La feria de empaque y procesamiento más grande de América Latina  se lleva a cabo entre el 4 y el 7 de junio en la Ciudad de México.
Fuente: Expo Pack México.

Expo Pack México, el evento de envasado y procesamiento más grande y completo de América Latina, vuelve a la Ciudad de México para presentar una amplia variedad de soluciones en maquinaria, materiales y servicios de envasado y procesamiento para más de 40 mercados verticales.

Con más de 700 expositores nacionales e internacionales que ocuparán más de 20,000 metros cuadrados netos, esta edición será la más grande hasta la fecha, de acuerdo con sus organizadores.

Además, Expo Pack México 2024 contará con 9 pabellones internacionales provenientes de Brasil, Canadá, China, Estados Unidos, España, Francia, Italia, Turquía y Taiwán. Los asistentes tendrán acceso a un exclusivo programa de conferencias y a la mayor cantidad de soluciones disponibles bajo un mismo techo en América Latina.

“Ninguna otra exposición especializada en la industria del envasado y procesamiento ofrece soluciones innovadoras, networking y oportunidades de capacitación en América Latina”, comentó Celia Navarrete González, directora de Expo Pack México.

Celia Navarrete González, directora de Expo Pack México. 
Fuente: Expo Pack México.

Según el estudio "Tendencias y Oportunidades en el Mercado de Maquinaria de envasado en México 2023-2024" de PMMI, las empresas buscan automatizar sus procesos para mantenerse al día con la demanda y mejorar la eficiencia, lo que ha resultado en un crecimiento récord en la industria del envasado.

Conferencias con expertos internacionales en neutralidad de carbono, IA y circularidad

Expo Pack México, en colaboración con Mundo Expo Pack, presentará un amplio programa de conferencias magistrales gratuitas con ponentes de renombre internacional. Los temas incluirán la neutralidad de carbono en los envases y la inteligencia artificial, aspectos cruciales de la circularidad y la innovación que demanda la industria del envasado en América Latina.

La Packaging & Processing Women's Leadership Network (PPWLN) organizará nuevamente una conferencia magistral sobre igualdad de género y diversidad en la industria del envasado en América Latina.

Como en años anteriores, los visitantes podrán participar en el programa diario de conferencias del Innovation Stage, donde los expositores compartirán soluciones tecnológicas e innovadoras para la industria. Estas conferencias serán gratuitas y estarán ubicadas en el piso de exhibición.

De otro lado, la Red de Jóvenes Profesionales del PMMI (YPN), un grupo dedicado a promover la próxima generación de líderes del sector, celebrará un desayuno gratuito el miércoles 5 de junio. Los asistentes escucharán a un panel de ejecutivos que compartirán sus trayectorias profesionales y ofrecerán ideas de liderazgo.

Promoviendo la sostenibilidad en la industria del envasado

Los organizadores presentan nuevamente Expo Pack Verde, espacio que  destacará a los expositores que ofrezcan soluciones, materiales y/o tecnología sostenibles, como envases biodegradables, nuevos procesos de reducción y materiales reciclables y biodegradables que ayuden a reducir la huella de carbono. Los expositores participantes en este programa estarán marcados con el icono distintivo de Expo Pack Verde tanto en sus stands como en el directorio de expositores.

Por último, la Asociación Mexicana de Envase y Embalaje (AMEE) celebrará su Congreso Nacional Anual en el marco de Expo Pack México y será sede de la ceremonia de premiación del reconocido concurso Envase Estelar, que reconoce la innovación en la industria del empaque mexicano.

“We’re thrilled that Steve has joined the team and we expect valuable contributions as the company enters a high-growth phase,” says Scott Caplan, executive vice president for Extreme Coatings. “His vast technical and business knowledge will help us further boost our industry presence and penetrate new applications.”

Extreme Coatings’ global footprint includes its newest manufacturing facility in Austria, which is fully operational for the production of high-performance coatings for feedscrews in injection molding and extrusion applications.

The company has established a European subsidiary, Extreme Coatings GmbH, and formed a strategic partnership with a leading Austrian engineering services company to operate the facility. The new 15,000-square-foot plant is already meeting the application needs of a range of European customers, including plastic part manufacturers for the automotive, packaging and profile markets. 

The increased capacity in Europe will shorten lead times, reduce shipping costs and establish local supply for Extreme Coatings’ growing customer base throughout Europe, according to Caplan. “We’ve expanded our global footprint so we can break the logistical logjam that exists today and ensure stable supply to all key European regions,” Caplan says.

Europe continues to be a growing area for plastics manufacturing with feedscrew coatings playing a pivotal role in optimizing the performance of injection molding and extrusion machinery for production of key applications in automotive, household goods and building markets.

The muzzle brake is a former assembly, formerly joined through welding, now manufactured in one piece via binder jetting. This part has been cut in half to reveal the internal geometry. 

In fact, in a whole lot of ways, production AM is like industrial production as we have long understood it, they say. Or it should be. That insight is the principle underlying the manufacturing business these two men founded, and have led for four years. Freeform Technologies, headquartered in St. Mary’s, Pennsylvania, is a contract manufacturer launched to deliver part production via binder jetting, and has since expanded into other metal powder- and sinter-based production processes as well.

Higgins is the president. AM is a disruptor, he says, but it doesn’t disrupt the basics. “Just because we have additive, we shouldn’t be blowing up Kaizen, 5S and Lean Manufacturing,” he says. “The fundamentals are valuable.” What this means for Freeform, in practice, is that instead of adapting production methodology to additive, the company has adapted additive to production methodologies. For example, the binder jetting machines are serviced according to a predictive maintenance schedule the company devised itself, drawing on experience with PM schedules for longer-established equipment types such as molding presses. Also, the company’s very choice of binder jetting machines departs from what some would see as the machine type that would be ideal for production, because the Freeform team has come to a different view as to what type of machine fits the needs and pacing of how industrial production ought to flow.

Freeform's capabilities in St. Mary's include binder jetting, mostly on Desktop Metal Shop machines (seen in the background) and a Tritone MoldJet system delivering an alternate mode of sinter-based metal AM.

Recently, the company’s binder jetting capacity expanded considerably. The founders saw an opportunity to acquire the binder jetting part-making facility formerly run by ExOne (now part of Desktop Metal) and bring their industrial production methodology to this site. Thus, the headquarters site in St. Mary’s, which runs six binder jetting machines plus three metal injection molding (MIM) presses and a MoldJet sinter-based additive system from Tritone Technologies (more on this in a bit), has now been joined by a sister location in Pittsburgh running 16 binder jetting machines.

I went to St. Mary’s to walk through the company’s process and spend time on the production floor with the two cofounders. Freeform is in daily production with AM, now serving about 10 to 12 active customers at any given time that each rely on the company for AM part numbers in quantities of 100 to 1,000 pieces per month. About 50 upcoming part-production opportunities at this scale are also in development. As a result, even though the facility also does MIM for higher-quantity work, the sintering furnaces are typically filled with additive parts.

Walking the floor gave a sense of what this work is like. Compared to most other part-making processes, AM is quieter and lower in labor (save perhaps for depowdering, the one potentially labor-intensive step). Other than these differences, in terms of rhythm and repetition, the feel of production at Freeform is … well, like production.

Here is more on what the company set out to build, and on the system and procedures they have developed so far:

How to Adapt a Part to Binder Jetting

Aiello is the VP of business development. He and Higgins founded the business in 2020. Both came from working in MIM, and both were fascinated by the promise they saw in binder jetting. “No one was taking a traditional approach to this non-traditional process,” he says. The company began with two binder jetting machines: a P1 from Desktop Metal and an Innovent from ExOne. All later machines at St. Mary’s have been Desktop Metal’s “Shop” model.

Among other things, the “traditional approach” he refers to emphasizes interactions with customers. Nearly every prospective part offers opportunities for cost saving, he says, if only the designer and manufacturer can better understand one another’s needs. Conversation aims to get to this understanding.

The Freeform team engages in conversations with customers to understand the part's measure of success. If one of them is part consolidation, as in the case of the muzzle brake, then company president Nate Higgins says, “We can win.”

“Wall thicknesses, radii, chamfers — these are the kinds of things we ask about,” Aiello says. In binder jetting, initially printing any form or feature might be straightforward, but design modifications to any of these features might produce more controlled or consistent outcomes in sintering, which is a vital and generally underappreciated part of the binder jetting process. Similarly, if there are many critical features on the part, how these features interact with one another can be important to understand.

This, too, comes down to sintering. Higgins says, “We often ask: Can you give us a flat surface to sinter on?” If a part can rest on its own surface within the oven, this saves Freeform from creating a tool to support it, and this can deliver cost savings that are considerable.

He continues, “We always want to understand how we will measure success. If the aim is lightweighting, or assembly consolidation, or speed to market, then we can win.”

Binder jetting makes it possible to nest parts to 3D print batches of components at once, but there are limits. Company VP Chris Aiello explains: Because this is production, like parts are all oriented in the same direction. To do otherwise would introduce a variable that might make one production part different from another.

Parts With Fewer Pieces, More Variety

The industries the company now serves include defense, medical and industrial machinery, as well as various narrower markets. For example, one component I saw in production (details are proprietary) relates to a forthcoming new product for the food service industry.

Another sector is firearms. One production part the company runs that was redesigned for additive is a firearm muzzle brake. Formerly the part was an assembly consisting of the muzzle brake geometry plus a tube, cap and nut, all welded together. Binder jetting is not cheaper than any one of these pieces alone. However, binder jetting proved significantly cheaper than the assembly. 3D printing the former assembly as one solid unit saves the customer the cost of sourcing and assembling the components.

This surgical reamer was previously made through stamping. It still could be made that way, except the provider wants to offer many more size varieties. If the reamer proceeds to full production, which Freeform expects, parts will be 3D printed via binder jetting in mixed sizes, according to which sizes are needed. This kind of nimbleness favors AM, and it also speaks to why Freeform has built its AM process around smaller-capacity machines delivering production it can turn more quickly.

In addition to assembly consolidation, part variety is another reason additive wins. An example here is a surgical reamer used to prepare patients for acetabular hip implants. The reamer is traditionally made through stamping, in just a few different sizes for the tool, but the OEM wants to offer reamer size options in every 1-mm increment of diameter to better tailor the tool to each patient. That many reamer sizes would mean too many stamping dies to be economical, so binder jetting is the cost-effective choice. The tool has not yet entered production, but when it does, the goal is to produce 10,000 per year. The catch is this: Reamers will be made essentially on demand, so any build might contain any mix of different reamer sizes. This kind of variable production batching argues for additive, because a stamping process would have to run many identical pieces before changing the die.

Freeform says the desire to offer this kind of production nimbleness was one of the factors that informed its choice of binder jetting platform.

Sintering furnaces do not run every day. Capacity is larger than a day's additive production, large enough sometimes to run a month's quantity of multiple AM jobs at once.

Return on Turns: The Case for Smaller AM Build Volume

The St. Mary’s facility relies largely on the Desktop Metal “Shop” system, running five of these machines and dedicating different machines to different metals. The maker of this machine model introduced it with the idea that it might be a natural metal 3D printing option for CNC machine shops. Freeform’s leaders see it as something different: their preferred platform for additive production. While other binder jetting machines offer larger chambers able to produce more parts in a single build, Freeform sees the limited build size of its machines (the Shop system is available in sizes up to 16 liter, but Freeform does not use the largest model) as an advantage instead of an impediment.

Video: Binder Jetting Production Workflow at Freeform Technologies

Production via binder jetting consists of more than just the 3D printing. The sequence of steps includes binder jetting, curing, depowdering and sintering, plus Freeform routinely also adds tumbling. Watch video of Peter Zelinski's visit to Freefrom Technologies in which he discusses each of these steps.

Binder jetting

Curing

Depowdering

Sintering

Tumbling

“Eight- to 10-liter build size is the sweet spot for our work,” Higgins says. “For us, bigger build volume does not yield more return. More turns are what yield us more return.”

On the Shop machines, he says, one build — including 3D printing, curing, depowdering and sintering — can be turned in five days. A bigger build envelope would allow more pieces to be 3D printed in one batch. However, turn time would then be longer, and the chance to be responsive for make-to-order opportunities like the hip reamer would be compromised.

Plus, for jobs that call for a larger number of pieces in one run, the company has an option. Contrasted with MIM providers that have expanded into binder jetting as an extension of their capabilities, Freeform presents the very opposite picture. This additive provider expanded into MIM.

MIM, Plus Tritone as “Digital MIM”

Aiello says, “When we got started, we had no interest in providing metal injection molding.” There is a lot of competition, he notes. However, MIM is the right process for certain higher-volume parts. That became apparent almost at once, when one of the company’s very first successes with production binder jetting scaled in exponential steps. The first order for the part was five pieces, then after a design change came an order for 50, then after another design change was an order for 500 more. The product proved successful, so that the customer’s need soon rose to 50,000 per month — far too much for Freeform’s AM capacity to keep up with. The team knew someone would make the parts through MIM. Aiello says, “We have the furnaces and the sintering expertise,” and he notes that the company’s additive production jobs often specify MIM material standards, so this is the realm in which they were already working. “So we said OK to MIM,” he says. Today, there are six recurring MIM customers, enough to support three presses.

Higgins notes the value of the Tritone MoldJet system is in depowdering, sometimes a weakness of binder jetting. MoldJet 3D prints a mold for the powder metal as part of the process. The capability is relatively new for Freeform, but the company has already discovered some additive parts it can only produce on this machine because of the way part geometry inhibits powder removal.

Another important capability expansion has involved a process different from MIM, albeit not entirely: the “MoldJet” process from Tritone. Freeform has a Tritone machine in St. Mary’s running alongside its binder jetting systems. The process is, in a sense, “digital MIM,” says Higgins, because the multi-station carousel machine works by 3D printing a mold (in wax) into which it applies a blend of powder metal and binder during the same cycle. Each layer of wax plus binder plus metal is hardened as part of the sequence, with the complete wax mold later removed prior to sintering the part it helped to produce. Like MIM, this alternate method of sinter-based AM offers freedom from depowdering, an often-problematic step in binder jetting.

The capability is new for Freeform, but even so, Higgins says the company has already seen “two, maybe three parts that we can only make with the Tritone.” Plus, certain other parts that could be made through binder jetting have proven easier here.

The company runs metal injection molding on three lines. The company did not originally expect to offer MIM, but it proved valuable for supporting some customers scaling to higher volumes. (Unrelated: Freeform's neighbor in its facility is a maker of beer cans. That other company's inventory is visible here.)

In the past, Higgins says, “There were people we were saying no to because we could not see a way to depowder their geometry.” Here as well, conversation with prospects is valuable for identifying the best wins for additive — and having this additional AM capability allows conversations to arrive at yes more often.

More Years Than Weeks: The Ryerson Investment

The very biggest capability expansion came with the purchase of the ExOne part production facility. This also is still new. Higgins and Aiello are mindful of wanting to proceed slowly with integration, to more fully preserve and leverage the possibilities of this site, including the expertise here. The facility offers not just more binder jetting, but also knowledge base — related to multimaterial infiltrated binder jet parts, for example — that represents meaningful new offerings for the company. Yet over time, the two sites will come to operate more and more like one another, as they both are organized around the same fundamental philosophy of production. Freeform hopes the investment in more capacity will bring them more opportunities for conversation with customers that lead to production work.

The assurance of stability is one more foundational element of success in manufacturing that figures in here, the company leaders say — albeit not one that is as quantifiable in its impact as, say, Lean or Kaizen. But stability is a value Freeform has wanted to convey nonetheless. The acquisition and integration of the ExOne site helps with this, but the purchase was possible in part because of an investor that also responded to, and is now helping to reinforce, that stability. In 2022, metal distributor and processor Ryerson became an investor in Freeform. At the time of this investment, Aiello notes, the larger company had more years in business that Freeform had weeks. Ryerson, with about 100 locations and about 4,000 employees, was founded in 1842.

“They understood that we are not trying to flip this company in five years,” Aiello says. The investment brings capital and guidance, and helps convey the same point about long-term ownership to potential production customers. Thus, Freeform’s reward for looking and operating more like an industrial enterprise, and less like a technology startup, has been to win the validation and support of a larger and older industrial enterprise.

Higgins says, “During their first visit, they took a look around and said, ‘At least you guys don’t have a ping pong table.’”

Heule Precision Tools introduces Solo L tooling for spot facing and counterboring projects over 25 mm. Front and back counterbores up to 1.95-times bore diameter can be produced in bores ranging from 25.0 - 45.0 mm in diameter.

Solo L features a simple, reliable design which functions without an anti-rotation device, change in spindle rotation, coolant pressure or contact mechanism. This sealed system prevents coolant contamination, and the pin-driven cutting blade, which moves in and out radially, prevents chips from jamming the system. Solo L is designed to be customizable, with the tool’s blade housing, blade control and blades individually designed to meet specific project requirements. This specialized system cuts interruptions and difficult materials like nickel, titanium and other exotic alloys, making it well suited for a wide range of CNC, transfer, multi-spindle and conventional machining applications.

The Solo L uses two centrifugal weights installed in a sealed tool head. With an activation speed rate of 1,600 rpm or higher, the weights start moving outwards and turn the gearwheel, which drives the blade out by rotating the blade control. When the spindle is stopped and then actuated to cutting speeds, a pullback spring pushes the centrifugal weights back to the center and the blade extends to the cutting diameter. Maximum machining speed is 900 rpm.

In addition to the L model, three other Solo models are available, each is capable of counterboring two times the bore diameter minus 1 mm. Possible applications up to 40 mm through hole depending on the counterbore to bore ration and parameters. In most cases through-coolant is optional, with a 280-psi maximum.

Ewikon Pro Edge VG valve gate nozzle. Source: Ewikon.

“At this point in time, it is the only product on the market that can gate in that particular configuration,” says Ryan Boxall, vice president and general manager at Ewikon.

Ewikon believes this product will open up opportunities for its customers in consumer products, packaging or medical applications to move away from traditional cold runner tools.

“This nozzle solves some of the issues that have existed in the past, and have forced people to use a mold design that wasn’t favorable, with extra runner and plastic waste,” Boxall says. “It can get them into a direct gated design that was not previously available to them.”

Ewikon’s Smart Control system. Source: Ewikon.

Smart Control For Industry 4.0

Ewikon is also highlighting its previously introduced Smart Control product. The product is a measurement solution that integrates data from the hot runner system into networked injection molding production. By monitoring temperatures and residence times, and calculating shear rates at various positions, Smart Control provides data transparency that enables process optimization and quality management. The product also provides assistance with troubleshooting and can identify the need for maintenance tasks. All data can be exported via WLAN or ethernet.

Liquid Silicone Rubber

In addition to hot runner injection molding of thermoplastics, Ewikon also offers solutions for LSR. The company’s Coolshot product is a cold runner system featuring electric drive valve gate technology. According to Ewikon, the motors enable high precision valve pin positioning in steps of 0.01 mm, to fine-tune cavity filling.

Perc Pineda, the Plastics Industry Association's chief economist.

The plastics economy retracted last year amid an economic turndown. What’s in store for this year, when NPE2024 takes place?

Plastics Technology’s Editorial Director Jim Callari asked Perc Pineda, the Plastics Industry Association’s chief economist, to polish his crystal ball and provide some insights.  

Q: How would you characterize 2023 for the plastics industry, and what are your expectations for the U.S. economy as we roll toward NPE2024?

Perc Pineda: Assessing the plastics industry landscape in 2023 reveals a year marked with nuanced shifts across various sectors. From the fluctuations in production levels and shipments to the intricate interplay between labor constraints and export dynamics, the plastics industry encountered challenges and opportunities. Notably, the year witnessed divergent trajectories. While certain segments, such as plastics material pricing and resin manufacturing, grappled with equilibrium adjustments, others, like the mold for plastics trade, mirrored global economic oscillations. For an industry that thrives on innovation, the forthcoming NPE, the largest gathering in the Western Hemisphere for the plastics industry, offers an avenue for post-COVID-19 in-person reconnection of the industry’s supply chain. And the net benefit of which should be positive.

Q: What about the global economy?

A: In early fall 2023, there was a consensus anticipating moderate global economic growth in 2024. At the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) held in Morocco in October 2023, where I was in attendance, the IMF projected a 2.9% growth rate for the year. The expectation was that advanced economies would experience a growth of 1.4%, while emerging and developing economies were forecasted to grow by 4.0%, maintaining the same rate as in 2023. The divergence among regions in this outlook implies potential variations in the performance of the plastic industries across countries.

For the U.S., the primary focus will be on three key countries: Mexico, Canada and China, as they represent the top three largest export markets for the U.S. plastics industry. The current outlook suggests growth rates of 2.1%, 1.6% and 4.2% for Mexico, Canada and China, respectively, in the current year.

However, this optimistic scenario is contingent on the global economy avoiding significant negative shocks, such as an escalation of ongoing geopolitical challenges that could disrupt the supply chain. In the absence of such disruptions, it is plausible that global trade in plastics could once again surpass the World Trade Organization's (WTO) forecast for merchandise trade volume, which currently stands at a projected growth rate of 3.3%. Monitoring potential risks and uncertainties in the geopolitical landscape will be crucial in assessing the resilience of the plastics industry in the face of evolving global economic conditions.

Q: Is the industry still impacted by supply chain issues?

A: The challenges within the supply chain landscape today have shifted from being directly attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic to encompassing broader structural issues within the economy. These challenges are notably linked to demographic shifts, a lower participation rate and a shortage of skilled workers. In November of the preceding year, the capacity utilization in plastics and rubber products manufacturing stood at 76.6%, marking a decline from the 80.4% reported a year earlier. This decrease can be attributed, in part, to a reduced workforce in plastics and rubber manufacturing, despite the unemployment rate in this sector remaining significantly lower than the overall civilian unemployment rate in the broader economy.

It is noteworthy that these supply chain issues are no longer as acute as they were two years ago. The current scenario, while still influenced by economic dynamics, is less directly impacted by the immediate challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The supply chain disruptions are now more entrenched in the structural aspects of the economy. However, it is important to acknowledge that the stability of the supply chain remains contingent on avoiding significant negative shocks to the global economy, particularly any escalation of ongoing geopolitical challenges that could potentially disrupt the supply chain. As of now, barring such unforeseen disruptions, the pressing nature of supply chain issues has diminished compared to the challenges faced two years ago.

It is noteworthy that these supply chain issues are no longer as acute as they were two years ago.

Q: Are you optimistic about the manufacturing economy in the U.S. in particular? Have you seen much evidence of reshoring?

A: Reshoring is inherently a medium- to long-term initiative, making it challenging to quantify in the short term. However, this does not mean it’s not happening. There’s data on reshoring and foreign direct investment (FDI) manufacturing job announcements. Despite efforts such as acquiring existing manufacturing facilities or transitioning to domestic suppliers, the pace of reshoring appears to be less conspicuous than policymakers might prefer.

Several factors contribute to the relocation of manufacturing to other countries, including labor supply and cost, energy and transportation costs, and the ease of doing business. An assessment of how the U.S. compares to other nations in these three aspects is essential to understanding the outlook for U.S. manufacturing. There’s also the attractiveness for foreign companies to manufacture in the U.S., considering we are the largest market in the world for manufactured goods.

Presently, the U.S. remains optimistic and any potential pullback in manufacturing activity in 2024 is anticipated to be less pronounced than what was observed in 2023. This optimism is grounded in the evaluation of factors influencing manufacturing dynamics and their alignment with the broader economic landscape.

Q: Processors spend most of their time at their plants making sure product is made on time at high quality. But when they are forecasting their business, can you provide some guidance on the indicators they should be tracking?

A: Those in the plastics industry generally comprehend that the sector is mature, and its expansion closely mirrors the overall economic growth, typically gauged by the increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The monthly counterpart to GDP is the Industrial Production Index, serving as an economic indicator. However, it is crucial to note that both GDP and the Industrial Production Index are lagging indicators, reflecting changes after shifts in the macroeconomy have occurred.

Effective business forecasting necessitates the consideration of a blend of lagging, leading and coincident indicators to obtain a comprehensive understanding of economic trends. Building permits and housing starts, for instance, are a good leading indicator suggesting future construction and housing demand. It’s worth noting that business forecasts tend to be specific— sales forecast, expense forecast, new product launch forecast, for instance— have different dimensions. Within the realm of business forecasting, there’s no one size fits all, and forecast models need tweaking over time.

Effective business forecasting necessitates the consideration of a blend of lagging, leading and coincident indicators to obtain a comprehensive understanding of economic trends.

Q: What are your projections for the major markets in plastics? Automotive? Medical? Packaging? Construction?

A: In 2022, a substantial 88.0% of plastics products found their way into personal consumption, indicating a robust market for plastics with the potential for sustained growth. However, the growth trajectory might experience fluctuations, mirroring the shifts in the broader economic business cycle.

Certain segments within the plastics market, such as those catering to necessities like food packaging and medical applications, can be considered stable due to their inelastic demand. In particular, the automotive market is marked by constant innovation, introducing new models annually. This innovation has a profound impact on the entire plastics industry supply chain, spanning materials, tooling and plastics conversion processes. Although higher borrowing costs currently limit the growth of automotive sales, the dependence of a significant percentage of working Americans on personally owned vehicles, coupled with a robust labor market, indicates a resilient demand for light vehicles. This, in turn, is anticipated to sustain demand for plastics in the automotive sector.

The automotive market is marked by constant innovation, introducing new models annually.

Conversely, the plastics market most directly affected by the high-interest rate environment is housing. The expectation is that the construction sector, which exhibited lackluster performance in 2023, will remain subdued until interest rates begin to decline. Monitoring these dynamics provides valuable insights for stakeholders navigating the complex landscape of the plastics industry.

Q: What impact has increased spending on infrastructure had/will have for plastics?

Any implementation of an expansionary fiscal policy, with the potential to boost aggregate demand, is poised to yield a net positive impact on the plastics industry. Specifically, increased spending on infrastructure projects directly tied to the plastics sector will drive additional demand. Notably, enhanced investment in drinking water and wastewater infrastructure can stimulate demand for plastic pipes. Similarly, allocating additional funds for the improvement of recycling infrastructure is another avenue that positively influences the plastics industry.

In essence, such targeted fiscal measures not only contribute to economic growth but also serve as catalysts for the growth and sustainability of the plastics industry by fostering demand through strategic investments in critical infrastructure.

Q: What are your projections for plastics manufacturing in 2024 and beyond? Growth?

A: It is reasonable to anticipate that any reduction in plastics manufacturing activity in 2024 will likely be less pronounced than what was observed in 2023. The concerns associated with inventory overhang are expected to resolve over time, transitioning into a nonissue and subsequently necessitating replenishment.

The outlook for sustained consumer engagement is optimistic, particularly with the potential for lower borrowing costs. This favorable financial climate is poised to uphold consumer spending, consequently bolstering the demand for plastics. As economic conditions evolve, the expectation is that the plastics industry will experience a more resilient performance in 2024, buoyed by a combination of reduced inventory concerns and sustained consumer demand.

Q: What about shipments of materials and equipment? Do you expect processors are coming to NPE2024 ready to buy?

A: Indeed, the anticipation of encountering innovation is a common expectation at trade shows, especially considering the substantial lead time involved in procuring equipment in this industry. Staying competitive in an industry that thrives on innovation necessitates keeping abreast of the latest advancements in equipment.

It’s crucial to recognize that trade shows present diverse opportunities for all participants across an industry’s supply chain. They encompass educational components, opportunities for networking, access to the latest technological updates and, of course, avenues for making purchases. Acknowledging the multifaceted nature of trade shows underscores their significance as comprehensive platforms for knowledge exchange, networking and staying at the forefront of technological advancements within the industry.

El posicionamiento infinito es un aspecto de la tecnología de inspección de MMC de cinco ejes.
Fuente: Verisurf Sofware.

Verisurf Software Inc. destaca cómo su solución de programación de máquinas de medición por coordenadas (CMM) con CAD completo mejora la trayectoria de las CMM para optimizar tanto la programación como los tiempos de ciclo, y hace que funciones como el posicionamiento infinito de CMM de cinco ejes sean más productivas y rentables.

El posicionamiento infinito es un aspecto de la tecnología de inspección de MMC de cinco ejes que proporciona una mayor productividad, más flexibilidad en la configuración del trabajo y un uso optimizado del volumen de trabajo de la MMC.

Además, se dice que garantiza un mejor acceso a las características y que reduce los cambios de palpador. El movimiento simultáneo que permite medir piezas más grandes en la CMM de cinco ejes minimiza el espacio necesario alrededor de la pieza para la rotación del cabezal.

Y lo más importante: la sonda se alinea automáticamente con el sistema de coordenadas de la pieza, lo que ayuda a evitar colisiones y algunos de los quebraderos de cabeza que podrían derivarse de posiciones de fijación excesivas de la pieza.

El movimiento en cinco ejes elimina el tiempo dedicado a indexar el cabezal. Juntos, estos aumentos de velocidad suelen triplicar la productividad de los sistemas convencionales. Los cinco ejes también reducen la necesidad de fijación especial para permitir el paso a piezas de difícil acceso.

Según Verisurf, su CMM Programming & Inspection Suite reduce la configuración del plan de inspección de horas a minutos, sin apenas curva de aprendizaje, puesto que:

• Automatiza los procesos de calidad con planes de medición repetibles para una mayoría de CMM portátiles, manuales o programables.
• Enseña programas o los crea a partir de CAD para una reducción apreciable del tiempo de programación y ejecución de procesos.
• Ejecuta CMM con controladores Renishaw, Mitutoyo, Hexagon, Zeiss o Pantec.
• Crea informes y se conecta a bases de datos de calidad.

Además, soporta CMM de cinco ejes con técnicas de control de movimiento distintivas y sensores de sonda de acabado superficial (SFP) y sonda ultrasónica REVO (RUP). Otras funciones y avances incluyen calibración inferida de cinco ejes, toques de cabezal y otros.

También hay disponible un paquete de programación offline de MMC Verisurf para crear programas de MMC sin conexión en una estación de trabajo independiente.

Users select the thread size and desired pitch to generate diameter and pitch values. (Photo credits: CJWinter)

When it comes to thread rolling, having the right tools can significantly streamline the process, ensuring accuracy and minimizing downtime.

Unlike subtractive processes, thread rolling does not remove material but instead moves and molds ductile metals quickly and precisely into the thread form using a cold-forming process. Thread rolling is completed using a thread rolling attachment on a multi-spindle, Swiss-type or CNC lathe. During the process, the tooth form of the thread rolls protrudes into the outside diameter of a cylindrical blank workpiece to reform the surface. The extreme pressure from the thread rolls causes the blank material to flow outward into the cavity between the thread rolls. This produces thread geometry that mirrors that of the rolls.

CJWinter, a provider of thread rolling solutions, simplifies complex calculations for engineers and manufacturers with an array of thread rolling calculators. These calculators, which are available on the company’s website, are designed to optimize thread rolling operations. Here are four:

Pitch and Blank Diameter Calculator. Determining the pitch and blank diameter is crucial for achieving precise thread dimensions. By selecting the thread size and desired pitch, CJWinter’s Pitch and Blank Diameter Calculator instantly generates the required blank diameter, along with the minimum and maximum pitch diameter values. This saves users valuable time and ensures accuracy in setup specifications, enabling smoother attachment installation and operation.

This calculator indicates whether the material is suitable for thread rolling.

Material Thread Rollability Calculator. Choosing the right material for thread rolling can be challenging. The company’s Material Thread Rollability Calculator simplifies this decision-making process by evaluating material properties such as elongation, tensile strength and hardness. With a simple input of these parameters, the calculator indicates whether the material is suitable for thread rolling. The color-coded results provide a quick visual assessment, enabling manufacturers to make informed material selections for optimal thread rolling performance.

By providing load values at different rolling pressures, manufacturers can adjust parameters accordingly to achieve desired thread characteristics.

Thread Load Calculator. Understanding the load requirements for thread rolling is essential to preventing equipment damage and ensuring consistent thread quality. CJWinter’s Thread Load Calculator facilitates this by calculating the approximate load required based on material, blank diameter, thread length and the company’s attachment specifications. By providing load values at different rolling pressures, manufacturers can adjust parameters accordingly to achieve desired thread characteristics. The calculator’s interface and visual indicators are designed to simplify the process and enhance user experience.

This calculator considers factors such as thread per inch (TPI), material hardness and number of starts.

Penetration Rate Calculator. Achieving the right penetration rate is vital for thread forming and knurling operations. The company’s Penetration Rate Calculator streamlines this calculation by considering factors such as thread per inch (TPI), material hardness and number of starts. By inputting these parameters, the calculator computes recommended part revolutions and corresponding compensator revolutions, optimizing production efficiency while maintaining quality standards. This tool enables manufacturers to fine-tune their processes for optimal performance and productivity.

By providing accurate calculations and intuitive interfaces, these calculators simplify complex tasks, reduce errors and enhance overall efficiency. As CJWinter continues to expand its knowledge database, users can expect ongoing advancements and improvements with the manufacturing processes.

Tomra GAINnext system for advanced sorting. Source: TOMRA

According to the company, GAINnext enables the sorting of objects that could not be separated by traditional means. Combined with TOMRA’s Autosort system, GAINnext classifies material based on sensor data and provides object recognition using an RGB camera.

A recent application of GAINnext aids in the creation of a recyclable PET fraction. The technology enables the separation of contaminants, such as multilayer packaging, to create a clean PET bottle stream. The PET cleaner application targets the separation of white opaque PET from clear and light blue PET, a difficult challenge with previous technology.

TOMRA has also announced applications for sorting food grade from non-food grade plastics, often difficult to distinguish, for PET, PE and HDPE materials. Efficient sortation of this material could improve material recovery.

TOMRA’s deep learning technology was first introduced in 2019 and has been implemented in more than 100 Autosort units at material recovery facilities worldwide. The initial application removed PE-silicon cartridges from PE waste streams.

La fábrica de ZC Rubber contará con un centro de almacenamiento para mejorar la red de distribución local y optimizar la eficiencia de costos.
Fuente: Gobierno de Coahuila.

El gobierno de Coahuila informó que se concretó una nueva inversión en el estado por parte de la empresa asiática ZC Rubber por más de 10,000 millones de pesos.

Por medio de un comunicado se informó que el gobernador del estado, Manolo Jiménez, se encuentra en una gira por Asia y se espera se realice el anuncio de más inversiones para Coahuila.

“Esta gestión comenzó desde hace varios meses en una primera gira por Asia y en esta nueva promoción se aprovechó para darle continuidad y entablar diálogo con el presidente de la empresa, Jin Rong Shen, y el vicepresidente, HaoYu Shen, y anunciar este proyecto”, indicó el mandatario estatal.

En febrero pasado la empresa había dado a conocer sus planes de inversión en México. En ese momento se informó que la fábrica contará con un centro de almacenamiento norteamericano para mejorar la red de distribución local y optimizar la eficiencia de costos.

HaoYu Shen, vicepresidente de ZC Rubber, expresó su expectación ante este plan de inversión.

"Nuestro plan de abrir una fábrica de neumáticos en México demuestra nuestro compromiso de satisfacer la creciente demanda de neumáticos en la región. Mientras exploramos esta oportunidad, seguimos centrados en las necesidades de nuestros clientes y en la eficiencia operativa mediante la creación de una completa red de distribución local”, comentó Shen.

La empresa informó que se prevé que la nueva fábrica adopte el concepto de “Fábrica del futuro”, centrándose en la sostenibilidad medioambiental, la eficiencia energética, la automatización y la eficiencia operativa general.

Se estima que la construcción de esta instalación estará terminada en un plazo aproximado de 12 meses.

La comitiva coahuilense continuará manteniendo reuniones y anunciará nuevas inversiones en los siguientes días.