The following briefs were collect by Frank Antosiewicz at MassPlastics '06, held Oct. 25-26 in Fitchburg, Mass.
Canon to offer outside mold making
Canon Virginia Inc. has been doing its own mold making for years, but now its North American operations would like to see the company's experience used for products that do not carry its brand name.
``Canon is strong in the market globally and we want to leverage and expand sales. We'd like to leverage our manufacturing know-how and do more in-house for others,'' said Brian Strangways, director of business development and strategic planning at Canon Virginia in Newport News, Va.
He said proprietary software enables Canon to use a seamless flow of design data throughout the process to provide quicker turnaround time. The software can be used for simple molds or complex, tight-tolerance molds.
The company is targeting power equipment, closures for food and beverages, and the automotive market, and more areas are under consideration.
He said Canon Virginia has 30 mold makers and will be adding to that number. Overall, the company has three facilities in Virginia totaling 1.2 million square feet. Its 1,300 employees do everything from mold making to injection molding to product recycling.
The company also will do contract manufacturing and reverse logistics for customers.
Dri-Air Industries unveils hopper bank
Dri-Air Industries Inc. of East Windsor, Conn., unveiled a new compressed-air hopper bank at MassPlastics. The self-contained drying system allows for pre-drying of materials for fast changeover.
The air hopper system on display had three stainless-steel insulated drying hoppers, and each hopper had its own heater and temperature control. It allows different materials to dry at different temperatures simultaneously. It operated with one power and air connection.
Manny Salinas, regional sales manager of Dri-Air, said the equipment was designed to help research and development facilities, laboratories and custom molders with small throughput needs.
D&A shows Demag all-electric press
D&A Associates of Blackstone, Mass., partnered with Demag Plastics Group of Strongsville, Ohio, to showcase a 110 IntElect Services all-electric injection molding press. It featured direct-drive technology with water-cooled servodrives.
Tom Tomaszek, D&A Associates president, has 33 years of experience in plastics and is representing Demag in New England and eastern New York.