Advanced Human-Machine Interface Makes Control Easier and More Flexible

San Polo di Piave/Italy, June 2022 – Oerlikon HRSflow has thoroughly revised the software forthe control unit of its FLEXflow hot runner systems. The updated Human Machine Interface
(HMI) 4.0 now makes operation even more intuitive and convenient. Systems with different nozzle types can be integrated and several parameter sets can be saved per mould. Extended possibilities have been added to individually control each servo motor for nozzle needle positioning and to monitor process stability. In addition, specific user accounts for individual access authorisations can now be set up and managed. Thanks to the web connection, access to the control unit is possible regardless of location.

HMI 4.0 now offers the possibility to control multiple servo motors individually and with specific data. This also enables the handling of systems with mixed nozzle dimensions. For this purpose, the system uses specific mold cards for each tool equipped with the FLEXflow hot runner technology. All the information required by the control system can be uploaded to these cards, including recipes, the number and configuration of servo-electric nozzles. Storing the individual recipes also facilitates changing the working mode of the mould, which is mainly relevant for family tool operations. Even parameters for purging cycles can be integrated. These mould cards can be downloaded on a USB stick to transfer them to another control unit or to save them as a backup.

Advanced process control
To facilitate individual programming and to make it even more intuitive, an image of the respective moulded part can be stored on the corresponding card. There, individual gating points can be
correlated to the respective hot runner nozzle. Double-clicking on them allows for disabling or enabling certain functions and checking the status of the motor. Moreover, the user can manage the operation parameters of each motor to independently optimize the performance of the related nozzle. A cycle list page provides master diagrams for individual moulding recipes. Overlaying the appropriate diagram for a specific task with the corresponding actual process data provides the possibility to check the process stability and to take measures where necessary.

Single and multi-tasking
Creating and storing individual profiles for users or user groups provides customised functionalitieswhich can be flexibly adapted to the respective organisational needs. Each user logs in with his or her personal account name and password. The number of these user accounts is unlimited. Several users can connect to a control unit at the same time. However, only one participant can take control, while the remaining ones only receive information about the respective status. It is possible, however,
to pass over control to another user. Integrated into the customer’s network, the HMI 4.0 allows for controlling FLEXflow hot runner
systems from any location via PC or tablet, using an internet browser. The responsive graphic display adapts to the most common monitor resolutions.

Demanding and complex components in focus
Beyond the supplementary advances of the updated HMI 4.0, the advantages of the servo-motor- driven, accurately controllable FLEXflow valve gate systems remain the same. Because large-area
moulded parts with high-quality surfaces can be produced, injection moulding of demanding an complex automotive components is one of the main areas of application. Especially in cascade
injection moulding, FLEXflow allows individual, sequentially coordinated precise opening and closing of the needles at selectable speeds. This allows the melt flow in the individual hot runner nozzles and the overall volume flow in the cavity to be precisely controlled and the filling process to be optimised over conventional cascade systems. Possible results include not only excellent part surfaces but also a reduction in the required clamping force thanks to the large process window as well as the component weight without compromising quality.

Arburg Technology Days 2022: Great Enthusiasm Again from Industry Professionals!

Live and in colour: from 22 to 25 June 2022, the Arburg Technology Days took place again after a break of two long years due to Corona. Industry professionals had clearly been waiting eagerly: Over 3.700 visitors from all over the world came to the German company headquarters in Lossburg. Awaiting them under the title, “Think Tank”, were around 50 machine exhibits, the Efficiency Arena with its focus on digitalisation and sustainability, service solutions and fascinating expert presentations. The guests were delighted with the wealth of technology highlights, hands-on innovations, and the spirit of this unique event in the plastics industry…..

This year’s R. Stanton Avery Global Achievement Award has been bestowed on label industry veteran Harveer Sahni. The decision was made by the Global Awards judging panel, consisting of Lori Campbell, chairman of TLMI, Linnea Keen, president of TLMI, Philippe Voet, Finat president, Greg Hrinya, editor of Label & Narrow Web, James Quirk, content director at Labels & Labeling, and Jean Poncet, editor-in-chief at Etiq+Pack.

Andy Thomas-Emans, Labelexpo Global Series strategic director and chair of the judging panel, commented: ‘The judges felt Harveer Sahni met all the criteria for excellence demanded by the industry’s most prestigious award for an individual’s global contribution to the growth and development of the labels industry. His history in building a company to manufacture self-adhesive labels in India, through to his central role in building the Indian label association and then acting as an influential ambassador on the world stage, all helped the judging panel to come to their decision amongst a field of excellent candidates.’

Harveer Sahni started his career in 1971 working in his father’s stationery company, Weldon Sales Corporation. In 1978, as part of expanding the company’s stationery product range, Sahni set up a 20-inch coater to manufacture self-adhesive BOPP tapes – one of the first to do so in India.

Making full use of his BSc Chemistry background, Sahni used the Weldon laboratory to research development of new products including inks, adhesives and coatings. At this time he also ventured into industrial adhesives, plastic blow molding and injection molding.

With demand for self-adhesive stickers starting to take off in India through the 1970s, in 1978 Sahni invested in a siliconizing line, developing and producing poly-coated release liners and later a barrier coating for uncoated woodfree or brown sack kraft papers that could accept silicone release coating.

In 1984, Sahni made his own way to London for a surprise visit to ‘Label Guru’ Mike Fairley, gaining inspiration and useful insights into label converting trends. In the late 1990s a one-meter coater was installed to carry out both silicone coating and to produce release liners, and in 1997 Weldon started manufacturing self-adhesive labelstock, soon adding another coater to focus on liner manufacture.

With the dawn of the 2000s, Sahni moved the business from coating tin catalyst-based silicone chemistry to a solvented platinum catalyst system and then on to solventless silicone coating – a line which is still in use. In 2003 Sahni again was a pioneer setting up the first Nordson Hotmelt adhesive coating line in India.

The global recession of 2008 led to Sahni reducing dependence on manufacturing and setting up as India agent for leading global manufacturers of print and converting equipment, tooling and consumables.

In the late 1990s Sahni welcomed the entry of  ‘big brother’ Avery Dennison to India, recognizing that this would help drive development of the entire Indian label converting industry. This also pushed Sahni into developing export markets, and Weldon was soon selling to over 30 countries.

In 2001 Sahni became involved in helping his friend Anil Arora establish the India Label Show, which Tarsus Group purchased in 2007, when it became Labelexpo India.

Weldon became the first Indian labelstock manufacturer to exhibit at Labelexpo Europe and also in this decade Sahni became the first Indian national to be on a Finat committee, and he was a judge for the World Label Awards multiple times.

Sahni sits on the board of directors of the Label Manufacturers Association of India (LMAI) and has curated, along with the LMAI team, many events bringing together label printers, suppliers and print buyers. Sahni was part of the LMAI delegation to meetings of the L9 group of global label associations, with LMAI hosting an L9 meeting in India in 2018.​​​​​​
In 2017 the LMAI conferred upon Sahni the award for Lifetime support to the Indian Label Industry.

In 2005, Sahni started his highly influential blog ‘Self-adhesive Labels Industry in India and The World’, now consisting of over 200 articles on success stories, technology, market size, events and M&A. The blog is nearing half a million page views this year.

Lisa Milburn, managing director of Labelexpo Global Series, commented: ‘I would like to congratulate Harveer Sahni on winning the R. Stanton Avery Global Achievement Award. It recognizes Harveer’s central role in building the Indian self-adhesive label industry from its earliest days, and later his major contribution to promoting the Indian label industry on the world stage.’  

5G campus network for plastic machine manufacturer Arburg

Investing in the machine room of the future: At its headquarters in Lossburg, Germany, Arburg GmbH + Co KG has launched a 5G campus network from Deutsche Telekom. This will enable the manufacturer of injection moulding machines from the northern Black Forest to test innovative applications for its own production – such as autonomous transport systems, industrial robots or automated production processes. In its Customer Center, Arburg is already presenting the potential of the 5G mobile communications standard for digital manufacturing. There, industrial customers from a wide range of plastics-processing sectors, such as the automotive and packaging industries or medical technology, can test digital manufacturing concepts. For this purpose, Telekom has equipped the Arburg Customer Center with eight special in-house antennas that supply the 2,100-square-meter area with 5G.

At the end of 2021, Project STOP has created social and environmental impact in three cities in Indonesia and is now ready to scale-up to the entire region of Banyuwangi.

• By the end of 2021, Project STOP provided waste collection to more than 260,000 people, created 226 jobs, and collected more than 20,000 tonnes of waste (around 2,350 tonnes of plastic) and built five waste sorting facilities since project inception.
• Operating in three cities, the first city partnership in Muncar was handed over to the local government and its community in February 2022.
• Now, the project scope is being expanded across the entire Banyuwangi Regency in East Java.

Project STOP is celebrating the achievement of an important milestone: Since its start in 2017 until the end of 2021, the programme has brought more circular and reliable waste management services to more than 260,000 people in three cities in Indonesia (many receiving waste collection for the first time ever), built five waste processing facilities, and contributed to permanently preventing more than 20,000 tonnes of waste (including 2,350 tonnes of plastic) from leaking into the environment.

Operating in three cities, Muncar and Pasuruan in East Java and Jembrana in Bali, the Muncar programme was handed over to the local government and its community in February 2022, followed by the launch of its expansion over the entire Banyuwangi Regency, East Java.

Co-founded in 2017 by Borealis and SYSTEMIQ, Project STOP works in city-partnerships, to create sustainable circular waste management systems, and drives the transformations towards circular economy. The programme follows a “system-enabler” approach whereby it designs and implements reliable, low-cost waste collection services, builds waste sortation facilities to sort recyclable materials, sales of recyclables and runs behavior change and clean-up campaigns in the communities where it operates. Moreover, the team engages with local stakeholders to improve the waste system governance, inform local policy regulation, and builds institutional capacity building.

This impact was made possible thanks to the invaluable support of the national and local government agencies, including the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs, the Ministry of National Development Planning/National Development Planning Agency, the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing, the Banyuwangi Government, the Pasuruan Government and the Jembrana Government, including the environmental agencies of Muncar, Pasuruan and Jembrana.

Borealis and SYSTEMIQ express their gratitude also to its strategic partners, who contributed to this achievement, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, NOVA Chemicals, Borouge, Nestlé, the Alliance to End Plastic Waste and Siegwerk as well as its supporting and technical partners, Veolia, Schwarz and Hewlett-Packard.

KRAIBURG TPE, a global manufacturer of thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) and custom TPE solutions for a variety of industries, offers the THERMOLAST® H HC/AP series of compounds that can be used in designs of orthopedic equipment.

Thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) have been used in in orthopedic equipment due to the material’s functionality, durability and exclusive material properties. For this reason, KRAIBURG TPE’s innovative THERMOLAST® H HC/AP compound series offers the ideal material solution for various orthopedic equipment such as wheelchairs, crutches, knee joint braces, orthopedic walking boots and lumbar supports.

Apart from critical factors such as performance, weight, and properties – TPEs are also the choice material for many medical applications because of their high degree of purity (low level of extractable compounds), recyclability and cost-effectiveness. For medical equipment designers and manufacturers, the THERMOLAST® H HC/AP compound series offers many advantages, such as:

• Focused for Asia Pacific’s medical needs 

KRAIBURG TPE’s THERMOLAST® H series of compounds have been exclusively designed for the Asia Pacific healthcare and medical devices market.

• Compliance to many international standards

Their high-quality material solutions comply with various international standards, such as Cytotoxicity ISO 10993-5, GB/T 16886.5, as well as EU No. 10/2011, GB4806, FDA CFR 21, REACH and RoHS.

• Excellent properties

Amongst its advantages, THERMOLAST® H offers good adhesion to PP. It also provides excellent haptics with a soft touch surface feel, which are ideal for applications such as handles for crutches, wheelchairs as well as inner padding for knee joint brace and ankle brace.

• Easy-processing and sterilizable TPE in medical devices

KRAIBURG TPE, which specializes in the manufacture of application-specific custom-formulated TPE materials for injection molding and extrusion processes, also ensures that orthopedic equipment is safe for use and meets hygiene standards. Thus, the THERMOLAST® H compounds are sterilizable by autoclave 121°C and EtO.

• Free from animal and harmful ingredients

The compounds, which are free from animal ingredients, can replace the use of latex and PVC materials, since latex can cause allergic reactions.

• Excellent adhesion and sealing

KRAIBURG TPE’s compounds are cost-effective and offer excellent sealing and adhesion performance.

• Color and design flexibility

The THERMOLAST® H is offered as translucent and in-house precoloring is also possible, subject to specific project requirements. Orthopedic equipment product designers will find this It compound series advantageous because of its design flexibility and application possibilities.

First-of-its-kind plant for the production of EHV AC & DC cable insulation materials to be built in Tarragona, Spain

Pratteln/Switzerland, June 2022. Buss AG has been awarded a contract for the realization of a 27kta production plant for crosslinkable polyethylene XLPE cable compounds by Repsol, a global multi-energy company offering a wide range of solutions for different types of cables.

The new, patented LSHC™ process („Linear Short Hyper Clean“) has been developed by Buss AG in close cooperation with P&M Cable Consulting LLC, a Swiss based consulting firm in the field of cable compounds. It offers access to, among others, various High Voltage (HV) and Extra High Voltage (EHV) insulation materials, exhibiting superior product quality and process efficiency compared to the well-known soaking technology. XLPE grades for both, alternating (AC) or direct current (DC) cable applications are readily produced with this innovative and flexible process.

The LSHC™ technology relies on direct peroxide injection and gentle compounding of a newly developed additive cocktail by using BUSS state-of-the-art COMPEO™ co-kneader series, allowing at the same time for significantly reduced capital expenses and clean room requirements. Further advantages are the compact plant design without high-rise soaking tower and improved cleanliness and physical-electrical properties of the produced materials.

Buss AG is proud to work with Repsol on the realization of this first-of-its-kind industrial production plant and will eagerly continue the excellent collaboration towards the scheduled start-up in mid-2024. The LSHC™ technology is available to BUSS customers world-wide on the basis of a competitive licensing model. A corresponding pilot plant for production of HV and EHV materials will be available around the end of this year at the BUSS Campus in Pratteln, Switzerland.

BUSS is an international market leader in compounding systems for demanding applications. As the original manufacturer of the Co-Kneader technology, the company offers unique compounding solutions that set the benchmark for heat- or shear-sensitive applications in the plastics, aluminium, chemical and food industries. The core competence is customer and application specific solutions for advanced compounding tasks in line with the high demands on process technology and product quality as well as the continuously increasing technological market needs. BUSS has a strong global presence in wire and cable applications with reference plants for low voltage materials, HFFR compounds, filling compounds, conductive layers and insulation materials ranging from medium to extra-high voltage applications.

P&M Cable Consulting LLC has become the leading consulting firm in the Wire and Cable industry, established in 1993. Thanks to its lifelong experience in the field, P&M Cable Consulting supplies the most advanced expertise over five continents.

Concept facilitates swift, co-creative development of new packaging types

The ALPLA Group is accelerating the roll-out of new plastic packaging solutions with the opening of the innovative product development space STUDIOa at the company headquarters in Hard, Austria. Customers can visit this one-stop shop to help complete the development process in a matter of days, from the first design draft and a prototype to the finished packaging.

3D printing, virtual and augmented reality, real-time cost control and optimum technical service – the packaging specialist ALPLA is taking product development to the next level with the STUDIOa design centre. ‘STUDIOa stands for everything we believe in – great design, top technical performance and a swift roll-out. This one-stop shop is the ideal space in which to develop innovative, safe and sustainable packaging solutions for the future together with our customers,’ explains ALPLA CEO Philipp Lehner at its official inauguration at the company headquarters in Hard.

With its innovative STUDIOa, ALPLA is focusing on the close coordination of technology, product development and sales. ‘When we work directly with the customer in the same space and the decision makers are there in person, we can shorten the development time, bring new products to market faster and secure a competitive edge,’ says Norman Häusler, Director of Corporate Product Development, with conviction.

Design experience space
Interdisciplinary ALPLA teams attend a number of design sessions and workshops at STUDIOa developing new packaging types together with customer delegations. In addition to design experts, these involve the expert input of technical specialists in the fields of production, mould construction and process technology. ‘This means a design’s feasibility and recyclability can be checked, optimised and adapted in the early stages of a project, thereby saving time and money,’ Häusler emphasises.

And the space offers more on top – a 3D printer produces prototypes immediately after design modifications, virtual reality glasses provide an initial product preview and augmented reality (AR) is used to simulate the packaging placed on the supermarket shelf.

Global product development
With its seven Technical Centers around the world, ALPLA promotes regional product development for its local customers. The new STUDIOa design centre in Hard follows in the footsteps of the concept successfully applied at the site in Atlanta, USA, since 2015. A customer-oriented development space was also opened in Toluca, Mexico, in mid-2021. Another STUDIOa is currently under development in Shanghai.

Info: www.studio-a.design

First System House in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region for more sustainable MDI version

Pearl Polyurethane Systems, the leading polyurethane (PU) systems house in the Middle East and Africa region, will in future receive climate-neutral1 MDI (methylene diphenyl diisocyanate) from Covestro. It is climate-neutral from cradle to the factory gate1 of Covestro, thanks to the use of alternative raw materials – based on plant waste – that are allocated to the products using certified mass balancing according to ISCC PLUS.

The new MDI enables Pearl to help its downstream customers reduce their carbon footprint by offering a broader portfolio of more sustainable raw materials as part of its newly rebranded EcoPearl product range. The new MDI grades from Covestro can be used in numerous construction, cold chain and automotive applications.

Pearl is the first system house in the EMEA region to receive the carbon-neutral1 MDI from its former joint venture partner and long-time supplier Covestro. The latter has already received ISCC-PLUS certification for five of its 16 main sites and is able to supply climate-neutral MDI from its sites in Uerdingen, Germany, and Caojing, China.

Following a comprehensive ISCC audit to trace the supply chain and assess raw material sustainability requirements, Pearl became the first local polyurethane systems house to be ISCC certified in March 2022, enabling it to verify the various sustainability credentials for its product formulations and raw materials used. The certification followed an internationally recognized five-step process and allows end users to measure the sustainability performance of the ISCC-certified products they use.

In the context of commercial building insulation, ISCC PLUS certification allows end users and tenants of such buildings constructed with Pearl-supplied insulation products to easily measure and verify the sustainability performance of the buildings they occupy. This is a factor that is becoming increasingly important to businesses as consumer interest in the environmental impact of companies grows.

“This mass-balanced carbon neutral MDI further enriches our broad portfolio focused on the circular economy and responds to the growing demand for more sustainable products,” says Sucheta Govil, Chief Commercial Officer of Covestro. “By working with multipliers such as Pearl Polyurethane and helping a growing number of downstream users in various industries achieve their sustainability goals, together we are accelerating the transition to the circular economy.” Covestro plans to further expand its portfolio of carbon-neutral products.

Martin Kruczinna, CEO of Pearl Polyurethane Systems, commented, “rigid polyurethane foam, as a superior insulating material, plays an important role in meeting the Paris Agreement to limit the rise in global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius at best. Just as Covestro is leading the way among PU raw material producers to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035, Pearl is acting as an agent of change in the PU systems industry, giving its customers a competitive advantage by helping them adapt to greener technologies and improve the thermal insulation performance of their products. The addition of carbon neutral1 MDI-based solutions to our newly named EcoPearl product range helps our customers achieve their emission reduction and circular economy goals.”