FIRST QUARTER 2014 N VOLUME 33 N NUMBER 1
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Thermoforming ® Quarterly A JOURNAL OF THE THERMOFORMING DIVISION OF THE SOCIETY OF PLASTICS ENGINEERS FIRST QUARTER 2014 n VOLUME 33 n NUMBER 1 Quality Matters Plug-Assisted Thermoforming for Medical Packaging pages 8-10 INSIDE … Composite Material Properties in Laminations pages 14-18 Global Dispatches: Thermoforming at ANTEC Dubai pages 22-23 WWW.THERMOFORMINGDIVISION.COM HVTSE™ Demo-line available….2,000+ pph…schedule a trial today! North America’s Leading Dryer-less PET Sheet Extrusion Technology World’s Largest Inline Dryer-less PET Sheet Extrusion System Negative pressure Double deck HVTSE™ Model 170mm/42D Twin Screw dust enclosure mezzanine REVOLUTION® Model VD661836 Roll Stand Resins: PET, PLA, HIPS, PP & HDPE ... 6 component LIW Gauge: 20 – 90 mils (0.5 - 2.3 mm) feeding system Width: 54 in (1,370 mm) Rate: 5,500 lb/hr (2,500 kg/hr) Dust collection unit Die access platform Dual high vacuum circuits Display screens (gauge & right and Back flush 4 cavity left video gap) screen changer Technology by Bandera Multi-resin capability…35+% energy savings…100 % flake feeding… moisture levels to 12,000 ppm...and much more! LIW Feeding HVTSE™ High G-Series® Chrome G-Series® Antistatic G-Series® G-Series® Systems Vacuum Twin Screw Roll Stands Coaters & Dryers Accumulators Winders World Class Sheet Extrusion Systems Processing Technologies International, LLC | 2655 White Oak Circle Aurora, IL 60502 | Tel: 630.585.5800 | Fax: 630.585.5855 2 tHERMOFORMING QUARTERLY Thermoforming FIRST QUARTER 2014 Thermoforming Quarterly® VOLUME 33 n NUMBER 1 Quarterly® A JOURNAL PUBLISHED EACH n Departments CALENDAR QUARTER BY THE Chairman’s Corner x 4 THERMOFORMING DIVISION OF THE SOCIETY OF Thermoforming in the News x 5 PLASTICS ENGINEERS Innovation Briefs x 11 Editor The Business of Thermoforming x 12 Conor Carlin University News x 30-31 (617) 771-3321 [email protected] Sponsorships n Features Lesley Kyle Thermoformed Trays: How Plug Assists Play a Crucial Role (914) 671-9524 in Package Design, Material Distribution and Product Safety x 8-10 [email protected] Composite Material Properties in Laminations x 14-18 Conference Coordinator Global Dispatches: An Interview with SPE CEO, Wim De Vos x 22-23 Lesley Kyle (914) 671-9524 Barrier Breakthrough: Oxygen-Scavenging Films x 34-35 [email protected] Thermoforming Division n In This Issue Executive Assistant Gwen Mathis SPE Council Summary x 28 (706) 235-9298 European Thermoforming Conference, April 3-4 x 37 Fax (706) 295-4276 [email protected] Thermoforming Quarterly® is pub- lished four times annually as an infor- mational and educational bulletin to the members of the Society of Plastics Engineers, Thermoforming Division, and the thermoforming industry. The name, “Thermoforming Quarterly®” and its logotype, are registered trademarks of the Thermoforming Division of the Society of Plastics Engineers, Inc. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior writ- ten permission of the publisher, copyright holder. Opinions of the authors are their own, and the publishers cannot be held responsible for opinions or representa- tions of any unsolicited material. Printed in the U.S.A. Thermoforming Quarterly® is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (Registration no. 2,229,747). x Cover Photo: Colored Paint Tray Liners Photographer: Aaron W. Hautala THERMOFORMING QUARTERLY 3 Thermoforming Chairman’s Corner Quarterly® Mark Strachan Shape Up to Ship Out! Here we are, two months into 2014 and continues to be vilified on several fronts, • SPE Thermoforming Conference we are already looking at a very exciting these innovations should be promoted and (Schaumburg, IL – Sep 15-18) year for the thermoforming industry. Huge celebrated. • Pack Expo (Las Vegas, NV – Sept 23- strides in the development of new resin 25th) compounds and additives, along with new These advances are exciting, but • Pack Expo (Chicago, IL – Nov 2-5th) developments in intelligent machinery processors must continue to make capital operating and monitoring systems, investments and to develop their human As I mentioned in my last address, will help make inefficiencies a thing resources if they want to stay relevant and Thermoforming Quarterly is now of the past. (Well, greatly reduce them, profitable. With an increasing array of available in digital format for worldwide anyway…) machinery configurations and innovative, distribution. All sponsors can now include complex tooling capabilities available hyperlinks to their company websites. We New, high-tech thermoformed packages to us today, thermoformers have every continue to seek out new industry practice that offer exceptional barrier properties opportunity to keep pace with increasing and technical articles, so send us your along with new developments in oxygen demands for quality and speed. ideas. Help us to give back to the industry scavenger technologies are now coping by promoting knowledge and preparing with the demands of the food industry (see Many of these technologies will be show- the next generation of thermoforming article on pages 35). Along with new and cased at one or more of the exciting con- practitioners. exciting developments in tamper-evident ferences planned for 2014. To name a few: packages, the thermoforming sector of the • SPE European Thermoforming Send me your comments and feedback. I x packaging industry is doing a tremendous conference (Prague, Czech Republic – look forward to hearing from you. job of keeping products safe on the shelves April 3-4) for longer periods of time while reducing • AMI Thin Wall Packaging Conference the need for harmful food preservatives. (Chicago, IL – May 20-21) • ANTEC (Las Vegas, NV – May 28-30) Decorating of thermoformed packages • PIR National Hands-On Thermoforming has also seen incredible advances with Workshops (Williamsport, PA – June 10- in-mold labeling (IML) and pre-printed 12 and 24-26) sheet forming techniques. While plastic 4 tHERMOFORMING QUARTERLY Thermoforming in the News North Carolina Thermoformer Thermoformer Flexpak Adds Diversifies into Aerospace Equipment, Eyes Growth in Mexico By PlasticsToday Staff By Roger Renstrom, plasticsnews.com JANUARY 22, 2014 — AS9100C aerospace certification is FEBRUARY 13, 2014 — Custom thermoformer and contract enabling a thermoforming processor in Belmont, North Caroline, packaging firm Flexpak Corp. of Phoenix added two Keyence to diversify into this demanding sector. Wilbert Plastic Services Corp. model 5120 laser markers in December and plans, during 2014, to seek certification under the ISO 13485 medical standard. will this year start processing heavy gauge plastic thermoformed parts for this specialized industry, increasing its client base in the Flexpak will use the device for secondary operations to print kit Carolinas and across North America. surgical instructions, part numbers or a logo or brand identification on a tray, Steven Murray, Flexpak president and CEO, said Feb. 11 The announcement was made by company president and in an interview at the Medical Design & Manufacturing West trade CEO Greg Botner. AS9100 was instituted by the Society of show in Anaheim, CA. Automotive Engineers (SAE) in 1999. AS9100C, the third revision of an international quality management standard for In December, Flexpak completed an exclusive sales and the aerospace industry, is a certification under the ISO9001 distribution agreement with the warehousing and supply chain series that demonstrates a manufacturers' ability to meet various management firm TriMedEx LLC of Tijuana, Mexico, enabling regulatory requirements, including legal and safety standards. Flexpak to expand its Mexico presence in the Tijuana medical The certification improves customer trust and satisfaction while device market. ensuring reliability per the manufacture of aerospace components. About 40 percent of Flexpak's current business is generated in the Mexico markets for Hermosillo, Reynosa and Nogales. "The AS9100C expands our manufacturing Tom Flannery, TriMedEx founder and president, said the capabilities within the agreement is a possible first step toward a full-scale Flexpak plastics industry," said medical device thermoforming operation in Tijuana. Botner. "It also offers aerospace customers a Flexpak employs about 60, occupies 82,000 square feet including new option, one with more a controlled environment of 13,000 square feet and projects 2014 than 50 years of plastics sales of $11 million. experience, to choose when considering plastic The fully integrated manufacturing facility is registered under ISO products. We're ready to 9001:2008. x North Carolina-based Wilbert explore these avenues in the Plastic Services already serves year ahead and move into Have an idea for an article? this industry." the automotive, leisure craft, Submission Guidelines and industrial sectors. • We are a technical journal. We strive for objective, Wilbert plastic services technical articles that help advance our readers’ understanding acquired the AS9100C for of thermoforming (process, tooling, machinery, ancillary aerospace in the fall of 2013. The certification was specifically services); in other words, no commercials. awarded to the Belmont location. Added Botner, "This facility • Article length:1,000 - 2,000 words. Look to past articles allows for the high-quality production of aerospace components for guidance. or products and is strategically located to offer a wide variety of • Format: .doc or .docx thermoform products to the industry. We're eager to