Plastics Comparison & Selection Guide
Plastics Selection Chart Common Name Properties Uses Common Forms Cost Rigid PVC (poly vinyl chloride) Wide range of colors. Stiff, hard. Tough at room temperature. Can be used outdoors if suitably st...
Plastic Thermal Expansion Coefficients
This chart compares the "Coefficient of linear thermal expansion" shown as a factor m/m.k in the table. All materials expand with changes in Temperature. Thermoplastics expand considerably m...
General Properties & Characteristics
Plastic Characteristics / Properties ABS (Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) Rigid, low-cost thermoplastic, easily machined and thermo-formed. Acetal Engineering thermoplastic with good strength, wear r...
Objet Wins First-Place EuroMold Award
Objet Geometries Ltd., a world leader in ultrathin-layer photopolymer jetting, was presented with the gold Euromold 2007 Innovation Award during a special evening at the EuroMold trade fair in Frankfu...
Latest Velocity Version Is Vista-Compatible
The SURFCAM® Velocity 3.0 CAD/CAM system developed by Surfware Inc. has earned the “Works with Windows Vista” logo by virtue of being declared compatible with the Windows Vista operati...
Ten Months Out, TCT 2008 Is Half-Booked
Not long after the conclusion of the successful 2007 exhibition, the floor plan for the TCT 2008 rapid manufacturing conference and exhibition is already quickly taking shape. Ten months remain b...
EuroMold Pavilion at Rosmould Proves Popular
Six months before Rosmould 2008 opens in Moscow this June 17, the EuroMold Pavilion being organized for that trade fair by DEMAT GmbH is already attracting numerous exhibitors. The pavilion offers exh...
Hannover Messe Website Gets a New Look
Last month, Deutsche Messe AG launched a new-look website for Hannover Messe 2008. The new site, which is more clearly structured than the one it replaces, will be continually expanded in the coming w...
SolidCAM, SolidWorks Flourish in Norway
SolidCAM has enlarged its presence in Scandinavia by establishing new resale arrangements in Norway and Sweden. In Norway, the CAD/CAM software developer is now served by ProNor, a SolidWorks reseller...
Rofin-Sinar Acquires Fibre-Laser Supplier
The US arm of Rofin-Sinar Laser GmbH, a developer and manufacturer of high-performance laser beam sources and laser-based solutions, recently signed a definitive agreement to acquire US-based Nufern, ...
What Machine Tools Can Do for Auto Parts Industry in China
Auto parts industry is developing at its high peak China is now the world’s third largest automotive producer and second largest consumer. As predicted, by 2010, the total number of automotive i...
The “Olympics” in the Machine Tool Expo Industry Is Set for 2008
In 2008, the Beijing Olympics which has attracted worldwide attention will welcome its grand opening in Beijing, China. Meanwhile, to comply with the flourish demand of machine tool market, machine to...
CNC Machining
There are important differences between machining metal and plastic. An initial step is recognizing that plastic parts do not have to be molded. Tolerance levels in machining plastic are ?.001". ...
UN hails China’s plastic ban
UN environment chief Achim Steiner has praised a recent decision by the Chinese government to impose limits on the use of plastic bags. "The impact of a ban on thin plastic bags in an economy the...
Profile Extrusion
Thermoplastic profile extrusions are made by heating a thermoplastic resin in the barrel of an extruder and forcing it through a die that shapes it into a continuous two-dimensional profile. Extrusion...
Rotational Molding
Rotational Molding begins with the melting of a plastic resin in a closed mold. Unlike most other plastic processes, no pressure is involved. The three-stage process includes loading the resin in the ...
Twin Sheet Forming
Twin Sheet Forming utilizes top and bottom molds into which two heated sheets are formed and then welded together under pressure to form a hollow part. ...
Conair and Husky get together in PET
Two companies to combine to deliver turnkey PET perform systems. US-headquartered Conair Group has reached a joint agreement with Canadian company Husky Injection Molding Systems to provide complete m...
Automotive success spurs major Rosti investment in UK
Seven machine package includes 1500 tonne giant. Rosti Technical Plastics (UK) has completed a significant investment programme in new injection moulding machines at its Larkhall site, near Glasgow, i...
“Unprecedented” polymer costs trigger BPI price increase
Across the board mark-up announced. British Polythene Industries, Europe’s largest PE film maker, is to raise prices on all UK products by up to £100 a tonne, in a move spurred by the late...