5 percent from now until about 2022. The market is principally segmented by materials type: commodity polymers,

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high-performance polymers, bioplastics, and elastomers.

The main application areas are in aerospace and defense, automotive, and healthcare.

“3D printing has made it much easier for people to get into product design and development,” says David Toledo, chief executive officer and head of product for Power Practical, in Salt Lake City, Utah. “Ten years ago, the barrier to entry was very high, and that’s if you even knew where to start. Nowadays, a hobbyist can get a 3D printer and learn how to draw and make parts. Once they have the drawing and parts in hand, they can take that to a manufacturing company.”

Rapid Prototyping

3D printing aids rapid prototyping in building mockups.

It allows for revisions of tolerances for form and fit before moving to a production run of the finished product. It’s expected that 3D printing and additive manufacturing will positively impact plastics engineering and its production by capitalizing on the emergent convenience of 3D printing.

“The main use of 3D printing has been prototyping and short-run production of plastics and metals, eliminating the high capital in tooling for injection molding,” says Marco Perry, founder and principal of Brooklyn-based design and invention firm Pensa. “That was during the past 20 to 25 years of 3DP. Today and in the future, as

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the materials continue to improve, and cost and time go down, 3DP is being used for final part production, making injection molding only necessary for very large volumes.”

But Perry points out that a greater attribute than the low tooling cost is the free complexity achievable with 3DP. “traditional plastics engineers are designing parts with draft and other constraints in mind, while a new class of 3DP engineers are taking advantage of the high-complexity, low-part count, and even mix materials within the same part,” he explains. “it will take a generation of new engineering to take advantage of new techniques and design details.” “the key differentiator of 3D printing, compared to traditional manufacturing technologies, is that it is additive,” says Filemon Schöffer, chief marketing officer at 3D Hubs and co-author of The 3D Printing Handbook. “therefore, prototypes can be produced without the need of a mold or blank of material.”

Schöffer says this results in 3D printing as a very pricecompetitive technology for prototyping; fast turnaround times with no tooling or preparation needed is also an advantage. “You can simply upload your digital files to a 3D printer and start prototyping,” he says. “Additionally, because no molds or tooling based on the geometry of the prototype is required, customizability and iteration come at no extra cost.” customization has become high science and is used in government research as well as commercial. the Food

and Drug Administration (FDA) uses 3D printing to convert a virtual computer model to a physical object for medical devices and prosthetics. their Functional Performance and Device Use laboratory uses such models to check design changes on the safety and performance of prosthetic devices used in different patient populations. the 3D technology allows their development or such composite prosthetic to be tweaked and fine tune to change both fit and functionality. A prototype may be tailored to an individual patient.

At the FDA’s laboratory for Solid Mechanics experiments with printing techniques and processes to create different variants of strength and durability of the materials used in medical devices. Using 3D prototyping, they are able to set parameters for scale, materials, and other critical aspects that contribute to product safety and innovation.

Colors, Finishes, and Resins

the utilization of colorants and finishes, resins, and other compounds work well with 3D printing applications.

However, this may bring some production challenges.

Some best practices may help.

According to Schöffer, 3D printers use raw plastic materials in three forms: filaments (FDM), powders (SlS), and liquid resins (SlA). the first two methods use thermoplastics where the 3D printing process involves heat of some sort. the latter uses thermosets (photopolymers) where UV-light or lasers are used to solidify the part.

Scanning a traditionally produced aircraft video shroud using FARO 3D scanners and Geomagic® Design X reverse engineering software from 3D Systems.

All photos courtesy of 3D Systems

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3D PRINTING

Filaments, he explains, are usually offered in multiple colors, while powders and liquid resins are typically available in a single color. “this is mainly due to the limitations posed by the use of a laser in sls and sla, since color affects the way the material absorbs energy,” notes schöffer. “in material extrusion, this is not an issue; but colorants may affect the flow characteristics of the melted plastic in the extrusion head and may affect print quality.” schöffer also notes that composite plastic structures are common in 3D printing. Base materials can be filled with different additives. Other additives are also used to create parts that are certified as flame retardant or electrical discharge machining (EDM) safe for aerospace and automotive applications.

He adds that post-processing is a fast-growing sector of the 3DP industry. Different techniques can be used to

improve the appearance of 3DP parts after printing, such as vibro polishing, vacuum lamination, vapor smoothing, and painting. there are many ways the plastics industry may benefit from additive manufacturing and rapid prototyping. industrial design and production operate in an era where products may be scanned and reverse-engineered in record time. Very precise designs may turn into prototypes and ultimately full production lines expeditiously. cyle caplinger, senior sales manager for Dallas-based 3D systems, says there are many capabilities with 3Dprinted materials. selective laser sintering (sls) using nylon material parts can be dyed, but doing that well is almost an art form. “the material itself is porous by nature, so if it’s going to be handled, the part needs to be sealed after it’s dyed,” he notes. “You can paint sls parts very well, and it’s best to use an epoxy sealer or primer as a base

As the 3D point cloud data is processed in Geomagic® Design X, the software delivers highly detailed deviation analysis to identify differences between asbuilt and as-designed data.

The fully developed CAD data, which is automatically transferred from Geomagic® Design X into SOLIDWORKS CAD software.

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coat to fill the pores prior to another paint application; otherwise, you can end up with an uneven color or sheen. there are also some vapor-based sealant processes available that make it significantly easier to close off the pores on parts that have geometry that would be difficult to reach with a sprayer. Properly sealed and painted parts are indistinguishable from injection molded parts. For connecting sls parts together, it’s best to use an epoxy that won’t be absorbed into the material as much as a thinner cA glue.” caplinger adds that stereolithography (slA) parts, and most resin-based prints in general, lend themselves really well to painting processes. “they’re not very porous and they also allow for extremely high-fidelity surfaces,” he says. “they’re easy to sand and finish, just like fiberglass. Parts printed in clear slA materials come out of the machine foggy until they are wet-sanded and a clear coat is applied to deliver what we call a water-clear finish. Multi-jet printing parts are most commonly used for prototypes but are conducive to tinting, much the same way as slA materials.”

The Global 3D Printing Industry

Due to regional differences, what’s happening in Asia or Europe may not be the same in North America. For the global plastics processing market, the progress of 3D printing around the world is moving at different rates. “the customers and use cases vary from region to region, but it’s not as polar as you might think,” says caplinger. “there are certainly differences in the types of production we see in various regions around the world in the same way you’d expect in the U.s. between the Pacific Northwest, silicon Valley, and New England. interestingly, many companies outside the U.s. tend to proactively adopt technology advances more quickly.” caplinger points out that it doesn’t take a huge nation with a developed economy to produce leadership in 3D printing. Many small and less-developed regions are quite adept at its use. “We like to think that the U.s. leads the world in everything, but the reality is that i’ve met with companies from far less-developed regions that are significantly ahead of many of the American companies i work with day to day.” caplinger further explains: “Fundamentally, it comes down to a senior management-level buy-in to stay at the forefront of manufacturing technology. that said, i see this even inside the U.s. After gE made several metal 3Dprinted parts standard components for their lEAP engines, and later acquired metal additive companies concept laser and Arcam, every major aircraft engine manufacturer, both in the U.s. and abroad, accelerated their R&D activities for metal additive parts. it can be challenging to be the first person or company to do something, but once it’s been done, everyone else is in a race to catch up.”

3D-printed video shroud produced in a few hours using selective laser sintering (SLS), enabling Emirates Airlines to reduce physical inventory and build a digital inventory.

“Over the last few years, i have seen more and more 3D printing used in china,” toledo reports. “their general disregard for intellectual property allows them to make machines and—probably more importantly—resins, that are very expensive to use in the U.s. three years ago, no print i ever saw in china could match the quality of stratasys print; but in the last year, i have seen great quality 3D-printed parts and finishes come from our manufacturing partners in china. the U.s. is still leading the pack, but china is quickly catching up and offering more economically friendly solutions.”

Integration with CAD and CAM

Moving forward, cAD and cAM software should be more integrative with 3D printing and scanning. When the innovative capability of 3D printing and prototyping combine with the ever-developing horsepower of cAD and cAM software, good things happen.

SLS 3D-printed automotive side vent, completed using paint and lacquer for fine finish, for the EcoJet car by Jay Leno.

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3D PRINTING

Schöffer says 3D printing allows for a new range of geometries and designs that previously could not be manufactured with traditional technologies. “We’ve seen CAD and CAM programs making use of this opportunity,” he explains, noting that topology optimization—a method that optimizes strength to weight ratio—is leading the way to organic new shapes.

Caplinger adds, “Both CAD and CAM have already started to become more integrated with 3D printing and scanning and it’s happening largely at the corporate level. Partnerships between 3D Systems and companies like PtC and SOliDWORKS have resulted in new products like geomagic for SOliDWORKS, which allows SOliDWORKS users to utilize their native sketch and modeling tools alongside geomagic’s industry-leading 3D scanning tools. “the integration of technology like 3D Systems’ 3D Sprint software SDK with PtC Creo allows Creo users to seamlessly design and print parts without leaving their CAD system, and even the adoption of PtC thingWorx into 3D Systems’ newest printers enable intelligent monitoring and remote service and maintenance. At a basic level, the ability to click File-Print from your CAD or CAM software is great, but the biggest long-term advances will come from the integration of ecosystems that allow users to tap into the expertise of different companies without a complex learning curve.”

3D Printing Onward

in the next three to five years, 3D printers and scanners for the plastics industry should see healthy progress.

Many in the plastics industry—injection molders, product designers, form producers, and others—stand to

benefit from the merits of this technology. in the near term, we can expect to see advances in the technology and its applications, particularly for the plastics industry, including the growing integration with CAD and CAM, which will aid production efficiency.

Prototyping products should take on new capabilities and possibilities. Products may be reverse-engineered more easily and experimentation with resins, colors, and materials will help this effort. Prototyping has a new technology to lean on in bringing plastic products to market faster. “the most critical point is to stay in tune with advancements made in your industry,” advises Caplinger. “not just with the tools you already use but also advancements with tools that may very well replace or reduce the need for them.”

For the plastics industry, 3D printing and prototyping offer technology to capitalize on. it is up to the industry and its many talented engineers and designers to put the technology, along with its constraints, into practice. the advent of 3D printing has an underlying message about aiding the path to innovation. innovation entails trial and error. it offers a scientific method for designing plastics parts that allows companies to flourish in their innovation––for composite and materials properties, as well as the forms. the promotion of such innovations is further aided by speed and low cost. it’s a technology plastics companies can’t afford to ignore.

Says Caplinger: “it’s easy to get comfortable and continue doing what you’ve always done, but the companies and people who really succeed long term are those who invest time and resources into doing things differently than everyone else. in the late ‘90s, Sears was the pillar of longevity and success; a lot of people thought Amazon was crazy. now look at them 20 years later. Don’t be Sears—be Amazon.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

An example of conformally cooled inserts (with cutaway to show channels), 3D printed in 3D Systems’ Direct Metal Printers by B&J Specialty of Wawaka, Ind.

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Jim Romeo is a freelance writer based in Chesapeake, Va. For more than 20 years, he has contributed numerous articles to various publications on the topics of logistics, engineering, software and supply-chain management. He earned his B.S. in mechanical engineering from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, and an MBA from Columbia Business School at Columbia University.

Contact him at freelancewriting@yahoo.com.

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®

ANTEC ANTE C 2019 Detroit, D etroit, MI • March M 18-21, 18-21, 2019 CO-HOSTED COHOSTED BY SPE DETROIT

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28-35 Giordano Industry Purchasing COVER STORY_046854 IndustryNews.QXD 12/21/18 6:08 AM Page 28

COVER STORY

Buying Power As Industry 4.0 continues to influence the plastics industry, manufacturers must consider connectivity and other factors when purchasing equipment

By Geoff Giordano

An early step toward evolving into Industry 4.0 is by using a Manufacturing Execution System like Arburg’s ALS host computer system and cloud services. courtesy of arburg

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t

he global push toward finalizing and implementing the next generation of connected smart machinery—the industry 4.0 protocols—begs the question: how will these new standards influence equipment purchasing decisions for plastics manufacturers?

consensus among industry experts is that, even while initial protocols are expected to be unveiled this year, the creation and adoption of connected primary and auxiliary equipment will be a slow process. this will allow manufacturers to plan their plant expansions carefully. and affordable solutions for smaller manufacturers will allow them to enter the industry 4.0 environment gradually without busting their budgets. that said, there is already plenty of automation and machine connectivity going on now, and plenty of use of “smart” concepts like predictive maintenance and software as a service (saas) that should ease the transition to full-on integrated factories. industry 4.0 is an “extremely broad concept,” explains alan landers, smartservices product manager for auxiliary equipment leader conair group. “industry 4.0, at its core, involves using data about the operation of your equipment to optimize its performance and increase the efficiency of the overall process. to do that, you first need a means to generate the data. then you need a way to communicate it to a server where it can be stored, compiled and analyzed. Finally, you need a way to present the data, its analysis, and conclusions so it can be put to good use.”

merely a guideline that OEMs of injection molding machines (iMMs) and auxiliaries may follow as a way to agree on signals and data transfer in 4.0 integration.” those equipment makers must then “work on new hardware and software to follow the new protocol, and then someone must test these.”

Euromap, established 1964, is the umbrella organization of the European plastics and rubber machinery industry, which the organization says accounts for about 40 percent of worldwide production and 50 percent of export volumes.

Progress Toward 4.0

amid the industry 4.0 developments announced at nPE2018 in Orlando, the update provided by Wittmann Battenfeld President David Preusse offered a nuts-andbolts glance into the global collaboration. Months after the event, he offered further insights into how industry 4.0 is coming along—and what it means for 21st century plastics manufacturing. in late 2018, he spoke with Plastics Engineering about new “release candidates” that were published for temperature control devices (Euromap 82.1), hot runner devices (Euromap 82.2), and lsr dosing systems (Euromap 82.3).

“Our belief is new 4.0-related protocols will be released well into 2019,” Preusse notes. “However, a release is

Wittmann Battenfeld’s Industry 4.0 “Plug ‘n Produce” work cell at the company’s NPE 2018 booth in Orlando. courtesy of Wittmann Battenfeld

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realistically, he adds, it “will take many months for various suppliers’ equipment to plug in and be integrated to allow data transfer.” and adoption will be slow for a few reasons. “not many molders will dispose of the many good machines in their plant, and it will be cost prohibitive to try to retrofit backward compatibility. i suspect buyers will begin to try some new 4.0 integrated work cells and test and review the gains.”

Even if potential costs do not deter manufacturers from buying into the benefits of industry 4.0, a lack of deep commitment could still be a major hurdle.

For example, Preusse adds, “several machines today can be remotely supported over a web connection. But some OEMs use a VPn tunnel, which is cumbersome, over a ‘safe’ team viewer session. Other processors won’t hook up a cat5 cable to their new machines to take advantage of immediate features and benefits of web service, connectivity, operation status, alarms, alerts, etc.”

One tool Wittmann Battenfeld provides to ease customers’ transition to full connectivity is a patented modem as the central communications hub for all the company’s peripherals to the primary injection molder. Each device can be authenticated and automatically drive the iP device connection, Preusse explains. “it would be impractical for processors to run around their plant for every piece of equipment change for different

parts and mold setups, or if a device has to be swapped out for maintenance,” he acknowledges. “security is going to be important, so this hub does not allow erroneous data exchange or an unfamiliar device connection.” in fact, “we had a cyber security firm come in to try to hack into our connections and verify bad data cannot move between non-authorized devices. When systems are kept separate and firewalls can protect the user from breaches, customers will get their it advisers to verify 4.0 can be safe—and far more useful than molding operations of the past.” ideally, 4.0 practice looks like Wittmann’s iMM controller, which shows users a list of what a particular mold setup “recipe” looks like and what devices are plugged in. “the user unplugs the devices not called for, then they plug in the correct device,” Preusse notes. “next, the device must authenticate. then the user loads the setup data to the device—such as tcU set points, blender recipe, dryer settings, and robot program for the molded part.”

Without such control, a tech might “run around the iMM to do all this to each device. What we’re hearing from our early adopters is the setup is mistake-free. Without connectivity 4.0 advantages, molders said they forgot to turn on tcUs or set the correct temperature set points. they didn’t go up on a mezzanine to set the dryers properly. so, they produced a shift of suspect parts. Our setup

A Wittmann Battenfeld injection molding machine with connected auxiliaries. courtesy of Wittmann Battenfeld

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made it foolproof for second and weekend shifts to make mold changes error-free.”

Step-By-Step Process

clearly, the big question for plastics manufacturers is: will industry 4.0 cost an arm and a leg in terms of buying compliant equipment? not necessarily. industry 4.0 “is not an off-the-shelf product,” says axel Kinting, expert for control technology at arburg. “the objective is rather to evaluate the concepts and technologies behind it individually in terms of the company's operations and requirements. You certainly don't have to set up a fully networked smart factory overnight in order to get started.” at the outset, a facility can employ a Manufacturing Execution system (MEs) like arburg’s als host computer system and cloud services, he says, “or at least a smart machine that can monitor, control, and optimize its own performance in real time with networked sensors and actuators.” in fact, industry 4.0 “generally includes numerous aspects that are already implemented by many companies,” Kinting adds, including production with flexibly automated and networked turnkey systems and use of machine-assistance systems. arburg offers: • six new digital assistance packages for starting, setting up, optimizing, producing, and monitoring tasks through to the servicing of a given machine.

• Position-regulated screws in conjunction with programmable pressure changeover for reproducible injection.

• automatic reference curve regulation for injected parts.

• a host computer interface. “the smart injection molding machine is already ready for digitalization and communicates via the OPc Ua platform, which enables defined data exchange between various control systems via Ethernet networks—irrespective of operating systems or programming languages,” Kinting says. “thanks to numerous connectivity modules, a smart machine is in constant communication with its environment. it exchanges large amounts of data with other machines, robotic systems, peripheral devices, and MEs and scaDa systems that can be analyzed, archived, and traced. in addition, it monitors its own processes and uses autonomous control circuits to keep them in a stable state.”

While it can take substantial time and money to get manufacturing personnel on the same page with such levels of connectivity, particularly if they’re spread out around the world, “you can use virtual tools for training, simulation, programming, and service purposes,” he adds. “arburg has planned or already integrated both aspects for its smart machines.”

Meanwhile, Engel’s customized manufacturing cells and inject 4.0 products have “a strictly modular structure, which makes it even easier for smaller companies to start toward becoming smart factories,” according to Paul Kapeller, product manager for digital solutions. “Processors do not need a comprehensive digitization strategy and a big budget right from the beginning to benefit from the new opportunities.” On the contrary. “Even isolated solutions create a very high benefit and often even reduce the rOi [return on investment] for the entire manufacturing cell.”

For instance, he notes, Engel’s iQ weight control software compensates for variations in raw materials and environmental conditions shot by shot, preventing rejected parts. and the company’s e-connect.monitor lets processors monitor the condition of machine components while they run, calculating remaining service life to avoid unplanned downtime.

Communication between an Engel injection molding machine and the periphery is conducted via MES. Intelligent assistant systems ensure a consistently high part quality. courtesy of Engel

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along those lines, Wittmann “added a lot of sensors around the iMM to check for temperatures, oil viscosity, vibration, etc. in order to flag the user before major issues lead to breakdowns, Preusse says. “this is growing across many peripheral devices as central material handling components, vacuum loaders, robots, dryers, etc. not all innovations are an upgraded cost; some of these come in base options to give a supplier an edge for increased sales and customer-supplier loyalty.”

base that can be leveraged by both processor and conair personnel to improve efficiency, performance, and uptime.” information being mined now is already being used to develop algorithms for predictive, diagnostic, and comparative purposes. “With continued development, conair envisions a wide-ranging package of integrated, smartfactory services, all informed by data and validated by analysis, to ensure optimal equipment performance and support our ‘Uptime guaranteed’ promise.”

smartservices is conair’s economical solution to the big question of whether or not a manufacturer has to reequip an entire plant to unify equipment data streams and communication protocols, landers explains. conair’s solution combines powerful monitoring and visualization functions with advanced cloud-based data storage and analytics fueled by wireless machine adapters, or hubs, that are easily connected to machine controls or equipment sensors. “they can accept inputs from any protocol, and that data is then transmitted into a secure server for processing,” landers says. the ultimate goal: “Make it easier for processors to make sense of the torrent of data already available from their equipment.” Once data is compiled in the cloud, it is streamed into a dashboard format on a web portal accessible anywhere, he explains. the dashboard lets users “rapidly navigate to a selected equipment group and then drill down to key performance indicators for each piece of equipment.”

Easily scanning operating conditions minimizes downtime. Meanwhile, Machine View gives users “real-time visibility into the operation of (their) equipment. it shows a schematic of the equipment populated with readouts of set point and actual readings. a view of a dryer, for instance, identifies hopper inlet air temperature, temperature gradients within the material hopper (with the conair Drying Monitor), outlet air temperature, dew-point setting, target moisture level, and more.” topping it off is an alarm system that allows managers to create a hierarchy of alerts, as well as text or email messages specific to each, then send those alerts to specific plant personnel. the system incorporates predictive maintenance as well.

“We expect smartservices to do much more, as it collects, analyzes, and stores performance data from the thousands of machines connected worldwide,” landers says. “the result will be an ever-growing equipment data-

Even with a good number of industry 4.0-type practices already in place, working backward throughout one’s operation to bring older equipment up to speed is likely to be part of fully evolving into the next phase of manufacturing.

While most of today’s plastics manufacturing equipment generates a huge amount of data, “for equipment that doesn’t generate its own data, you can add sensors to log that information,” says conair’s landers. “However, communicating data is more difficult, since different equipment uses different communication protocols and some have no communications capability at all.” as industry 4.0 solutions advance, “connectivity and retrofitting options are likely to become broader and more cost-effective,” says arburg’s Kinting. “However, the older the control systems, the less extensive their data output will be. a cost-benefit calculation should always precede retrofitting in this sector. From arburg’s perspective, such a retrofit would make the most sense in terms of the range of functions from the selogica machine control system.” looking forward, he says, new saas solutions driven by established central server and cloud solutions will be increasingly available for industrial applications. a new arburg customer portal displayed at Fakuma 2018 provides “various bundled digital services in a clearly structured form. central initial apps include, for example, the machine overview, which clearly displays important information and documents for each machine, as well as the spare parts catalogue.” at Engel, Kapeller confirms that “many of our future business models will be based on service contracts or enable subscription-based payments. certain updates, for example updates of algorithms on monitoring solutions, will be included in the service contracts. also, the activation of certain features in our control can be done on demand, for instance, for a certain time period.” the beauty of a cloud-based system, notes landers, is

Ground-Up Approach

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Retrofits, SaaS, and More

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that “you are not locked into specific hardware that may or may not accept software upgrades over time. there are no software updates to be downloaded and installed. software updates are transparent to the user. From an economic standpoint, it is also much more efficient because you have this huge pool of users that support development and maintenance of the system.” such an environment eliminates the need to consider the persistent question of whether a computer-based system or process is “scalable,” he adds. “capacity is essentially infinite and costs are more or less linear. You can start with a few pieces of equipment connected to the system and add more at any time simply by equipping it with a data hub and linking it into the system.”

Financier’s Perspective

chris lyle, president and chief executive officer of Equipment Finance group (EFg) in Dayton, Ky., has brokered financing for some of the biggest players in plastics manufacturing. Echoing an oft-related driver of the automation trend, he points out that the shortage of skilled labor has driven many OEMs and plants to automate and greatly increase productivity well before the industry 4.0 trend.

With “almost every injection molder (and) almost every plastics plant we work with now, every purchase has a robot on it,” he points out. He is also beginning to see customers install more end-of-arm tooling, vacuum pickers, sorters, and optics “driven by their inability to get people.”

But there’s a surprising catch: not all banks are convinced automation is a benefit to customers. “they look at some of this manufacturing technology as trendy,” lyle explains, “and non-remarketable,” for instance in the case of a previous generation of robots designed for one specific task. as some banks balk, “it’s forcing us to change some of our finance partners” to help customers invest in more efficient technology. that said, automation and robotic suppliers “are doing a ton of retrofits.” Meantime, plants that have rejected automation—even in the face of diminishing supplies of skilled labor—are getting “crushed.” lyle cites at least one plant in the south that was forced to close despite its work for a major automaker because the employee turnover rate was more than 500 percent.

Above: The fully integrated ENGEL easix robot reliably removes highly sensitive optical parts. As both injection molding machine and robot use the same database, they are able to precisely coordinate their movements. The result is a shorter cycle time.

Right: Engel’s highly integrated and fully automated production cell delivers 480 outdoor knives per hour.

Photos courtesy of Engel

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“it’s been interesting to watch how some companies have used technology to ratchet up the success of their business and eliminate cost,” he points out. For instance, a company that makes millions of battery safety seals every year uses Fanuc roboshot and arburg units with robotic end-of-tool vision equipment to inscribe serial numbers into those parts at blinding speed. the company, which supplies to brands like Duracell and Eveready, is “growing by leaps and bounds.”

With basic robotic automation already established at many plants or still on the horizon for others, lyle hasn’t heard rumblings about incorporating 4.0-level connectivity—yet. However, the case of 3D printers might shed light on how buy-in to industry 4.0 might evolve, lyle explains.

“When 3D printers emerged five years ago, you didn’t know who was going to be a leader in 3D printing, what the practical application of the machine was, what size equipment would be an industry standard, (or even) what media would be used,” he recalls. “But once you get past the technology curve, you’re seeing some companies emerge as leaders with the ability to resell, media ranges from plastic to metal, and you’re seeing some practical

applications. so, we can finance 3D printers in some applications today—(but) not all.”

EFg carefully assesses the business case for automation for its clients to maximize their profit and productivity but so far hasn’t had customers asking about funding equipment geared to downstream data sharing.

“When i do get an automation cell, one of the first things banks look at is how much of the automation is the robot and how much is engineering—how much is soft cost,” lyle says. “it’s easier for me to do it if i’m financing the production equipment, the robot, and the automation packaged together. specializing in plastics allows us to communicate with banks that are interested in pursuing that. it’s challenging for some companies that are automating to go to local lenders.”

Beyond 4.0

When the rubber really hits the road, plastics manufacturers will realize even greater efficiencies from the industry 4.0 environment, Wittmann’s Preusse says.

“We’ll see the MEs production monitoring element capture new gains, since all the peripherals can now give feedback data over OPc/Ua protocols,” he notes. “the dryer, blender, and robot have data that the iMM and an MEs system need to optimize its plant efficiencies. the molder will be taking advantages of software from historical production data or providing the lot traceability their customer asked for. the 4.0 cell with MEs will tell the molder which machine has which production efficiency for the plant manager.” it networking plays a vital role here, notes arburg’s Kinting, “with the aim of making high-volume production and production processes even more flexible, conserving resources and increasing productivity, quality, and availability. “the opportunities available to the digital factory are obvious: integrating the customer and his expectations and requirements in the added value chain enables completely new business models to be realized and high-volume parts to be individualized. One hundred percent of batches and parts can be traced, for example, in medical technology, the autoEngel is connecting two duo injection molding machines to produce motive industry, and in other cases where thick-walled LED lenses. courtesy of Engel

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safety-relevant aspects have to be taken into account.

One challenge lies in flexibly automated production, Kinting adds, particularly with regard to processes involving frequent product changes and small volumes of high-value products. “Even well-trained professionals can receive automated support with suitable assistance systems, carrying out more demanding work instead of having to perform routine tasks, and getting more support from the machine control system as they work. the objective is that the operator should receive maximum assistance—as with autonomously driven vehicles.” in terms of the effect on labor, “we do not believe that industry 4.0 will lead to unmanned factories,” says Engel’s Kapeller. “the lack of skilled personnel is becoming increasingly apparent in a great number of regions in the world, and here, industry 4.0 can provide help in the short-term.

“On the other hand, the requirements for personnel in

the injection molding plant will change, and new tasks and altogether new professions will emerge—the data scientist, for example. in future, it will be about correlating the data being collected and analyzed to identify additional optimization potential. this will determine the competitiveness of companies.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

geoff giordano has been a contributor to Plastics Engineering since 2009, covering a range of topics, including additives, infrastructure, flexible electronics, design software, 3D printing and nanotechnology. He has served as editor-in-chief of numerous industry magazines and is founder and chief creative officer of content marketing firm Driven inbound. He can be reached at geoff@driveninbound.com

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PLASTICS IN 2019

Plastics Engineering in 2019: The Technological Runway Ahead Trends for the coming year include encouraging sustainability, closing the circular economy, and developing viable bioplastics, among others

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By Jim Romeo

s we enter 2019, plastics fabrication, injection molding, and all types of plastics manufacturing are undergoing change. Case in point: at a Lego plant in Billund, Denmark, the plastic toy bricks have hardly changed their composition in nearly 50 years. Now, like many other firms, Lego is joining the bandwagon of sustainable plastics by setting a goal to fabricate its toys from plant-based, recycled materials by 2030. This decision represents one of many changes to come in the plastics industry as we launch into 2019 with new manufacturing methods, techniques, and materials.

Sustainable Staying Power for the Circular Economy

A growing trend is the circular economy. In this system, the goal is to “design out” waste, keep resources in use for as long as possible, then recover and regenerate products and materials at the end of their service life.

A related development is the global concern around ocean plastics. “In many countries around the world, the plastics industry is coming under pressure, due in part to images of plastics waste in oceans,” says Jens Kaatze, senior vice president for digital transformation and business model innovation at Covestro’s coatings, adhesives, and specialties business unit. “Plastics are often the catalyst for a better life with all their positive uses: enhancing healthcare, reducing food waste, and so on. From my point of view, the best solution to the two sides of this equation is to install proper waste collection systems and feed the used plastics back into a circular economy.

“In many cases, this will not be direct recycling (also known as down cycling),” adds Kaatze. “Instead, we need to jointly develop ecosystems where the circularity of car-

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bon is the focus. This could be done by burning waste streams and using the energy from incineration and collecting all the off-gases to use them again as raw materials.”

The Bioplastics Outlook

According to Benjamin Stafford, materials science expert at materials search engine Matmatch, based in Munich, Germany, plastic manufacturers are under increasing pressure to use friendlier materials following recent scrutiny. “Bioplastics are not a new development,” says Stafford, “but until now there’s been reluctance to pivot to them, due to concerns of durability.” He cites bioplastics producer Saphium Biotechnology, which has developed polyhydroxyalkanoates-based (PHA) filaments. They’re non-toxic and biodegradable but have limited use for end products. Development of such material and other bioplastics makes them available as a feed source for further plastics processing.

Dr. Ashlee Jahnke, project research scientist at natural polycarbonate platform specialist Teysha Technologies,

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The Michigan Manufacturing Tech Center's manufacturing technology environment, complete with a diverse array of 3D printers, sensors, simulation software, cybersecurity demonstrations, and Big Data/IIoT to demonstrate to manufacturers how such technologies can be applied to their practices to support achieving their overall strategic goals. Courtesy of the Michigan Manufacturing Tech Center

concurs with the outlook for biodegradable plastics. “Over the past few years, we’ve seen the issue of plastic pollution seep into the public consciousness, moving from a footnote in environmental reports to a central factor influencing pollution legislation,” notes Jahnke. “Throughout 2019, we’ll see many brands responding by introducing more sustainable materials and processes into their plastics engineering operations.”

Dr. Jahnke says the increased focus on biodegradable plastics will drive innovation in the field of bioplastics itself. “Currently, one of the biggest barriers to adoption of bioplastics is the versatility of biodegradable polymer materials, as many engineers consider there to be a tradeoff between durability and biodegradability,” she explains.

“We’ll see scientists work to overcome these issues in 2019 and beyond.”

Automation Sensations

While sustainability is a topic we can expect to hear more about in the months and years to come, the advancement of industry 4.0 will continue to shape and improve plastics manufacturing and the engineering that goes into it as 2019 unfolds.

Chuck Werner is the lean program manager for the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center in Plymouth.

He believes in knowing and understanding the problems that technology can solve and implementing the solutions promptly to catalyze improvement.

Right: The Michigan Manufacturing Tech Center's "Real Factory 4.0," which includes two 'pick and place' cobot arms, Light Guide Systems, provided by OPS Solutions, for visual training, and a retrofitted plastic extruder machine to demonstrate how older equipment can be made more modern with the help of Industry 4.0 technologies. Above: An employee going through the Light Guide Systems demonstration for putting together a widget. This can be programmed to fit endless training modules for endless industries and applications. Courtesy of the Michigan Manufacturing Tech Center www.plasticsengineering.org | www.4spe.org | JANUARY 2019 | PlAsTiCs ENgiNEERiNg |

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Werner says the improvement process is a familiar path for most plastics manufacturers, but embracing technology to build improvement has been sluggish. Take the case of industry 4.0, a catchphrase that describes the ramp-up of automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies. The “fourth industrial revolution” includes the internet of Things (ioT), cloud computing, smart systems, and other components that all help improve the way plastics are produced. “germany is often considered to be the birthplace of industry 4.0,” says Werner. “Despite being the origin of this term, a 2015 publication from the Friedrich Ebert stiftung showed that 30 percent of their plastics and rubber industry was somewhere between ‘planning a strategy’ and ‘fully implemented’.” That means that around 70 percent of the industry had no plans for the use of technology. in March 2016, Werner says, the Boston Consulting group reported that only 15 percent of all U.s. manufac-

Chuck Werner, lean program manager for the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center (The Center) of Plymouth, Mich., talks about the adoption roadmap for manufacturers to follow at the 2018 Manufacturing Summit.

Inset: Chuck Werner.

Courtesy of the Michigan

Manufacturing Tech Center

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turers fell within those same categories, even though a report from the Manufacturers Productivity and innovation alliance (MaPi) reported “a much higher percent (83 percent) of U.s. plastics and rubber products companies were planning investment in technology over the next three years.” nonetheless, automation—replete with robotics, sensors, and dashboards—is becoming a common sight at globally competitive plants producing the most highly engineered plastics products.

“Plastics manufacturing is undeniably one of the more innovative industries in the world, whether it’s via adoption of automated systems like robotics or development of new materials and processes to overcome industry issues,” notes Dr. Jahnke. “For example, many plastics manufacturing companies have invested extensively in robotics in recent years as a way of reducing operating costs while improving production speed and consistency. in this regard, plastics manufacturing leads other processing sectors such as food and beverage.”

Werner says there’s cost savings in the automation of industry 4.0, mostly from reduced cycle-time, the elimination (or automation of) non-value-added activities, and reduced quality issues. These reductions will be aided by new design software and simulation technology that will integrate with the automation platforms to build attractive efficiencies in the production process. as Werner explains, disruptive technologies (like the aforementioned automation technology) will result in not just cost savings but also increased flexibility within the manufacturing model; this is also clearly expected from 3D modeling. “3D modeling will be used more fully to eliminate the wasteful back-and-forth of developing models from 2D drawings,” he continues. “The use of simulation technologies—backed with improved artificial intelligence—will reduce delays from costly mistakes in design and launch. The developing service model of manufacturers outsourcing their additive manufacturing needs will allow more usage of the technology for prototyping, which will also reduce lead times. Design for manufacturability, formerly one of the last stages of manufacturing development, will become a part of the everyday development process.”

Through industry 4.0, automation works in concert with ioT and the many new connected devices and their underlying improved technology. This will make a difference in how the plant floor is managed.

“We are at the stage where sensor technology can be

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Left: Fabricating polycarbonate materials using sustainable feedstocks provides scientists and engineers the ability to tune the physical, mechanical, and chemical properties of the end product. Right: The push for sustainable plastics will only intensify in the years to come, which means that the plastics engineering industry will begin phasing out petroleum-based plastics. Photos courtesy of Teysha Tech

used to gather data on machine condition and operational performance,” says Werner. “integrated systems can accurately track material and asset utilization, inventory status and location, and financial impact.”

The benefit of integrated systems and the decisional information they provide is a new direction for the plastics industry, one that can have lasting impact on production efficiency. says Werner: “interconnectivity of technology allows all this information to be delivered in real time with pinpoint accuracy to the team members who really need it. Compare this to the old model of collecting data; passing it on for collation, reporting, and analysis; then passing questions from the analysis through the organization just to begin investigation towards root cause and hopefully, countermeasure. Now, once the improvement is made, it can be automatically and effectively monitored to ensure that learning doesn’t fade with time.”

However, ensuring that learned competencies stick depends on the human capital that makes the plant run efficiently, technology and all. sherri seagroves is the president of Carolina Plastics Recruiters, an executive recruiter in Mebane, N.C. in light of the movement towards automation and the increasingly technical nature of the plastics manufacturing line, she says the greatest challenge in plastics manufacturing is the skills gap in technical positions.

“Companies are facing difficulty in finding talented maintenance technicians, process technicians, and tooling engineers,” says seagroves. “Many community colleges have closed their technical programs due to the lack of interest and enrollment. in order to cope with the short-

age, companies are starting apprenticeship programs and are hiring high school interns.”

The Value-Add of Additive Manufacturing

state-of-the-art technology to improve the manufacturing process and competent workers to keep the process flowing are both important ingredients to the “revolution” in plant automation. But an even further disrupter to plastics engineering is 3D printing and additive manufacturing technology.

“3D printing will definitely play a big part in the growth of the plastics industry in 2019,” says Alkaios BourniasVarotsis, Ph.D., technical marketing engineer for 3D Hubs in Amsterdam. “Most thermoplastic or photopolymer materials for industrial 3D printing systems fall within the $40 to $250 per kg price range.

3D printing materials for desktop applications fall within the $15 to $40 per kg range. in comparison, polymers for injection molding are priced at about $2 to 3 per kg. This makes industrial 3D printing materials 20 to 100 times more expensive.”

“Additive manufacturing is disruptive, first in rapid pro- Greg Cline, head of research, product innototyping, and eventually in vation, and engineering producing finished goods on a (PIE) with Aberdeen large scale,” says greg Cline, Consulting of Waltham, head of research for product Mass. Courtesy of Aberdeen innovation and engineering Consulting

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(PiE) and manufacturing for aberdeen, a marketing intelligence consultancy in Waltham, Mass. “it also opens the door to mass customization.”

Cline believes the continued development of automation and additive manufacturing will help plastics manufacturers better serve their customers with features that help those customers be more competitive. “look for ‘lightweighting’ in automotive, construction, aerospace, and electronics as plastic replaces metals and other heavier materials,” predicts Cline. “as automotive trends toward battery-powered electric vehicles, weight-savings will be much more critical, and the plastics industry should be waiting to pounce on this opportunity.” reducing weight by designing products quickly, prototyping them rapidly, and developing carefully crafted composites all play into cost reduction, similar to what’s happening in automation. Of course, everyone likes the lower costs. “additive manufacturing, despite being around for quite a while, is still in the early stages,” says Kaatze. “it has the potential to disrupt portions of the plastics industry as it moves ahead in the cost curve and becomes more com-

petitive in pricing for more and more applications. at the same time, properties are improving due to processing enhancements and the ability to apply a broader variety of materials. as it has been known for a while, this means additive manufacturing will be able to produce small quantities down to one as well as print significantly more complicated structures that cannot be molded. Complex structures, replacement parts, and decentralized production show a lot of potential that may lead to standard plastic production being utilized primarily for more commoditized products.” simply put, products may be prototyped and fabricated in short production runs. they may then be refined and redesigned. all this helps build better products more quickly and at a lower cost. andrew robling is principal product manager for Epicor, an enterprise resource planning (ErP) software company based in austin. He says that in the near future additive manufacturing could alter the way plastic parts are manufactured. “today the technology is primarily being used for prototyping and maintenance parts, but the technology may

The industry of additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, has existed for a long time, but there’s been a recent surge in adoption as hardware, software, and materials become more sophisticated. Courtesy of Ultimaker

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John Kawola, president of Ultimaker North America of Cambridge, Mass.

Courtesy of Ultimaker

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eventually advance into producing finished parts on a larger scale,” explains Robling. “Some of the advantages that could come out of this technology include reduced waste and decreased capital expenditure on tooling and machinery.”

John Kawola, president of Ultimaker North America, a 3D printer manufacturer in Cambridge, Mass., notes that the industry of additive manufacturing is not exactly new. there’s a surge in the adoption of hardware and software, with feeder materials becoming more sophisticated and useful.

“As the technology becomes more embedded into manufacturing workflows, there’s a growing global demand for industrial-grade engineering materials and materials that can be used for the entire product lifecycle,” says Kawola. “We will continue to see innovation in the materials space in 2019 to meet this demand.”

With better materials, and more complex applications of them, the legacy approach of plastics manufacturing that relies heavily on injection molding equipment and production suddenly has new possibilities with additive manufacturing and 3D printing. “the 3D printing industry has embraced an open-platform approach to materials in more recent years, a far cry from the closed systems of the past,” says Kawola. “this has opened doors for the big materials companies of the world, such as DuPont, BASF, Owens Corning, and DSM, to finally break into the space and engineer new plastics and materials to meet demand. this has made a big difference for pushing 3D printing more toward manufacturing, because now we have the best people in the world on polymer materials taking a lot of the same materials that are used in injection molding and adapting them for 3D printing.”

The Runway Ahead for Plastics Manufacturing

the dawn of bioplastics, a new era in plant automation and interconnectivity, and the blossoming of additive manufacturing all contribute to the shining opportunities that plastic engineering can expect in 2019. the industry will continue to drive our gDP with new and advanced products, engineered with revolutionary technology. As the global marketplace faces pressures from our world economy—increasing raw materials prices, tariffs, skilled labor shortages, and a growing pressure to preserve our oceans

and natural resources—the plastics industry presses on. the technologies now available to plastics engineers are paving the runway for the industry to soar high with solutions to existing problems that weren’t possible a year ago. take german plastics maker Covestro. they recently spent some $1.7 billion for a new U.S. plant in Baytown, texas, adding capacity in the United States. this is perhaps telling for the industry as a whole. “Manufacturing stands on the precipice of a truly disruptive ‘tech moment’,” says Mike geyer, director of business development for Fictiv, a San Francisco-based plastics manufacturer. “Driven by ever-increasing demand for manufacturing capacity to bring more and better products to market, competition among products developers is fierce. But the reality is that the majority of products still don’t make it to market because this capacity is simply inaccessible. Fortunately, a number of new (and old) technologies are helping make affordable, quality capacity accessible to the masses. Soon, the factories of today will be seen as the taxis and pay phones of yesterday.”

Management consultant PwC summarizes the overall outlook aptly in their article, industrial Manufacturing Trends 2018-19: “For many industrial manufacturers, organizational reengineering by aggressively reshaping and resizing their portfolios represents a profound change.

But in today’s charged business atmosphere, you need to move quickly to stay relevant, anticipating and meeting customers’ demands for more connected products and services before they look elsewhere for solutions.”1 1.

(June 2018) Mueller, Marian; Eddy, Steve; geissbauer, Reinhard; Jaruzelski, Barry: https://www.strategyand.pwc.com/trend/2018manufacturing.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jim Romeo is a freelance writer based in Chesapeake, Va. For more than 20 years, he has contributed numerous articles to various publications on the topics of logistics, engineering, software and supply-chain management. He earned his B.S. in mechanical engineering from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, and an MBA from Columbia Business School at Columbia University.

Contact him at freelancewriting@yahoo.com.

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SPE AUTOMOTIVE INNOVATION AWARDS

SPE’s 48th Automotive Innovation Awards Celebrates Achievements in Auto Plastics Awards were given for advances in additive manufacturing, body exterior, powertrain, and more

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By Peggy Malnati

t the 48th annual Automotive Innovation Awards Gala on Nov. 7, SPE’s Automotive Division of Troy, Mich. honored 11 category winners, one of which also won the Grand Award as the Year’s Most Innovative use of Plastics among 70 or so nominations in the 2018 SPE Automotive Innovation Awards Competition. They also presented a Lifetime Achievement Award to Dr. Rose Ryntz, vice president of global advanced development and material engineering at International Automotive Components Group (IAC) of Southfield, Mich. Formal prizes were awarded in the categories of additive manufacturing, body exterior, body interior, chassis/hardware, environmental, hall of fame, materials, powertrain, process/assembly/enabling technologies, and safety (see sidebar). The nominations this reporter and judge felt were most innovative follow.

Simply Remarkable

The application that won both the powertrain and the Grand Award honors in this year’s competition was the all-plastic vacuum-generation system (VGS) for brake assist for 2017 model year (MY) Ford F-150 pickups from Ford Motor Co. of Dearborn, Mich. The unit was developed

by Dayco Products LLC of Troy, Mich., MacLean-Fogg Co. of Mundelein, Ill., DuPont Automotive (Troy, Mich., now DowDuPont of Midland, Mich. and Wilmington, Del.), and Kald Tool & Die Inc. of Richfield, Wis. Functionally, the VGS replaces traditional costly and heavy electric motor-driven vacuum-pump brake-boost systems using an all-thermoplastic design consisting of 10 plastic components (including Delrin 73M30 polyoxymethylene (POM) with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) additive plus mica-reinforced Minion 520MP polyamide

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6 (PA6)). Components are injection-molded then joined via ultraviolet- (UV-), infrared- (IR-), and spin-welding to create a fully sealed assembly. Open/close valve actuation using the two complementary resins provides critical no stick/slip, extremely-low wear (none measured after 2.4 million hot/cold test cycles), excellent dimensional stability, and high chemical resistance. The lightweight, high-tolerance (to ±0.05 mm) system is said to experience near-zero leaks to 14 bars under either boost or vacuum.

Together, this led to an 83 percent weight (from 2.86 to 0.48 kg) and 70 percent cost (from $130 to $40) savings while improving performance at higher elevations by 20 percent. Since the VGS also is roughly half the size of the previous system, it offers tremendous packaging benefits.

And since scrap is recycled, the all-thermoplastic system is zero-waste. This application epitomizes the many ben-

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The all-plastic vacuum-generation system (VGS) for brake assist replaces traditional costly and heavy electric-motor-driven vacuum-pump brake-boost systems.

The brake-booster system works with air, not liquid, eliminates motors in earlier systems, and operates via a vacuum generated by a Venturi unit with springloaded gate plates. The all-thermoplastic design features 10 plastic components that are injection molded then welded to create a totally sealed assembly. The application debuted on 2017 model year (MY) Ford F150 pickups and is said to already have expanded to four additional Ford programs.

This transfer-case lift assist used during assembly of 2018 MY Ford Escape and Fusion passenger cars was produced with the fused-deposition process (FDM) on equipment from Stratasys, Ltd. using acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS – blue part), acrylonitrile styrene acrylate (ASA – white parts), and carbon fiber-reinforced polyamide 12 (PA12, black parts). The lift assist was produced for Ford by Eckhart Additive Manufacturing. It allows for more complex geometries to be created that better interface with cast aluminum components (silver parts) while greatly shortening lead times and cutting mass 101 kg, making it easier for operators to use without repetitive-motion injuries.

efits plastics can bring to a well-designed component or assembly.

Given the level of excitement that additive manufacturing (AM) and 3D printing (3DP) have engendered in the design and manufacturing space worldwide—with some calling these technologies the “democratization of manufactur-

ing”—it was timely that this year’s competition featured a new category for AM. Eight solid nominations from Ford and General Motors Co. (GM, Detroit) were received and all deserve recognition. Some applications were dimensional-check fixtures, assembly aids, or lift assists that helped assembly line workers better and more safely check and install a variety of components ranging from windows to half-shafts. In one case, Ford engineers noted

A 3DP steel insert was used to produce an injectionmolding tool insert to mold speaker grilles on Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups from GM. Replacing Porcerax (porous metal-matrix composite from International Mold Steel, Inc.), the 3DP insert is said to eliminate die lock on vertical walls, improving venting, simplifying tool cleaning, reducing costs 14 percent, and shortening component lead time by 25 percent.

The 3DP spare parts (HVAC lever arms) for the 2002 MY Ford Focus sedans feature the auto industry’s first use of CLIP technology from Carbon, Inc. of Redwood City, Calif. in UV-cured epoxy-based resin. Transitioning from an injection-molded 30 percent glass-reinforced (GR) polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) to an epoxy-based resin improved mechanical properties and saved significant costs versus producing new tools.

All photos courtesy of the SPE Automotive Division

It’s About Time

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that they had replaced 50 of 72 assembly tools at a plant using 3DP. Other nominations included OEM replacement parts for older vehicles whose original tooling had been lost, allowing automakers to develop manufacturing processes for production parts that meet quality requirements. Still others were tooling inserts for injection molds that made it easier and more efficient to produce parts ranging from speaker grilles to louvers on heating/venting/air-conditioning (HVAC) ducts requiring extra venting to achieve a good surface. Each nomination saved significant money and production lead time. Many replaced metals and were much lighter. Some included new features that provided better ergonomics than the devices they replaced.

Another interesting Ford nomination that was a Powertrain finalist was a series of foamed polyurethane parts featuring graphene nanoplatelets. The resin was modified to accommodate the unique surface characteristics of graphene. The automaker called this collection the first

Given the amount of nano-hype that went nowhere over the last few decades, it was nice to see a highvolume nanotechnology application in this year’s competition. A very small amount of the material had an outsized impact on properties—the hallmark of a welldesigned nanocomposite part. Ford’s use of less than 0.5 percent graphene nanoplatelets from XG Sciences, Inc. in 12 foamed polyurethane parts from Eagle Industries, Inc. yet increased compression strength, sound-damping, and heat-sag properties without increasing costs.

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high-volume, high-performance use of graphene on passenger cars. With the addition of a less than 0.5 percent nanoparticle, foam compression strength increased 20 percent while sound damping improved up to 25 percent and heat-sag properties also improved (samples deflected 30 percent less at 20 percent higher temperature over a 50 percent longer span). Current applications include up to 12 pump and fuel-rail covers, water-tube supports, and stuffers. Next up, front-engine covers are being evaluated, and further out graphene may be used in soy foams for headliners, energy absorbers, and seats cushions. The performance improvements were cost-neutral.

Planet Protectors

The environmental category was particularly strong this year, and each of the five applications deserves a round of applause. As the only OEM submitting nominations in the category, Ford and its suppliers receive environmental awards for applications containing post-industrial recyclate (PIR), post-consumer recyclate (PCR), both PIR and PCR, and natural fiber reinforcements.

Use of molded-in-color (MIC) Class-A exterior trim parts (including cladding, rockers, wheel flares, bumper fascia, step pads, and tailgate inners) in thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) and polypropylene (PP) obtained from PIR automotive scrap and PCR packaging waste have been used for 40 applications on five pickup and SUV platforms.

To date, Ford reports that the program is saving the company $5-million per year, representing a 15 percent cost reduction and diverting 9 million kilograms of material from landfills. A rigorous prove-out protocol demonstrated that the upcycled resins—supplied by Canuck Compounders Inc. of Cambridge, Ontario, and molded by a variety of processors depending on platform—met the same color, dimensional stability, shrinkage, mechanical performance, and appearance requirements as the virgin resins they replaced. Gone are the days when recycled plastics are equated with poor performance and even poorer aesthetics.

Another impressive application made use of recycled PP foam carpet backing and micronized rubber powder from recycled tires to produce injection-molded extension dash panels on Ford Edge crossover-utility vehicles (CUVs).

Replacing 30 percent glass-reinforced (GR) virgin PP, the application diverts 1.1 million square-meters of old carpet and 1,312 tires from landfills annually. Use of microcellular-foam molding with 100-percent PCR materials helped reduce part mass 16 percent, cycle times 21 percent, and

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Some of the nominations in the environmental category included the MIC, Class-A exterior front-grille carrier for Ford Explorer sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) and F-150 pickups. Featuring PIR acrylonitrile styrene acrylate (ASA) resin from The Materials Group, the application eliminated paint and plating, was a drop-in replacement at lower cost but performance parity, and saved $1.6 million while diverting nearly 1.5 million kilograms of material/year from landfills.

Another F-150 application featured 100 percent PIR high-flow polycarbonate/acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (PC/ABS) used for over 50 instrument panel part variations on all Ford F-150 models (including this right-center panel). The material, which was formulated by compounder Enviroplas, Inc. and molded

by Summit Polymers, Inc. and Maxima Plastic Services Inc., offered better processing and part performance at lower cost.

part costs 28 percent while achieving the same heatdeflection temperature (HDT) with less glass reinforcement, better noise/vibration/harshness (NVH) values, and improved heat-aging performance for tensile, elongation, and Notched Izod impact. Ford reports the program was so successful the new material will eventually be deployed on all its new vehicles globally.

topped and flush with the top of the upper mat, they don’t impede foot movement. However, when it’s time to remove one or both mats, a quick push on the posts and the upper mat can be lifted back, unhooking both sides so one or both can be removed without spilling debris.

Good Idea

For those with extended-cab pickups and SUVs, the ability to keep floor mats in place when in use but easily remove them for cleaning is a long-running battle. Two-piece mats are easier to remove but tend to shift and can become a trip hazard as occupants enter or leave vehicles. Onepiece mats stay put better but are very challenging not to spill whatever debris you’re trying to remove as you unhook, fold, and pull a big mat out. Ford engineers may have solved the problem with their rear-runner mat design for the 2018 Lincoln Navigator SUVs. Working with Sevrene 6650 70 Shore A thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), they injection mold two floor mats in a family tool. The left mat is slightly wider than the right and features two holes that accept two harder injection-molded “mushroom” posts in Sevrene 6650 90 Shore A TPE that are insertmolded into the narrower right floor mat. (Both materials are from Americhem. Inc. of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.) In use, it’s easy to lay each mat in place and clip them together with the mushroom posts, which prevent mat movement during passenger ingress and egress. Since posts are flat-

The first hybrid composite in long-fiber thermoplastic (LFT, supplied by Celanese) plus cellulose fiber from sustainable forestry (supplied by International Paper Co.) with both low-emission and PIR PP was used to replace glass/mica-reinforced PP for center-console components on 2 million vehicles—2018 MY Ford F150 and F-250 pickups and Ford Explorer and Lincoln Navigator SUVs. The drop-in replacement reduced mass 24 to 30 percent depending on platform, saved $1 per piece, and met all performance requirements at 20 to 40 percent faster cycle times.

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Another interesting application was an illuminated headliner called SKYFX developed and produced by Grupo Antolin of Burgos, Spain, for the 2013 MY Peugeot 2008 compact SUV from Groupe PSA (Paris). The efficient system uses common tooling for both base model (without lighted headliner) and the upscale model (with headliner illumination). The main difference is that a polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) plate, which functions as a light guide, plus white-colored light-emitting diodes (LEDs) embedded in a flexible cable are inserted into the headliner stack during production, and the headliner is subsequently laser scored to create a distinctive pattern that lets the LED light shine through. A key element of the system is the use of Grupo Antolin’s Swan-brand textile, which is said to be especially easy to laser engrave or score.

Although the pattern that was used for the initial execution of the technology is a series of long, vertical slashes, the supplier says virtually any pattern could be cut and multicolored LEDs also could be used. They also cited use of a solvent-free adhesive specially developed for the application to help ensure quality and homogeneity of light.

Clever and Creative

Hyundai Motor Co. of Seoul, South Korea, can always be counted on to nominate some of the most interesting materials technologies in the SPE Automotive Innovation

Awards Competition. Company scientists have a real knack for solving challenging engineering problems with unique combinations of unconventional additives, reinforcements, and resins. Once again, they did not disappoint. One of their 2018 nominations was for an NVH timing belt cover that meets tough new engine noise reduction mandates in China and Japan. Using both part design (to improve durability and reduce sound transmission) and a new compound (35 percent GR-PA6/6 with ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) rubber and 5 percent zinc oxide material-damping additive), they were able to maintain most of the cover’s previous properties while improving both impact strength and sound damping by 2 to 3 dB. The patented application debuted on the 2018 MY Hyundai Kona sedan.

A second application was for electromagnetic-interference (EMI) shielding on a high-voltage junction-block cover for fuel-cell vehicles (FCVs)—2019 MY Hyundai Nexo SUVs. Current die-cast aluminum shields work well but are heavy, costly, and have design limitations. In their place, a thermoplastic resin with four different conductive fillers in a base resin of modified-polyphenylene ether (MPPE)/PA6 was developed. By combining conventional macro-scale carbon fiber, which build conductive pathways, with nano-scale multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) and micron-scale carbon black agglomerations,

Two different TPEs were used to produce a rear-runner mat for 2018 Lincoln Navigator SUVs. The flexible mats themselves (in 70 Shore A Sevrene 6650 from Americhem. Inc.) are injection molded in a family tool. Two harder injection molded “mushroom” posts (in 90 Shore A Sevrene 6650) are insert molded with the mats. Holes on the slightly wider left mat accept the mushroom posts on the right mat, connecting both sides so the mat stays in place but making it easy to unhook and remove one side for cleaning.

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2018 SPE Automotive Innovation Awards Competition Winners Additive Manufacturing: Window Alignment Fixture on 2017 MY Ford Mustang convertible sports car from Ford Motor Co. in 35 percent short carbon fiber-reinforced PA12 produced by fused-deposition modeling (FDM) from Stratasys.

Body Exterior: Thermoplastic Liftgate on 2019 MY Jeep Cherokee SUVs from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in LFTPP and TPO produced by Magna Exteriors.

Plastics played an important role creating the SKYFX illuminated headliner from Grupo Antolin for the 2013 MY Peugeot 2008 compact SUV from Groupe PSA. A polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) plate, which functions as a light guide, plus white-colored light-emitting diodes (LEDs) embedded in a flexible cable were inserted into the headliner stack during production.

The headliner was subsequently laser scored to create a pattern that let the LED light shine through.

both of which lower electrical contact resistance, the new compound provides higher design flexibility at 30 percent lower mass and 70 percent lower cost ($50 per vehicle) while satisfying an EMI shielding requirement for 40 dB. If Hyundai gets the award for clever materials, then Ford gets the award for creative designs on two safetyrelated features. The first (the body interior category winner) was a modular molded-in pelvic bolster that helped the 2018 MY Lincoln Navigator SUV achieve a fivestar safety rating with the U.S. National Highway Traffic & Safety Administration (NHTSA). Previously, in order to pass side-impact testing on doors, Ford used two separate bolsters that were subsequently attached to the door panel inner in order to protect both tiny 5th percentile occupants as well as robust 50th/95th percentile occupants (as measured on crash dummies during side-impact testing). Their strategically positioned, patent-pending new design uses unfilled PP integrally molded into the area behind the map pocket to spread and dissipate energy in the hip and pelvic area during a side crash. Ford says the part’s energy-absorbing characteristics can easily be tuned during testing to accommodate different load-distribution and stiffness requirements on other vehicles and, in fact, the design will be translated to other Ford SUVs going forward.

An equally clever design won the Safety category for a door-trim interlocking-mechanism for side impact on

Body Interior: Integrated Modular Pelvic Booster on 2018 MY Lincoln Navigator SUVs from Ford Motor Co. in high-impact PP copolymer produced by Faurecia Interior Systems.

Chassis/Hardware: High-Strength Self-Tapping Composite Nut on 2016 MY Chrysler Pacifica minivans from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in glass-reinforced PA6/6 produced by ITW Deltar Fasteners.

Environmental: Sustainable Hybrid Composites on 2018 MY Lincoln Continental luxury sedans from Ford Motor Co. in LFT-PP with glass and cellulose fiber produced

by Summit Polymers.

Hall of Fame: First Injection-Molded Thermoplastic PC/PBT Energy Absorber on 2003 MY Honda Element CUV from Honda Motor Co. produced by Shape Corp.

Lifetime Achievement: Dr. Rose Ryntz, vice-president of global advanced development and material engineering at International Automotive Components (IAC) Group, for her many decades of technical contributions to automotive plastics.

Materials: EMI Shielding Compounds for High-Voltage Cover on 2019 MY Hyundai Nexo SUVs from Hyundai Motor Co. in PA6 with special conductive package (carbon fiber, carbon nanotubes, and carbon black) produced

by Yura Corp.

Powertrain & Grand Award: Vacuum-Generation System for Brake Assist on 2017 MY Ford F-150 pickups from Ford Motor Co. with POM+PTFE and mica-reinforced PA6 from Dayco Products LLC.

Process/Assembly/Enabling Technologies: Integrated Tire Carrier, Rear Camera, & Brake-Light Assembly on 2018 MY Jeep Wrangler SUVs from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in toughened, glass-reinforced PA6/6 + magnesium produced by TMD-Grammer AG Group.

Safety: Interlocking Mechanism Design for Side Impact on 2019 MY Ford Transit Connect utility van from Ford Motor Co. in ABS produced by Faurecia Interior Systems.

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Ford Transit Connect utility vans. United Nations’ occupant protection lateral side impact collision (ECE 95) requirements prohibit vehicle components from fracturing or separating between components and producing sharp edges that could harm occupants during a crash. The conventional approach to meet this requirement is to stiffen the exterior body structure and reinforce door sheet metal to minimize deformation during vehicle intrusion, thereby adding weight and cost. Ford engineers decided to try and use the door-trim inner panel as part of the vehicle’s energy-absorbing countermeasures to manage load distribution in the area of the abdomen without adding extra metal. They developed an injectionmolded ribbed bracket in acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) that is screwed to the pull-handle substrate and extends into the area behind the armrest substrate but is not rigidly attached there.

Hyundai Motor Co.’s NVH timing-belt cover achieves a 2 to 3 dB improvement through the combination of both part redesign and a unique compound of GR-PA6/6 with EPDM rubber and zinc oxide. The new material met all performance requirements while improving impact strength and sound damping.

A modular molded-in pelvic bolster in unfilled PP replaces two separate bolsters yet protects both tiny 5th-percentile occupants and robust 50th/95th-percentile occupants in a side-impact crash. Integrally molded into the door-panel inner in the area behind the map pocket, the bolster is designed to crush and spread/dissipate energy to protect an occupant’s doorfacing hip and pelvis. The forward-facing portion of the pelvic bolster (left side of inset) is thin and breaks easily during a crash to dissipate energy and protect the 5th percentile occupant, while the rear-facing section (right side of inset), which is thicker and ribbed and requires more energy to break and dissipate energy, helps protect the 50th/95th percentile occupant.

The functional part reduced mass by approximately 10 percent and costs by $7 per vehicle as well as saving $200,000 in tooling avoidance.

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A second Hyundai innovation for a fuel-cell vehicle provided 40 dB of EMI shielding on a high-voltage junction-block cover through the combination of carbon fiber, carbon black, and multi-wall carbon nanotubes in an MPPE/PA6 base resin. The resulting part is 30 percent lighter and saved $50 per vehicle versus the die-cast aluminum cover it replaced.

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Height and placement of the lateral ribs are said to be critical. The patent-pending application eliminated the need for additional countermeasures on the exterior body structure and outer-panel reinforcements, saving 3.7 kg of mass and $30.60 per vehicle plus an additional $9.88 million in tooling costs. The Transit Connect van also achieved a five-star safety rating from NHTSA. The 2019 SPE Automotive Innovation Awards Gala will be held Nov. 6.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ford’s use of an injection-molded ribbed bracket (in Magnum 3325MT ABS from Trinseo S.A.) allowed the automaker to use the door-trim inner panel as part of the vehicle’s energy-absorbing countermeasures to pass side-impact tests and protect against components fracturing or separating during a crash. The bracket is screwed to the pull-handle substrate (right side of photo above) and extends into the area behind the armrest substrate (left side of photo) but is not rigidly attached there. The patent-pending application is said to be scalable to any vehicle program and saved considerable weight and costs while allowing Ford Transit Connect utility vans to achieve the highest crash rating in NHTSA testing.

Peggy Malnati has more than 30 years' experience writing about the global plastics and composites industries. She has organized technical conferences for SPI, SPE and SAE International, edited the 1994 book, “Structural Analysis of Thermoplastic Components” from McGraw-Hill, spent 15 years as board member and communications chair for the SPE Automotive Division, and has been a contributing writer covering automotive and composites beats for various trade publications, including Plastics Engineering. She also provides communications services for plastics- and composites-industry clients globally via her own Detroit-area firm. Contact her at

Peggy@MalnatiandAssociates.com.

ELECTIONS IONS S 2018 2018

IT’S ELE ELECTION CTTIO ION TIME! T The future of your Society depends nds on the quality q of your leadership.

SPE members in good standing are voting for Vice President Presid ident - Young Youn Professionals. Log into 4spe.org/vote rg/vote e to vote.

Voting starts February 4, 2019 19

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THERMOSET TOPCON PREVIEW

Thermosets Bring Benefits to New Markets and Applications Thermoset TOPCON will focus on helping the industry grow

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By Nancy D. Lamontagne

PE’s annual Thermoset TOPCON will feature the latest developments in thermoset plastics.

This industry is poised for growth as there is more recognition that the mechanical properties and low cost of these materials make them ideal for replacing metal, ceramics, and engineering thermoplastics in a variety of applications. Thermosets can also help improve performance by consolidating parts, reducing weight, and eliminating secondary operations.

The conference—the only gathering in the U.S. dedicated entirely to thermosets—will bring together the entire thermoset material supply chain, including additives and chemicals, resin and reinforcement suppliers, compounders, processors, and OEMs from Feb. 19 to 20 in Charleston, S.C. It will feature a wide range of technical topics, application case studies, and market development tutorials focused on profitable, organic growth of the industry.

Composite Manhole Covers

W. Chad Nunnery, president and owner of Composite Access Products (CAP), will discuss manhole covers as a new application for composite thermoset material in North America. He plans to talk about how an understanding of material properties can be used to meet the needs of a specific industry.

Plastic composites have been used to make manholes for some time in Asia because the recycled value of the metal led to many cast iron covers being stolen. It turns out that a material property of composites

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Manhole covers are one application in which composite thermoset materials can be used to replace metal.

They can be made in a variety of colors and finishes.

Courtesy of CAP

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Manhole covers made of thermoset composites are corrosion-resistant (left) compared to those made of iron (right).

Courtesy of CAP

or thermosets that isn’t generally a benefit––the fact that “Unlike many other composite covers, ours are trafficthey are difficult to recycle—is beneficial for this specific rated. This means that they won’t pop out or break even application. in high-traffic areas.”

Another plus for composite manhole covers is that they The CAP manhole covers from have available hardware weigh much less than cast iron covers, which can help options that allow them to be locked in place and are prevent back injuries and finger injuries for both the operscratch resistant. They also made the covers discoverable ators and the contractors who bring the assembly to the with a metal detector, in case they are paved over and field. Composites are also corrosion-resistant, which is need to be found. important because iron corrosion from the sulfuric acid CAP is also offering a new type of manhole cover with created from sewer gases causes the cover to eventually an encapsulated radio frequency ID tag that allows municbond the frame. This means that operators must use a ipalities to easily track information linked to each manhole. sledge hammer to open it, which usually breaks the cover and the frame.

“Cure-in-place piping for water and wastewater infrastructure is one of the largest applications for thermoset resin because of its resistance to corrosion,” says Nunnery. “Our thermoset manhole covers can make the final part of that collection system also corrosion resistant.”

Nunnery says the biggest challenges to converting more manhole covers to composite materials in the U.S. is that municipalities either don’t know about this option or have only seen covers that are flimsy and light.

CAP uses a unique design together flame retardant concentrates and compounds for your with a sheet molding compound to polyethylene or polypropylene products. Count on our research create a higher density cover. lab to help with both halogen and non-halogen solutions.

“Our design and the material we For samples or additional information, please contact: use creates a cover that is half the Joe Serbaroli at 914 332 7329 or weight of cast iron but more than two email jserbaroli@ampacet.com. times the weight of some competing composite covers,” says Nunnery.

Our burning ambition: Flame retardants.

Ampacet delivers high-performance, cost-effective

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“With our radio frequency ID encapsulated technology, the user can point a small scanner at a manhole see information about the hole on their smartphone or tablet,” says Nunnery. “This type of technology has never before been incorporated into manhole covers.”

Nunnery hopes that conference attendees who listen to his talk will learn that it is possible to move thermosets into new applications, including new metal conversions.

He also wants them to understand that this process does involve significant time and effort. “If we want to grow the market for thermoset materials, we have to do more in terms of converting metal to thermosets and composites,” he says.

Hemp-Based Epoxy Resin

Jeff gotro, chief technical officer and principal investigator at Zila Works llC in renton, Wash., is presenting a new hemp seed oil epoxy resin system that was used to make full-sized, functioning snowboards. Zila Works developed the new resin system in collaboration with Professor Jinwen Zhang of Washington State University, who is part of an initiative working to expand applications of hemp.

“Hemp is not only a renewable alternative to petroleum, but it also helps reduce harmful greenhouse gases in the

atmosphere by sequestering carbon,” says gotro. “Because it’s an agricultural product, finding new applications for hemp also helps farmers and the agricultural industry in the United States.”

With funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Small Business Innovation research Program (SBIr), Zila Works set out to determine the feasibility of using hemp seed oil to make an epoxy resin. After developing the initial epoxy based on hemp seed oil, the researchers developed another bio-based epoxy to make it strong enough to make a snowboard.

Although bio-based polymers are a big trend in thermoplastics, gotro points out that it is relatively new in thermoset. “This is because with bio-based polymers it is much harder to make the cross-linked network required for thermosets,” he says.

They fabricated the snowboard by putting the epoxy resin formulation on a fiberglass cloth and then curing and laminating it in a hot press to form the final composite product.

“Our biggest challenges were optimizing the mechanical properties of the epoxies and curing system and then achieving good adhesion to the ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene used in the snowboard base. The base material has a very low surface energy, requiring a proprietary approach to achieve good adhesion” says gotro.

The researchers made three full-sized production snowboards that passed industry-accepted testing protocols. “Now that we’ve shown proof of concept, we've applied for more funding to use the hemp-based epoxy on a large scale,” says gotro. “This will involve scaling up producing from five gallons of the epoxy made in the lab to producing hundreds of gallons in a production facility.”

Cost will be an important focus of the scaleup because these types of composites are typically used for recreational items. Washington State Agriculture Department is examining whether the hemp plant fibers can be used to make composites. This might allow the new hemp-based epoxy resin to be combined with hemp fibers to make an even more environmentally friendly composite.

A new epoxy resin based on hemp seed oil was used to make this full-sized, functioning snowboard. The new resin is a renewable alternative to petroleum-based resins, and growing hemp also helps reduce harmful greenhouse gases in the atmosphere by sequestering carbon. Courtesy of Zila Works

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Viscosity Considerations

Jessica Warner, associate scientist from Omya Inc., will discuss methods for controlling viscosity of filled resin systems.

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viscosity could allow higher loading levels of calcium carbonate, which would save money and improve the mechanical properties of the resulting part or product.

“Omya can work individually with customers to help them optimize viscosity to deliver a more competitive product,” Warner adds. “By building relationships with our customers, we can help them better use our products and optimize production. Together we can help expand thermosets into new applications.” The company has technology centers in regions throughout the world that can provide resources for solving viscosity issues.

For more information on the SPE 2019 Thermoset TOPCON, visit https://spethermosets.org/topcon/.

The viscosity of a combined calcium carbonate and resin suspension can be affected by particle size distribution, the maximum packing fraction, and the calcium carbonate loading. This image shows an electron microscope image of calcium carbonate.

Courtesy of Omya Inc.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nancy D. lamontagne is a Chapel Hill, N.C.based freelance writer with more than 15 years of experience writing about science, technology, and engineering. Over the past seven years, she has contributed Plastics Engineering articles on a variety of topics, including thermoforming advances, blow molding technology, innovations in medical plastics, packaging trends, and education and career development in the plastics industry. Contact her at www.nancylamontagne.com

Omya provides calcium carbonate mineral and specialty chemicals as well as other glass fiber reinforcement additives. Calcium carbonate can provide cost savings compared to using resin alone while also improving the mechanical and optical properties of final product.

However, fillers may add complexity to the viscosity of resin systems.

The talk will cover how to measure viscosity and why it matters in thermoset applications. “Everyone using thermosets needs to move material, Ampacet’s m Ampacet ’s colors colors for outdoor use but there are ways to optimize the Conc Concentrated C entrated masterbatc masterbatchh for forr 1% let let-down t-do -do own (99:1) viscosity,” says Warner. “A better M with high qualit Made quality, tyy, light light-fast t-f -ffast a pigments understanding of what influences viscosity and how those factors can S Suitable for for buried or aerial applications be manipulated can be translated Available A vailable with additional UV pr protection otection into better processes down the Colorful Colorf ul and UV rresistant esis necessary essary ffor or esistant – no ccompromise ompromise nec road.” long-term exposure.

Ampacet offers full long-ter m outdoor exposur ers a f ull line of e.

Ampac et off Factors that affect the suspension high-performance, high-perf formance, ccolor olor cconcentrates oncentrates ffor or pol polymers ymers inc including luding viscosity—the combined calcium PE, PP PP, P,, Nylon, PV PVC C and mor more. e. carbonate and resin suspension— include particle size distribution, the FFor or samples or additional onal inf information, for ormation, please ccontact: ontact: maximum packing fraction and the Joe Serbar Serbaroli oli at 914 332 7329 or calcium carbonate loading. Underemail jserbar jserbaroli@ampacet.com. oli@ampacet.com. standing what controls viscosity at a fundamental level will allow these factors to be controlled even in large industrial applications. Optimizing

Tough Col Tough Colors orrs for f Tough T ough Envir E Environments ronments onm onments • • • •

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INDUSTRY NEWS

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Plenary and Keynote Speakers Announced for ANTEC INSPIRE Program

NTEC® 2019, the plastics technology conference presented by SPE, has been reformatted into two programs—INSPIRE and INSIGHT. Spanning Monday through midday Wednesday, ANTEC INSPIRE will feature over 550 technical and business papers and over 60 marketing presentations, along with networking, student events, and exhibitor receptions. Meanwhile, ANTEC INSIGHT will run from midday Wednesday through Thursday and will focus on the “big picture”—the biggest questions facing the plastics community today. INSIGHT will include megatrend sessions on packaging, building and construction, sustainability, and transportation, and will also offer attendees to opportunity to interact with expert representatives.

The following plenary and keynote speakers have been announced for the ANTEC INSPIRE program: • Dr. Sindee L. Simon, department chair of chemical engineering at Texas Tech University, will present “Polymer Physics: Academic Research and Impacts.” Dr. Simon’s research interests include the physics of the glass transition, cure and properties of thermosetting materials, and materials behavior at the nanoscale, including polymerization reaction kinetics and thermodynamics. She obtained a B.S. in chemical engineering at Yale University in 1983 and her Ph.D. in chemical engineering at Princeton University in 1992. She took over her current duties as chair of the department of chemical engineering at Texas Tech in 2012.

• Dr. Mark Spalding, fellow in packaging and specialty plastics R&D at The Dow Chemical Company, will present “Process Design and Troubleshooting Using a Fundamental Approach.” Dr. Spalding is the author of over 130 technical publications, and he co-authored the book Analysis and Troubleshooting of Single-Screw Extruders with Prof.

Gregory A. Campbell. His expertise is in single-screw extrusion and related polymer processing technologies, he has solved some of the most complicated extrusion problems at Dow customer’s plants, and he has designed extrusion systems for most of Dow’s major customers for virtually every resin the company produces.

• Steve Russell, vice president of the plastics division

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of American Chemistry Council, will present “Can We End Plastic Waste?” Russell joined the American Chemistry Council in 1995 and currently leads public-private partnerships and solutions-oriented programs to address the sustainability of plastics. He has helped to ensure the availability and use of life cycle information on plastics and has launched a number of programs to improve plastic collection and recycling of post-use plastics in the Asia-Pacific region. He also played a key role in creating the World Plastics Council, a group of CEOs from among the world’s largest chemical and plastics companies, to prioritize and fund systems to keep plastic out of our oceans.

• Dr. Anil K. Bhowmick, chair professor, Indian National Academy of Engineering and professor of eminence, Rubber Technology Centre, Indian Institute of Technology, will present “Thermoplastic Elastomers - An Overview.”

Prof. Bhowmick’s main research interests are thermoplastic elastomers and polymer blends, nanocomposites, polymer modification, polymer technology, failure and degradation of polymers, adhesion, and adhesives. He has more than 550 publications in these fields, 35 book chapters, and seven co-edited books. He was co-editor of the special issue of polymer and composite characterization of the Journal of Macromolecular Science (USA) and is on the editorial board of Journal of Adhesion Science & Technology (USA), Journal of Applied Polymer Science (USA), Journal of Materials Science (USA), Polymers and Polymer Composites (UK), Polymers for Advanced Technology (Germany), Rubber Chemistry and Technology (USA), Nano-Micro Letters (China) and Natural Rubber Research (India).

• Dr. Deborah Mielewski, senior technical leader of sustainable materials and advanced materials at Ford Motor Company, will present “Advances in Automotive Plastics and Composites.” Dr. Mielewski received her B.S.E. ('86), M.S.E. (’93), and PhD ('98) degrees in chemical engineering from the University of Michigan and has been with Ford Motor Company for 31 years. She has worked at Ford Research in automotive paint durability, polymer processing, and materials development. She initiated the biomaterials program at Ford Research in 2001, and her team was the first

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to demonstrate soy-based foam that met all the requirements for automotive seating. Dr. Mielewski is passionate about reducing Ford’s environmental footprint and believes that these new materials will dominate the market in the future. She has appeared in a national Ford commercial, the NOVA Making Things series, and has been interviewed

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by countless media outlets (including Wall Street Journal, Time Inc. and CNN). She has over 60 referred journal publications and 10 U. S. patents.

ANTEC 2019 will take place Mar. 18 to 21, 2019, at the Marriott Detroit Renaissance, located in the Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit.

Brightmark Energy Acquires Majority Interest in RES Polyflow, Invests in Plastics-to-Fuel Plant

rightmark Energy, a San Francisco-based renewable energy development company, has acquired a majority interest and invested $10 million in RES Polyflow, the Ohio-based energy technology company that innovated the process for converting plastics directly into transportation fuel and other products. Brightmark has also committed an additional $47 million investment into the first commercial-scale plant to utilize this technology.

“This is a tremendous opportunity to combat a major environmental ill and create positive economic incentives in the process,” says Bob Powell, president and chief executive officer of Brightmark. “We look forward to developing additional plastics conversion facilities both across the United States and globally over the next several years.”

RES Polyflow’s plastics-to-fuel process sustainably recycles waste that has reached the end of its useful life—including items that cannot readily be recycled, like plastic film, flexible packing, and children’s toys—directly into useful products like fuels and wax. “This sustainable technology directly addresses an acute problem facing the United States,” says Brightmark’s chief development officer Zeina El-Azzi. “More than 91 percent of the 34.5 million tons of plastic domestically produced each year is not recycled. These products end up sitting in landfills for

thousands of years or littering communities and waterways. We’re excited to help bring an economically viable solution to the marketplace.”

The facility, located in Ashley, Ind., will convert 100,000 tons of plastic waste into 18 million gallons of ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel and naphtha blend stocks and five million gallons of wax per year. That’s more plastic than the weight of 5,400 tractor trailers or seven Brooklyn Bridges.

“The RES Polyflow plastics-to-fuel process allows postuse plastics to be utilized in an environmentally friendly way, offering a productive end-of-life solution for this material,” says Jay Schabel, president of Brightmark’s new plastics-to-fuel development subsidiary, BME Renewable Polyfuels. “Simply attaching a positive and predictable market value to this segment of the waste stream incentivizes the use of materials that would otherwise end up in a landfill or as litter.”

A total of 136 full time manufacturing jobs will be created in northeast Indiana when all phases of the facility are operational. BP will purchase the fuels produced by the facility, which will be distributed in the regional petroleum market. The Ashley plant will also produce commercial grade waxes for sale to the industrial wax market, which will be purchased by AM WAX.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

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Davalor Introduces Former Stanley Black & Decker VP Jim Puscas as New CEO

avalor Mold Corp., a manufacturer of injection molded plastic products, appointed James (Jim) Puscas as its new chief executive officer.

“I am thrilled to be a part of the Davalor team and look forward to expanding the company’s already well-established presence in the plastics manufacturing industry,” says Puscas. “Since joining Davalor, I have been focused on improving margins through operational improvements, including productivity and material savings.”

Puscas was brought onboard in September 2018 to lead Davalor and capitalize on growth opportunities within the plastics manufacturing industry. He joins Davalor with years of automotive industry experience with expertise in marketing strategy, sales, engineering, program management, product development, and operations. Prior to

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Hexcel Hires Colleen Pritchett as President of Aerospace, Americas

excel Corp. announced Colleen Pritchett joined the company as president of Aerospace, Americas. .

Pritchett joins Hexcel from E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co., where she served most recently as global business director and president of the electronics and imaging advanced printing business. For more than 20 years, Pritchett has served in a variety of leadership roles at DuPont, including global business director and president of the electronics and communications microcircuit materials business in Taiwan; Asia Pacific director for the performance polymers business in Shanghai; global business director; strategic planning manager; Americas business manager; North America sales and distribution manager; and national accounts team sales manager. She has a degree in chem-

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joining Davalor, Puscas held leadership roles at Stanley Black & Decker, Cadence Innovation, ASC, Inc., and General Electric Plastics.

“Jim has hit the ground running since joining Davalor in September,” says Martin Stein, the founder and managing director of Blackford Capital, a Grand Rapids-based private equity investment firm that acquired Davalor in July of 2016.

“The industry and leadership experience Jim possess will greatly benefit Davalor's growth strategy moving forward.”

Founded in 1979, Davalor Mold Corp. is a manufacturer and distributor of injection molded plastic products.

Headquartered in Chesterfield, Mich., the company offers a wide variety of molded plastic products found in OEM level automotive corporations, which are supplied by Tier 1 automotive suppliers.

ical engineering from Pennsylvania State University and an MBA from the Goizueta Business School at Emory University. In addition, she received training through the Harvard Business School Leadership Program and is a Six Sigma black belt. While at DuPont, she was the company’s global diversity and inclusion champion.

“With her leadership skills, global expertise, deep technical understanding, and commitment to customers and continuous improvement, we’re confident that Colleen will be a great addition to our team,” Hexcel chairman, chief executive officer, and president Nick Stanage says.

Hexcel Corp. is an advanced composites company that develops, manufactures, and markets lightweight, highperformance structural materials for use in commercial aerospace, space and defense, and industrial applications. These include carbon fibers; specialty reinforcements; prepregs and other fiber-reinforced matrix materials; honeycomb, adhesives, engineered core, and composite structures.

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r. Oliver Borgmeier has been named the chief operating officer of Oxea, and he will manage the company’s business operations as their acting chief executive officer effective Jan. 1, 2019. Dr. Borgmeier has extensive experience in the chemical industry and has been with Oxea for more than 13 years, most recently as the executive vice president global operations. He was appointed to his new position by Oxea’s board of directors.

“I am delighted about the confidence placed in me by the board,” says Dr. Borgmeier. “Our technology base for selected products offers Oxea exciting opportunities to drive mid- and longterm growth.”

Oxea is a global manufacturer of oxo intermediates and oxo derivatives, such as alcohols, polyols, carboxylic acids, specialty esters, and amines. They are part of the Oman Oil Co. S.A.O.C. (OOC), a commercial company wholly owned by the government of Oman. Established in 1996, it pursues investment opportunities in the wider energy sector both inside and outside of the country.

Oxea's current CEO, Dr. Salim Al Huthaili, will join Duqm Refinery and Petrochemical Industries Co. (DRPIC) as its new CEO on Jan. 1, 2019, where he will play a leading role in the integration of Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Co. (ORPIC) and OOC. However, Dr. Al Huthaili will remain with Oxea via a promotion to its board.

“We would like to thank Dr. Salim Al Huthaili for his outstanding achievements at Oxea and his very open and inspiring manner,” says Dr. Borgmeier.

“As CEO, he has initiated forward-looking strategic projects at Oxea, including the construction of the Propanol II plant REGISTER in Bay City, Texas, our largest investment project to date. We wish him all

the best for the challenges that lie ahead. We look forward to working with him on many other exciting projects— be it in his role as an Oxea board member or as CEO of DRPIC.”

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Pexco Completes Purchase of Tubing Products Company Insultab

exco LLC, a North American specialty plastics extruder, recently completed its acquisition of Insultab, Inc., a manufacturer of heat-shrinkable and non-shrink tubing products based in Woburn, Mass.

Insultab, Inc. has over 50 years of manufacturing experience in providing flexible tubing products, including the Insultab and VinylGuard brands, to a wide variety of industrial and commercial market segments. Operations at their 50,000 square-foot facility include multiple extrusion lines and custom-designed expanders, along with a variety of downstream value-added services.

“Insultab, Inc. is a tremendous addition to our organization,” Pexco Chief Executive Officer Sam Patel says.

“Their wealth of expertise in the realm of heat shrinkable tubing capabilities represents a new direction for Pexco, deepening our ability to offer advanced solutions to customers in new markets. Pexco will continue to build on Insultab’s exceptional reputation with a broader slate of products to better serve their customers.”

Insultab, Inc. has over 50 years of manufacturing expe-

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Qosina Adds Four New Members to Its Board of Directors

osina Corp. announced that Pat Alesia, Robert Beckman, Ari Hoffman, and Bruce Williams have been appointed to its board of directors. The new members will join the existing board of Stuart Herskovitz, Janis Herskovitz, and Scott Herskovitz.

Herskovitz, Qosina’s founder and chairman of the board, says, “We are delighted to welcome these talented leaders to our board of directors. Their combined industry expertise, operational leadership, and proven track record of profitability will help propel Qosina into the next stage of growth.”

Alesia is the former senior vice president, chief financial officer, and chief administrative officer of Griffon Corp., where he was employed for nearly 40 years and then served in a consulting role after his retirement in 2013. He formed Alesia Consultants in 2015, where he utilized his experience in finance, accounting, compliance, risk management, and cyber security as a strategic consultant to other corporate clients.

Beckman has served in corporate and industry leadership for several decades and formed The Channel Group, an advisory business that provides support to global healthcare companies. He was also a founder of BIO and NYBIO, where

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rience in providing flexible tubing products, including the Insultab and VinylGuard brands, to a wide variety of industrial and commercial market segments. Operations at their 50,000 square-foot facility include multiple extrusion lines and custom-designed expanders, along with a variety of downstream value-added services.

Based in Atlanta with multiple plants across the United States and Mexico, Pexco provides standard and specialty parts and components to manufacturers and end-users for a broad range of custom applications, including the specialty industrial, lighting, traffic safety, fence, and filtration industries. Since having been acquired themselves by AEA Investors earlier this year, the purchase of Insultab, Inc. represents Pexco’s second acquisition under its new ownership, having acquired Custom Extrusion, Inc. in August 2018.

“We look forward to the continued pursuit of acquisitions that fit our core objectives, enabling us to enhance our suite of capabilities and expand our geographic footprint as the largest custom extruder in North America,” Patel says.

he served as chairman and in board leadership positions.

Hoffman is currently the chief executive officer of Scotch & Soda USA and has been a fashion industry executive for over 30 years, working at brands like Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Lacroix, St. John, Lacoste, GANT, and Benetton. He has been ranked on the fashion industry’s Power 100 list and served on the retail advisory board of NYC and Co. Williams’s professional background crosses many endproduct markets and a wide variety of product applications, the majority being with healthcare OEMs. His previous roles include engineering manager, vice president of sales and marketing, chief operating officer, and CEO during his tenure with Value Plastics, Inc. “We are confident Qosina will benefit greatly from the guidance of the new members due to their business acumen and expertise,” says Herskovitz. “Their experience across global markets will undoubtedly add a valuable perspective to our board.”

Founded in 1980, Qosina is a global supplier of OEM single-use components to the medical and pharmaceutical industries.

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Event Network, Sand Straw Partner to Supply Reusable Straws Nationwide

vent Network, LLC, has joined with Sand Straw to supply reusable, eco-friendly drinking straws to Event Network’s retail shops throughout the United States.

Both companies are headquartered in the San Diego area.

Sand Straw produces eco-friendly straws made from a lightweight stainless steel that are machine washable and recyclable. Each straw represents a different animal that is affected by ocean pollution, and Sand Straw donates 10 percent of their net profits from each sale to an organization that supports that animal.

Event Network initially introduced the straws in a few stores and quickly sold out, so they rapidly expanded distribution and currently feature Sand Straws in over 60 of their stores throughout the country.

“We are very excited to join with Event Network,” says John Weil, founder of Sand Straw. “We were drawn to them as a company because of our shared goal of reducing our global footprints. We are looking forward to working with

We were drawn to them as a company because of our shared goal of reducing our global footprints.

them to reduce the use of plastic straws and ocean pollution.”

Event Network operates gift shops for aquariums, zoos, botanical gardens, museums, and other cultural attractions in North America. With the popularity of the reusable straws, the company plans on expanding the distribution of the Sand Straw to 100 of their retail outlets by the middle of 2019.

SUSTAINABLE POLYOLEFINS GROWTH: MEETING NEEDS FOR TODAY AND TOMORROW The SPE South Texas Section, the SPE Polymer Modifiers and Additives Division, the Thermoplastic Materials and Foams Division, and the Flexible Packaging Division are organizing technical sessions for the 2019 SPE International Polyolefins Conference (Feb 24-27) in the following areas: ¹ ¹ ¹ ¹ ¹ ¹ ¹ ¹ ¹ ¹

Current Trends in Markets, Technology, and Investments Innovation in Polyolefin Catalysts and Process Advances in Polyolefin Stabilization Modifiers for Polyolefins Polymer Testing and Characterization Flexible Packaging Polyolefins in Automotive Advances in Polyolefin Processing Polyolefin Drainage Applications Sustainability

Due Dates for Submission: Abstracts: October 19, 2018 Papers: January 18, 2019 Presentations: January 18, 2019 Student Posters: January 18, 2019

www.plasticsengineering.org | www.4spe.org | JANUARY 2019 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING |

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INDUSTRY NEWS

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Total Corbion to Open New Bioplastics Plant in Thailand for Polylactic Acid Business

otal Corbion PLA, a 50/50 joint venture between Total and Corbion, has announced the startup of a 75,000 tonnes per year polylactic acid (PLA) bioplastics plant in Rayong, Thailand. The plant has successfully produced Luminy® PLA resins, a bioplastic that contributes towards the circular economy by being 100 percent renewable and biodegradable and by offering multiple environmentally friendly waste solutions. The startup marks a major milestone for both the joint venture and the bioplastics market, as the global production of PLA bioplastics will increase by almost 50 percent to 240,000 tonnes per year with this facility.

“The startup of this state-of-the-art plant establishes Total Corbion PLA as a world-scale PLA bioplastic producer, ideally located to serve growing markets from Asia Pacific to Europe and the Americas,” says Stephane Dion, CEO of the company. “The subsequent increase in global PLA capacity will enable manufacturers and brand owners to move into the circular economy and produce bio-based products with lower carbon footprints and multiple end of life options.”

The new facility will produce a broad range of Luminy PLA resins from renewable, non-GMO sugarcane sourced locally in Thailand, from standard PLA to innovative, highheat PLA and PDLA1 with unique properties. These products will be targeted across a wide range of markets

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PET Resin Producers Appeal U.S. International Trade Commission Injury Determination

n Nov. 30, 2018, three U.S. producers of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin—DAK Americas LLC, Indorama Ventures USA Inc., and Nan Ya Plastics Corp. America—filed an appeal with the U.S. Court of International Trade. The companies, represented by Kelley Drye & Warren LLP, have requested the court's review of the U.S. International Trade Commission's (ITC) recent negative injury determination in the antidumping (AD) investigations on imports of PET resin from Brazil, Indonesia, Korea, Pakistan, and Taiwan. On Sept. 17, 2018, the U.S. Department of Commerce found significant levels of dumping by

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and are specifically optimized for extrusion, thermoforming, injection molding, and fiber spinning processes.

At the end of their useful life, PLA products can be mechanically or chemically recycled, or in some cases composted and returned to the soil as fertilizer.

Total Corbion PLA will leverage on the integration with its lactide plant, the monomer required for the production of PLA, that has simultaneously been expanded to a production capacity of 100,000 tonnes per year. Furthermore, the 1,000 tonnes per year PLA pilot plant, which has been operational since the end of 2017, is located on the same site and will be used for product development.

“I’m very pleased that the joint venture has started-up the second-largest PLA bioplastics plant in the world,” says Bernard Pinatel, president refining and chemicals at Total. “This achievement is fully in line with our strategy to expand in petrochemicals and, at the same time, innovate in low-carbon solutions.”

Tjerk de Ruiter, CEO at Corbion, agrees. “The successful startup of this state-of-the-art PLA plant is good news for consumers and producers who want to make a conscious choice to improve their carbon footprint and make their contribution to a circular economy. A world of innovation and business opportunities has opened up while contributing to a better world.”

producers and exporters in all five countries: 29.68 to 275.89 percent for Brazil, 30.61 to 53.5 percent for Indonesia, 8.23 to 101.41 percent for Korea, 43.81 to 59.92 percent for Pakistan, and 5.16 to 45 percent for Taiwan.

The domestic producers’ appeal charges that several key findings are not supported by the record compiled by the Commission. Further, they allege that the ITC erred by ignoring critical data and failing to address or explain a number of important issues in the case. As such, they maintain that an affirmative injury determination is warranted.

| PLASTICS ENGINEERING | JANUARY 2019 | www.4spe.org | www.plasticsengineering.org

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Gold Medal Group Purchases Apple Valley Waste Services

old Medal Group, a portfolio company of Kinderhook Industries, LLC and its minority partner BioHiTech Global, Inc., completed its acquisition of Apple Valley Waste Services, Inc. Apple Valley is a solid waste company that offers collection, processing, disposal, and recycling services throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. The company services residential and commercial customers in West Virginia under certificates of necessity issued by the Public Service Commission of West Virginia and also provide residential and commercial waste collection services in large metropolitan areas like Baltimore, Washington, and Southern Pennsylvania.

Apple Valley and BioHiTech are also minority owners of Entsorga West Virginia, a company that is currently constructing the first facility in the United States to use Entsorga’s patented HEBioT mechanical biological treatment (MBT) technology. By utilizing the HEBioT MBT system, Entsorga West Virginia will recover biomass, plastics, and other carbon-based materials from the mixed municipal

solid waste stream and convert them into a safe alternative fuel source.

Once operational, the plant will be able to accept up to 120,000 tons per year of inbound municipal solid waste and convert approximately 45 percent into solid recovered fuel. Once the facility is operational, Gold Medal will become a vertically integrated solid waste services provider, as less than 20 percent of the material delivered by Gold Medal to the facility will end up in landfills.

“We are excited to bring Apple Valley into the fold at Gold Medal,” says Michael Schmidt, executive vice president of strategic growth and development of Gold Medal. “Apple Valley has established itself as a leader within its markets, allowing Gold Medal to expand its presence as a leading provider of waste collection, disposal, and recycling services from West Virginia to New Jersey. Furthermore, the Entsorga West Virginia technology exemplifies our commitment to leveraging technology to build more sustainable waste management operations.”

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INDUSTRY NEWS

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Ingevity to Buy the Capa Caprolactone Division of Perstorp Holding AB

ngevity Corp. recently announced it reached an agreement to acquire Perstorp Holding AB’s CapaTM caprolactone division in a cash transaction valued at approximately $675 million. The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, and Ingevity expects to close on the transaction late in the first quarter of 2019. Ingevity will fund the acquisition through a combination of the company’s cash and an existing bank credit facility.

Capa produces and commercializes caprolactone and high-value downstream derivatives, including caprolactone polyols, caprolactone thermoplastics, caprolactone lactides, and hexanediol (HDO).

The division’s products are key components in adhesives, bioplastics, coatings, elastomers, and resins. They operate a manufacturing facility in Warrington, England, that employs approximately 90 people.

Capa expects revenues of approximately $175 million and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of approximately $60 million for the 2018 fiscal year, representing adjusted EBITDA margins in the mid-30s percent range. The acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to Ingevity’s earnings in the first full year. The company intends to include the business in their performance chemicals segment and report revenues as engineered polymers.

“The Capa division is a strong, market-leading busi-

G

GreenMantra Technologies Introduces Polymer Additives to Enhance Performance of Asphalt Roads

reenMantra Technologies, a clean technology company that produces value-added waxes and polymer additives from recycled plastics, recently introduced its line of Ceranovus polymer additives for enhanced asphalt performance in road applications.

Ceranovus A Series polyethylene and polypropylene polymer additives, when incorporated into asphalt at 2 wt%, deliver grade bumping while maintaining low temperature properties. The additives can increase the penetration hardness of the asphalt and provide improved resistance to rutting and deformation, creating stronger,

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ness focused on high-growth end-use applications, and as such is a complementary fit with Ingevity’s business model and capabilities,” says Michael Wilson, Ingevity president and chief executive officer. “Like our current businesses, Capa leverages technology-focused relationships to drive customer intimacy and employs a similar manufacturing process and approach. We are very excited to be adding such a unique business to our company, one that will provide new avenues for strategic growth.

What’s more, Capa’s top-tier financial profile and performance will drive value creation to the benefit of our shareholders.”

“The senior managers and employees of the Capa division are looking forward to joining Ingevity,” says Stephen Lewis, vice president of caprolactones for Perstorp. “We believe Ingevity is a great cultural fit for our people and the combination of these two companies will accelerate our success.”

Ingevity provides specialty chemicals and high-performance carbon materials and technologies. Their products are used in a variety of applications, including asphalt paving, oil exploration and production, agrochemicals, adhesives, lubricants, publication inks, and automotive components that reduce gasoline vapor emissions. Headquartered in North Charleston, S.C., Ingevity operates from 25 locations around the world and employs approximately 1,600 people.

more durable roads. They also blend easily with standard low shear mixing and lower asphalt viscosity for improved processability during application.

Based in Brantford, Ontario, GreenMantra Technologies utilizes a proprietary catalyst and patented process to transform recycled plastics into value-added polyethylene and polypropylene waxes and polymer additives, sold under the Ceranovus brand name. These additives have a broad range of applications in roofing and paving, polymer processing, plastic composites and adhesives, and other industries.

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Polymer Logistics Announces Change in Leadership

olymer Logistics announced Fred Heptinstall stepped down as chief executive officer of Polymer Logistics North America, effective Dec. 31, 2018.

“This is a very exciting time,” says Heptinstall. “It’s with mixed emotions that I announce that my extended contractual commitment to Polymer Logistics is coming to a close. I do so confident in the knowledge that I am leaving them well-positioned for the future, and l am looking forward to continuing projects I put on hold while leading Polymer Logistics through its transformation.”

Gideon Feiner, Polymer Logistics’ chief executive officer, recalls that Heptinstall joined the in July 2016, when the company was launching its new wood-look reusable plastic containers.

“Under his leadership, Polymer Logistics North America has grown its customer base, put together a high-performance organization, and delivered innovative solutions to the marketplace,” Feiner says. “Fred

delivered extraordinary top-line growth and is leaving us with an excellent foundation for continued growth. We thank Fred for his leadership and commitment to Polymer Logistics and wish him continued success. To maximize the developing opportunities and ensure continuity with a seamless transition, I will be personally leading the North America operation over the next several months prior to handing over responsibility to the next Polymer Logistics NA CEO.” Polymer Logistics produces reusable transport packaging and merchandising systems, with the aim of working together from source to store to door to strengthen total supply chain performance. Working closely with manufacturers, suppliers, growers, packers, and retailers alike, they develop sustainable and efficient design and operational solutions, including woodgrain RPCs and display units which bring an upscale, market-fresh look to stores and drive incremental sales and shopper engagement.

www.plasticsengineering.org | www.4spe.org | JANUARY 2019 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING |

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PATENTS

Our Regular Roundup of Notable Patents

By Roger Corneliussen

Molding Complex Composites

U.S. Patent 10,059,078 (Aug. 28, 2018), “Injection Molded Composite Blank and Guide,” William V. Carson, Jr., George Bielert, and Rocco Deangelis (Cutting Dynamics, Inc., Avon, Ohio) replacing heavy metal parts with plastic parts is desirable for many reasons including reduced weight, appearance, and cost. Even so, when the part is a complex or oddly shaped and needs strength, replacement becomes difficult. airplane seats are such problems. carson, Bielert, and Deangelis produced fiber-reinforced complex aircraft seats by molding different parts together such as structural blanks and guides. the structural blank consists of oriented fiber plies in a thermoplastic or thermoset matrix, and the guide consists of random dispersed fibers in a thermoplastic matrix. these are joined by over-molding. the fibers in the structural blank are preferably continuous fibers oriented in different parallel planes. this approach can be adapted to different applications such as aircraft, automobiles, motorcycles, bicycles, trains, or watercraft.

Impregnating Composites

U.S. Patent 10,059,036 (Aug. 28, 2018), “Impregnating Tool and Method of Continuously Impregnating a Reinforcing Fiber Material with a Plastics Material,” Sascha Backhaus, Krzysztof Lenartowicz, and Robert Gaitzsch (Airbus Operations GmbH, Hamburg, Germany) a key to improving high-performance reinforced fiber structures is impregnating highly loaded fiber structures without defects. Backhaus, lenartowicz, and gaitzsch avoided this problem by coating a carbon fiber

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laminate with uncured epoxies. the laminate is then shaped under pressure and heated in an autoclave. at the same time, further impregnation continues during the pressurized shaping process by injecting resins from a reservoir into the changing fiber structure. the final curing results in a complex shape with good stable properties.

Formaldehyde Scavengers

U.S. Patent 10,059,028 (Aug. 28, 2018), “Method for Scavenging Free Formaldehyde using Multifunctional Scavenger for Wooden Composite Products with Urea-Formaldehyde Resin,” Yaolin Zhang, Xiang-Ming Wang, and Zhenhua Gao (FPInnovations, Pointe-Claire, Calif.)

Urea-formaldehyde resins are effective binders for composite boards. However, formaldehyde is toxic and needs to be removed from the final product. Zhang, Wang, and gao removed formaldehyde from a wood composite using a combination of two different formaldehyde scavengers in the face and core layers of the composite. the scavengers are based on ammonium polyphosphates mixed with ammonium, sodium or potassium sulfates. the face layer contains 15 to 20 wt% of the scavenger mixture while the core contains only 0.1 to 1 wt% of the scavenger.

Porous Carbon Particles

U.S. Patent 10,058,845 (Aug. 28, 2018), “Porous Carbon Particles and Preparation Method thereof,” Jun Hyuk Moon and Hae Min Yoo (Sogang University, Seoul, South Korea) Porous carbon particles are widely used because of excellent surface properties, ionic conductivity, corrosion resistance, and low production costs. the porous

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carbon particles vary considerably in efficiency depending on pore distribution, size and connectivity. this is especially true for fuel cell applications. Moon and Yoo produced a porous carbon particle by polymerizing an aromatic monomer to form a polymer particle followed by cross-linking and coating with silica. these coated particles are then carbonized. the internal pore structure is determined by the thickness of the silica coating before carbonizing.

Polyurethane Composites

U.S. Patent 10,059,828 (Aug. 28, 2018), “Highly Filled Polyurethane Compositions,” Dominik Huber and Fabian Real (Sika Technology AG, Baar, Switzerland) Moisture-curing polyurethanes are especially useful for sealants and coatings enabling one pack composition without needing further mixing. High filler content and long-term storage is a problem.

Huber and Real developed a moisture-curing composition containing 5 to 20 wt% of an isocyanate-functional polymer, 7 to 20 wt% of rapeseed oil methyl ester and 70 to 88 wt% of a filler. suitable metal catalysts are compounds of bismuth or tin. compositions are effective adhesives, sealants, and coatings.

Implants

U.S. Patent 10,058,433 (Aug. 28, 2018), “Expandable Implant,” Beat Lechmann, Dominique Burkard, and Michael Schwager (Depuy Synthes Products, Inc., Raynham, Mass.) there are many situations in which there is a need to replace, augment, or support bone sections in humans or animals. it is desirable to provide an expandable implant to be inserted into a small bony space. lechmann, Burkard, and schwager developed an expandable implant for inserting within a vertebra and then expanding. inflatable balloons are used to expand the implants with a catheter. the material contacting the bone may be any biocompatible material including metals or ceramics or high-performance plastics such as fiber-reinforced plastics. the balloons may be expanded and the space filled with another biocompatible material such as bone cement or hydrogel.

Controlling Block Copolymers

U.S. Patent 10,066,040 (September 4, 2018), “Additives for Orientation Control of Block Copolymers,” Joy Cheng, Anindarupa Chunder, Daniel P. Sanders and Ankit Vora (International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, New York) Block copolymers find many applications in solution, bulk, and thin films. thin-film applications are attractive for nanolithography and patterning due to their ability to form periodic 5 to 50 nm self-assembled structures. cheng et al. developed a film based on polycarbonate/polystyrene block copolymers. to enhance structure formation, some blocks are fluorinated and a non-fluorinated unit with least one pendent hydroxyl group for crosslinking and stability. the surface in contact with an atmosphere, induces selfassembly to form a lamellar or cylindrical structure perpendicular to the underlying surface. Other copolymers can form ordered arrays of spheres, cylinders, gyroids, or lamellae.

Nanofibers

U.S. Patent 10,066,323 (Sept. 4, 2018), “Electrospun Cationic Nanofibers and Methods of Making and Using the same,” Bruce A. Sullenger, Hemraj A. Juwarker, Kam W. Leong, and Jennifer Gamboa Jackman (Duke University, Durham, N.C.) Nucleic acids are released from dead and dying cells forming residues which can generate inflammatory signals and can activate multiple Pattern Recognition Receptors leading to a number of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. sullenger et al. produced polycationic nanofibers by grafting cationic polymers onto electrospun neutral nanofibers as well as polycationic nanofibers. these nanofibers can bind and inactivate the noxious nucleic acids. in addition, these nanofibers can reduce inflammation, adsorb anionic compounds such as heparin or nucleic acids, inhibit the growth of microbes or the formation of a biofilm. the polycationic nanofibers may be in a mesh and may be included in a medical device, wound dressing or bandage.

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PATENTS

Fasteners

U.S. Patent 10,070,704 (Sept. 11, 2018), “Loop-Forming Closure Element for Hook-and-Loop Fasteners and Method for the Production of a Closure Element,” Georg Baldauf and Dieter Homoelle (Mondi Gronau GmbH, Gronau, Germany) Hook-and-loop fasteners used in diapers need to be attractive and have a pleasant feel with easy, low-cost assembly. Baldauf and Homoelle produced loop-forming closure elements for hook-and-loop fasteners by embossing a spun bonded fabric containing carded staple fibers. the intertwined continuous and staple fibers are intertwined and form a common nonwoven material layer as a fiber blend. the nonwoven material has sufficient tensile strength and a sufficient number of free loops engaging the typical gripping hooks.

Coextrusion

U.S. Patent 10,071,518 (Sept. 11, 2018), “Method for Interdigitated Finger Coextrusion,” David K. Fork and Karl Littau (Palo Alto Research Center Inc., Palo Alto, Calif.) numerous devices such as batteries, fuel cells, and electrical interconnects require tightly spaced interdigitated stripes of dissimilar materials. a “stripe” is a thin line of a material with very little mixing with neighboring stripes. For example, an electrode structure may involve as many as 60,000 interleaved fingers of dissimilar materials. Fork and littau developed a method for depositing a structure comprising interdigitated materials by dividing and merging flows of at least two materials. this process of dividing, recombining, and merging is continued until the desired number of stripes is reached.

Microwave Processing

U.S. Patent 10,071,521 (Sept. 11, 2018), “Method and Apparatus for Processing Dielectric Materials Using Microwave Energy,” Xing Chen, David Lam, Kevin W. Wenzel, and Ilya Pokidov (MKS Instruments, Inc., Andover, Mass.) in blow molding polyethylene terephthalate bottles, preforms are first heated and subsequently molded (e.g., via injection molding or stretching blow molding) to form containers of the desired shapes. the

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heating operation is usually performed with infrared radiation or near-infrared radiation with 10 to 15 percent efficiency and heating times of minutes.

Microwave radiation ha 30 to 50 percent efficiency. chen et al. develop methods for heating a dielectric preform material in which the preform is place in a microwave cavity. the temperature at a strategic point of the preform is monitored and the profile of the microwave heating automatically adjusts to keep the desired temperature profile.

Electronic Materials

U.S. Patent 10,077,385 (Sept. 18, 2018), “Resin Composition and Electronic Component,” Kotomi Suzuki, Yuji Ichimura and Yuko Nakamata (Fuji Electric Co., Ltd., Japan) thermosetting resin compositions, such as an epoxy resin containing an inorganic filler, are used in semiconductor packages as a sealant. However, minute peeling of the interface reduces power cycling capability and durability. suzuki, ichimura, and nakamata developed a resin material with a high glass transition temperature which is highly adhesive to metals or ceramics. the resin composition includes a thermosetting base resin, a thermoplastic resin powder, a curing agent, and an inorganic filler. the thermoplastic powder should be 5 to 50 parts polyamide-imide resins per 100 parts of mass of the thermoset base.

Microfibers

U.S. Patent 10,077,509 (Sept. 18, 2018), “Production of Micro- and Nano-Fibers by Continuous Microlayer Coextrusion,” Eric Baer, Deepak Langhe, and Jia Wang (Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio) Polymer fibers can be used in different applications, such as membranes and reinforcing materials, and the demand is growing for different fibers with complex compositions. Electrospinning can produce such fibers but is severely limited for large-scale production. Baer, langhe, and Wang developed a multilayered polymer composite film by coextrusion with at least two dies. the resulting film is then processed by stretch and

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compression to form multicomponent fibers. Examples include polyethylene oxide/polycaprolactone fibers and polyamide/polyethylene terephthalate fibers.

posite fiber components for a wind turbine rotor blade based on interlocking sandwich cores. These cores are encased in fiber-reinforcing, binding laminates.

Rotor Blades

U.S. Patent 10,066,491 (Sept. 4, 2018), “Fibre Composite Component for the Rotor Blade of a Wind Turbine,” Enno Eyb, Urs Bendel, and Hendrik Mester (Senvion SE, Hamburg, Germany) Rotor blades for wind power plants consist of individual composite parts glued together to form the blade.

The result is often a low resistance to flexural or bending loads leading to delamination and sudden catastrophic failure. Eyb, Bendel and Mester developed com-

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Roger Corneliussen is Professor Emeritus of Materials Engineering of Drexel University in Philadelphia. He has been an SPE member since 1962 and an active member of the Philadelphia Section, serving as president and national councilman for several years.

The above patents are selected from the 100 to 400 plastics-related patents found by reviewing 3,000 to 7,000 U.S. patents published each Tuesday. Readers can review the complete list of plastics-related patents by week at www.plasticspatents.com.

Featuring two days of presentations, case studies, and exhibits, related to polymers, pipe, and fittings for applications in water/sewer/gas for industrial, commercial, municipal, and residential infrastructure. Exhibits, demonstrations, and networking opportunities over the two days will fully immerse attendees in the latest developments for plastic pipe and fittings.

Interested attendees can choose an alternative education track on the first day, earning Professional Development Hours (PDH) from classroom, demonstrations, and hands-on training.

Registration is underway!

• Call for papers runs through January 30, 2019.

• Exhibitor space and sponsorship opportunities are also available.

Visit www.4spe.org/pipe19 for more information. www.plasticsengineering.org | www.4spe.org | JANUARY 2019 | PlASTiCS ENgiNEERiNg |

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EVENTS

SPE & PARTNERED CONFERENCES 2019

Feb. 4 – A Look to the Future of Medical Device Materials & Processing sheraton Park Hotel at the anaheim resort anaheim, calif. contact: ned leMaster tel: 608-402-3268 Email: ned.e.lemaster@dupont.com Web: www.4spe.org/Events

Feb. 19-20 – Thermoset Topical Conference 2019 Belmond charleston Place Hotel charleston, s.c. contact: len nunnery tel: 630-777-6656 Email: len@lennunnery.com Web: https://spethermosets.org/

Feb. 24-27 – 2019 SPE International Polyolefins Conference Hilton Hotel north Houston, texas contact: robert Portnoy tel: 713-829-8799 Email: rportnoy@portnoytechnicalservices.com Web: https://spe-stx.org/international-polyolefinsconference/ March 18-21 – ANTEC 2019 Marriott renaissance center Detroit, Mich. contact: scott Marko tel: 203-740-5442 Email: smarko@4spe.org Web: www.4spe.org/antec

March 27-29 – European Additives & Colors Conference le Méridien Frankfurt Frankfurt, germany contact: Kathrin lehmann tel: 0049-1752922796 Email: kathrin.lehmann@evonik.com Web: www.4spe.org/Events

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april 3-5 – 2019 SPE TPO Shanghai shanghai Marriott city center shanghai, china contact: sassan tarahomi tel: 201-887-7635 Email: starahomi@comcast.net

april 16-17 – Plastic Pipe & Fittings Conference Philadelphia Marriott West West conshohocken, Pa. contact: James Mason tel: 610-816-5720 Email: jim.mason@mmd-llc.com Web: www.4spe.org/Events May 1-2 – SPE Extrusion Minitec+ Polymers center for Excellence charlotte, n.c. contact: charlie Martin tel: cmartin@leistritz-extrusion.com Web: www.4spe.org/Events

May 1-2 – SPE Middle East Packaging Conference Middle East section and sPE Headquarters Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain contact: raed alZubi Email: ralzubi@4spe.org Web: www.4spe.org/Events May 7 – AUTO EPCON 2019 Detroit-troy Marriott troy, Mich. contact: gary Kogowski tel: 248-797-7433 Email: gKogowski@ravagoamericas.com Web: www.4spe.org/Events

June 3-4 – SPE Decorating & Assembly Division TopCon and IMDA Symposium Marriott conference center-cool springs Franklin, tenn. contact: Jeff Peterson tel: 785-271-5801 Email: jeff@petersonpublicatons.com Web: www.4spe.org/Events

June 11-12 – 2019 SPE Rotomolding Conference cleveland Marriott East

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cleveland, Ohio contact: larry Whittemore tel: 800-227-5538, ext. 3118 Email: lWhittemore@stonersolutions.com Web: www.4spe.org/Events

sept. 4-6 – SPE Automotive Composites Conference & Exhibition (ACCE) the Diamond Banquet & conference at the suburban collection showplace Novi, Mich. contact: Alper Kiziltas, Matt carroll tel: 201-675-8361 Email: akizilt1@ford.com, matt.carroll@gm.com Web: www.4spe.org/Events

sept. 9-11 – 2019 SPE Thermoforming Conference® Wisconsin center and the Hilton Milwaukee city center Hotel Milwaukee, Wis. contact: Brian Winton/steve Zamprelli tel: 989-435-7741 ext. 2232; 516-334-2300 Email: bwinton@lyleindustries.com; s.zamprelli@formedplastics.com Web: www.4spe.org/Events

sept. 16-18 – Annual Blow Molding Conference 2019 crowne Plaza Ravinia Atlanta, ga. contact: Ron Puvak tel: 419-867-5400 Email: r.puvak@plastictechnologies.com Web: www.4spe.org/Events

sept. 16-20 – FOAMS 2019: Advances in Foam Materials & Technology University of Valladolid Valladolid, spain contact: Miguel Angel Rodriguez-Perez tel: '+34 655138399 Email: marrod@fmc.uva.es Web: www.4spe.org/Events

sept. 23-25 – CAD RETECH Color and Appearance Conference

Renaissance cleveland Hotel cleveland, Ohio contact: steve Esker tel: 614-679-4677 Email: steve@paramountcolor.com Web: www.4spe.org/Events

Oct. 1-3 - Vinyltec® 2019 Hilton Fairlawn Hotel Akron, Ohio contact: Viv Milpass tel: 330-342-1120 Email: vivian.malpass@tek-mark.com Web: www.4spe.org/Events

Oct. 6-9 - Automotive TPO Marriott Hotel troy, Mich. contact: sassan tarahomi Email: starahomi@iacgroup.com Web: www.4spe.org/Events

Other Industry Events Jan. 5-8 – ARABPLAST 2019 Dubai World trade center Dubai, United Arab Emirates Web: https://arabplast.info/index

Feb. 5-7 – PLASTEC West Anaheim convention center Anaheim, calif.

Web: http://plastecwest.plasticstoday.com/

March 5-7 - Global Automotive Congress “ Plasticsin-Motion” sheraton charlotte Hotel charlotte, N.c. contact: Heather Dib tel: 586-737-7373 Email: ecm@executive-conference.com Web: http://executive-conference.com

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EDITORIAL INDEX 3D Hubs ........................................................23, 45 3D Systems ....................................................23-26 7-Eleven ..............................................................11 Aberdeen Consulting ....................................45-46 Airbus Operations GmbH ....................................70 Amazon ..............................................................26 American Chemistry Council ................................60 Americhem Inc. ....................................................50 Apple Valley Waste Services Inc. ..........................67 Arburg ..............................................28, 31, 32-33 ASC Inc. ..............................................................62 Asian Packaging Federation ..................................8 BASF SA................................................................47 BioHiTech Global Inc. ..........................................67 Brightmark Energy ..............................................61 Cadence Innovation..............................................62 Canuck Compounders Inc. ..................................49 Carbon Inc. ..........................................................49 Carolina Plastics Recruiters ..................................45 Case Western Reserve Unversity ..........................72 Composite Access Products ..........................56-58 Conair Group ......................................................29 Covestro ........................................................42, 47 Cutting Dynamics Inc. ..........................................70 DAK Americas LLC ..............................................66 Davalor Mold Corp. ..............................................62 Dayco Products LLC ......................................48, 53 Depuy Synthes Products Inc. ................................71 Der Grüne Punkt––Duales System Deutschland ..14, 16 DIC Packaging Solutions ......................................11 DNP......................................................................11 Dow Chemical Co.................................................60 DSM ....................................................................47 Duke University....................................................71 DuPont ..........................................................47, 62 DuPont Automotive..............................................48 Duqm Refinery ....................................................63 Engel........................................................31-33, 35 Entsorga West Virginia ........................................67 EPEA Switzerland GmbH ......................................14 Epicor ..................................................................46 Equipment Finance Group....................................33 Event Network LLC ..............................................65 Fanuc ..................................................................34 Faurecia Interior Systems ....................................53 Fictiv ....................................................................47 Ford Motor Co. ..............................................48, 60 FPInnovations ......................................................70 Fuji Electric Co. Ltd. ............................................72 General Electric Plastics........................................62 General Motors Co. ..............................................49 Gold Medal Group ................................................67 GreenMantra Technologies ..................................68 Grupo Antolin ......................................................52 Hexcel Corp. ........................................................62 Hyundai Motor Co. ........................................52, 54 IBM Corp. ............................................................71 IKEA ......................................................................8 Indian Institute of Technology ............................60 Indian National Academy of Engineering..............60 Indorama Ventures USA Inc. ................................66 Ingevity Corp. ......................................................68 Institute for Recyclability and Product Responsibility....15 Insultab Inc. ........................................................64

International Automotive Components Group......48 International Mold Steel Inc. ................................49 ITW Deltar Fasteners ............................................53 Japan Package Design Association ......................11 Japan Packaging Institute ......................................8 Japan Polypropylene Corp. ....................................8 Kald Tool & Die Inc. ............................................48 Kao Corp. ............................................................11 Kinderhook Industries LLC ..................................67 Kyodo Printing Co. Ltd. ........................................11 MacLean-Fogg Co. ..............................................48 Magna Exteriors ..................................................53 Manufacturers Productivity and Innovation Alliance ..44 McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry ............15 Michigan Manufacturing Center ..........................43 Mitsubishi Chemical ..............................................8 MKS Instruments Inc. ..........................................72 Mondi Gronau GmbH ..........................................72 Mondi Group........................................................14 Nan Ya Plastics Corp. America ............................66 Oman Oil Co. S.A.O.C. ........................................63 Omya Inc. ......................................................58-59 Owens Corning ....................................................47 Oxea ....................................................................63 Palo Alto Research Center Inc. ............................72 Pensa ..................................................................22 Perstorp Holding AB ............................................68 Petroleum Industries Co.......................................63 Pexco LLC ............................................................64 Polymer Logistics ................................................69 Power Practical ....................................................22 PTC ......................................................................26 PUMA ..............................................................8, 12 Qosina Corp.........................................................64 RES Polyflow ........................................................61 Rohner Textil AG..................................................15 SABIC ............................................................20-21 Sand Straw ..........................................................65 Senvion SE............................................................73 Seven & I Holdings ..............................................11 Shape Corp. ........................................................53 Shikoko Kakoki Co. Ltd. ........................................9 Sika Technology AG ............................................71 Sogang University ................................................70 SOLIDWORKS........................................................26 SPE Automotive Division ................................48-55 Stanley Black & Decker ........................................62 Stratasys Ltd. ................................................49, 53 Summit Polymers ................................................53 Sun A. Kaken........................................................11 Texas Tech University ..........................................60 Teysha Technologies................................................

TMD-Grammer AG Group ....................................53 Toly Group ..........................................................22 Tomowel ..............................................................11 Total Corbion PLA ................................................66 Toyo Seikan ........................................................10 Trinseo S.A...........................................................55 Ultimaker ......................................................46-47 Werner & Mertz GmbH ........................................14 Wittmann Battenfeld ......................................29, 34 Yura Corp.............................................................53 Zila Works LLC ....................................................58

EDITORIAL STAFF Editor-in-Chief Sheri Kasprzak

Contributing Editors Dr. Roger Corneliussen Jon Evans Dr. Robin Kent

Marketing & Communications Sue Wojnicki

Branding & Design Valaree DonFrancesco Ryan Foster Art Director Gerry Mercieca

Publisher Lisa Dionne Lento

2018–2019 EXECUTIVE BOARD

President Brian Grady

CEO, SPE Patrick Farrey

President-elect Brian Landes

Vice President - Business & Finance Jeremy Dworshak Vice President - Divisions Jason Lyons Vice President - Events Jaime Gómez

Vice President - Marketing & Communications Conor Carlin Vice President - Sections Scott Eastman

Vice President - Young Professionals Lynzie Nebel Vice President - Technology & Education Raymond Pearson 2017–2018 President Raed AlZubi

Plastics Engineering (ISSN 0091-9578) is published monthly, except bimonthly in July/August and November/December, by Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., a Wiley Company, 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030 USA. The magazine is compiled and edited by the Society of Plastics Engineers, Editorial and Business Office, 6 Berkshire Blvd., Suite 306, Bethel, CT 06801 USA. Telephone +1 203-775-0471, Fax +1 203-775-8490. SPE Home Page: www.4spe.org.

Communications should be sent to the Editor. Send subscription orders and claims for non-receipt to Wiley Subscription Services at the Wiley address given above. SPE members receive the magazine as a benefit of membership. Subscription rate for nonmembers is $233 for 1 year; add $100 per year for subscriptions outside North America. Single-issue price is $20. Plastics Engineering is printed by Dartmouth Printing Co., a Sheridan Group Company. Copyright 2018 by the Society of Plastics Engineers, Inc. Postmaster: Send all address changes to Plastics Engineering, John Wiley & Sons Inc., C/O The Sheridan Press, PO Box 465, Hanover, PA 17331 USA. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Plastics Engineering is indexed by Engineering Information Inc. Neither Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., nor the Society of Plastics Engineers, nor Plastics Engineering is responsible for opinions or statements of facts expressed by contributors or advertisers, either in the articles published in Plastics Engineering or in the technical papers that are presented at the meetings of the Society. Editorials do not necessarily represent the official policy of Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., or the Society. Display and classified advertisements are included as an educational service to readers of Plastics Engineering. Advertising appearing in Plastics Engineering is not to be taken as an endorsement, Printed in the U.S.A. expressed or implied, of the respective company’s processes, products, or services represented in the ad.

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ADVERTISERS INDEX www.aaronequipment.com/sniff ............76

Aaron Equipment Company

Aero Rubber Company, Inc. www.aerorubber.com................................77 www.allgrind.com ......................................................77

Allgrind Plastics Ampacet

Email: jserbaroli@ampacet.com ........................................57, 59 www.azic.com ....................................................13

Arizona Instruments

Atlas Material Testing Solutions

www.cwbrabender.com ................................................35

Brabender CWB

www.ewikonusa.com ................Cover 4

Ewikon Molding Technologies Growing Your Business ID Additives IMS Company

Email: respinosa@wiley.com ..........................61

www.iDadditives.com ..........................................................3 www.imscompany.com/G27 ..................................Cover 3

J.P. Curilla Associates

Email: jpcecl@aol.com ......................................76

www.jswamerica.com ..............................Cover 2, 77

Japan Steel Works

John Anderson & Associates Plastic Flow

www.plasticsjobsearch.com ..................76

www.plasticflow.com ..........................................................76

Polyhedron Laboratories, Inc.

Process Design & Technologies Rheo-Plast Associates Inc. Roscom Inc.

www.atlas-mts.com ........................19

www.polyhedronlab.com ....................76 www.processdesigntech.com ..........76

www.rheoplastusa.com..............................76

www.roscom.net ................................................................77 www.sam-na.com • Email: info@sam-na.com......76

SAM North America

SPE ANTEC Registration is Open

www.4spe.org/antec ......................27

www.4spe.org/vote ................................................49

SPE Elections 2019

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Global Sciences Sales Director Tel: +1-716-587-2181

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SPE International Polyolefins Conference www.4spe.org/polyolefins ....65 SPE Join Today

SPE Membership

www.4spe.org ......................................................................41

SPE Plastec West

www.4spe.org ............................................................79 www.PlastecWest.com/SPE ........................................63

SPE Plastics Pipe Conference SPE Salary Survey

www.spe.org/2019salarysurvey ..............................67

SPE Thermoset Topcon Tangram Technology

80

www.4spe.org/pipe19 ..........................73

www.spethermosets.org..................................69

www.tangram.co.uk ............................................77

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