PME Fluidtec touts water-assist molding
PME Fluidtec GmbH is marketing a way to use water-assist injection molding to make two-part products like automotive tubing.
Water injection makes hollow parts at reduced cycle times. The tubing has a glass-filled nylon exterior and polypropylene interior.
There is no risk that glass fibers or other fillers will be washed out of the plastic matrix, according to the company. Another advantage of water-assist molding: the part walls are uniform and thinner than automotive tubing made by other processes, the company said.
PME Fluidtec is based in Kappel-Grafenhausen, Germany. The company is represented in the United States by Gain Technologies Inc. of Shelby Township, Mich., near Macomb.
Tel. 586-532-5400, fax 586-665-4246, e-mail [email protected]
Co-rotating extruders feature high outputs
Maris America Corp. has introduced two new co-rotating twin-screw extruders from Italian parent Maris SpA, both offering high output, thanks to a larger free-volume capacity.
The HS extruder builds on the performance of the company's high-torque, high-speed HT extruder. The HS has an increased ratio of the barrel diameter to the inside root diameter of the screw, or the D/d ratio, of 1.65, with a maximum screw speed of 1,300 revolutions per minute. The higher D/d ratio means a bigger free volume, boosting output.
Maris said the torque on the HS was increased more than 20 percent over the HT series. The machines are geared toward advanced compounding and reactive extrusion.
The other new compounding extruder, the VM, has an even larger D/d ratio of 1.78, and a maximum screw speed of 1,800 rpm. Maris said the new design improves performance in processes that require large quantities of soft fillers, which have a low bulk density; require a longer residence time; or, with reactive extrusion, require the removal of volatile components such as solvents and monomers.
Maris SpA is in Turin, Italy. Maris America is in Dover, Del.
Tel. 302-678-1705, fax 302-678-1707, e-mail [email protected]
Maplan VSI die head offers uniform melt
American Maplan Corp. said its VSI die head for polyolefin pipe is based on a two-stage distribution concept, since it combines a threaded, kneading spiral mandrel with a spiral lattice basket.
Maplan of McPherson, Kan., claims the combination of the two elements produces a more homogeneous melt and offers better control of wall thickness.
The two-stage process begins with coarse distribution of the mold material in a spiral mandrel with a simple, smoothing thread. In the second stage, the lattice basket gives fine distribution.
The two stages produce a gentle, homogeneous melt. The process eliminates dead zones, reduces back pressure, lowers melt temperatures and speeds color changes, the company said.
Maplan also has enlarged the die's processing window.
VSI die heads can produce pipe in diameters of 1.28 inches to 64 inches, at rates of 770-2,640 pounds an hour.
Tel. 620-241-6843, fax 620-241-0207, e-mail [email protected]
Reifenhäuser sells big ag-film machine
Troisdorf, Germany-based Reifenhäuser GmbH & Co. claims it has made and sold the largest blown film line for agricultural films, a major market for the firm.
Reifenhäuser sold the line to Grupo Armando Alvarez SA of Cantabria, Spain. The three-layer line has two extruders with 150-millimeter screw diameters and one extruder with a 200mm screw. Each extruder has its own gravimetric dosing system.
The line can crank out film with a circumference of up to 61 feet, at a rate of 4,840 pounds an hour.
The line also features internal bubble cooling on its 88-inch-diameter die. The film guiding system has four ultrasonic sensing arms, a collapsible assembly and a side-gusseting unit.
Reifenhäuser now has sold 10 lines in Spain to make wide agricultural film.
The company's U.S. headquarters, Reifhauser Inc., is in Ipswich, Mass.
Tel. 978-412-9700, fax 978-412-9715, e-mail [email protected]
MacroEye product monitors via camera
Macro Engineering & Technology Inc. of Mississauga, Ontario, said its exchangeable extruder feed section, or Exxfeed, allows MacroPlast extruders to be converted from a smooth bore to a grooved feed, or vice versa, in three to five hours.
The company runs a MacroPlast extruder with an Exxfeed section in its laboratory.
In other news, Macro Engineering is selling a camera monitoring system, MacroEye.
Customers can view their film production lines from anywhere in the world, allowing remote troubleshooting. As many as eight stationary cameras give full-motion, real-time video. The cameras show areas that normally are hard to see.
``Line startup and production will be simplified, as operators will have the ability to see all the critical areas of the line in real-time video from Macro's Supercom control panel,'' said Macro President Mirek Planeta.
Tel. 905-507-9000, fax 905-507-3000, e-mail [email protected]
Xaloy additive system joins its Nano Mixer
Pulaski, Va.-based Xaloy Inc. has joined the nanotechnology parade by introducing the Nano Mixer screw.
Xaloy also is offering its Liquid Additive System, which pumps liquid color into a groove cut into the barrel.
The Nano Mixer breaks up colorant, filler and nanoclay agglomerates into fine particles, thoroughly dispersing them throughout the melt, the firm said. The patented geometry includes a section with multiple inlets and outlets that divide, reorient and recombine the melt stream.
Beyond nanomaterials, Xaloy has discovered the Nano Mixer works well with injection molding thermoplastic olefin bumper fascia, according to Chuck Levinger, regional sales manager based in New Castle, Pa.
The screw can be used for injection molding, pipe and profile extrusion, wire and cable, blow molding and blown film.
In liquid color technology, Xaloy is offering the LAS 3000 and LAS 4000. Color is introduced into a groove cut into the bottom of the barrel, after the plastic moves through the screw's feed section. The pellets fall into the groove and are coated in color.
Tel. 800-773-1356, fax 540-994-2325.
Extol begins offering plastic welding units
Extol Inc., a custom machinery and automated assembly maker and systems integrator in Zeeland, Mich., has entered the market for welding machines for joining plastic parts, with a line of standard products.
Extol has set up a Plastics Equipment Group. According to the group's national sales manager, Bill Reed, the majority of the company's custom projects have involved plastics manufacturing. Extol will use its experience in high-speed automation to offer complete systems, including the welding and other equipment, for inspection and assembly, he said.
Extol debuted its welders at NPE 2006: the 1524 Rapid Conductor hot-plate welder, the Vortex spin welder and InfraStake equipment, which uses an Extol-patented process that welds with focused infrared energy as a clean, consistent replacement for the heat-staking process.
The company also sells ultrasonic welders from Hermann Ultrasonics Inc.
Extol is owned by brothers Ross and Chip VanKlompenberg. The 80-employee company operates in a 47,000-square-foot plant. Its background is in custom equipment for automotive, office furniture, medical and consumer products. Reed said automotive accounts for about 80 percent of Extol's business.
Tel. 616-748-5053, fax 616-748-0555, e-mail [email protected]