Plastics Engineering Medical Plastics APRIL 2015 ■ ■ ■ ■ Get Flexible Medical Plastics

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■ ■ Plastics Engineering www.4spe.org www.plasticsengineering.org Medical Plastics APRIL 2015 ■ ■ ■ ■ Get Flexible Medical Plastics

“Shale Gas-Advantaged” Plastics Medical Packaging Standards Plant Visit: Cleanroom Thermoforming Thousands of Links in “The Chain” 00 Cover_Layout 1 3/18/15 2:58 PM Page cvr2

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CONTENTS ■ ■ 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 ■ plastics

“Shale Gas-Advantaged” Plastics www.plasticsengineering.org www.plasticsengineering.org By American Chemistry Council ■ ■ Thousands of Links in “The Chain” 44 ■ Plant Visit: Cleanroom Thermoforming They’re expected to boost U.S. jobs & exports ■ Medical Packaging Standards www.4spe.org www.4spe.org ■ “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

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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 national 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 connected 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 connections. 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 polymers curricula. “Currently the job market is very strong for plastics students, 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 industry’s workforce shortage we all hear so much about.” Student dues for SPE membership have been free throughout 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 available 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/faculty 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 FromSPE_046854IndustryNews.QXD3/18/153:02PMPage5 TKIJVEJQKEG9GGPUWTG[QWTGEQPQOKEUWEEGUU#4$74)HQTGHƂEKGPVKPLGEVKQPOQNFKPI WVOQUVRTQFWEVKQPGHƂEKGPE[KUTGSWKTGF+H[QWCTGUGGMKPIVQRTQFWEGVJCVGHƂEKGPVN[YGCTGVJG day, some3.5billionhigh-qualityplasticpartsare produced onALLROUNDERmachines–sothe #4$74)6GEJPQNQI[%GPVGT%CNKHQTPKC&QRRNGT4QCF+TXKPG%#6GN /KFYGUV/KNNGPPKWO&TKXG'NIKP+.6GN %GPVGT 6GEJPQNQI[ #4$74) e-mail: [email protected] Fax: +1(860)6676522 Tel.: +1(860)6676500 Newington, CT06111 4QEMYGNN4QCF ARBURG, Inc. 2TQFWEVKQPGHƂEKGPE[EQWPVU Abroad perspectiveisessential:every

www.arburg.us 06-11 The Chain_046854 IndustryNews.QXD 3/18/15 3:03 PM Page 6

Already Thousands of Links in “The Chain” Plastics professionals are rapidly getting connected via SPE’s new network serving the global plastics industry

he Chain is a new online com- • Scott Owens is the president and munity specifically designed for people munity platform developed by CEO of Chemtrusion, Inc., a plas- in the plastics industry to connect has the Society of Plastics Engineers tics compounder headquartered become a reality. toT enhance networking and collabo- in Houston, Texas, USA. He’s been ration with plastics professionals a member of SPE for nearly 30 De Vos: Tech Talk is by far our most around the world. It provides tools for years and is currently SPE’s senior popular forum. Plastics professionals individuals to share information, ask vice president. Owens has served from around the world are coming for help, discuss problems, exchange as the committee chair leading together to discuss current issues felt lessons learned, search for informa- the efforts to launch The Chain, by many engineers, exchanging ideas tion… or simply stay connected with recognizing the potential of social on how to tackle these problems mov- colleagues in the industry. networking to enhance the mem- ing forward. As Tech Talk becomes People logging into The Chain are bership experience and improve more well-known and popular I can given access to all of these features overall operations of the Society. see this as the premier source of infor- and more—and they’ve been joining • Willem De Vos became CEO of mation and trouble-shooting for and logging in at a fast rate since the SPE in January 2012. Previously, as plastics professionals around the platform officially came online in ear- a member of SPE, he had served world. ly 2015. So Plastics Engineering asked as chair-elect of SPE’s European two key players behind the creation of Thermoforming Division (he PE: In Tech Talk, what kinds of discussions The Chain for an update on its speaks Dutch, English, French, are emerging? Which seem to be most progress: German, and some Italian). active, drawing the most responses? De Vos came to SPE from Vitalo, a leading global supplier of plastics packaging and thermoformed plastic components, where he had been CEO since October 2009.

Plastics Engineering: As of the beginning of March, roughly how many people are connected using The Chain? How quickly is it growing? And which “Place” in The Chain is the most popular thus far?

Owens: To date more than 3,000 members have signed in to use The Chain. The number of users has been growing at a very steady rate of 10% per week. “Tech Talk” has been the most popular Place for members to connect with other members via The Chain. We are very excited that our Scott Owens idea of creating a networking com- Willem De Vos

6 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | APRIL 2015 | www.4spe.org | www.plasticsengineering.org 06-11 The Chain_046854 IndustryNews.QXD 3/18/15 3:03 PM Page 7

Owens: tech talk is proving to be User Benefits De Vos: During its initial launch in ear- the Place where our members can ly 2015, The Chain was only open to sPE go for help solving problems, making PE: Are the individuals using the chain members, so all of the discussions recommendations, and general now primarily SPE members, or do the thus far have been amongst active sPE industry knowledge on a variety of discussions include professionals out- members. At the nPE show in March, technical topics. there are currently side of the SPE core membership? sPE launched a free “e-Membership”— numerous ongoing discussions cov- ering subject matter ranging from material applications, testing methods, and operational challenges to industry innovations.

De Vos: there are a variety of questions and discussions going on. All have a technical or technological nature related to polymer and plastics processes and materials. some people look for solutions to their problems, others search for advice, others are looking for sources of materials or additives or even equipment with a specific capability. I like to [describe] it as a “mountain” of knowledge with a world-wide network underneath—so just like Moses went up to the mountain for advice, any plastics professional can tap into The Chain mountain for any technological counsel.

PE: Can you describe an example of a particularly active, recent discussion topic? Why do you think it was so popular?

Owens: the most popular subject to date has been the sharing of member experience related to the application of a common industry test—melt flow rate—as a method for quality control. the topic is closely related to an earlier discussion on “Melt Flow Rate correlation.” In that case, a user was seeking to draw on the experience of others to determine if the test method could be used to correlate target end-product attributes. together, these subjects represent the strength The Chain has to offer: users coming together, sharing their experiences, and inspiring others to consider related topics, as even more users share their experiences. Popular “Tech Talk” discussions on The Chain concern topics like the various uses of melt flow rate (MFR) testing (user names are intentionally blurred).

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Already Thousands of Links in “The Chain” ______available to any professional with an form to locate fellow” professionals in LinkedIn is used a lot by HR profes- interest in plastics and polymers. The your network, but The Chain is the ide- sionals to find people or by people e-Membership gives an individual full al platform to find relevant answers to find new jobs. In the LinkedIn dis- access to Tech Talk and SPE Café, and and solutions for your everyday busi- cussion groups there are a lot of read-only access to the Career Cen- ness and also to connect with fellow commercial postings of events and new tral forum. All of these benefits are professionals on a more meaningful products, which are not often useful. free as part of the SPE e-Membership. level. With The Chain, and more specifically Individuals also have the option of a Premium membership, which provides full access to all of the forums in The I decided to go on The Chain and post a Chain, access to the largest technical library in the plastics industry, net- technical question about an issue/ working access to 20,000+ contacts problem we are trying to solve about a product.... worldwide, registration discounts to I have to say that the response has been fantastic. SPE conferences, subscription to Plas- tics Engineering magazine, and so much Not only did people respond within The Chain and more, for the traditional yearly rate. post their comments and suggestions, I received emails and also phone calls from a variety of PE: How do discussions on The Chain compare with other plastics group dis- people... that were willing to offer up cussions like those on LinkedIn®? potential solutions.... I am hooked.

Owens: There is no question that The Chain offers a superior experience to its users. The operating platform used to create The Chain enabled us to —Kimberly Rush establish a number of forums, known Director of R&D and Regulatory, Polyform Products Co. Inc. as Places. Thus far those Places include Tech Talk, The SPE Café, Career Cen- ” tral, Leadership Lane, and Campus Connection. [Professional] modera- tion of discussion traffic within The Chain ensures that content is aligned with each Place’s intended purpose. Additional enhancements provided by The Chain’s platform include the ability to contribute to a discussion from within the application or by email response; share information via discussions, blogs, and standard file formats; search content across the member’s communities; customize contact information; etc. All of these features are available to SPE members at no cost.

De Vos: I like to make the following The Chain’s promotional “Linky” characters have become common sights as SPE comparison: LinkedIn is a good plat- has rolled out the platform to a larger audience.

8 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | APRIL 2015 | www.4spe.org | www.plasticsengineering.org 06-11 The Chain_046854 IndustryNews.QXD 3/18/15 3:03 PM Page 9

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Already Thousands of Links in “The Chain” ______

with Tech Talk, the focus is on moder- and share information directly with oth- Extending the Links ated and significant technology ers by creating their own personal contact discussions which prevent advertise- list based on other users of The Chain. PE: What new changes should we be ment postings, so people are looking for in The Chain? not “disturbed” with commercial mes- De Vos: One of our original tactics to sages. Moreover, you can follow those keep Tech Talk free of commercial and Owens: We have a very exciting discussions or technical topics you have social talk was to create a social forum future planned for The Chain. In addi- interest in and enhance your skill set where plastics professionals can be more tion to the continued growth of fully as a plastics professional. social. In the SPE Café forum, The Chain searchable user-generated content, users can chat about virtually any topic, we have plans to expand the number PE: Are there any significant challenges and in the Career Central forum you will of Places based on user needs and felt by those who moderate the discus- find job openings, resumes, and sound interests. We expect the use of The sion platforms? HR advice to help enhance your career Chain to grow rapidly as we begin to aspirations. promote awareness and interest of Owens: Beyond the simple goal of activities held in conjunction with our ensuring that content is driven to the PE: Is there much student activity yet on The numerous conferences held through- appropriate Place within The Chain, sub- Chain? What kinds of interactions are pos- out the world. stantial effort is necessary [on behalf of sible? Additionally, we hope that our tech- our moderators] to ensure a balance nical and geographic affiliate groups when it comes to commercialization. Owens: We are pleased to announce around the world take advantage of Our goal is to offer our users the ability the recent launch of Campus Connec- The Chain’s user-friendly platform to to seek answers to their real-world prob- tion, a Place designed to specifically manage their group activities. The lems without being overwhelmed by address the needs and interests of our goal of The Chain is wholly consistent general marketing propaganda. student members. Campus Connection with SPE’s overall goal of being the was created with the understanding “go-to” place for knowledge and infor- that our students likely have a need to mation about the plastics industry. Social Connectivity build their general awareness of the plastics industry. Inside Campus Con- De Vos: With the official opening to PE: What about the more “social” uses of nection, student members throughout the world-wide plastics industry, we The Chain—the casual exchanges (in SPE the world can connect with academic expect this platform to grow expo- Café, etc.)? How are people using these and industry professionals, and fellow nentially in the coming years as the Places thus far? students. reference platform for plastics technology. We expect that in the near Owens: The Chain was designed with De Vos: The Chain is also ideal for stu- future people will say: “You have a the user in mind. Its structure provides dents. With so many engineering technical issue in plastics? Go to The users specific forums to request and programs around the world, students Chain and you’ll find the answer!” share information as well as meet other can benefit from The Chain’s interactive users. Unlike other platforms, The Chain and responsive design by asking ques- uses what we know about our members tions about technical projects, core to connect them with others of similar engineering curriculum, job prospects, interests. For example, all SPE Leaders and more—[to] students and profes- have access to Leadership Lane—a place sors who have the resources to provide designed to share best practices and sound answers. The Chain will also be drive solutions to common problems used by our SPE Student Chapters and faced by our leadership volunteers. the SPE Next Generation Advisory Board Like other platforms, The Chain pro- (NGAB) to share best practices, pictures, vides a comprehensive and searchable and other resources on how to bring member directory linked to each com- our students and young professionals munity Place. Users can build networks together.

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COVER STORY Medical Plastics: Well and Good

Healthcare providers rely on a growing range of plastics to make treatments effective, safe, and available

By Pat Toensmeier

BASF has commercialized both flexible and rigid medical grades recently; see the sidebar on page 15 in this article (photo courtesy of BASF). 12 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | APRIL 2015 | www.4spe.org | www.plasticsengineering.org 12-19 Cover Story_046854 IndustryNews.QXD 3/18/15 3:04 PM Page 13

lastics have been doing well, and doing good, in medical and healthcare markets for years. Major advances in many medical procedures often go hand-in-hand with developments in resins and compounds, thereby enabling theP design, engineering, and cost-efficient production of instruments, devices, and related components that facilitate short- and long-term treatments.

Demographically, the benefits that multi-material molding, and structural Hess describes Lubricomp as a developments in plastics provide in enhancements like thinwalling—often “high-flow material for high-strength many areas are especially apparent at lower cost than competing materials. components where the use of metals or where aging populations ratchet up Below are representative examples of other fiber-filled thermoplastics with demand for innovative treatment sys- suppliers whose new and recent devel- poor flow can create design and man- tems—and for devices that allow the opments in materials affect the design ufacturing challenges.” The compound elderly to meet their medical needs and performance of medical and health- achieves a balance between design flex- without undue and costly reliance on care devices. The capabilities that these ibility and ease of manufacturing that doctors and hospitals. resins and compounds bring to this large, enables complex part design and part Ongoing advances in plastics address diverse and challenging market show- consolidation, while allowing molders another demographic: developing coun- case the ability of plastics to enhance “to reduce waste [and] manufacturing tries where access to hospitals and applications and make possible the and maintenance costs, and improve medical services is limited—or unavail- devices and procedures that improve cycle times,” she notes. able—for many people, especially individual treatments, and ultimately, Target applications for Lubricomp children and infants. Devices for test- the quality of life for people around the include disposable surgical instruments, ing, vaccination, accurate dispensing of world. medical device housings, and drug- antibiotics and other medicines, and self- delivery components. medication bring vital treatments to people who live in areas where there is High Flow, with Design little or no access to healthcare. Flexibility The growing range of medical resins One area where compounds excel in and compounds also addresses properties and performance is devices enhancements to conventional device and components that require metal- requirements such as clarity, chemical like stiffness along with high flow that resistance, sterilization, and of course facilitates molding. SABIC Innovative compliance to mandates from the U.S. Plastics recently unveiled two com- FDA, U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP), the Euro- pounds that combine high-modulus pean Union’s REACH protocols, ISO carbon fiber technology with high-per- standards, adherence to Good Manu- formance resins, for use in disposable facturing Practices (GMP), and other or reusable (and sterilizable) parts. regulations. The grades, LNP Lubricomp These concerns influence the relent- DCI06APW and LNP Thermo- less intra-material competition that comp EC006AQW are drives plastics use in medical devices. alternatives to metal and fiber- The market has never stood still in this reinforced polymers, says area, of course, and has always demon- Cathie Hess, director of health- strated that there is no status quo care marketing. Lubricomp is a 30% when it comes to material selection. fiber-reinforced grade of polycar- LNP Lubricomp is a 30% carbon fiber- Formulation advancements improve bonate (PC), and Thermocomp reinforced PC resin from SABIC for processability, upgrade device perform- is a 30% reinforced grade of replacing metal in scalpels and other ance, and allow part consolidation, polyetherimide. components (photo courtesy of SABIC).

www.plasticsengineering.org | www.4spe.org | APRIL 2015 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | 13 12-19 Cover Story_046854 IndustryNews.QXD 3/18/15 3:04 PM Page 14

Medical Plastics ______

Thermocomp, also touted as an alternative to metal, provides high strength and stiffness, chemical compatibility, and mechanical stability in parts, Hess says. Applications include disposable or reusable surgical instruments, fixation devices like those used to secure broken bones, housings, and patient transport devices. Importantly, the two compounds allow designers, OEMs, and molders to reduce development and manufacturing costs. “Cost effectiveness continues to be a major driver of design decisions in the healthcare industry,” Hess affirms. “These reinforced materials can help optimize medical device system costs as well as improve processability.”

Tiny, Precision Parts for Portable drug-delivery systems make increasing use of internal parts molded from Drug Delivery resins such as Delrin acetals from DuPont (photo courtesy of DuPont). Drug-delivery devices are a major part of the healthcare market. These products allow users to accurately and safely self-medicate without the need for butylene terephthalate, acetal, and designer can do with the look and basic repeat visits to doctors or hospitals, polyamide. A major challenge to the operation of a drug-delivery device to and with little or no disruption to their design and engineering of these sys- set it apart from competitors or improve daily routines. As the design of these tems is the ability to accurately mold tiny its manufacture. devices trends toward ever-more com- precision parts that comprise the inner One option could be different ways of pact, lightweight, and even stylish workings of the devices—gears, constructing internal features using assemblies, resin suppliers are targeting plungers, and similar components. multifunctionality and other techniques the market with enhanced materials. “If you open a dry-powder inhaler, to set the operation of a device apart One resin producer that specializes in you see a complex device for managing from competitive products. Examples the drug-delivery device market is one month of doses,” Hassink says. Hassink cites include: DuPont Performance Polymers. William Since the portability of these devices • achieving a well-defined “click” from Hassink, global healthcare segment means they will get no bigger than they a dose indicator so users know leader, says the global device segment are now (typically pocket size), and like- their administration of medicine is of the market alone (excluding the val- ly will become more compact and accurate; ue of delivery systems with medicine) is lightweight, the precise and reliable • internal energy storage for huge, accounting for an estimated $60 operation of interior components, as mechanical movements from the to $80 billion annually, and growing. well as their ability to assume multi- addition of a spring or other part; When medicine is factored in, the value functional roles, are crucial to use and and of these devices could be as much as safety. • the use of snap fits to improve both $400 billion. But that’s not all. Hassink notes that the positioning of internal compo- DuPont supplies semi-crystalline engi- the ability to differentiate devices is nents like pumps and the assembly neering thermoplastics for these often limited by patent protection. In of devices. devices, among them grades of poly- other words, there’s only so much a One resin DuPont recently added to

14 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | APRIL 2015 | www.4spe.org | www.plasticsengineering.org 12-19 Cover Story_046854 IndustryNews.QXD 3/18/15 3:04 PM Page 15

______

Show & Well Medical device trade fairs are becoming common places where resin suppliers can show off their new grades and applications. For instance, BASF recently promoted a number of materials serving in various healthcare roles at the annual Compamed trade fair in Germany, including the following: • Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) for transparent, thin-walled elements and films: The company’s Elastollan TPU is used for “flexibly foldable” tube elements, balloons, elastically deformable foam suppositories, and drainage tubes, with some parts having a Makroblend M525 PC/polyester from Bayer MaterialScience allows designers to thickness of a few micrometers. develop compact, lightweight housings for wearable medicine pumps (photo • Non-phthalate plasticizers, like courtesy of Bayer). Hexamoll DINCH, a low-migrat- ing alternative to traditional phthalates used in PVC medical applications. The plasticizer is said address these needs is Delrin SC699, an and other medicines. The sleeve, posi- to be a fit for soft PVC feeding acetal homopolymer with inherent sil- tioned between the housing and piston tubes, catheters, breathing icone lubrication. The lubrication rod, is used by patients to set required masks, and blood bags. The ensures that internal parts molded with doses for injection. It interacts mechan- PVC/plasticizer’s technical prop- the grade generate uniform force in ically with the piston rod, which erties are maintained after the hands of different users, thereby dispenses the medicine. The lubricity of sterilization, the company says. ensuring consistent dosages. The grade the grade ensures consistent dispens- • “Skin-stretching” polyoxymeth - also eliminates the need for molders to ing of accurate doses. ylene: BASF’s Ultraform S2320 undertake costly secondary operations 003 PRO’s first application is to lubricate parts. reportedly in the Skin Stretcher, a The lubricity of SC699 and a com- Enhancing Wearable device from BioWim GmbH. The panion Delrin grade, PC699, suit them Pumps device is used to close the skin for applications where surfaces slide, Closely related to portable, self-admin- when treating large wounds fol- roll, or rub against each other. Hassink istered drug-delivery systems are lowing operations or accidents. says the grades additionally have high wearable pumps that automatically The resin is said to minimize the flow, multi-cavity molding properties, inject insulin, painkillers, and other vital friction between parts in contact. creep resistance, and printability, medicines to patients with chronic con- In injection molding, the high- among other properties. “They work, ditions. These devices, which are flowing material produces parts and they are cost effective.” typically worn on a belt or under a shirt that are rigid and strong, supply- One OEM that specified SC699 is or blouse, use subcutaneous injection ing the resilience and spring Ypsomed AG of Switzerland, which uses sites to administer medicine, and have characteristics needed by the it for a dose dial sleeve in its UnoPen battery-powered pumps, timers, device, says BASF. variable-dose injector pen for insulin alarms, and display windows in com- —Ed.

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Medical Plastics ______

pact, lightweight housings. High-Performance “Cyclic” “This is not a commodity item,” he The resin requirements for these Elastomers notes. “It is specified when ordinary units are different than for self-admin- materials will not do the job.” istered delivery systems. For one thing, Clarity and molded-in detail are essential Though Kneale declines to provide says Bruce Fine, North American med- properties in a number of applications, application details, citing non-disclo- ical segment market leader at Bayer notably flexible membranes, tubing, and sure agreements with end-users, he MaterialScience, the housings need other parts that are used in flow-con- explains that the E-140 grade can be chemical resistance, especially to body trol systems and microfluidic devices. used in drug storage or delivery devices oils, lotions, and creams, since they One company with a high-performance and as a flexible membrane in demand- contact a wearer’s skin, and to hospital elastomer for these products is TOPAS ing diagnostic and flow-control disinfectants. Advanced Polymers Inc., the U.S. busi- applications. It can also replace They must also be biocompatible. ness unit of parent TOPAS Advanced specialty silicones such as polydi- Relevant tests here include ISO-10993- Polymers GmbH in Germany. methylsiloxane, which is inert, non-toxic, 5, for cytotoxicity, and ISO 10993-10, for TOPAS supplies cyclic olefin copoly- optically clear, and has good rheological skin irritation and sensitivity. mers, or COCs. These are transparent, properties. He adds that the E-140 elas- Resins must accommodate electri- amorphous resins copolymerized from tomer also lends itself to faster cal components and power sources, norbornene and ethylene with a met- production scale-up than most silicones. which usually mean batteries. They allocene catalyst. (TOPAS stands for Importantly, the elastomer is com- don’t need a UL-VO rating but should “thermoplastic olefin polymer of amor- patible in assemblies with a rigid COC, meet UL 94 horizontal burn require- phous structure.”) The result is a like grade 5013L-10. Among other ments. material with inherent properties such advantages, this property facilitates High-flow properties and thinwalling as glass-like optics, heat resistance, and multi-material molding and eliminates are important, as is the ability to over- high dimensional stability. concerns about cracking and other mold features like display windows and Timothy Kneale, president of TOPAS, structural deficiencies that may devel- tubing connections. Color options also points to grade E-140, a COC elastomer op from incompatible materials. The figure in resin specification since OEMs that provides a “performance advan- resin, which is also touted for microflu- want wearable pumps to be stylish and tage” to applications requiring clarity idic applications, reportedly has aesthetically pleasing to users. and molded-in or extruded detail, along exceptional clarity, high flow without Bayer officially launched a new grade with high levels of barrier, purity (low loss of material strength or optical in February for such applications. leachables and extractables), and chem- properties, and heat resistance to Makroblend M525 is a PC/polyester ical resistance. 127°C. blend that meets all these requirements, and additionally provides toughness, moldability, and dimensional stability. Fine declined to reveal details about the blend beyond saying that the polyester component provides good chemical resistance. PC, of course, is tough, heat resistant, and dimen- sionally stable. As with self-administered drug-delivery systems, Fine notes a trend in wearable pumps toward lighter weights, enhanced portability, and sim- plicity of operation—for “getting as much healthcare as possible delivered TOPAS Advanced Polymers produces a cyclic olefin copolymer elastomer for outside healthcare settings.” flexible applications that require high barrier properties, purity, and chemical resistance (photo courtesy of TOPAS).

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______

Kneale says the rigid grade can be molded with “sub-micron details,” which is a plus for small parts. Customers, moreover, report achieving novel molding capabilities like zero draft angles on parts. Grade 5013L-10 also reportedly maintains dimensional tolerances of 0.0004 inch (0.01 mm) in molded parts.

TPEs for Diverse Needs Elastomeric grades are essential for many applications, among them closures, gaskets, tubing, valves, infusion stoppers, and some forms of packaging. One supplier of medical elastomers, Kraiburg TPE’s Thermolast M styrene block copolymer elastomers are Kraiburg TPE Corp., specializes in used in diverse products like tubing, drip chambers, luer locks, and styrenic block copolymers, which it mar- gaskets (photo courtesy of Kraiburg TPE).

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Medical Plastics ______

kets as Thermolast M. These provide etheretherketone) resin reinforced with important benefits such as translucence continuous PAN-based (polyacryloni- and transparency, low compression set, trile) carbon fiber. When used to treat a good adhesion to polypropylene and fractured bone, the plate provides polyethylene, and phthalate- and latex- advantages over conventional metal ver- free formulations, which avoid end-use sions (titanium and stainless steel) and concerns. has the potential to accelerate healing While Thermolast M grades have due to its decreased bending stiffness. been commercial for some time, a A PEEK-Optima plate reportedly has recent formulation development allows at least 50 times greater fatigue resist- for direct body and blood contact on a ance than metal, can be fabricated with limited basis, generally 1 to 30 days, tailored levels of stiffness to meet indi- says Katherine Olano, distribution and vidual needs, has a modulus of elasticity marketing specialist. The exact time closer to that of cortical bone than met- depends on the application. al, and weighs less than metal versions. Kraiburg supplies four medical- The formulation and fabrication tech- grade TPEs. They include a translucent nology that Invibio provides can also general-purpose elastomer for stand- help OEMs bring PEEK-Optima Ultra- alone parts that is not designed for Reinforced plates to market faster than adhesion to other materials. Another metal versions and thereby help them grade designed for adhesion bonds reduce costly R&D programs. to PC, ABS, PC/ABS, and PETG (poly- The PEEK-Optima Ultra-Reinforced ethylene terephthalate-glycol) resins, distal femoral plate, fabricated of and reportedly has no issues with carbon fiber-reinforced PEEK and Looking Ahead stress cracking at the materials inter- developed by Victrex Invibio, is used to Resins and compounds will remain vital heal bone trauma (photo courtesy of face. A high-elasticity version has a enabling materials for a growing range Invibio). low coefficient of friction for mechan- of medical and healthcare devices. ical components and sealants. The Research underway, however, suggests fourth grade reportedly can replace that the properties of plastics will soon costlier silicone as a bottle seal. Here be applied to the use of microscopic the material can be punctured with Reinforced Implants materials such as bacteria and nanopar- a needle to draw out fluid, after which Implants for fracture fixation are a ticles used to treat cell disorders and it reseals itself when the needle is growing and dynamic application for infirmities at the molecular level within withdrawn. high-performance resins and com- the body. Coated tubing and other Typical applications for Kraiburg TPEs pounds, which enable devices with implantable devices could be the mech- include nebulizer masks (whose soft- higher fatigue life, greater interopera- anism by which these treatments are touch properties improve comfort), tive visibility, and flexible use. One delivered and controlled. syringe stoppers, bottle caps, tubing, company active in this sector is Victrex For now, though, product designers, and bags. Olano says the company is Plc, which supplies ketone-based mate- OEMs, and processors can expect to developing formulations that chemi- rials through its medical-focused Invibio see growing demand for plastics in a cally bond to different resins, a property division for orthopedic trauma devices. multitude of institutional and personal that will facilitate multi-material mold- One material from Invibio is PEEK- treatment devices, as healthcare pro- ing and applications that specify the Optima Ultra-Reinforced, which is used cedures become increasingly tailored elastomers as substrates. in plates fabricated from PEEK (poly- for lifestyle needs.

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Chemical-Resistant TPE Materials with Adhesion to Engineering Thermoplastics

By Florian Vetter1 and Sehyun Kim2 1Kraiburg TPE GmbH & Co. KG, Waldkraiburg, Germany 2Kraiburg TPE Corporation, Duluth, Georgia, USA

he demands on soft TPE materials are growing con- mers (SBC), i.e., TPS, are attacked by non-polar chemicals that stantly.1 Such materials are used for gaskets, handles, exist in sebum and/or skin-care products. As a result, TPS- and functional parts, i.e., inside and outside of elec- based materials become swollen and their mechanical Ttronic devices. When these materials are used outside of a properties decline during the product life cycle. Also, the sur- device, in most cases, they come in contact with substances face feel of the TPS molded article is rubbery. like skin oil, sunscreen cream, hand lotion, etc. The require- The alternative materials to TPS are neat engineering TPEs ments for materials used in the described applications such as thermoplastic polyurethane elastomers (TPUs),4 include: thermoplastic copolyester elastomers (TPCs), liquid silicone • a hardness range of 50 to 70 Shore ‘A’, resin (LSR), and alloys of cross-linked silicone and TPU. Those • good chemical resistance to the substances mentioned materials offer better chemical resistance compared to TPS. above, TPU products having a hardness range of 50 to 70 Shore • adhesion to engineering thermoplastics like polycar- ‘A’ tend to become yellow upon exposure to sunlight due to bonate and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), poor UV (ultraviolet light) resistance. Furthermore, the injec- • color fastness, tion molding of these materials is challenging due to poor • good wear resistance, and processability. • easy handling using standard molding machines.2,3 TPC material is also known for its high chemical resistance. Additionally, a silky and high-value-like surface touch is Since the lowest hardness commercially available in the strongly demanded by the market. market is 76 Shore ‘A’, TPC cannot be used for this kind of Conventional TPE materials based on styrenic block copoly- application.

Figure 1: VDI 2019 test specimen.

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LSR offers very good mechanical properties, combined with substrate. The force which is necessary to separate the TPE excellent chemical resistance at a low hardness range. How- from the hard substrate was measured over a 160-mm peel ever, since molding LSR involves a cross-linking reaction, length. its cycle time is relatively long in comparison to conven- For testing the chemical resistance, the material was tional injection molding processes, and special equipment is immersed in artificial skin grease, sebum, for 14 days. The vol- necessary to process LSR, thus increasing production costs. umes, tensile strength, and elongation at break of the Blends of pre-crosslinked silicone resin dispersed in a specimens were determined before and after the exposure, TPU matrix can be molded using a standard molding as described in ISO 1817. machine. However, their chemical resistance is relatively UV resistance was tested by irradiating samples with a poor in comparison to TPU and TPC resin. Weather-Ometer® from Atlas, model Ci4000, referring to As an alternative, Copec® is a series of engineered alloy ASTM D 4459-06 with the following parameters: 300 hours materials formulated to meet the requirements for appli- of irradiance at a wavelength of 420 nm and an intensity of cations in the consumer electronics market.

Experimental Materials were produced by using a twin screw extruder with a screw diameter of 50 mm and an L/D ratio balanced for the specific product. The screw rotation speed was 600 min-1. The compounding temperature was maintained below 240°C. Prior to molding the test specimens, the materials were dried for a minimum of two hours at 80°C. Plaques with dimen- sions of 125 × 125 × 2 mm and 70 × 70 × 6 mm were injection molded using an injection molding machine equipped with a standard polyolefin screw with a diameter of 40 mm and an L/D ratio of 20. The barrel temperature used was 200°C and the mold temperature 35°C. The injection rate was 38 mm³/sec. For the adhesion test specimens, a two- shot injection molding machine was used. A hard substrate of 150 × 60 × 2 mm was molded first, and a stripe of a TPE of 160 × 20 × 2 mm was subsequently over- molded onto the hard substrate as shown in Figure 1, using a screw diameter of 40 mm and an L/D ratio of 20. The barrel and hot runner temperature was 200°C, and the mold temperature was 60°C. The injection rate used was 40 cm³/sec. Hardness was measured according to ISO 7619 on three stacked 2-mm plaques. Density was determined according to ASTM D 792, and the mechanical properties according to DIN 53504. The abrasion test was conducted as prescribed in DIN ISO 4649. The adhesion force was determined via a peel test using the VDI 2019 method by peeling the TPE off the hard

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Chemical-Resistant TPE Materials ______

0.8 W/m² at 55°c and 55% relative humidity. the color was Table 1: Material Properties measured before and after the exposure according to Din ! En isO 11664-4 using a gretag Macbeth cE 7000a color !

!! ! 0 ; / measurement device. ! ! 3 2 7 6 ( ( 7 2 ! " " - 0 !- : # # 3 : $ ' ) !! 9 5 $ " " !9 !5 0 9 8 " " !9 4 / 2 Results and Discussion ! ! . / & & > 3 2 - 4 - " " . , 3 % % !, Properties of Copec / 5 8 $ $ 1 " 2 3 7 = # # 0 the physical and mechanical properties of copec materials + 2 " " * * < - " " * * ! are compared with those of a tPs, a silicone-tPU alloy, and ! ! ! ! !< !"#$%&''()*+,#&)-! ?@! ')! 'A! 'A! '?! a neat tPU, in Table 1. the mechanical properties of copec are superior to tPs and comparable to silicone-tPU alloy and .&%'/01()23456! BCA'! BCAD! BCBE! BCBE! BCAE! a neat tPU employed in this study. the abrasion resistance of copec is better than tPs and in the range of the silicone- 7&%'/8&)'0#&%20+()9:"! 'CF! )CE! FC?! ?CA! A?! tPU alloy but not comparable to a pure tPU. the adhesion of copec to the various polar substrates is ;8,%2"0/,%)"0)<#&"=()>! BE)E! BEEE! 'GE! 'EE! DGE! much stronger than tPs, the silicone-tPU alloy, and tPU. the peel test curves of copec are seen in Figure 2, in comparison 7&"#)#&'/'0"%4&()?355! A?! AD! B)! GE! FG! to tPs.

-<#"'/,%)"0)@A?)8,"$()556! B'E! B'E! AAE! BAE! F?! Chemical (Sebum) Resistance the materials were immersed in sebum for 14 days at room -$+&'/,%)0,):B()?355! ?C)! DC)! GCD! GCA! GC)! temperature. Volume, tensile strength, and elongation at break were determined before and after the soaking in -$+&'/,%)0,)-C*()?355! ?CB! 'C?! FC'! FCE! ?CE! sebum. to get a better understanding of the chemical resistance, a tPs and a silicone-tPU alloy were employed for -$+&'/,%)0,):C73:B()?355! ?C@! DCF! GC@! GC)! H! comparison. Figures 3 and 4 show the relative change of weight and volume and the change of tensile strength and D;)"E0&#)FG)&HI,'J#&! IBC?! IBC?! JBC?! '! BB! elongation at break, respectively, after immersion in sebum for 14 days. !! it is generally accepted that when the volume swelling of ! a material used in the consumer electronics industry is less than 5%, and the change of mechanical properties is less than 10% after 14 days of immersion in sebum at room temperature, the material is considered to have good chemical resistance. compared to a tPs and a silicone-tPU alloy, copec shows only slight changes after the immersion test. the sBc material loses its stability, and shows a dramatic drop in mechanical properties due to the absorption of sebum. the silicone-tPU alloy shows better performance compared to the tPs material. But the increase in volume is over 5% and the decrease of the mechanical properties is over 10%.

UV Resistance the additional property required for the application is col- or fastness upon exposure to sunlight. as given in Table 1, the UV stability of copec in terms of ΔE was found to be less than Figure 2: Peel test curves.

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a silicone-TPU alloy, and exhibit superior sebum resistance and bondability to polar substrates, Copec is the suitable material of choice for applications requiring such characteristics, such as consumer electronics.

Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank Kraiburg TPE for permission to present this study. Many thanks also go to those who conducted the various tests.

References 1. Thermoplastic Elastomers, 3rd ed., G. Holden, H.R. Kricheldorf, and R.P. Quirk (eds.), Hanser, Cincinnati, 2004. 2. D. Weng, J. Andries, P. Morin, K. Saunders, and J. Politis, “TPE Figure 3: Change of weight and volume after immersion in overmolding compounds for the next millennium,” ANTEC sebum for 14 days at 23°C. 1999, 657, SPE, 1999. 3. R. Perez, “Effect of blending of styrene block copolymer on abra- sive wear of thermoplastic elastomer (TPEs),” ANTEC 1999, 1101, SPE, 1999. 4. H. G. Hoppe, ATI 890, Desmopan, Bayer AG, (paper from conference) Thermoplastische Elastomere (TPE) weiter im Aufwärtstrend, SKZ, Würzburg, Germany, 1992.

Figure 4: Change in mechanical properties after immersion in sebum for 14 days at 23°C.

1.5 after 300 hours of exposure. The neat TPU and the silicone-TPU alloys do not meet the requirement on light fastness.

Conclusion Copec was developed to fill the gap between neat TPU and a TPS with respect to hardness, wear resistance, chemical resistance, and adhesion. In this study, the properties of Copec materials were evaluated with particular emphasis on chemical resistance and adhesion to polar substrates. Based on the fact that Copec materials provide comparable or improved mechanical properties compared to TPS and

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PLANT VISIT

Keeping It Clean Thermoforming in a cleanroom environment presents special challenges—and rewards

By Michael Tolinski

wo days before the New England Patriots football This packaging thermoformer is on its own kind of winning team won the 2015 NFL Super Bowl, Lacerta Group, Inc. streak, with its business growing 25% in 2014, plus expect- opened its doors for a visit from Plastics Engineering. ed growth of 25% this year and next, says founder and TCoincidentally, the company, located in Mansfield, Massa- president Ali Lotfi. The company is privately owned by Lot- chusetts, USA, is only a ten-minute drive from the Patriots’ fi and two partners, does nearly $30 million in annual home stadium. business, and has about 125 employees.

Lacerta Group’s cleanroom thermoforming operations are protected from contamination by positive air pressure and curtains.

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Tamper-evident packaging produced by Lacerta Group feature integrated tabs (visible at top of inset photo) which must be ripped to open the container, The company’s new robot is fitted with end-of-arm tooling instead of shrink-film bands or (the green and yellow parts in the magnified image) for han- wrap-around labels. These are dling parts. the company’s new “Fresh n’ Sealed” PET containers.

Lacerta specializes in making thermoformed packaging and workers inside the cleanroom curtains must be covered products with cleanliness requirements. Cleanroom ther- head to toe with gowns and hair nets (and, when necessary, moforming has allowed it to expand into wider-ranging beard nets). work in medical applications, including some complex Outdoor air is pushed through filters into the clean envi- designs. For example, “Something that’s challenging to make ronment, creating positive pressure that prevents the ingress is this package for a catheter,” said Lotfi, pointing to ther- of normal shop air. The filters are checked regularly, as is the moform that’s narrow in width but 67 inches (1.7 m) long. whole operation, by periodic visits from third-party inspec- “That’s a pretty long piece for a thermoforming application.” tors for confirming the cleanroom rating, says Ali Lotfi. But food producers are the company’s biggest clients, Meanwhile, ionized air is used to keep sheet materials free with food packaging constituting about 50% of its business of contaminants. and medical and consumer products and packaging making But how can you be sure it’s always clean enough, especially up the remainder. for medical packaging? Constant part sampling, Lotfi says. “We run everything in the cleanroom,” Lotfi says. All blis- Plus, medical products are individually handled and inspect- ters, trays, clamshells, and other products are formed on ten ed and double-bagged for shipment (not simply stacked thermoforming lines in ISO class-8 (U.S. class 100,000) clean- and packed). Moreover, the company assigns its more expe- rooms, which provide the level of cleanliness needed for rienced workers to the medical thermoforming lines, he producing medical trays, for instance. And in 2014, the com- adds. pany invested in a 1500-ft2 (140-m2) class-8 hard-walled Having relatively new production equipment helps. The cleanroom specifically for assembly operations. cleanroom’s ten production thermoformers are from Sen- corpWhite, and all were purchased within the last four years. “I like the robustness of the machines and the accuracy,” says A Brief Tour Mostafa Lotfi, vice president of manufacturing. The suppli- It’s not easy being clean. Maintaining the thermoforming er is based only a short distance away, thus, “The service is cleanroom areas requires daily AM and PM cleaning proce- also great,” he adds. dures, as well as weekly and monthly cleaning schedules. And Lacerta also just recently installed a robot on one machine,

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Keeping it Clean______

with production end-of-arm tooling that allows automated als can be more challenging and harder to run, he adds, since product inspection as well as part handling and packing. they “require more control and better design and tooling.” recycled-content material is incorporated into some material handling, consumer, and cosmetics packaging products, Quick & Flexible says ali lotfi, but food and medical products require 100% the chosen thermoformers allow for quick tool changes: in virgin materials. along with their purity limitations, recy- one hour, versus several hours, says ali lotfi. Workers go to cled materials can present package-sealing and color other work stations during mold changes, he adds—a prac- inconsistencies, and the materials often can’t be run as fast tice that’s particularly important in this cost-competitive as virgin materials in thermoforming, he says. manufacturing region of the Usa. some packaging requires the use of distortion-printed But the flexible cleanroom operation is only a part of the rollstock for producing colorful decorated containers. this whole. lacerta designs and builds its own tooling, with a team rollstock can be tricky to use in production to get the right of six designers using Dassault systèmes solidworks for appearance on the package. “We do a lot of printed lids design and cnc software’s Mastercam for machining pro- using print registration/distortion technology,” says Mory lot- grams. its design group also has at hand a MakerBot 3-D fi. “there are many variables with much tighter tolerances to printer, a digital scanner, and three thermoformers devot- keep in mind—both in the design phase and during pro- ed to product development and protoyping. duction.” the mold shop has eight cnc machines for cutting aluminum tooling and plug assists, which are used to help the vacuum pull heated sheet into the female mold. the company Food and Medical Converge also builds package-sealing tools for customers’ operations. lately, stricter food-contact safety requirements for packaging Production materials include glycol-modified polyethylene are “almost matching up with” medical requirements, terephthalate (PEtg) and high-impact polystyrene for med- observes ali lotfi. this could be a challenge for any compa- ical applications, and PEt and PP for multiple products. ny in food packaging. “We’ve seen growing emphasis on Obviously, not all materials process the same way. “We at lac- food safety, cleanliness, and quality requirements” over the erta love all thermoformable plastics,” says Mory lotfi, vice last five years, accompanied by much more pressure from president of operations. But multi-layer/laminated materi- customers, he adds. to this end, the company is implementing sQF institute level 2 food safety standards by the middle of the year—this is an industry-wide certification required by major food manufacturers (www.sqfi.com/suppliers/certification-steps). “We are already isO 9001-2008 certified, so we have already gone through the challenges that a company faces when implementing such certifications,” says Mory lotfi. “some aspects of [sQF level 2] will be new to us, but with proper training and documentation, we should face minimum challenges.”

Trends and Next Steps ali lotfi is also seeing more requests from customers wanting to transform current injection-molded parts into less-expensive thermoformable designs—like turning a molded PP deli container into a high-clarity formed PEt container of the same shape and capability. tall, deep containers of this The company’s thermoformers include Sencorp 2500 systems type will be challenging to thermoform, he notes. (photo courtesy of SencorpWhite). another niche the company is moving into is tamper-

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evident food containers. Here, tabs thermoformed with the ing food and cosmetics packaging), where a lot of customers container must be ripped in order for the final packaged are located. Ali Lotfi says there’s a “definite possibility” Lac- product to be opened. the company offers this design as a erta will also produce medical packaging in Mexico, because better alternative to shrink-wrap bands or wrap-around medical customers are moving their operations there. labels on PEt packages for fresh foods, for example. the company also hopes to continue to provide respon- Meanwhile, the Lotfis are seeing more business moving sive customer service (with 98.7% of deliveries on time in the south—of the border. Lacerta already has a thermoforming last quarter of 2014), flexibility to customers’ needs, inno- and injection molding operation near Mexico city (for mak- vation with new concepts, and clean products.

The Rest of the Story

“there were signs of instability,” says Ali Lotfi, recalling producing and marketing thermoformed packaging in 1996, what Iran was like right before the Iranian Revolution of moving to its current Mansfield location in 2003. Data stor- 1978, when he immigrated to the UsA. soon after arriving, age tape, no longer being made or used much anymore, was he started and completed work towards an engineering no longer the focus—packaging was. degree from northeastern University, then worked for BAsF When the economy crashed in 2008, the Lotfis began before founding Lacerta group in 1993. Ali’s brother Mory looking to focus more on the needs of the many medical came over a year later, earned undergraduate and gradu- device manufacturers in eastern Massachusetts, to add to ate engineering degrees at northeastern, and worked as an the company’s customer base. this required a class-8 clean- R&D engineer for Waters corp., a maker of analytical lab room environment for thermoforming, and the rest is instruments. their cousin Mostafa Lotfi likewise has a history. mechanical engineering back- ground and worked for Polaroid. Lacerta group’s path towards thermoforming likewise started with its own uniquely 20th-centu- ry reference point: data-storage tape. the company was originally founded to perfect ways of recycling polyester-based magnetic tapes and other storage media that were once commonly used in computers and electronics. Lotfi says the company recovered the polyester, coating, and chromium oxide from waste tape and edge- trim from tape manufacturing. Lacerta partnered with DuPont to develop the operation, which hired people from the Boston inner city as workers. Ali Lotfi soon saw that they could take the tape polyester “and add value to it”—by making packaging from it. “Based on that, we learned thermoforming.” the company began buying A family affair: (from left to right) Ali Lotfi, Lacerta president; his cousin Mostafa Lotfi, thermoforming equipment and manufacturing VP; and Ali’s brother Mory, operations VP.

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CONSULTANT’S CORNER

Maintaining High Standards for Medical Packaging The key is to keep up these standards throughout the quality testing process

By Elayne Schneebacher Instron, Norwood, Massachusetts, USA

he integrity of medical packaging is often evaluated with equal attention and rigor as the medical deviceT itself, and should not be considered secondary to the device when it comes to qualification testing. Ulti- mately, the packaging is a vessel for the drug, device, or product and needs to contain and protect what is inside. With an aging and growing global population, emerging markets around the world, and the constant international pressure to reduce healthcare budgets, medical packaging is an area that needs to maintain high standards for quality testing, as well as having the potential for continued design innovation. To address these challenges, and opportunities, it’s crucial that testing of physical material characterization is conducted with best practices to adhere to international standards; that packaging design is done with the clinician, patient, or other end user in mind; and that data and records management is organized and well maintained to quality standards of the Federal Drug Administration (FDA). Usability peel test for medical packaging.

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Ball burst test on packaging film. Testing pull-out force on a medical intravenous therapy pouch.

test their medical packaging not only While the same universal testing Material Characterization to obtain relevant force data to open machine can be used to test seal When many consider what encom- the package, but also to measure the strength and to test to ASTM D882- passes quality assurance (QA) testing consistency of the packaging process 12, the tensile test is much faster than of medical packaging, often times and other factors that could affect the the seal strength test, so it’s critical mechanical testing is an obvious and strength of the package seal, such as for packaging labs to set the data non-negotiable component. For a sterilization process or shelf-time. acquisition of their machines accord- instance, when a manufacturer designs In addition to tracking seal strength ingly. If the data acquisition rate is set packaging for its medical device, the of a package, many packaging labs too low, generally above 100 ms, often package integrity is key for keeping also report tensile strength results of tensile modulus results will be calcu- what’s inside of the package sterile. the bulk package material. While the lated from too few data points, However, it’s equally important that package seal is the intended opening resulting in poor stiffness data. the package is easy to open by the location, that’s not always the case. As mentioned, many medical devices end user, or else it could hinder the Many consumers tend to poke and are sealed into their sterile packaging intended efforts. Because of this, one puncture the packaging to get a prod- in a cleanroom and loaded into proof the most common and effective uct out. Furthermore, packaging tective packaging, or shipping cartons, medical packaging standards is ASTM manufacturers need to avoid uninten- for transportation. This helps to ensure F88-09 for determining the seal tional package damage caused in that the product is supplied to the cus- strength of flexible barrier packaging. shipping, handling, or storage of a tomer in a sterile state. The transit Measuring seal strength allows pack- product. simulation is carried out on populated aging labs to obtain quantitative For these reasons, medical packag- shipping cartons, normally with two measurements about their packaging ing labs also test to ASTM D882-12 for goals in mind: (1) to assess the per- process. Often labs report the average determining tensile properties of thin formance of the shipping carton and force to open the seal and peak load plastic sheeting, which is often what its robustness in transport and (2) to during a test. For this test, it’s critical flexible packaging consists of. Proper- subject the shipping carton’s contents to set the test speed at an appropriate ties, such as tensile modulus, load at to the rigors of transport (this is more rate and to ensure the universal testing break, and tensile energy at break, are important for the medical device man- machine has a high-enough bandwidth all used to characterize material prop- ufacturer). This allows performance to pick up the quick peaks and drops erties best suited for housing a medical testing of the sterile barrier packaging in loads during the peel. Many labs device. and assessment of the product. A typ-

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CONSULTANT’S CORNER Maintaining High Standards for Medical Packaging______

ical example is the concentrated impact the amount of force to eject a drug test, which simulates the effect of direct could be the syringe material, viscosity shock impact on a package by a con- of the liquid, the sterilization process, centrated external force, such as when and geometry of the syringe. In addi- packages collide. tion to this, the age and gender of the ASTM D6344-09 is intended to eval- host tissue could also affect the forces uate the ability of packaging to resist required to eject the drug. the force of concentrated impacts When performing QA usability test- from outside sources, such as those ing on syringes, packaging labs need encountered in various modes of to focus on the force required to move transportation. This test method the plunger (known as the break-away determines the ability of packaging force), as well as the friction of the to protect contents from such impacts plunger as it moves through the shaft and to evaluate if there is sufficient of the syringe (known as the glide clearance and/or support between force). the package itself and its contents. Similarly, in 2014, ASTM Committee It’s conducted using a free-fall tup (or D10 on packaging developed ASTM striker) to test completely filled trans- D7860-14, a method for determining port packages for resistance against torque retention for child-resistant concentrated low-level impacts, typical and non-child-resistant packages with of those encountered in the distribu- continuous thread closures, which can tion environment. The test result is a be specifically applied to medicine bot- pass/fail determination and a record tles. Child-resistant medicine packaging of the energy dissipated by the filled is needed to reduce the risk of children transport package during a low-level ingesting dangerous amounts of med- concentrated impact. ication. However, making packaging too difficult to open by requiring too much force to push down and too Usability Testing much torque to twist may prevent eld- Quality testing for packaging is often erly individuals with arthritis or conducted to abide by ASTM or ISO disabled individuals from taking their standards for material characteriza- needed medications. tion, but also can focus on usability Aspiration and ejection testing to ISO In addition to safety concerns with testing, especially in the pharmaceu- 7885-1. opening the packaging, there are also tical industry. Pharmaceutical concerns with the packaging of medi- packaging has seen many changes in cine bottles being too difficult to close. the last decade, especially in the United Capped medicine bottles that are States with the aging baby boomer low and to provide data on the prod- stored incorrectly—ones that require population and with more consumers uct’s usability. too much torque to fully close—could requiring easy-to-use packaging for ISO 7886-1 sets guidelines for sterile lead to a change in dose concentra- self-medication. hypodermic single-use syringes for tions of the medicine and cause At many pharmaceutical companies, manual use, and specifies the test con- harmful effects to the consumer. This medical packaging is not just about ditions for aspiration and ejection of type of mechanical testing for quality flexible packaging, but also includes liquids. The purpose of the test is to control purposes of medical packaging rigid plastic or glass bottles, droppers, ensure that the forces necessary to is not only useful to ensure a uniform and syringes. Standards exist for test- move the syringe plunger and eject manufacturing process, but also to ing packaging to ensure batch- the fluid from the barrel are not too ensure the product has been opti- to-batch package variation remains high or too low. Parameters that affect mized for ease of use and safety.

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October 13-15

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CONSULTANT’S CORNER Maintaining High Standards for Medical Packaging______

Data & Records IQ/OQ/PQ, it’s good documentation Under an FDA audit, the packaging practice to have it complete and read- lab would be able to pull an electronic Management ily available. record of all testing results, raw data, It’s normal practice for many biomed- The OQ process verifies the correct and methods along with electronic ical, pharmaceutical, and medical operation of the testing system and signatures to produce an audit trail. device companies to interface with validates the test results. For medical Overall, quality testing of medical the FDA and their requirements, which packaging labs, a validation plan could packaging needs to be evaluated with are considered throughout the device, include system operation validation, the same thoroughness as the medical drug, or product lifecycle. While a pre- verification of the force transducers, device itself. It’s crucial that testing of market approval may not be needed functionality checks of the software, physical material characterization is for a medical device’s packaging, pack- and validation of key calculations, such conducted with best practices to aging standards and records as peak load and tear resistance. adhere to international standards; management should be taken seri- PQ is the most complex part of the that packaging is designed with the ously. Testing physical properties of validation process. For a medical pack- clinician, patient, or consumer in mind; medical packaging for a variety of aging laboratory, the PQ process and that data and records manage- parameters, and how accurate and validates different system configura- ment is organized and well maintained reliable those results are, is all impor- tions for different test types (e.g., peel to the quality standards of the FDA. tant information needed by the FDA. test and tensile test), and ensures that As our global population continues to This is where installation qualifica- different operators use the same pro- expand, and pressure to reduce tion (IQ), operational qualification tocol to achieve similar results. healthcare budgets continuously rises, (OQ), and performance qualification After test methods to appropriate the medical packaging industry needs (PQ) to FDA 21 CFR part 820.76 are ASTM standards are created, protocols to maintain high standards to ensure needed to validate the universal test- are established, and IQ/OQ/PQ vali- that safe, easy-to-use, and effective ing machine that’s used to test the dation is complete, a medical medical products come to the market. medical packaging. Many companies packaging QA lab is ready to begin establish their own IQ/OQ/PQ process testing. Once quality testing on med- in their quality departments or require ical packaging begins, the results will About the author… the mechanical testing equipment need to be analyzed and documen- Elayne Schneebacher has been with supplier to help support the process. tation will need to be kept organized Instron as an The purpose of the IQ/OQ/PQ as to FDA 21 CFR part 11. This FDA applications process is to ensure the testing equip- standard states that all changes, addi- engineer since ment being used is suitable for its tions, modifications, and deletions to 2012 and works purpose and is capable of producing test data, a testing method, or test specifically with valid results. The IQ process is file must be recorded. Instron’s Electro- designed to ensure that the system Today, the majority of medical m e c h a n i c a l is installed and set up correctly. In device companies meet this require- business. Prior addition, this process requires the ment through secure software that to Instron, she recording of the installation condi- captures all electronic records of a studied biomed- tions, operation of safety features, testing system. This becomes appli- ical engineering environmental conditions, and all cable for packaging labs when an issue at Rutgers University with a focus on appropriate services and utilities of could arise in the field with regards materials science and tissue engineering. the equipment. While the IQ process to the packaging of a medical device She can be reached at U.S. 781-575-5455 is perhaps the simplest part of or drug becoming compromised. or [email protected].

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Formulation Strategy to Achieve Highly Colorable and Weatherable ASA

By Steven D. Blazey A. Schulman, Inc., Akron, Ohio, USA

[Ed. note: This is an abridged version of the author’s ANTEC® oranges, greens, blues, and even jet black. the higher the Orlando 2015 paper.] opacity, the more “washed out” the resulting color. Several factors affect the opacity of ASA polymers: refractive indices SA (acrylonitrile-styrene-acrylate) polymers were of the formulation components, particle sizes of the pigments developed in the late 1950s, and had to overcome the and rubber particles, and processing conditions during com- UV (ultraviolet light) weaknesses of ABS (acryloni- pounding. Atrile-butadiene-styrene) by replacing butadiene with more the refractive index of the monomers, copolymers, ASA UV-resistant acrylate monomers, leading to many U.S. and rubber intermediates, antioxidants and UV stabilizers, pro- foreign patents. cessing aids, etc. all affect the final observed opacity in the A great deal of engineering goes into designing ASA rub- final ASA product. Small differences (Δ>0.02) in refractive ber intermediates for impact, particle size, and performance index between components impart haze. the objective is to characteristics that ultimately affect the final ASA refractive balance the refractive indices with the physical properties index. In general, ASA rubbers are emulsion polymerized alkyl requirements and still achieve the desired chromatic color. acrylate monomers containing low-level crosslinking that Table 1 shows the relative refractive indices and differences create a rubber particle “core” onto which styrene and acry- between several monomers and their copolymers. lonitrile monomers are grafted to create a “shell” around the the various monomers utilized in ASA possess significant rubber particle. refractive index differences (e.g., 1.460 to 1.590) that ulti- ASA polymers possess inherent UV resistance, that when mately result in varying opacities. the objective, then, is to colored with light-stable pigments ASAs achieve long-term minimize opacity through the selection of materials that outdoor color retention without the need to paint, whereas when blended minimize the refractive differences within similar pre-colored polymers such as ABS, HIPS (high impact the final ASA to achieve chromatic colors while maintaining polystyrene), or PVc (polyvinyl chloride) are more suscepti- properties and weathering performance. the gladstone- ble to dramatic color shifts accompanied by degradation and Dale refractive index relation can be used to calculate loss of gloss and other properties upon long-term UV expo- sures. ASA polymers continue to experience growth in applications and markets that require long-term performance in Table 1: Refractive Index (N ) Variations outdoor applications. Many of today’s exterior ASA applica- D tions are trending toward highly chromatic, vibrant colors designed to maintain color in outdoor applications, thus eliminating painting.

Introduction A polymer’s natural opacity directly affects its ability to achieve highly chromatic colors such as bright yellows, reds,

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Table 2: ASA Formulation Trials Matrix

Table 3: Refractive Index Calculations and Δ Values

refractive index for polymers utilizing the following calculated refractive index values for the three resins and the equation:1,2 AsA rubber used in this study. the total resin matrix was constant at 64% with the AsA rubber content fixed at 36%. n = Σi øi ni (1) Table 3 also shows the calculated refractive index differences between the calculated 100% resin blend and “neat”

where øi and ni are the volume fraction and the refractive index of the i-component (monomer), respectively. A mod- ! !! ified version of this equation using weight fraction rather than !Table 4: SAE J2527 (2004-02) Test Conditions Used volume fraction was used to calculate the theoretical refrac- "&A)!PPQD+RO&0)! (D%)+R%&!ADRR%+&*A! tive index for each base polymer, AsA rubber, the formulated .R&>+O&0!((ND0)+0H! M%#)!R#0&%!#**#/! resin blend, and the final AsA formulated blends, using each S+HT)!..ND*>&! U&0N0!#*>! monomer’s refractive index. the intent is to validate a VW!MM+%)&*!! PX)&0E&E!VW!YZ&!! =122![ZO6!#)!;9=!0O! It is also important to validate the UV resistance of the col- <4!""&OR&*#)D*&\!SS+HT)! ored AsA product to ensure its performance in the targeted C/>%&! 8=]C!^!;]C! application. several accelerated weathering methods are used to test color and physical property retention, such as <4!""&OR&*#)D*&\!--#*_! C/>%&! ;:]C!^!;]C! QUV and xenon and carbon arc. these results provide an approximation to the actual outdoor lifetime performance CT#O$&*!55+*!""&OR1! 98]C!^!;]C! relative to actual outdoor weathering. `DO+E+)/\!SS+HT)!CC/>%&! 2=B!^!2B! `DO+E+)/\!--#*_!CC/>%&! 32B!^!2B! C/>%&! 9=!O+0D)&A!%+HT)! Experimental Formulation !! 6=!O+0D)&A!%+HT)!^!AR*#/! Eight trials were designed to evaluate the opacity effects of !! 7=!O+0D)&A!%+HT)! formulation on the color intensity using an orange dye. !! 7=!O+0!E#*_!^!AR*#/! Table 2 shows the formulation matrix and Table 3 shows the .R*#/!SSN>#)+N0A! M*N0)!#0E!$#>_! !

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Strategy to Achieve Highly Colorable and Weatherable ASA_____

Table 5: Physical Properties Summary

ASA rubber. ASA rubber compositions are a complex blend ber Xe-3 made by Q-Lab for a total exposure of 2327 kJ/m2. of refractive index materials: typically butyl acrylate (BA) The 60° gloss was measured by a BYK Micro-tri-gloss meter and styrene and acrylonitrile (SAN). The ASA rubber used in at each interval. Table 4 shows the test conditions used. these trials contained 50% BA core and 50% SAN shell. ASA rubber type and content was held constant along with the additives, while varying the three resin (Resins A, B, Results and C) levels. One percent of orange dye was added to each 1.) Physical properties results trial. The additives consisted of antioxidants, processing The formulation matrix defined the melt flow, impact, color, aids, and UV stabilizers. The resulting absolute color values heat properties, and gloss. Impact properties are further and visual observations represent an indirect measure of determined by the ASA rubber content, particle size, and dis- opacity variation. tribution within the matrix. Table 5 summarizes the physical A Leistritz 34-mm co-rotating twin screw extruder was properties for the eight trials below. used to compound the trials. The samples were dried in a The response surface plot for the notched Izod impact val- desiccant drier and injection molded, and the physical prop- ues for the eight trials is shown in Figure 1. Some synergy is erties were tested via ASTM standards for color, melt flow, observed in ASA blends containing Resin B and Resin C, notched Izod, heat distortion, and gloss. resulting in higher notched Izod values. Resin A hinders impact development. The final trials’ heat properties are solely determined by the Accelerated Weathering Testing individual resins, i.e., the HDT for Resin B > Resin C > Resin Each ASA trial was injection molded into flat chips and con- A. Figure 2 shows the response surface plot for heat distor- ditioned for 40 hours, and their L*, a*, and b* color values tion for the eight trials. were read using the X-Rite Color i7 spectrophotometer with the D65-10 light source. The method chosen for xenon weathering was SAE J2527 using the Q-Sun Xenotest Cham- Table 7: Color Data After 2326kJ/m2 Weathering After Washing! and Waxing U&0N0!--#)#!..DOO#*/! [#ATZ[#X! Table 6: Absolute Color Computer Results Before Weathering .#OR%&! c%NAA! -&A>*+R)+N0! Sd!! #d! $d! -Pd!! @&)1! "*+#%!! Sd! #d! $d! .='! 22167! 97198! 2619;! 6168! :=B! "?'!II.='J! 29168! 921=9! 2=1::! .=6! 721:9! ;318:! 7'188! 6123! 3'B! "?6!II.=6J! 72122! ;:1='! 2312:! .=;! 7719:! 9'1=9! 7718! =137! 2=B! "?;!II.=;J! 771=6! 9=168! 72182! .=9! 2:166! 97182! 2217:! '18'! 36B! "?9!II.=9J! 281';! 92163! 221'7! .=2! 721''! 9'1;'! 7'16;! 6126! :3B! "?2!II.=2J! 79178! ;31;2! 231'3! "?7!II.=7J! 791;7! 9'169! 7;173! .=7! 721=2! 96199! 7212;! 61;9! 26B! "?8!II.=8J! 721=;! 9'1=6! 79198! .=8! 72189! 9'13! 77169! '13;! 67B! "?:!II.=:J! 2219'! 9;127! 2=1'6! .=:! 28193! 97196! 2;12:! 21'2! :=B! ! ! !

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Figure 1: Response surface plot of notched Izod impact for Figure 4: Response plot for L* before weathering. trials 1 through 8.

the melt flow rate (MFR) affects the processability of AsA and is the net result of the base resin MFR: At 220°c/10 kg, Resin A (70) > Resin B (38) ~ Resin c (43). the observed trial MFR values reflect these initial high flows.

2) Color results (non-weathered) the absolute color L*, a*, and b* values are measured on a color computer and define three-dimensional color in terms of light and dark (L*) versus the red and green (a*) versus the yellow and blue (b*) regions. Table 6 shows the L*, a*, and b* absolute color readings before weathering. Figure 3 shows the visual color differences between trials t-1(s01) through t-8(s08). the response surface plot for the L* values versus the different resin blends for the orange dye trials is shown in Figure 4. this plot will later be related to the refractive index Figure 2: Response surface plot for heat distortion. differences between the various trials.

3) Weathering results the color stability of the AsA trials was determined by reading the L*, a*, and b* values at specific exposure intervals over the duration of this study. sAE-J2527 accelerated xenon weathering tests a broad UV spectrum, temperature cycling between 70°c to 38°c with spray cycles, and long-term thermal stability of the resins, pigments, and additives. the ΔE and Δb weathering results are shown in Figures 5 and 6 below. gloss measurement is an indirect measurement of surface characteristics, including crazing and additive migrations. Table 7 summarizes the final color values after 2327 kJ/m2 weathering results followed by gently washing and waxing the exposed surfaces. Washing and waxing the surface of the exposed samples removes any migrated additives from Figure 3: Shows the visual color differences between trials. the exposure duration.

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Strategy to Achieve Highly Colorable and Weatherable ASA_____

Figure 7: Scatterplot of L* versus the calculated ND.

tive index for each polymer fraction. Trials T-1(S01), T-4(S04), and T-8(S08) (Table 3) have the low- Figure 5: Xenon ΔE weathering results. est calculated refractive indices that directly correlate to the highest chromatic orange colors. These three trials also showed the smallest nD difference between the calculated refractive indices of the resin matrix and the ASA rubber calculated refractive index. This is visually observed in Figure 3. Refractive index differences greater than 0.02 between polymers generally result in reduced transparency (i.e. increased opacity) resulting in a less chromatic orange color. Lastly, the lowest calculated nD of the final ASA blend further supports the accuracy in predicting the blend’s colorability. Statistical analysis of the relationship between the calculated refractive index and the L* value is shown in Figure 7. Additional data points are needed to validate whether this relationship is linear or quadratic in nature, but a quadratic fit is the best at this time. This further supports the ability to predict the colorability of ASA by calculating the resulting refractive index of the ASA formulation using the Gladstone- Dale equation shown in Equation 1. The measurement of absolute L* values also supports Figure 6: Xenon Δb results. the calculated method for determining the relative colorability (i.e., opacity) of the final ASA. Table 4 shows the lowest L* values parallel the highest visually chromatic trials (S01, S04, and S08) that also numerically reflect the lowest Discussion inherent opacities (i.e., greater transparency) of the final The main focus of this study was to determine whether the ASA. Figure 4 shows the L* response to the formulations stud- colorability of ASA can be predicted using the modified ied, noting lower L* values for blends containing Resins A and Gladstone-Dale equation to calculate the intermediate refrac- C. Both Resins A and C have refractive index values that are tive index of resins, the blended resins, the ASA rubber, relatively close, whereas Resin B has the highest refractive and the final ASA product by summing the calculated refrac- index.

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the chromaticity of the orange dye in these trials is char- Acknowledgements acterized by the a* and b* values (Table 7). s01, s04, and s08 have the highest a* values and lowest b* values that the author gratefully acknowledges Jayson Humble and numerically describe the orange color in terms of the red Brian struchen for their support and commitment to this and yellow spectral characteristics, and the lowest L* val- project. ues further characterize the highest chromaticity of the orange color. Lastly, the UV resistance of colored AsA is critical to the References end-use application performance. t-8 (s08) did not weath- 1. seferis, J.c. and samnels, R.J., J. Polym. Eng. Sci. 19, 975 (1979). er as well as the other trials. chromatic colors are difficult 2. Wedgewood, A.R. and seferis, J.c., Polym. Eng. Sci. 24, 328 to maintain in accelerated UV weathering studies. s08 is (1984). based solely on Resin c. However, s04 contains both Resin c and Resin A and shows exceptional color retention throughout the testing period. Also, s04 is one of the trials with the highest visually chromatic orange color. s01 and s04 had the most chromatic color initially and lowest ΔE values after weathering in this study. the gloss retention values after weathering were also high for s01 and s04. the trials in this study were formulated to achieve a highly chromatic orange color with acceptable impact, high melt flow and acceptable heat distortion properties. Table 5 shows the physical property differences further reflected in Figures 1 and 2, showing their surface response characteristics. the notched Izod surface response plot shown in Figure 1 shows some synergy in trials formulated with Resin B and Resin c. However, no synergy is noted in Fig- ure 2 for the heat distortion. trials formulated with Resin B had higher heat distor- tions than those formulated with Resin c or Resin A. the surface response plot of the heat distortion values reflects the inherent heat resistance of the different resins, since the AsA rubber content was fixed in all trials. However, the trials with the higher notched Izod and heat distortion values (s02, s05, and s07) were less chromatic than trials s01, s04, and s08. trial s08 exhibited good chromaticity, impact, and heat properties, but poor weathering performance. thus, the t-4 (s04) formulation achieved the best chromatic orange color, high melt flow, and acceptable notched Izod, with retained color and gloss after weathering.

Conclusions this paper explored the value of refractive index in AsA formulation strategy to achieve chromatic colors. the gladstone-Dale equation calculations for the refractive index of each AsA formulation were compared to their respective visual and L* values to determine their predic- tive validity. It was observed that the lowest calculated refractive indices for those AsA formulations studied directly correlated to the most highly chromatic colors and lowest L* values. Furthermore, utilizing the gladstone-Dale equation offers the potential to predict the colorability of other amorphous polymer blend systems.

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The Wet Molding Method An economical alternative for the mass production of carbon fiber-reinforced plastics

By Annette Wettach Dieffenbacher GmbH Maschinen- und Anlagenbau, Eppingen, Germany

ass production of CFRP (carbon fiber-reinforced has become indispensable—especially in the automotive plastic) components is developing in the direc- industry, and also in other sectors, such as aviation. Vehicles tion of intelligent processing of carbon fibers, in have to be lighter and therefore more economical and orderM to use this material as effectively as possible. Using an resource-efficient, whilst simultaneously improving safety automated and fully integrated production line with high with an optimized crash performance. This is why fiber- process stability and short cycle times can reduce manu- reinforced plastic components are increasingly being used. facturing costs to a level where a wider application is possible. The buzzwords for reducing high costs for materials and man- Everyone is talking about lightweight construction and it ufacturing processes are automation and short cycle times.

Presses from the Compress Lite series, used in “wet molding.”

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The wet molding production line.

Dieffenbacher is the global market leader for complete posed of ultrasonic-welded layers—or “stacks”—are pre- processes for manufacturing long and continuous fiber- pared in a magazine. This stack magazine ensures a reinforced plastic components. These include processes for continuous supply during the manufacturing process. the manufacture of carbon fiber components and direct First the stacks are transported to a camera table by a robot processes in the field of fiberglass-reinforced thermoplastics with a needle gripping system so the accuracy of the layers and thermoset materials. can be inspected. The camera checks the exact position of One of these innovative technologies for the manufacture the stacks and gives a report indication on the accuracy of the of carbon fiber components is the “wet molding” method. layers. The stacks are then returned in sequence and cor- Presses from Dieffenbacher’s Compress Lite series are used rected if required. with the corresponding automation in current projects. In a subsequent step, the stacks are placed on a shuttle These presses have been specifically designed for the new- table equipped with a weighing system. Depending on the ly developed CFRP manufacturing processes and are nature and size of the component, a double or quadruple characterized by the easily accessible automated environ- stack cavity is possible. Two resin robots with flash cut ment, high level of precision and high energy efficiency. nozzles simultaneously apply epoxy resin to the stacks. The application of the resin is recorded based on weight. This procedure ensures reproducibility and ultimately con- What is Wet Molding? tributes to the quality of the component. The resin cabin is Wet molding is used for the manufacture of carbon-fiber equipped with a ventilation system with a capacity of 5000 components with low three-dimensional complexity. This m³/hr for the venting of fumes during this open process includes structural components such as vehicle drive tunnels, step. or reinforcements in the roof area which must be able to After the application of the resin, the shuttle moves to the withstand particularly high loads. feeding position and the stacks are placed in the press by The wet molding method is a more economical alternative the robot. After the press closes, the stacks are pressed and to the established HP-RTM (high-pressure resin transfer cured at a mold temperature of around 150°C. molding) method, with a simpler process chain. This method The press then opens and an extraction robot places the is an open thermoset process in which the component in the components in a cooling press. In the final process step, the press is cured under pressure and at a high temperature. cooled carbon fiber parts are removed from the cooling At the start of the process chain, carbon-fiber cores compress by the robot and placed on a discharge conveyor.

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The Wet Molding Method ______

Benefits of the Method automation, which includes fully automated tool change systems. Production can be changed over from one product So how does the wet molding method differ from the HP-RTM to another within a very short time of around ten minutes. method, and what are its benefits? In the HP-RTM method, Wet molding thus enables economical mass production the resin is injected into the closed mold and then cured in because high costs for the carbon-fiber material are offset the closed press. In contrast, with wet molding, the resin mix- by short cycle times and thus higher quantities. ture—usually epoxy resin—is applied to the carbon fiber core The ever-increasing demand for carbon-fiber components outside of the press. in the automotive industry shows that the manufacturing This has the advantage over the HP-RTM method in that process in lightweight construction is far from reaching its resin can be applied while other components are curing in end point. Dieffenbacher is constantly working on adjusting the press. The system can also be more reactive, as filling a and further developing the various technologies to suit the heated mold, in which no reaction may take place, is no needs of the market. longer necessary. Both save time and this leads to shorter cycle of around 180 seconds, as multiple components can be pressed in a press simultaneously. This also helps to achieve About the author... a higher output. Annette Wettach is the marketing manager at Dieffenbacher Wet molding lines are characterized by a high degree of GmbH Maschinen- und Anlagenbau, in Eppingen, Germany.

# Carbon Footprinting: Scope 3 All calculations need values for the relevant53 “driver” and the emission factor for the emissions source. The [This Tip continues a series of “Carbon Footprinting” tips recommended data set is published by the UK government that started in the January 2015 issue of Plastics (www.ukconversionfactorscarbonsmart.co.uk). Engineering.] Actions: Scope 3 covers the direct emissions from assets that a site uses but does not control—e.g., when an employee • Quantify the relevant emissions in terms of their flies in a plane, the site takes a share of the emissions. drivers. Typical emission sources are: • Use the emission factors to calculate the amount of • Employee business travel: CO2e for each emissions source. • private car use • Scope 3 emissions may be difficult to calculate, but for most plastics sites, Scope 3 will be <10% of the total, • flights (short-haul and long-haul) and even large estimation errors will not affect the total • rental cars and taxis greatly. • employee commuting • Product transport to the customer by contract transport Dr. Robin Kent — ©Tangram Technology Ltd. (not collection) (www.tangram.co.uk) • Water use and waste disposal

Note: Dr. Robin Kent is the author of Energy Management in Plastics Processing, published by Plastics Information Direct, and managing director of Tangram Technology Ltd., consulting engineers specializing in energy management in plastics processing. [email protected].

42 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | APRIL 2015 | www.4spe.org | www.plasticsengineering.org 40-43 Wettach_046854 IndustryNews.QXD 3/18/15 3:09 PM Page 43

ANTEC® Brussels 2015

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Interested in presenting a technical paper? SPE is currently seeking technical papers in the areas above. Visit the website below for complete submission details and deadlines.

Questions? Contact: Carine Roos Olivier Crave SPE European Oce Chair - ANTEC® Brussels + 32 498 85 07 32 +33 6 2024 64 50 [email protected] [email protected]

WWW.ANTEC.WS 44-47 American Chemistry Council_046854 IndustryNews.QXD 3/18/15 3:11 PM Page 44

“Shale Gas-Advantaged” Plastics They’re expected to dramatically boost U.S. jobs & exports

By American Chemistry Council

Note: This article continues the series of feedstock costs can give U.S. manu- As a result, between 2005 and 2012, updates in Plastics Engineering from facturers a big edge over these foreign the USA went from being among the Plastics Make it Possible®, an initiative competitors. highest-cost producers of ethylene to sponsored by America’s Plastics Mak- Increased production of natural gas among the lowest. The global com- ers™ through the ACC. from shale formations has made petitiveness of U.S. plastic resin domestic natural gas and natural gas manufacturing has reached its highest lastics make possible all sorts of liquids more abundant and affordable. level in decades. innovations that enhance the performance and sustainability Pof our packaging, auto parts, building materials, healthcare products, sports equipment, and more. They also make jobs possible—lots of them—and exports—lots of them, too. And with the dramatic increase in production of natural gas from shale formations, those jobs and exports are predicted to grow dramatically in the coming decade.

Shale Gas Advantages for Plastics Since hydrocarbons found in natural gas and oil are the primary feedstocks used to make many types of plastics, the affordability and supply of natural gas, natural gas liquids, and oil are critical to the competitiveness of plastic resin makers in a global marketplace. In the United States, producers of ethylene, a primary feedstock for many plastics, generally use natural gas- based feedstocks, while producers in Europe and Asia often use oil-based feedstocks. So lower natural gas and These values refer to U.S. manufacturers of plastic materials (resins) in 2013.

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plastic resins, companies purchase raw materials, supplies, energy, and services. The economic activity in these supply chain industries indirectly generates an additional 344,700 jobs. It’s estimated that household spending of wages earned by plastic resin manufacturing workers and employees along the supply chain support an additional payroll-induced 294,500 jobs. In total, plastic resin manufacturing supports nearly 700,000 jobs. Put another way, each job in plastic resin manufacturing generates eleven additional jobs in other sectors of the economy through indirect and payroll-induced effects. That’s quite impressive. But the dramatic increase in production of natural gas from shale formations is turning out to be a real game-changer. To capitalize on U.S. feedstock price advantages due to shale gas, plastic resin makers have announced investments totaling more than $21 billion for new capacity, expected to come online over the next decade. For example, capacity to produce polyethylene, U.S plastic resin exports: a growing trade surplus. the most “shale gas-advantaged” resin, is expected to grow by more than 50% by 2020. These lower-cost feedstocks from In 2013, plastic resin makers in the As new production comes online, shale gas, plus rising wages in overseas USA directly employed 55,200 people. plastics resin makers are projected to factories and supply chain concerns These employees earned on average add nearly 12,000 jobs. In addition, outside the USA, have made manu- $84,900, which is 73% higher than the over the next decade a total of nearly facturing in the USA more competitive. average wage for all industries. $13 billion in increased capacity to As a result of these and other factors, Since the recession officially ended process plastic resin is expected to be some companies that moved manu- in June 2009, employment growth in built, which is anticipated to require an facturing abroad are returning, and both plastic resin manufacturing and additional 76,000 workers. Plus, near- new manufacturing facilities are plastic products manufacturing (com- ly $1.7 billion in new capacity and increasingly being built here—which mercial and consumer goods made nearly 3,500 jobs are expected from can lead to more jobs. with plastics) has outpaced overall increased sales of plastic additives manufacturing employment growth. (such as plasticizers, UV stabilizers, At the end of the first quarter 2014, and colorants). Higher-Paying, Plentiful employment in plastic resin manufac- Once these resin, processor, and Jobs turing was up 5.6%, and plastic product additives investments come online, Making plastics is a high-tech, capital- manufacturing employment rose 7%. plastic industry shipments are expect- intensive business that employs large This compares to a 3.1% gain in over- ed to create more than 92,000 direct numbers of engineering and technical all manufacturing employment over new jobs. staff to ensure product quality, achieve the same period. And all of this new production will performance specifications, and main- The economic impact of plastic resin generate demand for products and serv- tain safe and efficient manufacturing manufacturing, however, extends far ices along the supply chain, which is processes. beyond the facility gates. To produce projected to lead to more than 130,000

www.plasticsengineering.org | www.4spe.org | APRIL 2015 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | 45 44-47 American Chemistry Council_046854 IndustryNews.QXD 3/18/15 3:11 PM Page 46

“Shale Gas-Advantaged” Plastics______

additional jobs (which includes jobs lion. U.S. resin manufacturing is high- Rising demand abroad for compet- making plastics machinery and molds ly competitive and maintains trade itively priced plastic resin from the for plastics). The combined payroll of surpluses with most major regions USA is anticipated to dramatically all these workers is in excess of $15 bil- and nations, including a $2.4 billion boost exports in the years to come. lion. These wages are spent largely in surplus with China and $6.3 billion How much? Due to growth in shale local communities, supporting other surplus with Mexico. gas-advantaged plastics production, jobs in healthcare, education, retail, Exports currently account for resin is expected to be an enormous services, and more, resulting in more approximately 35% by value of U.S. driver of U.S. exports. In fact, the con- than 125,000 payroll-induced jobs. resin shipments—typically higher- sulting firm Nexant, which recently So under current conditions, the priced, value-added resins. Because conducted an economic study for the manufacturing of shale gas-advan- of growing resin production capacity American Chemistry Council, projects taged plastic resin and plastic products, due in part to the cost advantages that the trade surplus for plastic resins plus related investments, will support offered by U.S. shale gas, it’s expected will triple by 2030. a total of nearly 350,000 new jobs. that the share of exports compared to imports will increase. For more information about roles plastics Demand for plastic resin is increas- play in innovation & sustainability, visit Increased Plastics ing both in the USA and abroad. www.plasticsmakeitpossible.com. For Exports Important domestic end-use markets more about plastics, jobs, and exports, America’s plastic resin manufacturing for plastics, such as vehicles and con- visit www.americanchemistry.com. industry historically has been a net struction, are improving as automakers exporter and has maintained a large increase the use of lightweight plastic References trade surplus. In 2013, the USA export- parts to improve fuel efficiency and “Plastics: Contributions to Sustainability and the U.S. Economy,” October 2014, ed $31.1 billion worth of plastic resin builders expand the use of foam insu- American Chemistry Council. and imported $12.5 billion worth, lation to create more energy-efficient “U.S. Chemical Export Projections,” Febru- resulting in a trade surplus of $18.6 bil- homes. ary 2015, Nexant.

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46 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | APRIL 2015 | www.4spe.org | www.plasticsengineering.org 44-47 American Chemistry Council_046854 IndustryNews.QXD 3/18/15 3:11 PM Page 47 48-51 Inside SPI_046854 IndustryNews.QXD 3/18/15 3:12 PM Page 48

INSIDE SPI

How the U.S. President and Vice President Came to Visit Techmer PM

By Jacob Barron SPI Public Relations Manager

hree carloads of Secret Service President Joe Biden visited Techmer’s To paraphrase Hemingway, a visit personnel arrived at SPI mem- Clinton, Tennessee, facility on Jan. 9, from the President and Vice President ber Techmer PM’s plant on touring the plant as part of an effort to happens two ways: gradually, then sud- JanuaryT 3rd—and they didn’t leave for promote American manufacturing and denly. “The Department of Energy (DOE) another six days. “They never left our spotlight the creation of the adminis- is always looking for collaboration with plant until the President was gone,” tration’s newest manufacturing private industry,” Manuck said. “About said John Manuck, Techmer PM’s chair- innovation hub. While the visit only last- two years ago, the Oak Ridge National man and CEO. ed about an hour, its origins for Laboratory (a DOE facility) became President Barack Obama and Vice Techmer were years in the making. familiar with our capabilities and asked

The Presidential visitors inspecting a replica Shelby Cobra 3-D-printed in Techmer materials.

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us to join them in a project of theirs in developing a new process to produce carbon fiber.” After his company connected with Oak Ridge, which is a 30-minute drive away from Techmer’s Clinton facility, Manuck said his company began working with the lab enough to build a relationship. Then, early in 2014, Oak Ridge approached Techmer about a 3-D printing project. “The word kind of got around that there’s this company down the road and we’re really easy to work with,” he said. Techmer and Oak Ridge began working, and the results were two 3-D-printed cars: one that Manuck said “was more like a dune buggy” and

contained some of Techmer’s materials, The U.S. President and Vice President visiting Techmer PM in January. and another that was a replica Shelby Cobra made entirely from Techmer’s materials. Eventually more Secret Service mem- facturing in the United States. I wanted But the two vehicles weren’t the only bers arrived, and the security protocols to promote private companies, and that fruit that the positive working relation- began, a process Manuck described as how, as a private company, we’re nim- ship between Techmer and Oak Ridge a “learning experience.” “I guess since ble. Most of these I was able to talk to would eventually come to bear. When the assassination attempt on President the President about. We had a real dia- the White House began to plan its trip Reagan, the Secret Service does not logue, and that was my intention.” to the Knoxville, Tennessee, area short- like the president getting in and out of Certain questions Manuck was able ly after the 3-D printing project had a car in a public place,” he said. “They to prepare for ahead of time. “He was been completed, they naturally reached pull the car inside, so they wanted to going to pepper me with questions. out to Oak Ridge, whose directors sug- come in the back of the plant and we He’s not going to try to trick you, but he’s gested that the President include a visit had to move some storage racks, which going to want some real information,” to Techmer’s facility. we did.” Manuck said. “He asked me how I start- Tom Drye, managing director of Tech- While securing Techmer’s facility, ed the business, and I had prepared mer’s Engineered Solutions subsidiary Manuck also happened upon a new for that mentally, so I told him that I and the company’s main point of con- application for some of the company’s started off as an engineer working for tact for Oak Ridge, eventually received materials. “Our Gaylord boxes are filled a big company and just decided that I a phone call from the White House on with plastic pellets, and the Secret Serv- could do it better.” The President even- Dec. 23, 2014, when staff members ice guys saw them and said ‘a bullet tually referenced this response in the called asking for photos of the facility. couldn’t get through this,’” he said. “So remarks he gave at the end of his visit. Manuck managed to get hold of his they had us move the Gaylords, and Additionally, Manuck did research assistant, who swore herself to secrecy wherever [the President] was going to beforehand to dig up some information both for security reasons and because go, we had a path laid out, part of which about his company that he thought the by that point, only two short weeks was made by stacking Gaylords where president might find interesting. “I dug before the visit actually happened, it we wouldn’t normally have them.” up our employment stats, and from still was not a guarantee. The day of the actual visit, there was December 2008 to December 2014, our The day after Christmas, Techmer’s a final security follow-up from 7 to 9 AM employment had grown 33%, but that phones rang again, with officials saying (“Bomb-sniffing dogs, the whole thing,” included an acquisition. If you exclude that they wanted a smaller Secret Serv- according to Manuck), and then even- that, it was still up 20%.” ice team to visit their facility the next tually, upon the President’s arrival, The President asked what kind of Friday, Jan. 2. “We were scheduled to be Manuck led him on a tour and had a hires Manuck had made, whether they closed that day and we let them know chance to talk with the President. were college graduates, two-year col- that, but that was actually probably a “I had made notes, and some were lege graduates, or other. “All of the good thing, to keep this confidential,” what I’ll call ‘self-promotional’ notes,” above,” he said, delving further into Manuck said. he said. “I wanted to promote manu- details about his workforce and hiring

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INSIDE SPI

Continued How the U.S. President and Vice President Came to Visit Techmer PM

philosophy. “Out of high school, they’re factory, but Techmer clearly made the in to the successful visit, obviously, but not ready. It’s not only the math and the most of it, from their organizational for Techmer and other manufacturers writing, it’s the soft skills, which is what flexibility and teamwork to Manuck’s who open their doors for elected offi- I’ve found to be the biggest problem,” preparation. “For us the obvious ben- cials and everyone else to see, the Manuck added. The President agreed efit is the positive publicity that we’ve process of doing it is its own benefit. with him. gotten globally,” Manuck said. “People “Some people have asked ‘was it worth- It’s not every day that the President are still buzzing about it.” while?’” Manuck said. “For us it’s a no and Vice President come to visit a A great deal of time and work went brainer.”

National Plastics Center Presents SPE with $200,000 in Support of PlastiVan™ Program

he National Plastics Center has presented the Society of Plas- tics Engineers (SPE) with a $200,000T check in support of the Plas- tiVan™ education program, which sends “PlastiVans” to schools and companies throughout North America to educate people of all ages about plastic’s chemistry, history, processing, manufacturing, sustainability, and applications. SPE developed and proposed a plan to manage the PlastiVan program, which received approval from the National Plastics Center Board. The $200,000 check that SPE received in support of its plan to administer the program comes in addition to a previous check from the board for $47,000 to implement the plan and ensure the growth and future of the The PlastiVan program in action (photo courtesy of the SPE Thermoforming Div.). program. The National Plastics Center, a non- profit institution dedicated to preserving the past, addressing the present, and Board. He said that “the members of dents to continue with careers in the promoting the future of plastics through the Board feel that SPE, being the pre- plastics industry.” public education and awareness, mier educational association in the The check from the National Plastics recognized SPE for its unwavering com- plastics industry, ensures a bright future Center was presented to SPE during mitment to the program. as the home for the PlastiVan program. the Plastics Pioneers Association’s Win- Jay Gardiner, president, Gardiner The PlastiVan program brings the sci- ter Meeting, which took place Feb. 19-22 Plastics, Inc., presented the check on ence of plastics to grades K to 12 to at the Hotel Palacio del Rio in San Anto- behalf of the National Plastics Center both educate and inspire these stu- nio, Texas, USA.

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Plastics Academy, SPI, and Future of Plastics Foundation Present Initial $5,000 Check and Pledge More Funds to Plastics Pioneers Education Fund

he Plastics Academy, along with SPI: The Plastics The PPA Education Fund is administered by the Society of Industry Trade Association, and the Future of Plastics Plastics Engineers Foundation, which solicits scholarship can- Foundation presented a $5,000 check to the Plastics didates and collects applications. The program is funded TPioneers Association’s (PPA’s) Education Fund in support of entirely by donations like the ones awarded by the Plastics future education programs and scholarships. The funds Academy, SPI, and the Future of the Plastics Foundation. were a preliminary donation by the three groups, which have “Supporting plastics education through the PPA Education agreed to donate 10% of the net proceeds from the 2015 Fund is just one way that plastics professionals can invest Plastics Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony to the PPA Edu- in our industry’s future,” Carteaux says. “By supporting the cation Fund. Fund, SPI, the Plastics Academy and the Future of Plastics Jay Gardiner, president of the Plastics Academy, pre- Foundation are demonstrating our commitment to creating sented the $5,000 check to the PPA Education Fund at the new opportunities for young people to discover exciting new PPA’s Winter Meeting in San Antonio, Texas. “This represents careers in plastics. We’re thrilled to present this $5,000 a down payment on a pledge made by myself and Bill investment now, and look forward to a successful Plastics Carteaux, president and CEO of SPI, at last year’s meet- Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony so that we can present ings,” Gardiner said. those proceeds at the PPA’s fall meeting later in 2015.”

The Society of Plastics Engineers w like tould o thank all those who contributed to the success of ANTEC® 2015. Thanks to the many speakers and moderators for their efforts in making this the largest technical conference in the world dedicated specifically t plastics.o

Special thanks to our 2015 sponsors

SaveSaaveve the DateDate - See YYouou in Indianapolis! ANTEC® 2016 - MayMay 23-25

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INDUSTRY NEWS

“This unique performance profile offers PolySource, LLC, a privately held, val- designers, across multiple industries, a ue-added distributor of thermoplastic new material solution to meet tough resins and compounds, announced that application requirements,” says Bill it signed an agreement with Hyosung Feldman, executive vice president of Group of South Korea to be an author- PolySource. ized distributor for polyketone in North With its excellent wear resistance America. Hyosung is the world’s only and coefficient-of-friction performance producer of polyketone. and good hydrolysis resistance, polyke- Polyketone is highly crystalline with a tone is said to be a good fit for materials compact crystal structure resulting in handling, gears, and industrial appli- excellent impact resistance, abrasion cations, replacing lubricated nylons and resistance, chemical resistance, fuel Photo courtesy of PolySource acetals (POMs). Polyketone’s excellent resistance, and gas barrier properties. fuel resistance and gas barrier prop-

The SPE International Polyolefins contest awards. Tom Walsh received also given to Brandon Cleary, who has Conference in Houston, Texas, USA, at the Polyolefin Conference Hall of Fame done an outstanding job the last eight the end of February 2015 celebrated Service Award for over 27 years of con- years as the exhibitor chair for the its 40th anniversary—for “Four tinuous and dedicated service to the Conference, improving the booth lay- Decades of Advances in Polyolefin Conference. Walsh has served as con- outs, exhibition floor activities, and Technology.” The conference was ference chair, plenary chair, exhibitor value for the exhibitors. organized by the SPE South Texas Sec- chair, and publicity chair, as well as in Meanwhile, the SPE South Texas Sec- tion, Polymer Modifiers & Additives many other leadership positions, and tion and Division organizers are doing Division, Thermoplastic Materials and he has dedicated thousands of hours to more during the rest of the year to Foams Division, and Medical Plastics make the conference a great success. support university polymer programs Division. There were 637 people The Polyolefins Conference has with profits from the Conference via attending (the largest attendance in become known as one of the best endowed scholarships, aid for buying the last 15 years), 64 exhibitor booths, places to conduct business, to learn equipment, and supplementing stu- two networking socials, 84 outstanding about new technology, and to network. dent chapter operating funds. technical papers, a very successful Thus a Special Recognition Award was spe-stx.org/conference.php technical tutorial (135 people), and a great student poster contest. Conference organizers say excite- ment was evident at the conference as inexpensive natural gas and now low oil prices propel the polyolefins industry around the world and in the USA. There are major investments scheduled in the USA, China, and other places in the world in coming years that will dramatically expand many sectors of the chemical and manufacturing industry. During the conference, several awards were given out: the Polyolefins Conference Hall of Fame Service Award, a Special Recognition Award, six student scholarships, and four poster Photo courtesy of SPE Polyolefins Conference

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erties make it an ideal candidate for el skin for automotive applications— between a B6 machine controller and automotive fuel system components as well as hoses, films, and cable an R8.3 robot, a Tempro Plus D tem- as well. It offers two times the impact sheathing. It’s also used as a compo- perature controller, a Flowcon Plus strength and a 30% improvement in nent of thermoplastic polyetheresters automatic flow controller, and a Grav- chemical resistance compared with and polyetheramides. Other applica- imax G14 blender. nylon, whereas its wear resistance is tions include cast elastomers, which In addition, the new WiBa QuickLook about 14 times greater than POM’s. are used, for example, for the produc- app from Wittmann Battenfeld pro- Hyosung unveiled polyketone tion of wheels for skateboards and vides a very simple and comfortable deployed on a commercial scale for inline skates. way to check on the status of injection the first time in the world in November www.basf.com molding machines and robots via a 2014. The company had already estab- smartphone. The new app links up with lished a polyketone polymerization the latest software versions of plant with an annual production capac- Wittmann 4.0 is the implementation of Wittmann R8.3 robots and Wittmann ity of 1,000 tons in Ulsan, South Korea, an industrial Ethernet between a central Battenfeld Unilog B6 control systems. in 2012. hub (the Wittmann Battenfeld injec- Through this link, the production data www.polysource.net tion molding machine) and various and condition of the most important connected devices (like Wittmann Bat- equipment operating in a given pro- tenfeld robots and peripheral duction cell can be checked quickly and BASF has made a bio-based polyte- equipment). It’s a major challenge to easily, says the company. trahydrofuran (PolyTHF® 1000) combine and integrate miscellaneous www.wittmann-ct.com available for the first time. The com- and widely varying data protocols with pany is now providing this chemical an industrial Ethernet, says the com- intermediate to selected partners for pany. Polymax Thermoplastic Elastomers, testing in various large-scale applica- Wittmann 4.0 uses a standardized Inc. (PolymaxTPE), a manufacturer and tions. communication protocol between all custom compounder of thermoplastic “The bio-based PolyTHF 1000 is the company’s peripheral equipment, elastomer (TPE) materials, announced identical in quality to the petrochemical- robots, and molding machines. The the availability of an expanded line based product,” says Andrej Brejc, Wittmann 4.0 display at the NPE2015 of premium quality TPE for use in director of Renewable Diols, from show demonstrated the connections extreme-condition applications. BASF’s Intermediates division. “The opportunity to expand the range of products and applications made from renewable raw materials allows us and our partners to further explore the long-term market acceptance of this innovative technology.” PolyTHF is derived from 1,4 butanediol (BDO), which BASF has produced under license from Genomatica. Polytetrahydrofuran is primarily used to make elastic spandex fibers for a large variety of textiles, including under- wear, outerwear, sportswear, and swimsuits. The material is mainly applied as a chemical building block for thermoplastic polyurethane, which is used to make parts of ski boots and skates, shoe soles, and instrument pan- Photo courtesy of Wittmann Battenfeld

www.plasticsengineering.org | www.4spe.org | APRIL 2015 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | 53 52-59 Industry News_046854 IndustryNews.QXD 3/18/15 3:13 PM Page 54

INDUSTRY NEWS

Developed using new product for- applications, Pekoflam HFC will sup- mulations and custom-engineered port textile producers and protective production machinery, the company’s clothing manufacturers’ efforts to “extreme” materials are designed to achieve both Oeko-Tex 100 compliance perform under very high and very low and effective fire protection for their fin- temperatures, during medical sterili- ished goods. zation procedures and demanding Pekoflam HFC p is an organic phos- environmental conditions. Some of the phorous/nitrogen compound with new TPEs are formulated to endure reportedly excellent performance with exposure to ultraviolet light, abrasion, synthetic materials, including polyamide caustic substances, and flammable con- fibers and blends. The unique chemistry ditions. This new collection was displays higher efficiency compared to featured at NPE2015. commonly used nitrogen- and/or phos- Photo courtesy of battenfeld-cincinnati “As a leader in thermoplastic elas- phorous-based chemicals. It’s also tomer material formulation and applicable in water-based systems, as compounding, we continue to focus on well as in Oeko-Tex Standard 100 com- the needs of our customers by expand- Recent industrial production runs at pliant “green” solvent-based coating ing the range of technical performance key customers producing multilayer systems; hence it offers higher flexibil- of our products,” says PolymaxTPE Pres- composite pipes have demonstrated ity to fabric coaters serving different ident Martin Lu. “PolymaxTPE materials the productivity gains made possible end-use segments. The ecological pro- that can endure rigorous conditions by this resin. These pipes have inner file enables use in both indirect and are particularly important in the auto- and outer layers of PE-RT that encase a direct skin-contact applications. motive, healthcare, and industrial core layer of aluminum foil. “The primary advantage of Pekoflam market segments.” In Poland, established hot and cold HFC is its ability to combine the effects www.polymaxtpe.com pipe system manufacturer Sigma-Li has and properties of selected halogenated used XSene XRT70 to achieve stable and non-halogenated technologies in a pipe production at high line speeds of fire-protection solution for various coat- 40 m/min. for 16-mm diameter HDPE- ing polymers,” comments Michael The latest high-density polyethylene aluminium composite pipes for central Schuhmann, global segment manager, pressure pipe grade from Total is said heating systems. They’re produced on Flame Retardants, Textile Specialties to combine processability with elevat- a battenfeld-cincinnati uniEX 45-30 Business, Archroma. It “thus offers a ed temperature performance and line that the company recently installed. sustainable long-term alternative for long-term stability to raise processing In China, the same high line speed synthetic textile applications, meeting performance to a higher level. XSene reportedly was achieved with the same the criteria of the Oeko-Tex Standard XRT70 incorporates the best of the com- material for a 20-mm diameter PE-RT 100 and responding to the general pany’s expertise in materials for gas pipe. trend towards more environmentally and water pressure pipe, accumulat- www.total.com compatible materials and end-prod- ed from over more than 30 years in www.battenfeld-cincinnati.com ucts that pose significantly lower risks serving this industry. to health.” XSene XRT70 is a PE-RT (polyethyl- Oeko-Tex criteria provide manufac- ene with raised temperature resistance) turers in the textile and clothing Type II HDPE produced using Total’s Archroma announced that its halo- industry with a uniform benchmark on Advanced Double Loop technology. gen-free flame-retardant powder a scientific basis for the evaluation of High extrusion speeds can be reached coating additive, Pekoflam® HFC, is potentially harmful substances in tex- at low extrusion temperatures and officially recognized as a manufacturer- tiles. The Oeko-Tex label indicates the without any melt fracture while keeping certified product by the Oeko-Tex® additional benefits of tested safety for an excellent surface finish, the compa- Association. Being reportedly the first skin-friendly clothing and other textiles ny says. powder additive to be listed for coating to interested end-users. The test label

54 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | APRIL 2015 | www.4spe.org | www.plasticsengineering.org 52-59 Industry News_046854 IndustryNews.QXD 3/18/15 3:13 PM Page 55

www.executive-conference.com

ABOUT THE CONFERENCE

“Plastics-in-Motion”

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INDUSTRY NEWS

therefore provides an important deci- (e.g., wet, hot, cold, humid, and/or dirty) polyetheretherketone product lines sion-making tool for purchasing textiles. conditions. Incorporating an integral were added to the Digimat-MX® data- www.archroma.com GPS for geolocation, the system detects base in 2013. signals of interest and visualizes the More than just software, Digimat is a information on the handheld display. material and structure modeling plat- Products used in rugged environments “These applications benefit from form that allows engineers to perform ranging from industrial to outdoor to the customization options and out- micro- and macro-scale analyses of a medical have one clear thing in com- standing toughness of the poly- broad range of composite materials to mon: the need for toughness and carbonate, as well as its processabili- calculate their mechanical, thermal, durability. This is the “real-world” situ- ty,” says Kevin Dunay, market segment and electrical properties—and predict ation InHand Electronics, Inc. faced manager, Electrical, IT & Appliance, how they will perform in applications. when developing its Hydra-F6™ tablet Polycarbonates–North America, Bayer Digimat-MX is a detailed database that and the display unit for Praemittias Sys- MaterialScience LLC. provides the platform with accurate tems’ Wolfhound Cooperative Radio www.bayermaterialsciencenafta.com material models for simulating the Direction Finding System®. design and performance of select com- “For our rugged tablet and radio sys- mercial reinforced plastics. Solvay Specialty Polymers announced A long-term partner of e-Xstream, at JEC Europe that 13 of its advanced Solvay has used Digimat-MX software polymer grades were included in the internally to offer advanced computer latest release of the Digimat® platform, modeling of fiber-reinforced designs an expansive materials database and as a service to its customers. The simulation tool from e-Xstream engi- expanded Digimat-MX database now neering, an MSC Software company. allows customers to perform their own The additional polymer grades from computer simulations based on Solvay Solvay now allow Digimat to offer great- materials. To help customers fully ly expanded capabilities for computer exploit the properties of its high-per- design and simulation of fiber-rein- formance polymers in product design, forced composite parts that target Solvay says it has developed dedicated automotive, electronics, food-contact, computer-aided engineering proce- Photo courtesy of InHand Electronics and other applications. dures based on Digimat that have The 13 new additions to the simula- undergone thorough internal validation platform’s Digimat-MX® database tion at its European laboratory, based tem we required a commercially draw from Solvay’s Amodel® polyph- in Brussels, Belgium. available material that was durable, thalamide, Ixef® polyarylamide (PARA), www.solvay.com moldable, [and] resistant to chemicals Veradel® polyethersulfone (PESU), and and withstood impact testing,” explains Ryton® polyphenylene sulfide product Tien Chuang, senior mechanical engi- families. A selection of mechanical prop- A large specialty chemical manufactur- neer, InHand Electronics. “We found erties are delivered across a range of er located in the U.S. state of Ohio was what we were looking for in Makrolon® temperatures to precisely meet cus- experiencing unsatisfactory production 9415 polycarbonate from Bayer Mate- tomer requirements. Notably, Solvay’s levels due to the plant’s old, outdated, rialScience.” Ixef and Veradel materials are said to be inefficient equipment. The manufac- InHand created a handheld display the first PARA and PESU resins to ever turer was looking to upgrade the head for the Wolfhound device. The appear in e-Xstream’s materials data- process equipment to increase the display head provides a touch-screen base, which provides computer overall level of production. An increase LCD in a durable, lightweight package modeling for designing fiber-reinforced in output was needed to keep up with tethered to the main Wolfhound unit, thermoplastic parts. Other grades from demand. The Kenics brand heat enabling users to easily interact with the Solvay’s AvaSpire® polyaryletherke- exchanger from National Oilwell system while in environmentally harsh tone and KetaSpire® Varco (NOV) was recommended as a

56 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | APRIL 2015 | www.4spe.org | www.plasticsengineering.org 52-59 Industry News_046854 IndustryNews.QXD 3/18/15 3:13 PM Page 57

PlastiVan™ Education Program

The PlastiVan™ Education Program is a great way to educate people of all ages about the chemistry, history, processing, manufacturing, sustainability and application of plastics.

The program is available for Middle School students (grades 5-8) as an introductory science lab experience. For more information, visit: The High School lab (grades 9-12) delves into the chemistry and properties of polymers and plastics. www.4spe.org DISCOVER

“I had the pleasure of attending a PlastiVan™ workshop recently at Washington Junior High School. I was thrilled to see the engagement of all students and the depth and complexity of the information PLASTICS presented. Through vivid demonstrations, the students understood complex relationships and the associated outcomes. The students were not only excited about the classroom activities, but also future careers associated with the sciences.”

SCHEDULE A VISIT Don Stockton, Superintendent Conroe Independent School District To bring the PlastiVan™ Program to your community, contact:

Marjorie Weiner +1 978-618-5496 SPONSOR A VISIT [email protected] Plastics industry companies and other organizations are encouraged to introduce school children to the marvels of plastics by sponsoring a PlastiVan™ Program visit. Sponsorship of the PlastiVan™ is a tax-deductible donation. 52-59 Industry News_046854 IndustryNews.QXD 3/18/15 3:13 PM Page 58

INDUSTRY NEWS

critical component in the process. fast, uniform heat transfer. NOV per- most efficient form of thermal transfer The Kenics heat exchanger report- sonnel engineered, manufactured, and available today, NOV says. edly provided more efficient, installed the heat exchanger system, By using Kenics static mixer elements cost-effective processing of the chem- which was easily installed right out of in each heat exchanger tube, the film ical. At the heart of the heat exchanger the box, saving time and money. build-up commonly associated with is static mixer technology which The Kenics heat exchanger consists of empty tubes is significantly reduced. offers the highest available a continuous string of static mixer ele- Process fluid is continuously pushed heat transfer coefficients for ments within each heat exchanger from the center of each tube to the tube. Fluid flow is directed radial- wall and back to the center, eliminating ly toward the pipe walls and back thermal gradients and boosting the to the element, regardless of inside film coefficient. The static mixer velocity. Additionally, momentum elements are furnace-brazed to the reversal and flow division also con- pipe walls. The resulting enhanced sur- tribute to mixing efficiency. All face area and internal flow division and processed material is continuously radial mixing action dramatically and completely intermixed to elimi- enhance transfer rates. Removable ele- nate radial gradients in temperature ments are also available for applications and material composition. As a requiring periodic cleaning during prod- Photo courtesy of NOV result, Kenics heat exchangers provide uct changeovers. predictable, controlled mixing and the www.kenics.com

58 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | APRIL 2015 | www.4spe.org | www.plasticsengineering.org 52-59 Industry News_046854 IndustryNews.QXD 3/18/15 3:13 PM Page 59 60-61 Patents_046854 IndustryNews.QXD 3/18/15 3:14 PM Page 60

INDUSTRY PATENTS

By Roger Corneliussen

Controlling Bad Odors Tough Coatings Reactor PE Blends U.S. Patent 8,927,078 (January 6, 2015), U.S. Patent 8,927,098 (January 6, 2015), U.S. Patent 8,933,175 (January 13, 2015), “Encapsulated Activated Carbon and “Hard Coating Film,” Soon-Hwa Jung, “Hyperbranched Polymers and Meth- the Preparation thereof,” Chieh-Chun Heon Kim, Yeong-Rae Chang, and Hye- ods of Making and Using same,” Youlu Chau and William F. Patchen (Reynolds Min Kim (LG Chem, Ltd., Seoul, South Yu, Chung C. Tso, David C. Rohlfing, Consumer Products Inc., Lake Forest, Korea). Paul J. Deslauriers, Melvin Hildebrand, Illinois, USA). Shrinking electronics requires thin- Max P.McDaniel, and Qing Yang Garbage stinks, and stink reduction is ner and thinner materials on all levels, (Chevron Phillips Chemical Company good. Activated carbon is an effective including coatings. Display windows are LP, The Woodlands, Texas, USA). adsorbent for odor reduction because usually formed from glass or tempered Polyethylene materials are widely of functionality and porosity. Small car- glass; however, glass is heavy and brit- used because they are processable and bon particles are difficult to use, but tle. Plastics could replace glass, but they cost effective. There is a constant push they are useful fillers for plastics. How- require hard, abrasion-resistant coat- for special properties requiring new ever, when activated carbon is blended ings. types of PE for new applications. Reac- with a molten polymer, the molten poly- Jung, Chang, and Kim developed an tor production can make new mer plugs up the pores and prevents abrasion-resistant coating for plastics polyethylenes with very little change in sorption. based on crosslinked polyrotaxanes cost for these applications. Chau and Patchen developed a mas- with other additives. Polyrotaxanes con- Yu et al. developed a PE blend of lin- terbatch of encapsulated activated sist of a linear polymer threaded ear chains and “star branched” chains. carbon particles for plastics and odor through a series of unattached cyclic The branched PE increases melt flow reduction. The activated carbon parti- molecules. The polymer moves freely without reducing other desirable prop- cles are encapsulated with a through the cyclic groups but cannot erties, making the material more non-water-soluble, brittle amorphous be disconnected because of the chain’s processable. This is done by a two-stage polymer such as polystyrene. The end groups. This sliding motion pro- Ziegler catalyst polymerization in which encapsulating mixture also contains vides impact protection because of the each stage provides resins with different pore-forming additives such as calci- moving friction. branching. One stage produces um carbonate, magnesium hydroxide, The chain ends are capped with unbranched, linear polyethylene, and and talc. The mixture with the carbon is acrylic groups, preventing the linear the other stage produces star branched extruded and pelletized for mixing with chain from escaping the molecular PE with several long chain branches other plastics. rings. The coating also contains a cou- from a relatively short core. The star The activated carbon is only partially pling agent for network formation and branched resin reduces entanglement encapsulated with polymer, leaving hardness. This coating is deposited and density, improving viscous flow. voids. In addition, cracks in the encap- cured with radiation. The polyrotaxane sulant form pathways to the carbon and the binder resins are crosslinked, pores. Thus the carbon retains its sorp- forming a strong, tough network struc- tive properties in the plastics. These ture. Conditioned UHMWPE pellets can be mixed with film resins U.S. Patent 8,933,145 (January 13, 2015), and blown to form odor-reducing bags. “High Temperature Melting,” Ebru Oral

60 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | APRIL 2015 | www.4spe.org | www.plasticsengineering.org 60-61 Patents_046854 IndustryNews.QXD 3/18/15 3:14 PM Page 61

and Orhun K. Muratoglu (The General mal damage to the sheet. The sheet is polyurethanes, polyetherimides, poly- Hospital Corp., Boston, Massachusetts, a laminate where one layer is electrically etheretherketones, and polysulfones. USA). charged by corona discharge or a high- Applications in aerospace require high Ultrahigh molecular-weight polyeth- voltage charging. After charging, the strength-to-weight ratios; these mate- ylene (UHMWPE) materials are useful surface charge is removed by another rials are lightweight and thermally implant materials, but total joint discharge without affecting internal resistant. implants need improved oxidative sta- charges responsible for the adhesion. bility and wear resistance. Wear Thus a poster can be sent to the site resistance can be improved by crosslink- covered with a protective layer. On site, ing. However, crosslinking reduces the protective layer is peeled away and Moisture Curing toughness and ductility. the charged laminate is pressed onto U.S. Patent 8,937,141 (January 20, 2015), Oral and Muratoglu produced the support surface. “Moisture Curable Organopolysiloxane crosslinked, wear- and oxidation-resist- Composition,” Sumi Dinkar, Edward J. ant, tough, and ductile UHMWPE Nesakumar, Anantharaman Dhana- materials by localized, high-tempera- balan, Shahid Murtuza, and Shayne J. ture melting. They irradiated a starting Renewable Thermosets Landon (Momentive Performance material containing antioxidants with U.S. Patent 8,927,685 (January 6, 2015), Materials Inc., Waterford, New York, ionizing radiation and then heated the “Thermoset and Thermoplastic Com- USA). irradiated material to 200°C. After cool- positions Derived from the Essential Polymers having reactive terminal ing, the material showed enhanced Oils of Herbs,” Matthew C. Davis (U.S. silyl groups can be hydrolyzed and con- wear resistance and oxidation resist- Navy, Washington, District of Colum- densed in the presence of water and ance without noticeable degradation in bia, USA). organometal catalysts, enabling mois- the other desirable properties. This The U.S. Defense Department is heav- ture curing. Organotin compounds such process is carried out in 1 to 22% oxy- ily dependent on petroleum for sources dibutyltin dilaurate are widely used as gen with a radiation dose of 25 to 1000 of mission-critical plastic composite catalysts. Dibutyltin-containing formu- kGy. materials. There is a need to find mate- lations will be completely phased out in rials from renewable resources rather consumer applications during the next than the usual nonrenewable petrole- 4-6 years because of health concerns. um resources. Metals such as Ca, Ce, Bi, Fe, Mo, Mn, Pb, Electrostatic Adhesion Davis has found that essential-oil Ti, V, Zn, and Y can replace tin, though U.S. Patent 8,932,703 (January 13, 2015), products from plants represent a some of these, such as Pb, do not seem “Electrostatic Adsorbable Sheet,” Hiroshi renewable resource for thermoset that safe of a choice. Koike and Yuichi Yahagi (Yupo Corp., resins and plastics. There are many Dinkar et al. developed Mn(III) com- Tokyo, Japan). plants, especially herbs, which provide plexes that can replace organotin for Adhesives are usually used to attach extractable essential oils. In particular, sealant and room-temperature vulcan- posters to most surfaces, but removing tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus) and izing formulations with silyl groups. The posters in a still-useable state is nearly star anise (Illicium verum) yield essential Mn(III) complexes are comparable or impossible, making them difficult to oils that are almost exclusively the iso- superior to organotin and enable tuning recycle or save. mers of 4-methoxyphenylpropene cure characteristics with good adhesion Koike and Yahagi developed an elec- (estragole and anethole). and storage stability. The reactive silyl trostatic adsorbable sheet which can These products are transformed by groups can be introduced with silanes attach and display printed material on metathesis to form phenolic dimers. containing functional groups that can a surface due to electrostastic induc- These can then be inserted into poly- react with unsaturated hydrocarbons. In tion, with adequate durability. This sheet merization reactions for polyesters, principle, silyl groups make any poly- can be peeled off a support with mini- polycarbonates, polycyanurates, mer crosslinkable with moisture.

www.plasticsengineering.org | www.4spe.org | APRIL 2015 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | 61 62-63 Events_046854 IndustryNews.QXD 3/18/15 3:14 PM Page 62

UPCOMING INDUSTRY EVENTS

Tel.: +1 248-592-0765 SPE CONFERENCES Email: [email protected] SPE E-LIVE® WEBINARS Website: May 5, 2015. 10th Annual AUTO www.speautomotive.com/comp.htm April 15, 2015. “The Effects of EPCON Impact and Other Rapid Loading Site: Detroit-Troy Marriott Hotel, Oct. 4-6, 2015. CAD RETEC® 2015 Mechanisms on Plastics” Troy, Michigan, USA Show Your Colors Contact: Sue Wojnicki Site: Indianapolis Westin, (All webinars begin at 11:00 a.m. U.S. Email: [email protected] Indianapolis, Indiana, USA Eastern Time, unless otherwise Website: www.4spe.org/events Contact: Betty Puckerin noted) Tel.: +1 812-468-9828 May 14, 2015. Extrusion Minitec Email: [email protected] Contact: Barbara Spain Site: Univ. of Massachusetts-Lowell, Website: www.specad.org Tel.: +1 508-338-2646 Massachusetts, USA Email: [email protected] Contact: Charlie Martin Oct. 4-7, 2015. SPE Automotive TPO Website: Tel.: +1 908-685-2333 Engineered Polyolefins Global www.4spe.org/events/webinars.aspx Email: [email protected] Conference 2015 Website: www.4spe.org/events Site: Detroit-Troy Marriott Hotel, Troy, Michigan, USA SPE MEETINGS Aug. 31-Sept. 3, 2015. SPE Contact: Karen Rhodes-Parker Thermoforming Conference® 2015 Tel.: +1 248-244-8993 May 18, 2015. Akron Section Site: Cobb Galleria Centre & Email: [email protected] Awards Night Renaissance Atlanta Waverly Hotel, Website: www.auto-tpo.com Site: Hilton Fairlawn, Akron, Ohio, Atlanta, Georgia, USA USA Contact: Lesley Kyle October 11-13, 2015. 31st Annual Contact: Tony Dean Tel.: +914-671-9524 Blow Molding Conference 2015 Tel.: +1 330-929-9916 Email: Site: Sheraton Station Square, [email protected] [email protected] Email: Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, USA akronspe.org Website: Website: Contact: Ron Puvak thermoformingdivision.com Tel.: +1 419-708-1486 Email: Sept. 8-11, 2015. FOAMS 2015 OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS [email protected] Tutorial & Conference Website: Site: Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan June 1-4, 2015. Automotive Plastics www.blowmoldingdivision.org/2015- Contact: Masahiro Ohshima Conference & Exhibit conference Email: Site: Adoba Hotel, Dearborn, [email protected] Michigan, USA October 13-15, 2015. Vinyltec 2015: Website: www.4spe.org/events Contact: Executive Conference “Enabling Technologies for the Management Future in PVC Industry” Sept. 8-10, 2015. ANTEC® Brussels Tel.: +1 313-429-3905 Site: Hilton Fairlawn Hotel, Akron, Site: Marriott Hotel, Brussels, Email: Ohio, USA Belgium [email protected] Contact: Vivian Malpass Contact: Carine Roos Website: Tel.: +1 330-342-1120 Tel.: +32 498 85 07 32 www.executive-conference.com Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Website: www.4spe.org/events Website: www.4spe.org/events July 1-4, 2015. 4th International Caucasian Symposium on Polymers & Sept. 9-11, 2015. Automotive October 25-28, 2015. FlexPackCon Advanced Materials Composites Conference & 2015 Site: Shota Rustaveli Batumi State Exhibition 2015 Site: Naples Grand Resort, Naples, University, Batumi, Georgia Site: The Diamond Banquet & Florida, USA Contacts: Omari Mukbaniani and Conference Center at the Suburban Contact: Donna Davis Vazha Tskovrebashvili Collection Showplace, Novi, Michigan, Email: Tel.: +995 32 250475 USA [email protected] Email: [email protected] Contact: Peggy Malnati Website: www.4spe.org/events Website: www.icsp4.tsu.ge

62 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | APRIL 2015 | www.4spe.org | www.plasticsengineering.org 62-63 Events_046854 IndustryNews.QXD 3/18/15 3:14 PM Page 63

Featureded KtureaF KKeKeynotee Spynot Speakerserseake PROGRAM SCOPE: The RRoleole of PlasticPlasticss in AAutomotiveuts omotivvee IntInteriorseriors Rose A. RR Ryntz,tz, PPynose Ph.D.,h.Dtz, Vice PicV., Presidenttesidenre IAC AIA AdvancedancdvC Danc Developmentelopmeneved t and Material EngertaM Engineeringingineerial

Plasticslastics hahavehaP vlastics e oftenofftten been used in automotiveomotivaut interiorsinomotiv toterte providepriors oo vide designdesign freedomfrdesig eedom and enhanceenhance craftsmanship.crafftsmanshiptsmanship With the recentrW. enecith t WHO SHOULD ATTEND: push ttoo lighpush lightligh weightingwo eight ting plastics aree plaar playingying a larlargerger roler in interiorin ertole ior design.n. Cdesig CombinedCombined with new pro-pr -o cessingessing tc technologies,echnologies, plastics astics can a a ord orord all of the advantagesanadv tages of lolow ttemperatureemperw impacturaemper impact re resistance,eesistanct , improveded hapticsvoimpr haptics,, and enhancenhanced rrecyclability.yclabilityeced T. Thishis talk will focusfocus on the enhancenhenhanceded custcustomer rrequire--eequiromer mentsments in the autautomotivee ininomotiv interiorerte ior and discuss some of the new technologicaltechnological advadvanceses thaancical thatt will alloalloww the plastics industrindustry ttoo achievy achievee them. PRESENTATIONS: RegulationsegulaR tions DDrivingriving MaMarketrkketet DDemandndema Suzanne CCole,, CEOole CEO Mller CCole LLLLCCole Federal rederF regulationsegulaal araree drtions drivingiving profoundofpr ound changes thathat araree undert under-under-e wayy with praw propulsionopulsion ttechnology,echnologynologyy,, under the hood ccomponentsomponents and EXHIBITS: the lightweightingligh eighwtthe of convention-c vonting -tionenv al passenger cars and lightlight dutdutyy trucks; as a plethoraplethora of new innoinnovative ttivav technol--echnole ogiesog and materialsma ials aim toterties o substansubstantiallytially boost fuel economyeconom and reducereducy e mobile ggreenhousere eenhouse gas emissions.emissions AsA wew. movemos e totve o the midtmidterm ever evaluationaluam tion of MY 2022-2025 standards;standards; ttechnologyechnology devdevel--el opmentopment and consumerconsumer responseresponse is being closely scrutinized.edscrutiniz This presentationprT. tion eexaminesetaesenhis xamines the opporoppor-- tunities and challenges confrontingconfrononfr ting the lighlight-dutydut-t y sector,tsec orr,, on going rresearchesearch and rresearchesearch gaps with an eyeye tan towards infarwoe informingords ming the upcupcomingoming midtmidtermerm rrevieweview and the potpotentialential opporopportunitiestunities fforor plastics in the futurfuturee of vvehicleehicle cconstruction.onstruction.

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64 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | APRIL 2015 | www.4spe.org | www.plasticsengineering.org 64-68 Classified_editorial 3/19/15 8:38 AM Page 65

■PROFESSIONAL SERVICES Y OF PLPLTSOCIE ASTICS ENGINEERS

TECHNICALTECHNICAL JOURNALS We Buy Equipment! We Are “Sniffing Out” PolymerPollymerymer CompositesC esositomp Plastics Equipment he engengT ineerhe ing and scienti c > Compounding Lines nal serserjour ving the elds of reinfforo cor ed plastics and polymer > Recycling Lines ompositompositc es including research, > Profile Equipment oducoducpr pr essingoction, , and > Sheet Lines applica . PC brtions ings you the details of developments in this > Shredders apidly eer xpanding area of > Grinders and more... technologyology long befforore they are ommerc rommer .ealitiescial Tell Us What You Have For Sale www.aaronequipment.com/sniff or call: 855-722-5165 Journal of VinylVVinin & AdditiveA e TechnologyTdditivyl TTee gychnolo A peer ed teview-rA echnical publication f new woror k in the elds of polymer modi ers and To Place a additiv , vinesadditiv yl polymers and ed rrtselec eview papers.

Professional vO er half of all papers in JVVAAATT are based on technology of additives and modi ers for all Services classes of polymers: thermoset polymers and both condensation Recruitment Ad and addition thermoplastics. Papers on vinyl technology include PVC additives.

Contact: Roland Espinosa PolymerPollymerymer EngineeringEngineering & ScienceSciencecienc or mormorF e than 30 years, Polymer Advertising Sales Representative Engineering & S ecienc has been one of the most highly regarded Tel: +1 201-748-6819 journals in the eld, serving as a orum fff or authors of treatises on Email: [email protected] the cutting edge of polymer science and technology.

he imporimporT tance of PE&S is undersc borundersc y the fred equent e atar t which its ar ar citticles ede , especially by other publications - litertions ally thousands of esear, rineers. Engeartimes a y Engeartimes rineers. esear, , tchersesear echnicians, and academicians worldwide look to PE&S forfor the valuable maorinf tion they need e ararherT. e special issues compiled Plastics Engineering by distinguished guest editors cors on, taining proceedings MARCH 2015 of symposia on such diverse topics as polyblends,

mechanics of plastics and polymer welding.

■ www.4spe.org.4spwww g.ore.4sp

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Society of EDITORIAL INDEX Plastics Engineers

A. Schulman ...... 34 Momentive Performance Materials....61 EDITORIAL STAFF American Chemistry Council ...... 44 MSC Software...... 56 Managing Director Archroma ...... 54 National Oilwell Varco (NOV)...... 56, 58 Russell C. Broome Atlas Material Testing Solutions ...... 21 National Plastics Center ...... 50 Editor-in-Chief Briana Gilmartin BASF ...... 1, 12, 15, 53 Oeko-Tex Assoc...... 54 Managing Editor battenfeld-cincinnati ...... 54 Plastics Academy, The...... 51 Michael Tolinski

Bayer MaterialScience...... 15-16, 56 PolymaxTPE ...... 53-4 Contributing Editors Dr. Roger Corneliussen BioWim GmbH ...... 15 PolySource ...... 52-3 Jon Evans Dr. Robin Kent BYK ...... 36 Q-Lab...... 36 Art Director Chemtrusion...... 6 Reynolds Consumers Prods...... 60 Gerry Mercieca

Chevron Phillips Chem. Co...... 60 SABIC...... 13 2014–2015 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

CNC Software...... 26 SencorpWhite...... 26 President Vijay Boolani Dassault Systèmes ...... 26 Society of Plastics Engineers ...... CEO, SPE Willem De Vos Dieffenbacher...... 40-42 ...... 6-8, 10, 50-52 President-elect DuPont ...... 14 Solvay Specialty Polymers ...... 56 Dick Cameron e-Xstream engineering ...... 56 SPI ...... 48, 51 Senior Vice President Scott E. Owens General Hospital Corp...... 61 Techmer PM ...... 48-50 Vice President/Treasurer Gretag Macbeth...... 22 TOPAS Advanced Polymers ...... 16 Dr. Raed AlZubi

Hyosung Group ...... 52 Total ...... 54 Vice President Dr. Gregory A. Campbell InHand Electronics ...... 56 U.S. Navy...... 61 Vice President Thierry d'Allard Instron...... 28 Univ. of Connecticut ...... 2, 4 Vice President/Secretary JEC ...... 56 Victrex ...... 18 Dr. Jaime A. Gómez Kraiburg TPE...... 17-18, 20 Wittmann Battenfeld...... 53 Vice President Dr. Jeffrey H. Helms Lacerta Group...... 24-7 X-Rite ...... 35 Vice President LG Chem, Ltd...... 60 Ypsomed AG...... 15 Olivier Crave

MakerBot ...... 26 Yupo Corp...... 61 2013–2014 President Jon Ratzlaff

Plastics Engineering (ISSN 0091-9578) is published monthly, except bimonthly in July/August and November/December, by Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., a Wiley Company, 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030 USA. The magazine is compiled and edited by the Society of Plastics Engineers, Editorial and Business Office, 6 Berkshire Blvd., Suite 306, Bethel, CT 06801 USA. Telephone +1 203-775-0471, Fax +1 203-775-8490. SPE Home Page: www.4spe.org. Communications should be sent to the Editor. Send address changes and undeliverable copies to the Circulation Manager at the SPE address given above. Send subscription orders and claims for non-receipt to Wiley Subscription Services at the Wiley address given above. SPE members receive the magazine as a benefit of membership. Subscription rate for nonmembers is $151 for 1 year; add $100 per year for subscriptions outside North America. Single-issue price is $20. Plastics Engineering is printed by Dartmouth Printing Co., a Sheridan Group Company. Periodical postage paid at Hoboken, NJ, and additional entry office. Accepted at special postal rates provided in P.M., Sec. 132 122. Copyright 2015 by the Society of Plastics Engineers, Inc. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Plastics Engineering, 6 Berkshire Blvd., Suite 306, Bethel, CT 06801 USA. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Plastics Engineering is indexed by Engineering Information Inc. Neither Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., nor the Society of Plastics Engineers, nor Plastics Engineering is responsible for opinions or statements of facts expressed by contributors or advertisers, either in the articles published in Plastics Engineering or in the technical papers that are presented at the meetings of the Society. Editorials do not necessarily represent the official policy of Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., or the Society. Display and classified advertisements are included as an educational service to readers of Plastics Engineering. Advertising appearing in Plastics Engineering is not to be taken as an endorsement, expressed or implied, of the respective company’s processes, products, or services represented in the ad. Printed in the U.S.A.

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ADVERTISERS INDEX

Aaron Equipment Company www.aaronequipment.com/sniff ...... 65 Allgrind Plastics www.allgrind.com ...... 64 ADVERTISING SALES Arburg FOR PRINT AND ON LINE DIGITAL www.arburg.us...... 5 ADVERTISING SALES in Arizona Instrument LLC www.azic.com/pe ...... 17 Plastics Engineering magazine Ashland www.ashland.com/transportation ...... 3 please contact: AutoEpcon www.speautomotive.com/emc.htm ...... 63 Global Advertising Director Automotive Plastics Conference & Exhibit www.executive-conference.com...... 55 Stephen Jezzard American Injection Molding Institute www.AIM.institute ...... 21 E-mail: [email protected] Coperion K-Tron www.coperion.com/zsk26mc18 ...... 19 Henkel Sr. Account Manager www.loctite-success.com ...... Cover 2 Print & E Media Advertising J.P. Curilla Associates Email: [email protected] ...... 64 Roland Espinosa Japan Steel Works www.jswcompounding-usa.com ...... 64, Cover 4 Tel: 201-748-6819 John Anderson & Associates E-mail: [email protected] www.plasticsjobsearch.com ...... 64 Plastic Process Equipment, Inc. www.ppe.com • Email: [email protected] ...... 9, Cover 3 Plastics Engineering Advertising Checklist Email: [email protected]...... 39 PNC Bank www.pnc.com/cashflowinsight ...... 11

www.plasticflow.comPlastic Flow ...... 64 111 River Street Plastics Engineering ROI www.plasticsengineering.org ...... 47 Hoboken, NJ 07030 USA Polyhedron Laboratories, Inc. www.polyhedronlab.com ...... 64 Process Design & Technologies www.processdesigntech.com ...... 64 Rheo-Plast Associates, Inc. www.rheoplastusa.com...... 64 SAM North America www.sam-na.com • Email: [email protected] ...... 64 SPE ANTEC® Orlando www.antec.ws ...... 51 SPE ANTEC® Brussels www.antec.ws ...... 43 Society of SPE Apparel www.4spe.org ...... 59 Plastics Engineers SPE Automotive Composites Conference & Exhibition www.speautomotive.com/comp ...... 33 6 Berkshire Blvd., Suite 306 SPE Corporate Sponsorship Program Bethel, CT 06801 USA www.4spe.org ...... 46 www.4spe.org SPE Membership Application www.4spe.org/membership ...... 67 SPE PlastiVan Education Program www.4spe.org ...... 57 SPE Student Membership www.4spe.org ...... 58 SPE Topical Conferences www.4spe.org ...... 46 SPE Vinyltec www.4spe.org ...... 31 Tangram Technology www.tangram.co.uk...... 64

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