CHAIR DESIGNERS ADOPT RECYCLED PLASTICS MORE CONTROL IN LATEST MATERIAL DRYERS THIN WALL MOULDING: PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES - YUDU
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MARCH 2022 ISSN 2052-9376
CHAIR DESIGNERS ADOPT RECYCLED PLASTICS
MORE CONTROL IN LATEST MATERIAL DRYERS
THIN WALL MOULDING: PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES
Bringing the plastics industry together
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CONTENTS
PAGE 4
4 News
News from across the global injection moulding industry:
Celanese buys DuPont M&M business; KraussMaffei brings
together LSR partners; 100+ suppliers book booths at Detroit PAGE 13
moulding expo; Machinery shipments in USA and Italy; Comar
buys medical moulder Automatic Plastics in Ireland; Meusburger
enjoys good sales growth; New Engel executives
13 Chair designers adopt recycled plastics
Recycled plastics are starting to be used in furniture, but
designers face technical challenges and need to work out how to
deal with them. David Eldridge explores the world of plastic
chair design COVER IMAGE: VITRA
PAGE 23
23 Going further with thin wall moulding
The Thin Wall Integra project brings together experts to push the
boundaries of moulding thin wall packaging. James Snodgrass
writes about innovations in packaging and electronics moulding
33 More control, less hot air in material dryers PAGE 33
Manufacturers are putting continuous innovation at the forefront
of material drying technology. Peter Mapleston takes a look at
new offerings from suppliers
46 Diary
COMING NEXT ISSUE
� Caps and Closures � Automation and Robotics � Recycled Compounds
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www.injectionworld.com March 2022 | INJECTION WORLD 3
NEWS
IMAGE: CELANESE
Ensinger
acquires
StyLight
Ensinger of Nufringen,
Germany, has acquired
Ineos Styrolution’s
StyLight thermoplastic
Above: The acquisition adds new engineering materials and production to Celanese’s position in composite materials
automotive and other markets business, which was origi-
nally launched at the K
show in 2016.
Celanese buys DuPont The business has already
been rebranded under
Ensinger’s Tecatec
engineering plastics composites range name.
Ensinger said that the
acquisition adds a
Celanese has reached an wide portfolio of speciality technology leadership of SAN-based product
agreement to acquire a materials including PA 66 M&M with the commercial range to its portfolio,
majority of DuPont’s and PA 6, speciality PAs excellence and customer bringing many new
Mobility & Materials (M&M) such as HPPA, LCPA and engagement model of EM possibilities to the
business, including the filaments, PET, PBT, TPC and to accelerate our growth in market. These include
Engineering Polymers EAE. Celanese also gains a high-value applications carbon-, glass- and
business line and some of global production network including future mobility, flax-based fibre products
the Performance Resins and of 29 facilities, including connectivity and medical”. for aesthetic materials,
Advanced Solutions compounding and poly- DuPont also aims to divest and for semi-structural
business lines, for $11.0bn. merisation, employing the Delrin acetal homopoly- and overmoulding
This, said Celanese CEO about 5,000, an IP portfolio mer business, which was applications.
Lori Ryerkerk, follows a of some 850 patents, and included in the strategic Managing Director
decade of extending its own customers and supplier review process it announced Ralph Pernissak said that
Engineered Materials (EM) contracts. in November 2021, by the this is “the next strategic
business and “establishes These materials go first quarter of 2023. This had building block in Ens-
Celanese as the pre-emi- mainly into automotive, net sales of about $550m in inger’s journey to
nent global specialty electrical and electronic, 2021. DuPont is retaining becoming one of the
materials company”. DuPont consumer goods and M&M’s Auto Adhesives, only manufacturers able
has also agreed to retain industrial applications. Tom Multibase and Tedlar to offer the complete
and indemnify Celanese for Kelly, Senior VP of Engi- product lines, which had value chain of thermo-
certain liabilities, including neered Materials said that $950m in sales in 2021. plastic composite
those relating to PFAS. Celanese will seek to � www.celanese.com products”.
Being acquired are a “combine the product and � www.dupont.com � www.ensingerplastics.com
Molded Dimensions buys GlobalTech Plastics
US-based Molded Dimensions, a specialising in the aerospace, medical West Coast.
manufacturer of custom rubber and and transportation industries. The acquisition follows on from
urethane moulded parts to OEMs, has The acquistion, said Molded Molded Dimensions buying high-vol-
acquired GlobalTech Plastics of Fife, Dimensions, will help it to broaden its ume PUR parts maker PCO Urethane in
Washington, USA. Terms were not manufacturing capabilities to include December 2021.
disclosed and no jobs will be lost. plastic moulded parts and components � www.moldeddimensions.com
GlobalTech is an injection moulder and establish a location on the US � www.globaltechplastics.com
4 INJECTION WORLD | March 2022 www.injectionworld.com
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NEWS
KM brings together LSR partners
The Würzburg-based Plastics
IMAGE: SKZ
Centre (SKZ), Toolcraft, of
Georgensgmünd near
Nürnberg, and their German
compatriot, the injection
moulding machinery giant
KraussMaffei, have all come
together to work on the
processing of liquid silicone
rubber (LSR). Above: SKZ has its headquarters in Würzburg, Germany
SKZ, which has been
hitherto mainly known for ing, expert advice and SKZ and Toolcraft will work companies. Despite the
thermoplastic processing, vocational training. Krauss- on a new mould for LSR to material’s strong growth, it
recently appointed Krauss- Maffei is providing the address the challenges had been viewed as being
Maffei as its technology all-electric machines (a PX arising from low viscosity difficult to work with. This is
partner for LSR. As Toolcraft 50 at SKZ and a PX 121 at and temperature control. currently changing, as more
also wanted to start working Toolcraft), plus expertise The first product has already and more plastics process-
with the technology at the and consulting related to been defined: a medical ing companies are becom-
same time, KraussMaffei processing. They anticipate application with a part ing interested in this
brought all three together. being able to apply for weight of 0.5 g. versatile material.”
SKZ and Toolcraft will public subsidies to help KraussMaffei said: “For � www.kraussmaffei.com
build up the expertise them develop technologies. many years, processing LSR � www.skz.de
necessary for manufactur- In the coming months, was limited to specialist � www.toolcraft.de
New US Comar buys medical moulder
training Automatic Plastics in Ireland
partnership New Jersey, US-based products mainly for medical machines ranging from 25
LS Mtron Injection Molding Comar, a supplier of custom devices and rigid pharma- to 485 tonnes. The company
Machines USA has formed medical devices and ceutical packaging. has particular expertise in
a partnership with Orbital assemblies and speciality APL operates out of an design and development,
Plastics Consulting to packaging systems, has ISO 13485-certified produc- overmoulding, two-shot
provide scientific injection acquired Automatic Plastics tion facility in Wicklow, moulding, automation,
moulding training. LS (APL), a contract manufac- south of Dublin, Ireland. This handling and packaging of
Mtron produces injection turer of injection moulded has 30 injection moulding desiccants, and custom
moulding machines in printing.
South Korea. Comar said that this
Courses being offered combination will enhance its
include both injection own expertise in the same
moulding training at LS fields and represents the first
Mtron’s technical centre in step in its global expansion,
Wood Dale, near Chicago, not least because Ireland is
and onsite injection one of the world’s major
moulding training at LS medtech and pharmaceuti-
Mtron customer locations. cal industry hubs. Comar will
The courses will be now have 11 manufacturing
IMAGE: APL
taught by Orbital presi- facilities and over 1,200
dent Umberto Catignani. employees worldwide.
� www.lsinjection.com � www.comar.com
6 INJECTION WORLD | March 2022 www.injectionworld.com
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NEWS
100+ suppliers book booths
at Detroit moulding expo
More than 100 suppliers HUNTINGTON PLACE
exhibitors including
have already booked Sigmasoft, Moldex3D, EPS
booths at the Injection FloTek, CAE Services, TST
Molding and Design Expo, and Simcon.
which is taking place in On the materials front,
Detroit, Michigan, USA on companies that have
May 25-26, 2022. The new already booked booths
free-to-attend exhibition include M Holland, Ampa-
and conference is being cet, Chroma Color, Chase
organised by AMI – the Plastics, Domo, General
publisher of Injection Polymers, Amco Polymers,
World – together with Crain Star Plastics, Polykemi,
Global Polymer Group – Opticolor, Purgex, Polymax,
the publisher of Plastics News. They will be joined by a wide range Entec, Bamberger Polymers, Purgex,
“We have seen a rapid increase in of suppliers of auxiliary equipment, Slide Products, Rainbow Colors, Saco
exhibitor bookings in the past two machine components and control AEI Polymers, and iD Additives.
months and the floorplan is filling up systems, including Conair, ACS Group, Several leading suppliers of
quickly,” said Kelly DeFino, Exhibition Advanced Blending Solutions, Frigel, training services for moulders will also
Sales Manager at AMI. “More than two Matsui, Zeiger Industries, ASS End Of be exhibiting at Detroit, including
thirds of booths are now taken, and Arm Tooling, Frigosystem, Kongskilde, Beaumont, RJG, Routsis and Paulson.
inquiries plus new reservations are Bauer Compressors, Benpac, Cincinnati Visitors to the expo will be able to
coming in every day.” Process Technologies, Intouch Monitor- attend practical seminars delivered by
The event is taking place at ing, 2R Automation, Alpha Laser, these companies in the free Training
Huntington Place (formerly known as Alkegen, Promess, Zerma and Filtroil. Theater.
the Cobo and TCF Center) in down- Mould makers and suppliers of “The industry response to this new
town Detroit. Visitors will be able to mould materials, components and expo has been overwhelmingly
meet with a wide range of interna- accessories also feature prominently positive,” said John Hickey, Sales
tional suppliers from throughout the among the companies that have Director at Plastics News. “Suppliers
injection moulding supply chain at already confirmed their spaces at the have welcomed the focus of the
one focused event. It will provide a show. They include Cavalier Tool, event, plus its location and timing.
timely opportunity to catch up on StackTeck, Accede, DME, Mastip, They are also excited about the fact
recent developments and compare Progressive Components, Spark there will be three free-to-attend
options for future projects. Industries, PCS, EAS Change Systems, conference theatres on the show floor,
Leading suppliers of injection VEM Tooling, Osco, Mold World, and with programs put together by the
moulding machines that will be Action Mold & Machining. There will Crain and AMI teams.”
exhibiting in Detroit this May include also be a group of Portuguese mould For more information about exhibit-
Milacron, KraussMaffei, Wittmann makers exhibiting along with their ing at the Injection Molding and
Battenfeld, Absolute Haitian, Tederic, trade association Cefamol. In addition, Design Expo 2022, or to register for
Shibaura, Yizumi-HPM, Wilmington tooling design software and services your free ticket, please visit:
Machinery and CH America. will be on offer from a variety of � www.injectionmoldingexpo.com
Record revenue for Protolabs in 2021
US fast parts manufacturer the company said that it tive year for Protolabs. With strategy to accelerate
Protolabs had record annual served 55,330 unique the acquisition of Hubs and revenue growth and expand
revenue of $488.1m in product developers during the launch of Protolabs 2.0, profitability,” said CEO Rob
2021, 12.4% up on 2020. the year. we are well positioned to Bodor.
Net income was $33.4m and “2021 was a transforma- execute on our long-term � www.protolabs.com
8 INJECTION WORLD | March 2022 www.injectionworld.com
Your One-Stop-Shop
NEWS
US machine shipments up in Q3
Shipments of primary
plastics processing machin-
ery in North America were
Italian
up by near 9% year-on-year machinery
in Q3 2021, according to
data from the Committee on picks up
Equipment Statistics (CES) Italy’s plastics and rubber
at the US Plastics Industry machinery manufacturers
Association. saw a 14% increase in sales
Preliminary CES estimates for the first nine months of
put shipments at $334m for last year, fuelled largely by
the quarter, up by 4.0% on healthy domestic demand,
Q2 and 8.8% on Q3 2020. according to industry
Shipments of twin-screw economy, said Plastics confirm our prior projec- association Amaplast.
extruders saw the biggest Industry Association Chief tions that the outlook for Incoming orders rose by
gains — up by 44.4% and Economist Dr Perc Pineda. plastics machinery in the 41% over the period.
61.2% respectively. Single- According to CES, 76% of second half of 2021 is Amaplast said sales
screw extruders saw growth machinery executive positive albeit shipments grew 17% in Q3 compared
of 7.2% and 15.9%, while respondents to its latest [would] continue to fluctu- to the same period in
injection moulding machin- quarterly sentiment survey ate. The likelihood that 2020, and orders were up
ery shipments grew by 1.6% expected market conditions supply chain issues will by 30%. Expectations for
and 5.7%. to either improve or hold continue to be a headwind Q4 are positive, with
The performance was in steady in Q4, while 75% in 2022 remains high. The revenues expected to
line with higher plastics expected a similar outlook globe is still emerging from come in some 60% up on
production and the contin- for the following 12 months. the pandemic,” said Pineda. Q4 2020.
ued recovery in the US “Data we’re seeing � http://plasticsindustry.org � www.amaplast.org
Barnes Executive changes at Engel
reports in Austria and North America
2021 sales The Engel Group has named large family foundation.
IMAGE: ENGEL
US-based diversified Gerhard Dimmler, previously Separately, Engel has
engineering company VP of R&D, in the role of CTO created a new management
Barnes Group has which gives him a place on board in its North America
reported net sales of the board. As part of this business. This comprises
$1.259bn in 2021, up 12% role, he is taking over the COO Vanessa Malena
from $1.124bn in 2020. Of Development division from (leading after-sales service,
this, all bar 1% was CEO Stefan Engleder and automation and engineer-
organic growth. will also be responsible for ing); CSO Benjamin Lettner
Sales in its Industrial digitalisation generally. (sales, marketing and
division were up 16% to In addition, Simon application engineering);
$896m – the division Zeilberger will arrive as Above: Gerhard Dimmler, the and CFO Johann Dastl
includes mouldmaking Commercial Director on 1 new CTO at Engel Group (finance, HR and IT). Mark
and moulding technology April. He is replacing CFO Sankovitch remains as CEO.
brands Synventive, Markus Richter, who will management experience, Paul Caprio left Engel North
Foboha, Thermoplay, leave the company after five mainly in the metals America as of 31 January,
Maenner, Gammaflux and years at his own request at industry, and was most after two years with the
Priamus. the end of the fiscal year. recently responsible for the company.
� www.barnesgroupinc.com. Zeilberger has extensive commercial division of a � www.engelglobal.at
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VAT (0%).SUSTAINABILITY | DESIGN
Recycled plastics are starting to be used in
furniture, but designers face technical
challenges and need to work out how to
deal with them. David Eldridge explores
the world of plastic chair design
Chair designers
learn all about
recycled plastics
The humble chair fascinates designers. material belongs to the
STUDIO / VITRA
IMAGE: JASPER
MORRISON
At some point in their career, furniture family of polybutylene
designers, product designers and even terephthalate (PBT). Its high
architects want to create their personal flowability, coupled with the
variation on the seat-plus-legs template. strength of this plastic,
With its simple form and functionality, a allows an elegant transition
chair presents the challenge of how to from thick to thin cross sections.”
design something different, desirable MYTO was presented for the first Main images:
and destined for classic status. time on BASF’s stand at K 2007. It Vitra’s Evo-C
In the 1950s, chair designers seized rapidly became a classic, and in May chairs,
the opportunity given by a new, highly 2008 was selected into the permanent designed by
adaptable material to create chairs with collection of the Museum of Modern Jasper
a more moulded shape than was Art in New York. Morrison, are
possible with wood and other materials. But since plastics have been caught manufactured
Plastics enabled Charles and Ray in the glare of negative publicity about using gas
Eames in 1950 to make the DAR armchair with a ocean waste, designers have turned their attention injection
fibreglass shell seat and metal supporting frame- to the sustainability of the materials they use. From moulding
work. Then plastics materials became a major focus this, furniture companies and their designers have technology
in new chairs from designers: Robin Day even called decided to relaunch some plastics chairs to include
his 1963 combination of plastic seat and metal legs recycled material. Outdoor furniture company Loll
the Polyprop chair. The PP seat in Day’s chair was Designs has updated the wooden Rapid Rocker
injection moulded, enabling mass production and designed in 1939 by architect Ralph Rapson to use
widespread utilisation in British schools. HDPE recycled from milk bottles. Norway-based
Furniture designers have come to know a lot Flokk has issued a limited edition of the HÅG
about plastics, their properties and their potential Capisco Puls office chair, designed in 1984 by Peter
for achieving an aesthetic vision. They have often Opsvik, using PP recycled from snow plough
worked closely with materials companies and markers. Some designers are also specifying
manufacturers in the development of a new chair. recycled plastics when developing new chairs,
A good example is Konstantin Grcic who collabo- such as the N02 Recycle, designed by Oki Sato of
rated with BASF on the MYTO cantilever chair, Nendo for Danish furntiure company Fritz Hansen,
injection moulded in Ultradur High Speed. which uses post-consumer plastics.
“The design was significantly influenced by the The trend to include recycled content in injection
material,” says Grcic. “Chemically speaking, this moulded chair components was shown last year in
www.injectionworld.com March 2022 | INJECTION WORLD 13DESIGN | SUSTAINABILITY
Right: The the contribution of polyamide producer Domo
plastic parts in Chemicals to the Kirn chair from Wales-based office
the Kirn chair furniture company OrangeBox. Domo’s Econamid
from furniture PA materials, which are used in the plastic parts of
company the chair, are produced from post-industrial recycled
OrangeBox are textile fibres. The Kirn chair was developed by
made from Orangebox with support from Linear Plastics, an
Domo’s injection moulder regularly used by Orangebox, and
Econamid Domo’s European distributor, Ultrapolymers.
recycled PA Orangebox says that the use of the Econamid
materials material means Kirn’s manufacture produces 97%
fewer CO2 emissions than that of a task chair made
IMAGE: ORANGEBOX
from virgin plastic. In addition, the chair is designed
to use as few materials and resources as possible,
and uses recycled materials wherever feasible. cast a wide net for opportunities to incorporate
In the world of office furniture, Herman Miller is ocean-bound plastic across our global operations.
a company with a long and respected design We’re proud of the progress we’ve already made
pedigree. In September last year, it said it has with packaging and textiles and are eager to
started using recycled plastics in its Aeron chair continue doing our part in preventing harmful
range, as part of the company’s commitment to use plastic from reaching our oceans by adding it
50% recycled content in all materials by 2030. to the iconic Aeron Chair.”
Aeron, Herman Miller’s top selling chair, was The company says that, depending on configu-
designed by Bill Stumpf and Don Chadwick in ration, the ocean-bound plastics in Aeron can be
1994 (with a new version in 2016). Its highly found in the frame and tilt covers of the chair
engineered design, ergonomic excellence and amounting to between 0.5 and 2.5 lbs (226.8 g and
material innovation (eradicating the foam and 1.13 kg) of the material per chair. The Onyx Ultra
leather found in most office chairs at the time) led Matte colorway contains the highest amount of
to many awards and many imitators. It was also the ocean-bound plastics at almost 2.5 lbs (1.13 kg)
company’s first product to receive the Cradle to per chair. All chairs within the Aeron Portfolio are
Cradle V3 Silver Level certification, assessed on up to 90% recyclable and composed of over 50%
environmental and social performance. recycled content, it says.
Herman Miller is being supplied with recycled While Herman Miller produces high-end
material through its involvement with NextWave furniture, another company of global stature – IKEA
Plastics, a collaboration of technology companies – dominates the affordable end of the market. It too
Below: Herman and consumer brands to develop a global network has a sustainability focus in its product design and
Miller says it of ocean-bound plastics supply chains. The has the ambition to use only renewable and
has started ocean-bound plastics used in Aeron is currently recycled materials by 2030. This focus was high-
using recycled sourced from India and Indonesia. lighted five years ago in the Odger chair. This
plastics in its Gabe Wing, Herman Miller’s Director of Sustain- injection moulded chair is made of wood-plastic
classic Aeron ability, says: “We joined NextWave to play an active composite comprising 30% wood chip from
chair range role in taking on the ocean plastic problem and reclaimed wood and 70% PP with recycled content.
Odger was designed for IKEA by Stockholm-based
Form Us With Love.
“Renewable and recycled materials are prerequi-
sites for a circular society,” says Lena Pripp-Kovac,
Head of Sustainability at the Inter IKEA Group, in
the group’s 2021 sustainability report. “In a world
of limited resources, we want to move away from
the linear model of ‘take, make, waste’, to a circular
system where nothing is wasted and where old
IMAGE: HERMAN MILLER
products become new resources. Our ambition is
to inspire and enable our customers to live better
everyday lives, within the limits of the planet, so the
materials we use are a key aspect of this.”
She says the group has “made some good
14 INJECTION WORLD | March 2022 www.injectionworld.comThin Wall
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progress. Currently, 60% of the materials IKEA uses
IMAGE: MUUTO
are renewable and 10% are recycled... We already
use a lot of renewable wood-based materials, and
we’re increasing the amount of recycled materials
such as recycled plastic in our products.”
No matter what the sustainability vision is of a
designer or design-led company, recycled plastics
are not a simple drop-in solution to replace virgin
plastics. Contamination is a major issue for recy-
cled plastics in consumer products, as Pripp-Kovac
indicated when talking about the Trollbo children’s
lamp, which has a lampshade and other elements
made from recycled PET bottles. “It’s a challenge to
make recycled plastic translucent. Our product
development team had to play around with be seen in Vitra’s Evo-C chair designed by Jasper Above: The seat
different grades of PET bottles to achieve this, but Morrison in 2020. Evo-C is a cantilevered chair shell of Muuto’s
they succeeded in the end and the result is great,” manufactured entirely from PP that is made possible Fiber range of
she said. It’s also difficult to source clean recycled through gas injection moulding technology. “There chairs uses
materials in enough quantity, she said. were many complexities,” says Morrison, discussing wood-plastic
Performance questions around recycled plastics the chair on his website. “The main struggles were composite and
informed furniture group Muuto in its reworking of the thickness of the legs, the length of the foot (to in its new
the Fiber range of chairs originally launched in 2014. avoid tipping) and the detailing of how and where to version the
The shell seat is a wood-plastic composite and in its end the gas-moulded tubular parts.” plastic material
new iteration the plastic material includes recyclate. He continues: “There were many more struggles includes 80%
“It might sound like a modest challenge, yet on the engineering side, and stress simulations recyclate
reproducing the same strength and durability as the which had the computers running for weeks to
forerunner was a result of diving into the wildly estimate whether the design was strong enough
complex world of mechanics and material proper- and if not then where it needed strengthening.
ties,” says Trine Mulvad Steffensen, CSR Manager at Then there were test moulds of the legs to check
Muuto, on the company’s website. “After them in reality, with snaking lengths of tube to simu-
two years of intense research and devel- late the flow of the gas through a certain length
opment here we are – we have proved our without building an expensive larger mould.
initial hypothesis to be possible.” Eventually when everything seemed to be working
The Fiber armchair and side chair use a well enough they started cutting the mould which is
minimum of 80% recycled plastic. Muuto a monster of moving parts and channels for the gas
says it opted not to go for 100% recycled to get in. The achievement is nine
content because of concerns about lower parts engineering to one part Left: The Vitra
strength. “To us it is a reasonable trade-off — design. I think the final result Evo-C chair
creating a highly durable chair that will last for has a Zelig-like ability to fit in to during
STUDIO / VITRA
IMAGE: JASPER
MORRISON
years to come, still using at least 80% different kinds of spaces.” development
recycled plastic. We believe that this will In order to design a suc-
impact the environment less than creating a cessful cantilevered chair
more frail chair with a shorter lifespan Morrison decided to avoid
made in 100% recycled plastic,” it says. recycled plastics. He says on
Leading furniture design group Vitra the Vitra website: “For the
diverges from other companies and has moment the chair would not
not set itself recycled material targets. be strong enough to be made
Instead, its approach to sustainability is to develop with post-consumer plastic, but no doubt the time
products that last as long as possible and it backs will come when it could be. For now it’s important
this up with long product warranties. Nora Fehlbaum, to keep in mind that a well made and designed
Vitra CEO, says: “Vitra’s greatest contribution to plastic chair has a useful life of 20-30 years and can
sustainability is the creation of products that omit be recycled after that.”
non-essential elements and last a long time. Our Evo-C is a significant chair in design, engineering
roots in modern design would allow nothing else.” and manufacturing terms. Vitra’s iconic cantilevered
This approach to quality design and longevity can Panton chair from 1965 was the point of departure
www.injectionworld.com March 2022 | INJECTION WORLD 17JOIN US
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Exploring trends and technical
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Maurizio Longhi
Materials Technology
Regulatory GSME,
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AMERICAN CHEMISTRY COUNCIL
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VIEW THE AGENDA TODAY AT www.ami.ltd/attend-fire-USASUSTAINABILITY | DESIGN
for Morrison. The monolith Panton chair material add depth and give it a story, Left: Tip Ton Re
IMA
was a landmark combination of bril- GE
: similar to how the structure of a is Vitra’s
VI
T
liant design and engineering piece of wood tells you about the update of the
RA
with plastic materials (which tree’s growth cycles.” Tip Ton chair
has been injection moulded Grosen says product designed by
in PP since 1999) and designers are facing a huge Edward Barber
Morrison says he wanted challenge in the way they and Jay
Evo-C to also be a single approach materials and Osgerby, using
plastic moulding, but this manufacturing. “You need a recycled PP
time with two front legs. different mindset, but we are
Vitra’s focus may be on adapting to it, because it’s the
durability, but that does not way we need to think and act
mean it is ignoring recycled now. It’s part of the designer’s and
materials. Tip Ton Re, an update of the company’s responsibility. In this
Tip Ton chair designed by Edward Barber dialogue we push each other towards a more
and Jay Osgerby in 2011, is Vitra’s first recycled circular way of thinking.”
plastic chair. It is injection moulded using 3.6 kg of He says: “Testing new materials and processes
recycled PP sourced from Germany’s Yellow Bag can give you unknown results; it always leads to
household recycling scheme. some kind of learning and adds to the knowledge
“Working on an existing product is a good way base on the circular economy. This is different from
to gain experience with a new material,” says Vitra’s finding only a new aesthetic or a new function. We
Chief Design Officer, Christian Grosen. “Though view this as a very relevant challenge. The rules are
recycled polypropylene is still a type of plastic, it’s not yet written, and we are writing ours as we go.”
different to work with.” Grosen describes plastic as “a fantastic material
He says the materials challenge was to make the and will be with us for a long time, but there are
chair strong enough, as recycled materials do not right and wrong ways of using it. The critical thing
have the same performance as virgin. Glass was is to understand when to use recycled plastic,
added to the PP for reinforcement, which then led to when to use new material, and when to combine
work on improving the surface quality. The company them to achieve products that people will keep
followed an iterative process to determine the and utilise for as long as possible.”
minimum amount of glass fibre needed for strength
while meeting the desired surface standards. CLICK ON THE LINKS FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Another consideration for designers using � www.basf.com
recyclate is what to do about its grey colour. � www.domochemicals.com
Grosen says: “We wanted to keep the material as � www.orangebox.com
clean as possible, so what you see is what you get. � www.hermanmiller.com
There are tiny specks of other colours in the grey, � www.ikea.com
which vary slightly from chair to chair. But for me � www.muuto.com
that adds interest and pushes our perception of � www.vitra.com
plastics. The slight variations in the recycled � www.fortum.com
The chair that picks itself up off the floor
Recycled materials suppliers hope to with cellulose fibre and has a steel
show designers and specifiers what base plate. The carbon footprint of
it’s possible to do with recyclate. In Fortum Circo recycled plastic is about
order to showcase its Circo recycled half that of virgin plastics, says the
plastics, Fortum Recycling in Finland company.
has designed a self-righting chair. The chair was inspired by Finnish
The Viren chair prototype has a athlete Lasse Viren’s recovery in the
IMAGE: FORTUM
clever design which allows it to roll 10,000 metres final in the 1972
and “stand” again after being Olympics in Munich. After stumbling,
knocked over. It is made using Circo Viren picked himself up and went on
recycled PP compound reinforced to win the race in record time.
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SECURE YOUR PLACE TODAYTHIN WALL MOULDING | INNOVATION
The Thin Wall Integra
IMAGE: ARBURG
project brings
together experts to
push the boundaries
of moulding thin
wall packaging.
James Snodgrass
writes about
innovations in
packaging and
electronics moulding
Going further with
thin wall moulding
As the trend towards lighter, stronger, higher between Collomb, a mould maker specialising in Main image:
volume packaging continues apace, thin-wall thin-walled containers; Pagès Group, a specialist in In the Thin Wall
injection moulding continues to be a growth packaging robotics; Verstraete, an IML label Integra project,
sector: with compounders making stronger and manufacturer; Koch-Technik, a material flow a fully auto-
more sustainable PP and PP copolymer grades and specialist; Borealis, a raw materials supplier and the mated injection
processors finding ways to make walls ever thinner, French subsidiary of German machine maker moulding cell
and cycle times ever shorter. Arburg. Thin Wall Integra is intended to be a has been
Mordor Intelligence research indicates that the one-stop shop concept for the production of designed
thin-wall packaging market was valued at $38.58bn thin-walled five-litre buckets. around a
(€34.62bn) in 2020 and is expected to reach The concept is a fully automated injection hybrid Arburg
$55.92bn (€50.18bn) by 2026, at a CAGR of 6% over moulding cell built around a hybrid Arburg Allrounder 720
the forecast period of 2021-2026. Research from Allrounder 720 H machine, in packaging variant, H in packaging
Emergen is even more encouraging. The Canadian with a one-cavity mould. The complete cycle takes version
market intelligence company believes the market around 5s. Both the injection moulding machine
could reach $66.75bn (€59.82) by 2027. Novel and the sequentially operating robotic system are
thin-wall moulding applications have also emerged optimised for fast cycles. The handling system with
within engineering thermoplastics for personal telescopic arm that engages from the rear side of
transportation and consumer electronics applica- the machine first loads the mould with the IML
tions, where a combination of light weight and labels. The robotic system then removes the
strength is as vital as it is for the packaging sector. finished labelled buckets and stacks them on a
Co-operation between mould makers, robotics deposit mat. The stacks are then automatically
experts, IML label manufacturers, raw materials picked up by a robot for palletising. The two robot
suppliers and an injection moulding machine technologies used make the system particularly
manufacturer has resulted in the Thin Wall Integra compact. The granule (Borealis’s UJ599MO-90, a
project – a new approach to the production of compounded polyolefin solution containing 55%
thin-walled packaging. The novel production cell in mechanically recovered post consumer recyclate)
Aulnay-sous-Bois, France, is a collaboration is continuously fed in through an automatic
www.injectionworld.com March 2022 | INJECTION WORLD 23INNOVATION | THIN WALL MOULDING
Right: Arburg conveyor system. The melt flow rate (MFR) is 70 in
IMAGE: ARBURG
says a geomet- this specific application, according to an Arburg
ric structure spokesperson.
moulded on the The containers have a wall thickness of just
bucket’s inside 0.63mm, leading to material savings of up to 35%
helps lessen compared with similar 5-l containers. As is apparent
vacuum effect from the photograph (right) – looking where the sun
when stacked shines through the bucket from behind – the
and contributes containers have a geometric pattern moulded on
towards the inside. This is to contribute towards compres-
compression sion resistance and also to limit the vacuum effect
resistance when pails are nested in each other, by allowing
increased air flow. Labels are produced with digital
watermarking from the Holy Grail 2.0 project,
making the pails recyclable anywhere that PP can
be recycled.
Counterfeiting in the luxury food and drinks
industry is a multi-million dollar industry. The adulteration, substitution, theft, misrepresentation,
pandemic added to the problem: there was a high illegal processing, waste diversion and document
demand for premium products but, at the same fraud costs £11.97bn (€14.33bn) per annum.
time, there were interrupted supply chains, Seizures of counterfeit products provide a good
receiving fewer physical audits. This created a indication of the scale of the problem. In 2020,
situation ripe for opportunists and bootleggers, Operation Opson IX seized 12,000 tonnes of illegal
who took advantage of the disruptions. and potentially harmful products, including 1.2m
Sumitomo (SHI) Demag has been looking at litres of alcohol.
how specialist closure and thin wall moulders are In a concerted effort to crack down on groups
applying the latest injection moulding precision profiting from illicit versions of branded spirits and
and IML techniques to step up their fight against premium foods, manufacturers are making labels
the creative food and drink fakers to mitigate risks more difficult to copy and bottles harder to refill.
and safeguard brand integrity. “One way to counteract counterfeiting and product
In a recent survey of senior food and drink tampering is through the innovative design of
executives conducted by assurance specialists packaging that cannot be easily copied,” says
Lloyd’s Register, only one-third admitted to vetting Gough.
suppliers against a recognised GFSI standard. One “Until recently, this may have involved putting
in five declared that no checks were made as part shrink or foil sleeve around a luxury drink brand, for
of sourcing decisions. Yet, despite these prevalent example. Closure moulders especially are stepping
risks, 97% stated that they had been affected by up their efforts and investing in dedicated cells to
food fraud in the last 12 months. Few in the produce high quality and anti-refill closures made
industry regard authenticating products as their up of a number of complex parts.” Due to the
highest priority. intricacy of these closures, moulding precision is
Looking at the UK food and drink market, paramount.
Sumitomo (SHI) Demag UK packaging specialist, Significant investment in high quality tooling,
Ashlee Gough, notes that it remains one of the automation, machinery and expertise can be anoth-
worst markets for counterfeiting – when food and er major deterrent, says Gough. “Realistically, few
drink products are deliberately packaged to counterfeit operators would make the level of
deceive consumers. The UK Food Standard investment required to replicate this level of
Agency’s National Food Crime Unit technical precision.”
estimates that the combination of Other covert packaging methods to deter
counterfeits include concealing unique identifiers,
Tamper evident closures is such as a QR code, holograms or tags within the
one method deployed by IML. While these can assist with track and tracing,
packaging manufacturers Gough claims that they only really help to validate
to counteract fraud in the the origin of a container and tend to be more
premium drinks, wellbeing widely deployed by luxury food, cosmetics,
IMAGE: ISTOCK/
BERT_PHANTANA and pharmaceutical markets pharmaceutical and wellbeing brands.
24 INJECTION WORLD | March 2022 www.injectionworld.comDiscover the latest technology trends, market
developments and challenges with industry experts
Confirmed speakers include:
Andrew Reynolds Andrea Ubbiali Lisa Filindassi Andrew White
Director Regulatory Affairs Product Manager – Senior Business Unit Director
Advance Bidco Manager Food Contact Specialist FP Pigments
(Owners of AMI) Rifra Masterbatches TÜV Rheinland Italia
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Developing new formulations and applications
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SECURE YOUR DISCOUNTED PLACETHIN WALL MOULDING | INNOVATION
He says: “To outsmart quick-witted counterfeit-
IMAGE: SOCAR
ers, manufacturers may need to deploy several
tactics simultaneously to prevent brand value
being diluted, including tamper evident bands,
secure closures, snap buttons, barcoded labels and
batch codes, and even chemical markers.”
For packaging moulders producing thin-walled
containers, or caps and closures, by the million,
cost effectiveness remains vital. Gough highlights
Sumitomo (SHI) Demag’s El-Exis SP range which,
the company claims, typically achieves between 3%
and 5% greater productivity compared with other
packaging machines on the market. The fourth
generation EL-Exis SP series is designed to with-
stand the higher stresses and injection pressures exhibit low shrinkage, improved thermal resistance, Above:
that are necessary for achieving repeatability in superior rigidity, dimensional stability, and a Socar’s new
closures and thin-walled packaging products, while balance between stiffness and impact resistance. compounds
maintaining comparable mechanical properties. Socar Polymer worked collaboratively with for thin wall
At the time of writing, access to two new grades Milliken for a year to provide customers with these packaging
of PP impact copolymer, from Azerbaijan-based reactor grades of heterophasic copolymers, which contain
Socar Polymer, may be influenced by geopolitical use no organic peroxides, and are consistent with Milliken
events. However, they are currently marketed to the company’s “zero-phthalate philosophy”. No Chemical’s
customers in Russia, Turkey and CIS (Russia plus catalysts or chemicals containing phthalate Hyperform
eight former Soviet republics of Armenia, Azerbai- compounds are used at any stage of production. HPN additive
jan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, This latest collaboration built upon previous
Tajikstan and Uzbekistan). cooperation between the companies that led to the
Socar Polymer’s CB4848 MO and CB 6448 introduction of Socar’s first two random copolymer
grades are designed for rigid, thin-wall packaging PP grades – RB 4545 MO and RB 6545 MO. Those
such as caps, closures, and opaque containers, as grades use Milliken’s Millad NX 8000 family of
well as for various housewares, sporting goods, clarifiers to boost clarity in thin wall injection
and toys. Containing Milliken Chemical’s Hyper- moulded packaging products while maintaining a
form HPN additive, the CB 4848 MO (with MFR of balance of overall properties.
48) and CB 6448 MO (with MFR of 64) grades Milliken additives were also involved in the
deliver moulded parts that the company claims development of a new PP impact copolymer from
US-based producer Flint Hills Resources. The
American PP manufacturer’s new impact copoly- Left: IML labels
mer, AP5195-LV PP, is designed to deliver better with unique
impact strength, high melt flow and good stiffness. identifiers,
This is achieved using DeltaMax performance such as a QR
modifier from Milliken. code, holo-
“The balanced performance of Milliken’s additive grams or tags,
technology enhances the resin architecture of our are other
new AP5195-LV PP impact copolymer,” says Pierre methods that
Donaldson, Director of PP R&D for Flint Hills can deter
Resources. “By excelling in impact, melt flow and counterfeiting,
stiffness, our novel PP material can make it easier for says Sumitomo
converters to produce strong yet lightweight (SHI) Demag
packaging, boost productivity, and reduce energy
IMAGE: SUMITOMO (SHI) DEMAG
and plastic use to support environmental efforts.
This new grade is an important addition to our
portfolio and represents another major milestone in
our successful collaboration with Milliken.”
Brian Burton, Regional Director of Sales for
Milliken, says: “As one of the first resin suppliers to
utilise our newest performance modifier, Flint Hills
www.injectionworld.com March 2022 | INJECTION WORLD 27Developing technologies and applications for
electrically and thermally conductive plastics
Save €300*
Grow your business network if you
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• Discover the challenges and opportunities in 18 March
formulation and processing 2022
• Gain insight into market trends and future forecasts
• Network with key players in the conductive plastics arena
• Learn about the latest conductive additive technologies
• Explore new and emerging markets
*This discount cannot be used in conjunction with other offers.
BOOK YOUR DISCOUNTED PLACETHIN WALL MOULDING | INNOVATION
Resources is again applying its trademark creativity
IMAGE: AMI
and formulation capabilities to advance the state of
the art, this time with a PP impact copolymer
offering a unique combination of desirable proper-
ties. During our decade of collaboration, we’ve
witnessed first-hand the company’s leadership in
resin development. With the introduction of this
new AP5195-LV PP impact copolymer, the packag-
ing industry stands to benefit in multiple ways.”
Composite materials
To demonstrate thin-wall applications for its Tepex
Dynalite continuous-fibre-reinforced thermoplastic
composites, Lanxess has looked to an electric
skateboard that uses Tepex Dynalite overmoulded
with polyamide. Electric skateboards are, Lanxess one operation, the section is then formed and the Above: The
contends, extremely challenging to design. entire structure overmoulded with a short-glass- Okmos electric
The electric components of a skateboard, such fibre-reinforced PA6 compound. skateboard is
as the battery and the motors that drive the wheels, “The process is very efficient and highly inte- manufactured
need to be housed in very confined spaces to keep grated, meaning that not only can the base plate by EMI in
the board light, compact and easy for the rider to be fixed in place, but fastening elements, wire France
handle. EMI is a family business based in France ducting and the battery holder can also be
that manufactures the Okmos SL-01 electric mounted in the same operation. That means that
skateboards. unlike many conventional electric skateboards, the
Conventional skateboards usually consist of a latter does not have to be screwed in separately,”
relatively flat wooden board where the rider stands, says Jules Staedelin, R&D Manager at EMI.
also known as the deck. Under the deck of electric The composite section is made from PA6-based
skateboards is a plastic box containing equipment Tepex Dynalite 102-RG600(6), which is reinforced
including the battery. The EMI design, however, has with six layers of continuous-glass-fibre rovings.
a trough-shaped deck. With the exception of the The deck cover is also made from this material.
motors – which are mounted on the back of the Lanxess PA6 grade Durethan BKV30H2.0EF is used
skateboard – the trough houses all the electric and for overmoulding. This compound, which contains
electronic functions, including the battery. The 30% short glass fibres by weight, is optimised for
trough is enclosed by a cover. Because this purpose. Its melt flows easily,
of the strength of the Tepex reinforced which ensures that even long flow
composite, the trough can be manufac- paths can be implemented without Left: The trough
tured with a wall thickness of just 3mm. problems when the injection mould- containing the
“Tepex is extremely resilient thanks to ing tool is being filled. battery and
its high torsional and bending strength, EMI has developed its new electric electronics for
and very lightweight into the bargain. skateboards entirely in France, and it the Okmos
The deck weighs just 2.5 kg,” says manufactures them there as well, under skateboard has
Jean-Marie Olivé, Technical Manager the Okmos brand. The injection a wall thickness
Application Development at the High moulding tool for the hybrid moulding of just 3mm
Performance Materials (HPM) business process is also based on in-house
unit at Lanxess. “Despite the thin walls, expertise.
the electric and electronic components
in the deck are safely protected against CLICK ON THE LINKS FOR
impact as well as moisture.” MORE INFORMATION:
IMAGE: LANXESS
The trough-shaped composite part is � www.arburg.com
manufactured in a single hybrid mould- � www.sumitomo-shi-demag.eu
ing process step. First, a robot inserts the � https://socarpolymer.az
metal base plate used to attach the � www.milliken.com
truck axles into an injection moulding � www.fhr.com
tool. It then places a heated and � www.lanxess.com
plasticised Tepex section in the tool. In � www.okmos.fr
www.injectionworld.com March 2022 | INJECTION WORLD 29You can also read
