Progress slow in setting international standards for injection presses

ORLANDO, FLA. — The slow process of setting international standards for injection molding machines is moving forward, said VDMA, the German Engineering Federation, and the U.S.-based Society of the Plastics Industry Inc.

A risk assessment of injection molding machines jointly commissioned by SPI and VDMA is due out in the coming months and will indicate that an ISO safety standard can be achieved without the required addition of a mechanical device or jambar, said SPI President and CEO Bill Carteaux.

“Our collaborative efforts with VDMA, supported by the results of the risk assessment will enable greater harmonization of plastics machinery standards between the United States and Europe and will help create superior interoperability, efficiency and productivity for our industries in the global market,” Carteaux said at NPE 2015.

In addition to ruling out a jambar requirement, the risk assessment will be an important step in helping VDMA and SPI develop more consistent industry standards based on more common understanding of safety risks and other issues, Carteaux said

While experts say the finalization of an ISO standard — a process that requires far more than just the agreement of the two trade groups — is still years away, Carteaux said standardization efforts have already come a long way since his first forays in attempting to export machinery around the world from Indiana in 1991.

“Cooperation at the level of ISO/TC 270/WG 1 for injection molding machines represents a key milestone for us,” said Thorsten Kühmann, VDMA managing director. “Our advanced industries are very export-oriented and we need a level playing field.”

The two groups have spent three years working together on setting the same technical standards for plastics machinery, particularly on safety matters, on a global scale. Kühmann called the standardization efforts “big work that has to be done with small steps.”

SPI and VDMA have also spent the last several years joining forces on sustainability issues around the world and are continuing their cooperative effort at the show, highlighting the efforts of Blue Competence member companies in recycling, lightweighting and material handling.

Formed in 2012, VDMA's Blue Competence marketing group is an alliance of more than 400 companies — nearly 40 from the German engineering group's Plastics and Rubber Machinery alliance, of which 23 exhibited injection molding machinery at NPE 2015.