Plastics Engineering Medical Plastics APRIL 2015 ■ ■ ■ ■ Get Flexible Medical Plastics
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00 Cover_Layout 1 3/18/15 2:58 PM Page cvr1 Plastics Engineering APRIL 2015 Medical Plastics Get Flexible Medical Plastics I www.plasticsengineering.org www.plasticsengineering.org I I Thousands of Links in “The Chain” I Plant Visit: Cleanroom Thermoforming I Medical Packaging Standards www.4spe.org www.4spe.org I “Shale Gas-Advantaged” Plastics 00 Cover_Layout 1 3/18/15 2:58 PM Page cvr2 Success secured in an instant When every second counts, LOCTITE® instant adhesives provide speed, strength and versatility. Great for high speed assembly and high strength applications, LOCTITE instant adhesives are easy to use and bond a wide range of materials. For picture perfect results. See how we can help you secure success at loctite-success.com All marks used are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Henkel and its affiliates in the U.S. and elsewhere. ® = registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. © 2015 Henkel Corporation. All rights reserved. 14128 (3/15) 01 contents_editorial 3/19/15 6:12 AM Page 1 CONTENTS I I VOLUME 71 NUMBER 4 APRIL 2015 From SPE DEPARTMENTS 2 The SPE University “Roadshow” Energy-Saving Tip ..........................42 Already Thousands of Links in “The Chain” What’s happening with SPE’s new online platform for By Dr. Robin Kent 6 plastics networking? Industry News ................................52 Industry Patents ............................60 COVER STORY By Dr. Roger Corneliussen Medical Plastics: Well and Good By Pat Toensmeier 12 Healthcare applications depend on a growing range of unique Upcoming Industry Events ..........62 materials Market Place ..................................64 Chemical-Resistant TPE Materials with Adhesion to Engineering Thermoplastics 20 By Florian Vetter and Sehyun Kim Editorial Index................................66 Adhesion is just one of many demands on soft thermoplastic elastomers Advertiser Index ............................68 PLANT VISIT Keeping It Clean By Michael Tolinski 24 Cleanroom thermoforming presents challenges—and rewards About the cover: Medical plastic products have to be flexible—in multiple ways—for a changing healthcare market; see our CONSULTANT’S CORNER cover story. (Main photo courtesy of Maintaining High Standards for Medical Packaging 28 By Elayne Schneebacher BASF.) Keeping standards up requires thorough quality testing methods Plastics Engineering Formulation Strategy to Achieve Highly Colorable and APRIL 2015 34 Weatherable ASA By Steven D. Blazey Medical Plastics Acrylonitrile-styrene-acrylate materials maintain color with Get Flexible optimized formulations The Wet Molding Method By Annette Wettach Medical Plastics 40 An alternative approach for mass-producing carbon fiber-reinforced I plastics “Shale Gas-Advantaged” Plastics www.plasticsengineering.org www.plasticsengineering.org By American Chemistry Council I I Thousands of Links in “The Chain” 44 I Plant Visit: Cleanroom Thermoforming They’re expected to boost U.S. jobs & exports I Medical Packaging Standards www.4spe.org www.4spe.org I “Shale Gas-Advantaged” Plastics INSIDE SPI A Presidential Visit to Techmer PM …and other news about the state of the plastics industry, 48 from SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association www.4spe.org www.plasticsengineering.org | www.4spe.org | APRIL 2015 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | 1 02-05 From SPE_046854 IndustryNews.QXD 3/18/15 3:02 PM Page 2 FROM SPE The SPE University “Roadshow,”” 2014-15 ver the six months leading up to ANTEC® Orlan- do @ NPE, SPE staff members visited numerous “Currently the job market college campuses across the United States, inter- is very strong for plastics acting with current SPE Student Chapter members and encouraging other students to join the SPE students, yet there still remains open Ocommunity by becoming members and/or forming their seats in plastics-related degree own SPE Student Chapter. Their efforts, along with a one-year free membership promotion for students, have doubled programs across the the number of student members from 1,100 to well over country every semester.” 2,000 in only six months, with students now making up at least 16% of all SPE members. One of their most recent visits was to the University of Con- necticut, where roughly 30 engineering students, their — Russell Broome professors, and members of the SPE Connecticut Section SPE Managing Director gathered to meet with SPE Managing Director Russell Broome. UConn professor and faculty advisor” for UConn’s Student Chapter, Luyi Sun, introduced Broome. Broome told the students about his initial exposure to SPE as a mechanical engineering undergraduate at North Carolina State University. The network of professional connections he formed through local SPE Section meetings resulted in his first job upon graduation. “I thank SPE for leading me to that manufacturing job in plastics,” he said. “Looking back, SPE was involved in each step of my career.” Broome talked further of his leadership involvement with SPE on a local and nation- al level, including his service as president of the Society in 2011-2012 and now his current position on staff as the managing director of SPE. “Get Connected” Broome stressed to the students that to truly get connect- ed with the industry, social media and the internet are not enough. Personal, face-to-face networking via a professional group like SPE is still a vital piece of forming meaningful con- nections. He also emphasized that the SPE Foundation awards more than $100,000 worth of scholarships each year to both graduate and undergraduate students (these scholar- SPE’s Russell Broome introducing University of Connecticut engineering students to the benefits of SPE membership at a ships are easy to apply for at www.4spe.org/foundation). recent event on campus. Grants are also available to college engineering depart- 2 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | APRIL 2015 | www.4spe.org | www.plasticsengineering.org 02-05 From SPE_046854 IndustryNews.QXD 3/18/15 3:02 PM Page 3 02-05 From SPE_046854 IndustryNews.QXD 3/18/15 3:02 PM Page 4 FROM SPE: The SPE University “Roadshow” ments for acquiring primary and secondary equipment to provide a “hands-on” experience for their students. Broome is working to set up additional scholarships specifically for graduating high school seniors in STEM-focused programs to help fill open seats in universities with plastics and poly- mers curricula. “Currently the job market is very strong for plastics stu- dents, yet there still remains open seats in plastics-related degree programs across the country every semester,” Broome explained. “This new scholarship program is one of the many ways SPE is working to address the plastics indus- try’s workforce shortage we all hear so much about.” Student dues for SPE membership have been free through- out the recent membership drive, and Broome hopes to solicit a corporate partnership to cover all student dues in the future. The students’ interest in connectivity was also addressed with a review of the mobile apps and media platforms avail- able via the SPE website. In particular, the students got a solid introduction to The Chain, SPE’s new engagement platform Some of the UConn students, faculty, and SPE members and designed specifically for plastics professionals. The Chain staff who stuck around to socialize after the recent SPE visit and presentation. was engineered with students in mind; Campus Connection, one of the site’s premier forums, allows students around the world to connect in one central place. USA, where a half-dozen local universities from Texas were well represented. Next Steps Broome and his SPE team plan to continue going “back to SPE is planning further visits to its more than 60 partner col- the roots” of SPE, by focusing on and meeting more member leges and universities. Other schools visited on the groups in North America—where, after all, SPE was born over “Roadshow” previous to UConn included Pennsylvania Col- 70 years ago. lege of Technology (PCT), University of Southern California, and Lehigh, Kettering, and Ferris State Universities. Many of Interested in having an SPE staff member visit your organization these university visits included additional agenda items such or university? Email Sarah Sullinger ([email protected]) or Sue as lab tours, senior project presentations, education nights Wojnicki ([email protected]) to schedule your visit today! at local SPE section meetings, lunches at favorite student/fac- ulty restaurants, meetings with affiliated campus groups Also note that SPE's 2015 Salary Survey needs your input. When like the Plastics Innovation & Resource Center at PCT, and you participate, you'll get a look at current results and a copy of joint meetings during SPE TopCons. Most recently Broome final results. (Your personal information will be confidential; only attended a student dinner held in conjunction with the compiled findings will be published.) Participate at International Polyolefins Conference in Houston, Texas, https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PlasticsSalarySurvey2015. 4 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | APRIL 2015 | www.4spe.org | www.plasticsengineering.org 02-05 From SPE_046854 IndustryNews.QXD 3/18/15 3:02 PM Page 5 2TQFWEVKQPGHƂEKGPE[EQWPVU A broad perspective is essential: every day, some 3.5 billion high-quality plastic parts are produced on ALLROUNDER machines – so the WVOQUVRTQFWEVKQPGHƂEKGPE[KUTGSWKTGF+H[QWCTGUGGMKPIVQRTQFWEGVJCVGHƂEKGPVN[YGCTGVJG TKIJVEJQKEG9GGPUWTG[QWTGEQPQOKEUWEEGUU#4$74)HQTGHƂEKGPVKPLGEVKQPOQNFKPI ARBURG, Inc. 4QEMYGNN4QCF Newington, CT 06111 Tel.: +1 (860) 667 6500 Fax: +1 (860) 667