Product sustainability, disruption key topics for in-mold decorators

San Diego — The In-Mold Decorating Association dealt with issues including disruption, product sustainability, workforce changes, best practices and technology advances during its annual symposium.

In the keynote address, a packaging supply chain strategy consultant pondered about "where digital will take us" and whether "disruptive innovation" is a dirty word.

Kevin Karstedt, CEO of Karstedt Partners LLC in Eden, N.Y., listed historical disruptions and discussed the "top three lessons learned."

First, "watch for digital print growth in new, parallel markets" with the possibility the "old guard" may never see it coming.

Second, "learn from early digital printing deployment [and] be prepared to challenge the status quo."

Third, "watch the value-chain implications" to see if "digital technology will ultimately be right for the mass market."

Karstedt cited possible "futuristic inventions" as identified by the Institute for the Future of Palo Alto, Calif.: longevity escape velocity therapy potentially extending life to 1,000 years, gender-swapping pills, brain implants by 2026, an educational currency similar to Bitcoin and augmented reality that might make a public speaker more effective.

"The value chain is the real control valve on adoption of digital printing technology in digital applications," Karstedt said.

IMDA held its 2018 symposium Nov. 11-13 in San Diego with about 97 people attending.

IMDA's 2019 symposium will take place June 2-4 in Franklin, Tenn., in conjunction with the Society of Plastics Engineers' decorating and assembly division's Topical Conference, known as TopCon.

The megatrend for sustainability is not going away with major brands Unilever and Nestlé setting 2025 goals, said Jon Knight, vice president and general manager of Innovia Films America Inc. in Winston-Salem, N.C.

The growing transition of containers to space-saving square tubs from round forms poses challenges for in-mold labeling because some materials are not recyclable, he noted, although "shrink polyolefin is in development for recycling."

Knight said that in the past, "the only sustainable solutions were those that saved money; now, maybe people will pay more" for packaging upgrades.

The dairy industry's margarine and butter segments "have been the most successful in saving shelf space," with revamped shapes with soup, potato salad and cleaning product packaging appearing, he said.

The U.S. market, however, is "lagging behind the rest of the world and Canada" on ice cream and yogurt packaging changes and behind the rest of the world on large buckets for paint and other materials, Knight said.

Workforce changes encourage more use of robots, said Philip Hollingsworth, senior product support engineer in Irvine, Calif., with Universal Robots USA Inc.

Hollingsworth cited rising minimum wages and training costs, skills shortage, high turnover, global competition and the reshoring movement.

Hollingsworth discussed the advantages of collaborative robots vs. the traditional industrial robot in a secure cage.

"A cobot can be used around and with people," he said. "The hardware cost is the same, but the infrastructure cost is lower."

Hollingsworth gave return-on-investment examples from three Universal customers: fire service provider Task Force Tips Inc. of Valparaiso, Ind.; contract manufacturer Dynamic Group Inc. of Ramsey, Minn.; and high-performance loudspeaker maker Paradigm Electronics Inc. of Mississauga, Ontario.

Speakers from StackTeck Systems Ltd. of Brampton, Ontario, and Sussex IM Inc. of Sussex, Wis., discussed best practices for integrating in-mold decorating into an injection molding workflow.

Launch of a typical new product injection molding project involves build, qualify and run phases. Adding an in-mold decorating component significantly boosts complexity and time to each of the phases.

Once past the build and qualify phases, the processor needs to watch for films not separating properly in the staging magazine, films not staying in the open mold after load and injection flow pushing the film out of place. Also, injection heat may discolor film art.

Presenters were Sussex IM Director of Marketing John Berg and StackTeck Vice President of Sales Jordan Robertson.

Laser ablation can serve as one solution to meet engraving, machining, texturing and structuring requirements, said Rich Klein, sales manager for advanced manufacturing with GF Machining Solutions in Lincolnshire, Ill.

Uses can include three- and five-axis engraving, selective laser blasting, natural or geometric texture creation and electrode production.

In particular, laser ablation can "expand automotive mold creativity" for headlight lenses and reflectors, other components and tires, Klein said, and it can overcome the grain orientation, continuity, design and environmental limitations of today's standard chemical etching process.

He cited the benefits of an ultrashort femtosecond-pulsed laser with "almost no heat-affected zone, fewer cracks and less recast layer" vs. the performance with a short nanosecond-pulsed laser.

Klein noted two ways to push your brand to a new dimension: femto infrared "from the tool to the end product" and dual femto-nano processing incorporating specialized technology from Microrelleus SL of Barcelona, Spain.

Digital print technology can complement in-mold decorating and labeling, said Stephen Chrisos, marketing manager of Inkcups Now Corp. in Danvers, Mass.

Digital printing can reduce label cost; avoid setup or tooling expense; and deliver customizable, on-demand, "just what you need" runs without minimum order requirements, he said.

Inkcups supplies and manufactures inkjet and pad printing equipment, laser plate-makers and inks.

Suhas Kulkarni pinpointed challenges for in-mold decorating and labeling work, including correct injection speed and venting.

"Lower melt temperatures can cause adhesion issues, [and] higher melt temperatures can cause warpage," said Kulkarni, president of scientific molding and processing specialist FimmTech Inc. in Carlsbad, Calif.

"The process starts at the time resin comes into the factory," he said, noting there are six sources of variation to minimize inconsistencies, including cavity, shot and run parameters.

"All changes must be based on data-driven decisions" to find a processing window with stable dimensions, Kulkarni said. "Find the freeway first" en route to using a "cruise-control process."

The Charlotte, N.C., laboratory of Roctool Inc. is collaborating on product decorating projects with its Induction Dual Heating-brand technology process inside injection molds.

Roctool's engineering group has simulated thermal and flow studies, including the high-speed heating of mold surfaces, said Steve Verschaeve, vice president of North American business development. The induction process is fully adapted for plastic injection and compression molding, including configurations to fit with tier-manufacturer requirements.

Verschaeve said that computer technology firm Dell Inc. of Round ​ Rock, Texas, is using the process now.

Parent company Roctool SA of Le Bourget-du-Lac, France, recently began operations in a factory with a laboratory in Shanghai's Pudong district.

IMDA President Bob Travis led a panel discussion about the often confusing and misunderstood terms for a variety of in-mold-related issues.

IDMA's technology committee maintains and regularly updates a glossary of in-mold terms. As of November, the list explained 162 terms for in-mold-related processes, materials, machines and common industry nomenclature.

In-mold decorating is regarded as an umbrella term covering multiple processes, including in-mold labeling, in-mold roll for the transfer of ink off a polyester carrier and onto a part via a mold and three-dimensional IMD for formed appliques.

Other end use-specific and process-specific terms include in-mold electronics, in-mold structural electronics, plastronics, printed electronics and smart surfaces.

The IMDA staff often receives calls and needs to quiz the caller to make a useful referral.

One problem involves the likelihood that a potential customer may disqualify a supplier from consideration without fully understanding the firm's capabilities.

In addition to Travis, who is president of InkWorks Printing LLC of Plymouth, Wis., the panelists included Patrick Tully, program manager with DuraTech Industries Inc. of La Crosse, Wis. and Allan Quimby, sales and marketing manager with Kurz Transfer Products LP of Charlotte, N.C.

Derek Williams, a sales engineer with the Mold & Robotics Group, gave a primer on the multiple degrees of difficulty in dealing with various in-mold-labeling shapes, platforms, gates, accuracy, wraparound and other requirements for processing lids and containers.

Troubleshooting necessitates an analysis of issues such as blow-by, static, cavity centering, changing stacks, cooling, label changes, hot runners, valve gates and mold geometry.

Michael Smith, western regional sales manager with the Mold & Robotics Group, assisted in the presentation.

H. Müller-Fabrique de Moules SA of Conthey, Switzerland, established the Mold & Robotics Group as the umbrella for its automation and tool manufacturing and as a vehicle for the acquisitions of CBW Automation Inc. of Fort Collins, Colo., in November 2017 and Dollins Tool Inc. of Independence, Mo., in February 2018.

The group characterizes itself as the first globally acting industry and technology leader in toolmaking and automation technology for thin-wall plastic packaging.

CBW Automation developed the first automatic system for stacking Cool Whip-brand lids from the injection molding process. Both Williams and Smith report to the Fort Collins location.

Dollins Tool supplies the plastics industry with high-speed, multicavity packaging injection molds.

For now, Müller, CBW Automation and Dollins Tool act as separate entities while gradually integrating the three organizations.

Distinctive Plastics Inc. hosted two off-site IMDA tours for visitors to its facility in Vista, Calif. Buses transported symposium attendees 16 miles between the hotel and plant.

Distinctive dedicated the services of 30 people to the project and set up five demonstration stations.

Hytech Forming Systems USA Inc. and InMold Solutions, both of Phoenix, demonstrated both in-mold electronics and three-dimensional in-mold decorating technologies with a molded-in connector. An Arburg Multilift robot tended the process. Representatives from Ryandra Inc. subsidiary Tapecon Inc. and Eastman Chemical Co. answered questions about the applique and resin.

At the second station, host company Distinctive Plastics showed a 3D in-mold decoration process that a Fanuc six-axis robot attended.

Kurz Transfer Products LP of Charlotte, N.C., demonstrated its foil IMD/in-mold-roll process at the third station with a Universal Robot UR-3 removing the in-mold decorated part and placing it on a presentation conveyor for guests to receive.

FimmTech Inc. of Carlsbad, Calif., showed its Nautilus system of scientific molding and design of experiments for IMD and in-mold labeling.

At the final station, Distinctive showed a side-by-side comparison of the traditional 3D IMD process and the Kurz IMD/IMR process. A thermoformer, a punch press and a mold were used for the 3D IMD demonstration. A Kurz machine with a mold was used to show how the Kurz IMD/IMR method works.

"It was a very educational experience for the attendees," said Timothy Curnutt, Distinctive president.

Curnutt encouraged other IMDA members, "Please open your shops. Everything makes us better."