Last week was a slow news week.
Weekly resin report: PP producers seek to pass along soaring monomer costs
Plastics News: Resin prices heat up in February
Ontario recycling company under new ownership
A. Schulman adding capacity in Europe
Month: March 2017
All About Moisture Analyzers
A moisture analyzer is a great tool for any plastic processor to have. It will tell you for sure that you are drying the material adequately. It is also a great tool for material suppliers to have so that they can aid customers who are trying to troubleshoot problems.
How exactly a moisture analyzer works seems like a bit of witchcraft. You put a bit of material in, you choose some type of program and hit the start button. Ten to twenty minutes later, the readout shows a percentage. The process is a little bit more complex than just heating the material and burning off the moisture weighing the sample before and after. You don’t need a moisture analyzer to do that, you can do that with a lab dryer and lab balance. How does it work?
News Digest 3/20/2017
New 6500 ton injection molding machine to mold septic tanks
BASF to invest in new additives plant in China
Spanish oil company Repsol introduces line of PP, PE and EVA for medical applications
Toho Tenax develops new carbon fiber reinforced PEEK based on recycled feedstocks
Weekly resin report: Spot PP and PE prices ease back a penny
Chevron Phillips declares force majeure on HDPE
Nylon 6 and 6/6 price increases take hold
Teknor Apex inks nylon distribution deal with M. Holland
Dow veteran joins PolyOne board
Lanxess’ transformation leads to solid 2016 financial results
French start-up advances milk-based bioplastics
US Navy develops new transparent TPE armor
Russian supplier Sibur sees growth in polyolefin
Get Your Pressure Right
Hydraulic Pressure vs Plastic Pressure
When we refer to injection pressure, we can be talking about one of two things. We can be talking about hydraulic pressure which refers to the pressure that the hydraulic ram is exerting on the screw or we can be talking about plastic pressure which is the pressure that the screw puts on the melted plastic.
These two are not the same thing and if you specify an injection pressure range on your processing guides, you should only specify hydraulic pressure and you should be very clear about it.
James May: “Car makers charge a hefty premium for it, but it’s nothing more than a by-product of cheeseburgers. Maybe it’s time for us to move on.”
A few weeks ago, I posted a story suggesting that automakers, especially higher end automakers, should start offering vegan interior options (you can read it here). It seems that James May formerly of Top Gear fame and now on The Grand Tour on Amazon agrees.
He has some real issues with an older vehicle with leather interior. You can read the article in The Times UK here.
Weekly News Digest 3/13/2017
Solvay introduces two new grades of PEEK for implantable devices
FDA approves cosmetics container made out of KW Plastics recycled polypropylene
Nexeo Solutions announces changes to its board of directors after member joins Trump White House
Teijin develops hard-coating technology for polycarbonate automotive glazing
Scientists at several universities working together develop new PE/iPP multiblock polymer
Weekly resin report: Commodity resin prices rise a penny
Nexeo Solutions purchases Mexican material distributor Ultra Chem
News Digest 3/6/2017
PolyOne applies for patent on carbon nanotube reinforced plastic materials
Nexeo acquires part of German material distributor K.D. Feddersen Norden AB
NBD Nanotechnologies introduces new hydrophobic polymer additives
Weekly resin report: Polypropylene market resumes rally
PE, PP, PVC prices on the rise
PolyOne increases its credit line by $50 million
A. Schulman to open new distribution center in Stryker Ohio
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