• Auctions set for Visteon and CertainTeed plants November 03, 2009
• Graham Packaging plans $350 million IPO November 02, 2009
• Start-up compounder opening in Ohio November 03, 2009
• Denton's new PET recycling plant in Oregon may be first of many November 04, 2009
• Mexico Coke bottler saving money with lightweight preforms November 05, 2009

• Denton's new PET recycling plant in Oregon may be first of many November 04, 2009
• Start-up compounder opening in Ohio November 03, 2009
• Graham Packaging plans $350 million IPO November 02, 2009
• Filtrona Extrusion renamed Pexco November 02, 2009
• PolyOne reports third quarter profit November 04, 2009

New PKA pulverizers feature direct drive

PKA stands for Powder King Anthem, since the machines are made in the company’s new factory in Anthem, Ariz. The company also has expanded its customer services to include disk grinding, 24-hour technical support and test grinding from laboratory trials.

Features of the PKA line include better reliability with the company’s direct-drive system and horizontal grinding mills for more-even grinding and longer disk life. It has a 20-inch diameter.

A new streamlined mill design improves quality, consistency and production rates. Direct drive means the PKA runs quieter than traditional belt-drive models, and the Hy-Pro Disk design makes disks last three or four times longer between sharpening, according to the company.

Also, disk gap adjusters are simple to use, with an Allen wrench, the firm said.

The machine also has a new pocketed-disks mounting feature on the flywheel and water jacket.

Tel. 623-551-9897, fax 623-551-8571, e-mail jhummel@powder-king.com.

Temperature changes ChroMyx film’s color

Chameleon’s ChroMyx changes color once certain temperatures are reached, and then reverts to the original color when the temperature shifts back. Chameleon developed the materials in conjunction with Wiman Corp., part of RTP Co.’s sheet and film unit.

ChroMyx film is made by a cast extrusion process of PVC film by Wiman Corp. of Sauk Rapids, Minn. It can be laminated, radio-frequency sealed, stitched and printed.

Tel. 336-643-0157, sales@chameleonint.com.

Arkema aims Rilsan at auto tubing uses

Rilsan HT, a polyphthalamide, lowers overall system cost and ensures longer service life of engine components, said the Colombes, France, company. Also, it contains 70 percent renewable carbon for an environmental advantage, the firm said.

Arkema claims its new material is the only PPA extrusion resin that can replace metal in tubing in demanding engine service and other severe applications. It provides good forming and fitting-insertion properties in smooth or convoluted tubing. It resists oxidation and chemical aging at high temperatures and creep.

Tel. 33-1-4900-7144, e-mail michaela.steng@arkema.com.

BinMaster upgrades SmartBob console

The SBC-1000 monitors all vessels connected to a network from a single control panel. Users can check distance to product, product height, weight and percent of fullness.

Tel. 402-434-9102, e-mail jchristensen@garnerindustries.com.

Absolute firm debuts

All three companies are based in Worcester, Mass.

Absolute Green Energy will focus on three areas:

* Industrial energy savings, by offering products and services to cut energy use, free up capacity and improve machine reliability. Services focus on electrical distribution and load analysis, and thermal heat-flow analysis.

* Solar-power solutions, through access to a wide range of solar components, including brands of Mitsubishi, Evergreen, REC and SolarWorld modules; Outback and Xantrex inverters and other globally sourced components. The company supplies technical support and project management.

* Solar thermal water and space heating systems. Absolute Green Energy is an authorized dealer for East Granby, Conn.-based valve maker Oventrop Corp. USA, and provides solar water heaters.

Mike Ortolano, one of the founders, is president of Absolute Green Energy.

Tel. 508-459-5410, fax 508-792-9646, e-mail cmadru@absolutegreenenergy.com.

Keba system drives injection presses

The KeDrive D6 drive system, made for multiaxial applications, can run an injection press. During molding, not all the drives need to be used simultaneously. The injection axis has the largest power requirement. Drives for mold movement and plastication both need 70 percent of that maximum power level, while part ejection and pressing require 25 percent.

A drive system using KeDrive D6 components feeds a central power supply unit via the common direct-current voltage link of the five inverter axis modules.

Tel. +43-732-7090-22610, e-mail aes@keba.com.

Brückner BOPP line is sold to Dubai firm

The line is running at a constant speed of 1,666 feet per minute. The Oman line can produce up to 11,000 pounds of BOPP film an hour.

This is Taghleef Industries’ seventh joint project with Brückner. The German company provided the turnkey package, including plant layout, utilities, resin-storage facilities, peripheral equipment, finished material-handling and film-recycling systems.

Tel. +49-8662-63-9278, fax +49-8662-63-9101, e-mail karlheinz.weinmann@brueckner.com.

Macro winder can function in reverse

Unlike traditional gap surface winders that can wind film in only one direction, the automax-SBG features a reversible winding mode. That allows the processor to choose whether to wind jumbo rolls with the film’s treated side in, or with the treated side out.

To switch winding directions, the operator simply needs to thread the film in the opposite direction around the drum and select the correct winding direction on a touch screen.

Another feature: straight-edge cut-overs that are done without fold-over, so rolls are flat and wrinkle-free all the way to the core.

The winder can handle rolls up to 4.9 feet in diameter, and film thicknesses from 0.6-16 mils.

Winding shafts are available in sizes of 3-6 inches.

It will wind materials up to 9.8 feet wide at speeds up to 656 feet per minute.

Tel. 905-507-9000, fax 905-507-3000, e-mail sales@macroeng.com.

Software designed for flexible packaging

Using PS-Quote, makers of flexible packaging can cost and quote their products from extrusion through printing, laminating and converting. Users can construct custom or stock product specifications, including raw materials, run and scrap rates, labor and overhead costs.

The software is capable of costing film substrates with up to 10-layer blends.

Tel. 416-223-8166, e-mail gtreliving@plastisoft.com.

New Maplan screws enhance pipe making

MPVC pipe has improved toughness and impact strength needed for pipe and fittings for water distribution, air distribution and mining applications. The properties are comparable to unplasticized PVC, according to Maplan, based in McPherson, Kan.

The screw has a special flight geometry that provides optimum plastification without sacrificing output rate or an increase in melt temperature because of shear. Extruding MPVC compound presents processing issues because of the need for additional energy input for proper plastification.

Maplan said CPVC compounds can present challenges because of their thermal instability. The company’s CPVC screw provides a typical reduction of melt temperature up to 15-20°F, while giving superior plastification. A reduced melt temperature significantly extends the reaction or decomposition time.

The screw also can double the time between purges and shutdowns for cleaning.

Tel. 620-798-2304, fax 620-241-2142, e-mail welcome@maplan.com.

MGF feeder features multilingual operation

Languages include English, Czech, French, German, Italian, Polish and Spanish.

Another new feature, called “extrusion following,” automatically anticipates and adjusts for gross variations in extruder rate, such as those during changes of film rolls. That ensures accuracy of the MGF feeder while avoiding the productivity losses that happen when color metering does not keep pace with ramp-ups in line speed, said Pat Smith, vice president of marketing and sales.

Maguire Products is based in Aston, Pa.

Tel. 610-459-4300, fax 610-459-2700, e-mail info@maguire.com.

Pallateer unit makes pallets from scrap

To save floor space, Wilmington can arrange the extruder and the injection unit of the Lumina press on a 90-degree angle.

Jeff Newman, vice president of sales and marketing, said Wilmington was getting a lot of inquiries from big plastics converters about using their scrap to make pallets.

“So we ended up making a complete system, and basically it made it easy to do,” Newman said. The machine can mold pallets using structural foam or gas-assisted injection molding, he said.

Newman said Wilmington is getting a lot of interest from companies in North and South America, as well as Europe and Ireland.

The Lumina Pallateer includes a complete package: a Lumina-brand structural foam press, a robotic part-takeout system, blenders, air compressors and nitrogen-gas generation equipment.

The machinery maker is based in Wilmington, N.C.

Tel. 910-796-1604, fax 910-452-5191, e-mail jnewman@wilmingtonmachinery.com.

Lawton introduces Micro-Molder press

The Micro-Molder has a vertical clamp and vertical injection unit, with a two-station rotary table for insert molding. The plunger injection unit can be fed from 12-ounce cartridges or a commercially available mixing and metering system. Air pressure pushes the material from the cartridges into the metering block, which has two pneumatically driven cylinders that push it through a static mixer and into the injection cylinder.

The electric injection cylinder will fill to a set position at a setback pressure, until the proper shot is achieved.

Lawton Machinery said the injection unit can be removed in a few minutes for cleaning or material changes.

Tel. 920-347-1983, fax 920-347-9183.

SPE, Routsis team up for online training

Discounts are available for SPE members. The courses are available for purchase from SPE’s new online store at www.4spe.org/online-store.

The move with Dracut, Mass.-based Routsis follows SPE’s “mission of offering rigorously developed, up-to-date plastics technical information,” said Tom Conklin, SPE’s director of marketing and sales. The interactive, online courses include video from actual production environments, three-dimensional animation and professional narration.

SPE is based in Newtown, Conn. Tel. 203-740-5403.

Globaline extruder cuts cost, lead times

PTi recently demonstrated a compact unit designed to make sheet for in-line thermoforming. PTi also offers Globaline in a full-length configuration for producing roll stock.

Officials of PTi, based in Aurora, Ill., said the new brand is part of a worldwide strategy to expand in regions such as Russia, Eastern Europe, South America, China and India.

PTi is touting Globaline’s flexibility for making smaller runs of sheet from materials such as polypropylene, polystyrene, PET and polylactic acid bioresin.

“The Globaline has been engineered to cut delivery times and costs, with lead times trimmed 30-40 percent and a price tag that’s much lower than custom-designed machines,” said PTi President Dana Hanson.

Installation of the mechanical system can take just two to three days, since the sheet line incorporates features such as a patent-pending, linear-bearing mounted frame infrastructure.

PTi offers Globaline in two platforms to make sheet in widths of 40 inches or 60 inches. The line can be configured to run between 630 and 3,900 pounds of material an hour. All Globaline lines are available in monolayer or coextrusion formats.

PTi also rolled out its Titan Plus, an expanded unit from its Titan controller. Titan Plus uses three control screens at an operator station, with the same information displayed on a machine-mounted pendant.

Tel. 630-585-5800, fax 630-585-5855.