issue 08/2021

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Over past months, many in-house workflows and development processes have slowed down and also changed. Nevertheless, time has not stood still, also not in injection molding technology. The debate and development have been shaped by two themes: digitalization and the circular economy. Below are some examples of developments and projects that underpin this trend.

Innovative Injection Molding in Times of Pandemic

Spritzgießen

Schaumspritzgießen

Künstliche Intelligenz für die Qualitätssicherung

Steuern, Regeln

Mehrkomponenten-Spritzgießen

Folientechnik (IMD, IML, FIM, u.a.)

Digitale Transformation

Spritzgießwerkzeuge

Biokunststoffe

Spritzgieß-Sonderverfahren

Nachhaltigkeit

Spritzgießsimulation

Schnecken und Plastifiziersysteme

Industrie 4.0 für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

Machine Learning / Künstliche Intelligenz für die spanende Fertigung

Spritzgießmaschinen

Kunststoff-Recycling

Lasermarkieren

Inline- / Online-Messsysteme

Kreislaufwirtschaft

There Is More beyond the Horizon

The circular economy and more sustainable additives are the focus of AF Color’s Fakuma presence this year.

Masterbatches

Messe Fakuma

Polyamide

Kunststoff Werkstoffe

Hochleistungskunststoffe

Additive

Biobased Additives and Orange for PA

For a cutlery series made of a new biopolymer, three full hot runner molds with digital process monitoring were developed in close cooperation with mold maker Uniform and hot runner specialist Ewikon.

Complete Digital Hot Runner Solution for Automated Biopolymer Processing

Condition Monitoring / Prozessüberwachung

Virtual Reality für die Qualitätssicherung

Heißkanalsysteme

Process Reliability Is Crucial

As a result of the Corona crisis, press manufacturer Wickert sees only a temporary slowdown in the growth forecasts for composite technologies. The company currently sees four trends in system engineering.

The Demand for Composites Will Keep Growing in the Future

Composite-Halbzeuge

Pressen

Duroplaste

Automatisierungstechnik

Naturmaterialien

Thermoplaste

Trends in Composite Manufacturing

Polymers distributor K. D. Feddersen will be presenting various new materials at the Fakuma trade-show which it will be sharing with other companies in the group.

Compound

Elektromobilität

Wide Range of Materials at a Shared Booth

Sustainable development is the focus of the Israeli company Tosaf’s trade show presence. The company presents functional, color and combined masterbatches for processing by extrusion and injection molding. These will include color masterbatches for recyclates with a special focus on post-consumer plastics as well as biodegradable masterbatches.

Farbstoffe und Pigmente

Farbkonzentrate (Batches)

Farbstoffe

Kunststoff-Rezyklat

Masterbatches for Current Trends

Different kinds of methods are available for the processing of bead foams. Common to all processes is the welding of the single expanded beads, which can be challenging. A research project shows that the process can also be carried out with blends of PLA and polyhydroxybutyrate-co-valerate PHBV.

Blends of PLA and PHBV as Replacement for Expanded Polystyrene

Kunststoffe, biobasiert

Blend

Partikelschäumen

Schäumen / Reaktive Verarbeitung

Kunststoffe, bioabbaubar

Bio-Based Polymer Alternatives  for Bead Foams

The so-called M·Vera grades can be processed in the injection molding process and in the extrusion process.

Bio-Fed’s Contribution to the EU Green Deal 2030

Sustainable PLA-Based Compounds

Bio-based plastics can lock away vast quantities of CO<sub>2</sub> in durable, recyclable applications and make a real contribution to climate protection. All that is needed for this is the right product design and a functioning circular economy. By focusing more on this approach, the plastics sector has the chance to evolve into a key industry of a green economy.

How Bio-Based Polymers Can Help Sequester CO<sub>2</sub> for the Long Term

Recycling

Kunststoff

Kunststofffasern

Into the Future with Biopolymers

A year to forget is nearing its completion. To brighten up this dreary fall season without a major event like Fakuma, injection molding machine builders have concocted various strategies.

Injection Molding Machine Builders Are Discovering New Ways to Reach Their Customers

Spritzgießmaschinen, allgemein

Vernetzung / Cloudlösung für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

Schneidmühlen

Silikonkautschuk

What Can You Do at Fall Fairtime,  When There Aren’t Any?

Many people have good ideas and intentions. Few have the courage and determination to put them into practice. The young rezemo entrepreneurs Julian Reitze and Stefan Zender are one successful example. In 2019, some three years after their start-up was founded, the company was already producing well over one million compostable coffee capsules per year.

A Start-up Produces Organic Coffee Capsules Made of Wood and Plant Starch in Millions

Verbundwerkstoffe / Werkstoffverbunde

Holz

Faserverbundwerkstoffe

Successful with Wood

Arburg Plastic Freeforming is predestined for the additive manufacturing of medtech components. The associated Freeformer-type additive manufacturing systems process the same plastic pellets that are used in injection molding. That makes the open systems very economical to use.

Medical Product Manufacturers Are Processing Original Materials Using the Freeformer

Anlagen Additive Fertigung / 3D-Druck, andere

Additive Fertigung

Medizintechnik

Medizinprodukte

Werkstoffe für additive Verfahren

Arburg Kunststoff Freiformen

New Possibilities for Use  in the Human Body

Borealis, Clariant, Remondis, LyondellBasell – many of the big names in the plastics industry announced partnerships with Neste at, or in advance of, K 2019. The Finnish company is a sought-after partner in the industry.

Interview with Mercedes Alonso, Executive Board Member at Neste

Streifinger, Florian

“Chemical Recycling Is Not yet Ready for Commercial Use”

Bioplastics, biodegradable plastics and recyclates pose individual demands on colorization. BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany, presented Sicoversal B, a biodegradable masterbatch for coloring compostable plastics. With this product, bioplastics can be colored in an environmentally friendly manner. 

Masterbatches for Polyethylene 

Ecological Coloring of Bioplastics  

Clariant of Muttenz, Switzerland, has introduced additives based on renewable raw materials. The manufacturer is cooperating here with the Finnish company Neste of Espoo, Finland. Their additives with the name suffix “Terra” are based on mass-balance certified ethylene and propylene. The starting materials are supplied by Neste. They are obtained from bio-based raw materials such as food wastes and residual oils. According to Clariant, these additives behave like corresponding products from fossil sources. Thus renewed approvals or modifications to manufacturing processes and equipment are not believed to be required. 

Bio-Based Flame Retardants 

Flammschutzmittel

Food-Waste Based 

Shape-changing structures (smart structures) are able to change their shape in response to external stimuli. The change of shape is self-induced and requires no artificial energy input. In view of the increasing demand for efficiency and resource conservation, shape-changing (smart) materials offer a sensible approach to integrating functionalities into a component without giving rise to additional energy and material costs. Even greater sustainability is achieved if the components are produced from bioplastics.

Bioplastics for Shape-Changing Structures

Polylactid

Green Shape Changers

With its Industry 4.0 solution portfolio, the Wittmann Group is receiving a positive echo in the market. This virtually extends the injection-molding machine into a smart workcell. For the near future, the company is tooling up for the demands of a circular economy – and declining demand.

Wittmann Continues to See Itself Well Placed as a One-Stop Supplier

Doriat, Clemens, Dr.

Energieeffizienz

Ressourcenmanagement

Immediately Ready for Use

A blend of natural plant and inorganic fibers produces a composite with a very good property profile, without reducing the content of renewable raw materials. In this way, plant fibers such as kenaf or flax hybridized with basalt fibers can compete with glass fiber reinforcement as a low-cost, natural lightweight construction material. 

Blending Basalt Fibers with Plant Fibers in Thermoplastic and Thermoset Composites 

Fasern

Natural Fine-Tuning 

Growing customer awareness of ecological issues is reflected in marked increases in sales of bicycle parts and accessories, for example. There are established hard-soft composites for pumps, tools, and other handy products. A research project is now attempting to combine both aspects in bio-based two-component injection molding. 

Converting Cellulose Acetate into Bicycle Accessories and Automobile Parts by  Two-Component Injection Molding 

Celluloseester, -ether

Bio-Based Alternatives for  Hard-Soft Connections 

It is difficult to use bioplastics in engineering parts due to a lack of processing data. However, these data are very important for making a change from conventional to bio-based plastics. They are essential for simulating process parameters and designing injection molds for economical processing. 

Injection Molding Simulation Puts Bioplastics on the Road to Industrial Mass Production 

Prozesssimulation

Digital Preview of Bio-Based Parts 

Much as when injection molding materials were being developed 30 years ago, the current trend in additive production is toward higher melting materials and materials with improved mechanical properties. The latter can be achieved, for example, by fiber embedding. In machine technology, the developments are increasingly aimed at adapting processing times, sensor systems, and quality monitoring to the demands of high-tech companies.  

Materials Manufacturers and Process Developers Face Growing Demands in 3D Printing  