Weak Economy? Are You Kidding Me?

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Doug Smock | Permalink 0

If you listen to the daily news on TV, you’d think America is still mired in a recession. It certainly doesn’t feel that way in the plastics industry, one of the largest manufacturing sectors in the United States. At last month’s National Plastics Exposition, there was a boomy atmosphere in comparison with the previous show held in 2009. NPE2012 attracted 1,933 exhibitors, more than in each of the three previous NPEs. Several exhibitors commented in interviews that they were sold out, and developing backlogs.

In a discussion with the press, Helmar Franz, executive director and chief strategy officer of Haitian International (Ningbo, China), said that some Haitian customers are relocating business to North America for a variety of reasons, including labor costs in China and strong demand for injection molding machines in the United States.

Karen Laird, contributing editor for Plastics Today, gave an excellent European view in a report from a plastics show held this month in Milan, Italy to less than a crush of attendees. Eurozone financial problems are having a bruising effect on business. Investment is suffering.

She quotes Peter Neumann, CEO of Engel: “About 10 years ago, somewhere between six and seven thousand machines were being sold annually in total in the U.S. This dropped to 1400 a few years ago. Many manufacturers left the US market, as manufacturing was increasingly offshored. Now, however, that number is back up to 3000. People are slowly starting to realize they need to bring back production from overseas. They need to invest in manufacturing.”

So business is not as strong as it was 10 years ago. But it’s twice as strong as it was three years ago.

The Europeans are envious. And I’ll bet in many ways, the Chinese are as well.

 

Injection Molding ,

Research Shows Interesting Potential for Bioplastics

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Doug Smock | Permalink 0

Significant research is taking place to extend potential applications for bioplastics. That was apparent from several papers presented at last month’s Annual Technical Conference (Antec) of the Society of Plastics Engineers, which was held concurrently with NPE2012 in Orlando, Florida.

Here’s a quick look at some of the interesting presentations: 

  •  The U.S. Army Natick Soldier Reserch Development and Engineering Center (Natick, MA) tested coextrusion to produce a cast film containing polylactic acid and polyvinyl alcohol for food packaging applications. Films containing 9, 25, 73 and 145 layers were produced. The Army is looking for packaging materials that meet its stringent oxygen and water vapor barrier requirements, while also reducing waste left in the field.
  • The Center for Applied Research on Polymers and Composites at the École Polytechnique in Montreal blended polycaprolactone with thermoplastic starch (TPS) and carbon nanotubes in an effort to find a cost-effective compound with improved mechanical, electrical, magnetic, optical and thermal properties.
  • Two authors from the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering at Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, looked at the feasibility of ultrasonics to recycle lactic acid by depolymerizing. In their research, post consumer PLA was chopped up to 1mm2 and then exposed to high power ultrasonics with water or methanol as the suspension media. Analysis indicated that PLA to lactic acid conversion was achieved with yields up to 90%.

 

Bioplastics, North America, Packaging, Reinforcing Material , ,

Siemens Plastic Replicates ABS with Bioplastic and CO2-Offtake

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Doug Smock | Permalink 0

Yesterday, I wrote about “Intel plastic”. Today, the topic is “Siemens plastic”.

The German manufacturing giant has developed a plastic primarily made from “green” resources that it says can replace fossil fuel-based ABS in large-scale injection molded parts, such as a vacuum cleaner cover, shown below.

“Siemens plastic” is a composite of poly­hydroxybutyrate (PHB), which is made from renewable raw materials such as palm oil and starch; polypropylene carbonate (PPC); and other materials that were not identified. Siemens said in a press release that more than 70% of the new compound is made of green polymers.

The PPC is added to make the compound softer because neat PHB is brittle. Interestingly, PPC consists of 43% carbon dioxide (by weight), which is obtained from power plant emissions using a separation process. BASF has been working with partners for three years to separate carbon dioxide from flue gas of coal-burning power plants. BASF is a major producer of propylene carbonate, which is normally used as a solvent and normally made from carbon dioxide produced through conventional methods.   A Cornell University spinoff called Novomer is also developing PPC from carbon dioxide. Its emphasis is more on blending with starch to create a packaging material.

Siemens plastic is a different animal because it can replicate the physical properties of ABS, an entry level engineering plastic widely used with polycarbonate in consumer electronic and other applications. Specific property data was not released.

The project, which was recently completed, was funded by the German Research Ministry.The development partners besides BASF are the Munich Technical University and the University of Hamburg.

The press release stated that Siemens researchers now want to examine whether they can replace other types of plastic with CO2-based composite materials.

 

This vacuum cleaner cover from Bosch-Siemens-Hausgeräte (BSH) is molded from a new plastic composite made mostly from "green" resources.

 

 

 

ABS, Consumer Goods, Electronics, Europe, Green, Industrial, Injection Molding ,

Intel Readies Dreamliner Approach for Ultrabooks: Carbon Fiber Plastic

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Doug Smock | Permalink 0

Intel is borrowing a page from the fabulous success of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner program to substantially reduce costs of its ultrabook computers.

Weight of the Dreamliners was dramatically reduced by replacing aluminum with carbon composites for most of the fuselage and wings. Intel may be borrowing just the carbon fiber part of the Dreamliner approach. Processing times for the thermoset composites used to make the Dreamliners is much too slow for the high-volume world of consumer electronics.

In a fascinating technology development, Intel has been testing use of carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastics using a novel new injection molding technology that will allow smooth shiny surfaces that can be finished to resemble metal.

It might just be the magic bullet that Intel needs to move ultrabooks from the slow cooker to the microwave. Many Asian sources are reporting that several manufacturers plan to introduce ultrabooks with plastic casings as a way to reduce prices from around $1,000 per unit to around $600 to $700 per unit.

Ultrabooks use low-power Intel processors with integrated graphics, solid-state drives, and a unibody chassis to fit larger batteries into smaller cases. Several manufacturers introduced models in the past several months on the concept and second-geneation models are due soon.

Intel presented data at its Developers Forum in Beijing last month showing that an 18-mm thick chassis made from “Intel plastic” has comparable stiffness to an industry standard 18-mm chassis made from metal.

Exactly what is Intel plastic? For now, it’s a bit of mystery, although one slide had the tag line: “Bringing Aerospace Technology to Ultrabook.”  That implies use of carbon fiber, which would be necessary to provide the stiffness in a very thin wall. Injection molding of a thermoplastic matrix would provide the required economies. Polycarbonate or polycarbonate blends are often used to make computer chassis. Glass-reinforced thermoplastics would be a candidate, but they would be much heavier than carbon-reinforced plastic (CFRP).

What’s missing is the high-quality surface finish required for a quality electronics product.

That’s where a process called rapid heat cycle molding (RHCM) comes into play. It’s a technology in which an injection mold is quickly heated to a high temperature, usually higher than the glass transition temperature of the polymer material, before the molten plastic is injected into the mold cavity.  It is then rapidly cooled down to solidify the shaped plastic component prior to ejection. High heat on the mold surface contributes to a rich glossy look despite a high loading of the fibers used for stiffening.

Significant technical knowhow is require  in the injection phase to ensure maximum stiffening benefit from the fibers. If they all line up the same way in the part, it will be very weak in one direction.

One of the leading practitioners of RHCM is an Intel development partner, Mitac Precision Technology Co. Ltd., a Taiwanese subsidiary of Getac Technology Corp.

Dr. Peter Chu, senior manager of Mitac Precision Technology’s Core Technology Development Center, says: “RHCM is a temperature controllable molding technology. It can control the mold temperature at a high level and then inject plastic materials into the mold cavity. And then in an extremely short time, it can reduce the mold temperature to a preset low level before the product is removed. The technology can not only improve plastic products’ surface gloss, but also solve the welding line problem. Compared to conventional injection molding, the technology can do better in completely transferring the pattern from the surface of the mold.”

 

An RHCM keyboard with a high-gloss surface.

 

Schematic shows mold temperature cycling in process that may be used for the next ultrabooks.

 

 

 

 

Asia, Carbon Composites, Carbon Fiber, Design, Electronics, Injection Molding, North America , , ,

Does Lignin Have Legs as a Future Plastics Feedstock?

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Doug Smock | Permalink 0

Four Canadian researchers make a case that lignin could become an important feedstock for bioplastics.

“Considering the current production of lignin from pulp and paper industries as well as potential future production from lingocellulosic ethanol industries, it is estimated that around 300 M ton/year of lignin will be produced in North America,” they said in an article presented at the Annual Technical Conference (Antec) of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) held concurrently last month with NPE2012 in Orlando, FL. “Lignin is now considered as an inexpensive co-product and it is mainly used as a boiler fuel. The value of lignin can be better realized as a good source for new outlets such as renewable resource based materials.”

Lignin can be made into phenol, terephthalic acid, benzene, xylene, and toluene—important building blocks for aromatic plastics. Other potential uses are in the production of surfactants and UV stablizers. “However, all these new uses account for only 2% of the generated lignin and the remaining is mostly burnt for energy as low efficient fuel.”

That’s unfortunate because lignin has the advantages of low cost and a density about half of talc or calcium carbonate—common fillers in plastic compounds. As engineers take weight out of products, the density of talc and calcium carbonate is a problem. Lignin is a random amorphous polymer with various chemical functional groups including hydroxyl, methoxyl, carboxyl and carbonyl.

Here are some good things about lignin vis-à-vis plastics:

  • It forms miscible blends with polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyethylene oxide,
  • It forms hydrogen bonds with poly(vinyl 4-pyridine), boosting its mechanical properties,
  • It can be used with other natural reinforcing materials (kenaf, bamboo) to create bio-composites, and
  • It can even be used to produce carbon fibers.

Of course, the future of lignin as an important plastics resource will depend on the development of a biofuels industry, which is seemingly up in the air at the moment. The corn-to-ethanol industry was largely a political boondoggle in the United States. The economics of lingocellulosic ethanol may not be as upbeat as the Canadian authors suspect. We do have a pulp and paper industry, but the death of print media has made it a shadow of its former self.

The title of the study is “Improved Utilization Of Co-Products From Biofuel Industries In New Biomaterials Uses: A Move Towards Sustainable Biorefinery”. Authors are A. K. Mohanty, S. Vivekanandhan, N. Zarrinbakhsh, and M. Misra of the  Bioproducts Discovery and Development Centre, Department of Plant Agriculture, Crop Science Building, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario.Mohanty is the corresponding author and he can be reached at mohanty@uoguelph.ca.

Interestingly, Amit K. Naskar (naskarak@ornl.gov ) of the Polymer Matrix Composite Group, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, also made a presentation on lignin at Antec.

“Our recent efforts on synthesis of lignin-based bio-thermoplastics show significant promise,” he said in a summary of his talk provided by the SPE. “Compatibilization of blends of lignin with different polymeric matrices results good thermoplastic for certain lignin loadings. These routes would provide a low-cost alternative, recyclable resins for future composite applications.”

So it would appear clear that scientists like the technical potential for lignin. Note though that the research is being done by academics and governments. The economic availability of lignin as a large scale resource may be a long way off.

Bioplastics, Carbon Fiber, Composites, Green, North America, Reinforcing Material

Asian Project Tests Thermoplastic Starch for Mobile Phone Cover

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Doug Smock | Permalink 0

Bioplastics were the topic of many good presentations at the Annual Technical Conference (Antec) of the Society of Plastics Engineers held a month ago in Orlando, FL. Antec papers often get lost in the shuffle because of the volume of material at the always-excellent meeting. The overload was even more extreme this year because Antec was paired again with the National Plastics Exposition. The synergy is nice, but taking in everything would require a month, and two or three extra pairs of legs.

Here’s one example:

CoreTech System Co., Ltd. (Moldex3D) and researchers at the Industrial Technology Research Institute in Hsinchu, Taiwan, presented research on numerical simulation of injection molding of thermoplastic starch (TPS) for a mobile phone housing. Important stuff because of the tremendous interest (particularly in Asia) of use of bioplastics for consumer electronics products. PLA has been used in Japan for a few applications.

The long-and-the short-of the presentation is that simulation reveals that TPS has several beneficial processing aspects, but requires blending with a fossil-fuel based material (PC/ABS in this case) to boost its thermal stability during processing. The polycarbonate/ABS blend would also, of course, help improve mechanical properties, but the subject of the study was strictly molding simulation.

The presentation is interesting because it shows there is interest in use of thermoplastic starch for consumer electronics in Asia. Huge amounts of (inexpensive) starch supplies are coming on line in China. The research also indicates that processing issues with starch can be overcome. Thermal degradation is such is such an issue with starch that a molding plant can at times smell like a bakery, or worse.

Founded in 1995 as an academic spinoff, CoreTech Systems works on a Windows platform.  It’s working with Trexel on simulation for molded microcellular foam, and it seems to offer a good window into Asia from its base in Hsinchu, Taiwan.

I’ll look at some of the other Antec papers on bioplastics and other subjects in later posts.

CoreTech Systems had an active presence at NPE2012.

ABS, Asia, Bioplastics, Consumer Goods, Electronics, Injection Molding, Polycarbonate , ,

New Container Molding Process Emerges

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Doug Smock | Permalink 0

It’s not often that claims are made of major innovations in blow molding.

At a press conference in New York today, Amcor Rigid Plastics, a leading producer of rigid plastic packaging, and Italy’s Sacmi Imola S.C., a leading manufacturer of compression molding equipment for closures, announced the commercialization of the industry’s first Compression Blow Forming (CBF) machine for the production of rigid HDPE pharmaceutical bottles. The process combines compression molding and blow molding, and is said to deliver significant advantages over conventional processes, including  quality, higher productivity, sustainability, and the potential for lightweighting.

Amcor collaborated with Sacmi – the original developer of the process – in a 14-month development project to adapt the unique technology for pharmaceutical packaging. The two companies primarily focused on optimization and implementation of process control enhancements to ensure the new technology platform met the requirements of pharmaceutical manufacturers.

Amcor has an exclusive arrangement with Sacmi to utilize the technology in select market segments and global regions. The company has already commissioned a 12-cavity platform (CBF-12), and is producing HDPE packer (over-the-counter and prescription) bottles at its Youngsville, N.C., facility. Three additional machines are on order and will be in production by the end of the year.

 “For the pharmaceutical industry, compression blow forming is one of the most significant technological developments for rigid packaging in decades – it’s a game-changer for an industry that demands risk-free performance,” said Tod Eberle, vice president, quality and engineering, for Amcor Rigid Plastics. “Compression blow forming is the most advanced processing system for the production of pharmaceutical containers, delivering high-quality, reliable, and defect-free parts,” according to Bob Israni, Amcor’s technical manager for the pharmaceutical market.

In compression blow forming, material is extruded, cut, and precisely transferred into a compression cavity. A preform is produced and a pre-blow and full-blow process is completed in the same mold station with no transfer of the preform. Compression blow forming has no manifold for melt distribution to individual separate cavities, which can result in better quality parts because there are no temperature differences and less chance of resin burn and degradation. The process delivers less particulate contamination and due to the continuous extrusion process with simple melt channel, resin and color changes are also quicker.

The pre-blow process allows for effective separation of plastic from the compression core. This reduces the chance of plastic sticking to the metal core rod, resulting in more uniform wall thickness distribution. Weight distribution is also better controlled with compression blow forming. The weight of the resin shot is controlled for all cavities with a servo-controlled melt pump, resulting in more accurate part weight distribution across all mold cavities. The process also operates at lower temperatures, which results in lower residual stress in the end product and cycle times which are reduced.

 In addition to the 12-cavity unit already in production, Amcor has committed to additional CBF systems, including a 20 cavity unit which will be in production by the end of 2012. New-generation equipment will have capability for production of HDPE, PP, and PET pharmaceutical containers.

 

Bottle is preblown in new container production process.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Compression, Europe, Medical, North America, Packaging , ,

Plastics Star in New Flying Car

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Doug Smock | Permalink 0

Polycarbonate has not won favor as automotive glazing, but it will be used for windows in a car that flies.

Engineers of a novel vehicle called Terrafugia have won permission from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to use polycarbonate because automotive glass could be shattered by bird strikes.

The Terrafugia, which has fold-up wings for highway driving, is expected to go on sale within a year for a list price of $279,000. Ground speeds are up to 100 mph. Air speeds are up to 115 mph. Air range is 490 miles. Mileage on the highway is a surprising 35 mpg.

Give credit for the great mileage to a body made of carbon composites—the same material used in the fuselage and wings of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The Terrafugia will be the first car with a CFRP body. Also interestingly, all of the carbon composite parts for the Terrafugia are made in the company’s Woburn, MA plant on a custom-built autoclave. This is a class operation.

Here’s how the wings function: After landing, the pilot activates an electro-mechanical wing folding mechanism from inside the cockpit. The wings fold, once at the root and once at the mid-span, and are stowed vertically on the sides of the vehicle in less than 30 seconds, according to Terrafugia. At the same time, the engine power is directed to the wheels with a continuously variable transmission.

The engine power is directed to the propeller for flight through a carbon fiber drive shaft.

Some 100 people have paid a $10,000 deposit to get the first model. The cockpit can hold two people, luggage and golf clubs.

 

The Terrafugia looks a little bit like Rocky The Flying Squirrel.

Aircraft, Carbon Composites, Carbon Fiber, North America ,

New Polyamides Meet Heat Demands of Hotter Engines

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Doug Smock | Permalink 0

Producers continue to push the heat limits on polyamides. INVISTA, which was created out of assets spun off from DuPont in 2004, is introducing TORZEN Marathon PA66 resin for applications requiring continuous use heat of 210ºC, while maintaining a peak temperature of 240 to 250ºC.

“As a result of the automotive sector’s efforts to improve fuel efficiency through light weighting, we are seeing increasing use of applications such as turbo-charged engines, which require greater temperature resistance,” said Kurt Burmeister, executive vice president of INVISTA Engineering Polymers (Wichita, KS).

Conventional PA66 resins are positioned for applications needing continuous use heat up to about 180ºC. Given the limitations of conventional PA66, other polymers–such as higher temperature polyamides (PPA) and polyphenylene sulfides (PPS)–are generally used. Engineers have sought alternatives because of their high cost.

INVISTA says that its tests show that TORZEN Marathon resin retains more than 90% tensile strength after 1,000 hours at 210ºC, a 70 to 80% improvement versus conventional PA6 and PA66 resins, which show about 50% retention.

The new resins require no tooling modifications and are said to flow more easily than conventional nylons.

Automotive, Injection Molding, North America, Polyamides, Reinforcing Material , ,

German Fire Opens Door For Renewably Sourced Polyamides

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Doug Smock | Permalink 0

One of the ironies of the tragic fire at Evonik’s CDT (cyclododecatriene), plant in Marl, Germany almost a month ago is that it is creating a significant market opportunity for a renewably sourced polyamide.

Chemist Wallace Carothers invented polyamides at DuPont in 1927, and since then the material has become ubiquitous as an engineering plastic, in part due to its many chemical modifications. Most common is 6/6, but there are many other iterations for specialized applications.

Chemische Werke Huels AG of then West Germany opened the first precursor synthesis production plant in 1966 to produce polyamide 12, a version with reduced nitrogen that has excellent toughness and chemical resistance. Polyamide 12 was introduced at K’63 with material from a pilot plant. There is some sacrifice in thermal properties with polyamide 12, but it  found niche applications in a variety of markets where its chemical resistance in particular was valued. A flexible version became sole sourced in flexible fluid hoses used in cars and trucks.  

The Evonik fire at a plant that produced about 70% of the global feedstock for polyamide 12 has created a short-term crisis for automotive engineers, who are now scrambling to find substitutes. The fact that automotive sourcing professionals allowed this material to be sole sourced without ready backups was the subject of an earlier discussion.

Evonik and Arkema, the two primary producers of polyamide 12, also make bio-polyamides they are proposing as substitutes. For example, Arkema has expanded its Rilsan (bio-polyamide)  HT (high temperature) range with an ultra-flexible grade that is close to the flexibility of polyamide extrusion grades. It’s the first flexible polyphthalamide (PPA)-based material to replace metal in high-temperature tubing applications. Rilsan HT is up to 70% based on a renewable non-food-crop vegetable feedstock (castor oil). Compared with conventional, petroleum-based high-temperature plastics, CO2 emissions are substantially lower and fossil resources are conserved. Evonik also has  a version.

Until five years ago, Arkema was the only producer of bio-polyamide, which was developed by IG Farben during World War II in the face of shortages of oil in Germany. Now there are six other major producers: Evonik, BASF, DuPont, Rhodia, DSM, and Verdyzene. 

A report I wrote for BCC Research projects a 29% annual growth rate for bio-polyamides through 2016. That may be a conservative estimate based on the new developments. Interestingly, the bio-polyamides are significantly less expensive than polyamide 12, whose price has exploded above $5 per pound. Prices of many of the bio-polyamides are in the $2.30 to $4.50 per pound range.

Nylon is the commonly used name of linear polyamides that have the carbonamide group –CO—NH– recurring in a chain of methylene groups.

The Spotlight on Polyamide 12

The fire at the Evonik CDT plant has put a spotlight on an obscure chemical niche—polyamide 12.

There are five producers: Evonik with a capacity of approximately 50,000 metric tons per annum; Arkema, 23,000; EMS-Grivory, 18,000; Shandong Guangyin New Materials, 10,000 (new in 2012); and Ube, 9,500. The total amount produced last year was approximately 98,000 metric tons. Before the fire, demand oupaced supply by as much as 20%.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Automotive, Bioplastics, Europe, Green, Injection Molding, Polyamides , , , , , , , , ,