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Sacramento, CA-based Blue Diamond Growers, the world's largest producer of almonds and almond ingredients, reached a point where additional processing capacity was required to meet increased global demand and attain [...]

Over the last 10 to 15 years, more low-and high-acid products have been processed in ways designed to kill bacteria and extend the life of foods and liquids. Retort-style thermal [...]

Water treatment technologies designed for the conservation and reuse of process water are proliferating. This is helping processors improve their water-use ratio in manufacturing; minimize discharge of biochemical oxygen demand, [...]

Meat and poultry processors have new equipment options to bolster productivity, including chilling systems that introduce liquid nitrogen from the bottom, a heat exchanger system redesigned for higher efficiency, and [...]

Predictive and preventive maintenance tools spot potential disturbances in critical production equipment before they turn into major headaches, allowing food and beverage plants to repair, rebuild or replace an asset [...]

Three food facilities are turning away from fossil fuels for major cost savings, reducing their carbon footprint for environmental enhancement and grabbing sustainability awards for their success in implementing renewable [...]

Valves that are simpler and lower in cost are one reason mid-sized dairy and beverage firms are upgrading to continuous processes (CP) and realizing productivity and economic gains from the [...]

According to Facts About Modern Manufacturing, a report produced jointly by the Manufacturing Institute, the Manufacturer's Alliance for Productivity and Innovation and the National Association of Manufacturers, engineering degrees in [...]

Food and beverage plants spent less on replacement parts and components in 2013 and are focused on lower inventories and competitive pricing as key business drivers, based on replies from [...]

Leading edge solutions for automation, food safety and sustainability were the underlying themes of the 2013 Food Automation & Manufacturing Conference and Expo (FA&M), sponsored by Food Engineering, held April [...]

A new range of contaminants, product defects and packaging imperfections are being spotted by the latest styles of multi-beam X-ray systems and optical inspection technologies commercialized in the last three [...]

Major taiwanese injection and blow molding and extrusion machinery OEMs plan to broaden the appeal of their brands by providing higher-end technology solutions at prices competitive with European or Japanese [...]

Vision Technical Molding in Manchester, Conn., doesn't believe in standing still. This custom molder of tight-tolerance diagnostic devices, drug delivery systems, implantables, and other medical devices, achieved double-digit growth in [...]

Newly available cast sheet and thermoforming grades of Mirel biobased polymers open up a new range of applications in containers and other formed parts where renewable content and biodegradability are [...]

Increasing traffic in transfer tooling from molders that have shuttered operations or are unable to successfully produce parts is driving interest in a long-established but under-utilized diagnostic technique for injection [...]

Injection molders are warming up to the idea of cycling their tool surface temperature during the molding cycle rather than keeping it constant. This 'heat/cool' process has caught on faster [...]

Though it grabs a lot of headlines, multi-material, multi-shot processing still makes up only about 10% of injection molding activity in North America. However, the consumer appeal of multi-color and [...]

One of the novelties at NPE was the Unique all-servo robot from Sytrama of Italy (sold here by Dri-Air Industries), which has a horizontal axis with a 90[degrees] bend, so [...]

New injection machinery at the show ranged from all-electric units for high-speed packaging or bioplastic processing to hybrid presses ready for the cleanroom. Other units highlighted multi-component molding with LSR [...]

There may be somewhat fewer new molding machines on the floor next month than at past NPEs, but as you can see below there are still quite a few new [...]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] While occupying a relatively small category of exhibits, blow molding will present no lack of innovation at NPE. Perhaps the most dramatic news will be a technology that [...]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] U.S. injection molders are still pretty green when it comes to processing the new crop of renewably sourced biopolymers. These biologically derived polymers made [...]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Five years ago, in-mold labeling was just gaining traction among North American injection molders as a one-step approach to decorating without secondary operations. Since then, IML has been [...]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] There was a brand-new emphasis at this year's Taipei Plas, the premier plastics exhibition for Taiwanese injection machine builders. For the first time, the spotlight was on new [...]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The accepted ground rule for balancing melt flow in multi-cavity injection molds is to achieve equal flow distance from the injection point to each cavity. The sober truth [...]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Software suppliers agree that 3D simulation of injection mold filling, packing, cooling, shrinkage, and warpage is fairly mature. Their latest releases focus on bringing new or enhanced capabilities [...]

The combination of an injection molding press and a twin-screw compounding extruder represents a new paradigm for processors: They create their own materials as they mold them. Although the machinery [...]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Specially tailored packages of 3D computer-aided design software have been available to injection mold designers for at least a decade. Such software reduces the time required to generate [...]

[ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] If you were looking for a new machine to mold micro- or mega-sized parts, multiple materials, long fibers, high-speed/high-cavitation packaging, exotic multi-material combinations with compounding on the machine, [...]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Opportunities for injection molders of liquid silicone rubber (LSR) are broader than ever, thanks to newer processes for foaming, multiple colors or durometers in the same part, or [...]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The nascent field of injection molded polycarbonate car windows and sun roofs is fostering a proliferation of technological approaches for protective surfacing that provides scratch resistance or additional [...]

At the big 'K' Show next month, top billing goes to new all-electric machines aimed at every segment of the market, from general-purpose to high-end. Suppliers will introduce new lines [...]

So-called 3D injection molding simulation--using a mesh of 3D solid elements--used to be applicable to only about 5% of simulation applications that involved thick, chunky parts that did not lend [...]

A combination of microcellular foam molding and long-glass fibers offers new potential for injection molding to penetrate large structural automotive parts such as door-module carriers, brackets, and front-end systems. Such [...]

If you were buying an injection molding machine 20 years ago, you had to decide between a toggle or fully hydraulic clamp and that was pretty much it. Today, your [...]

In multi-nozzle, low-pressure structural-foam molding, it is still quite common to remove parts from the mold manually. But that situation is gradually changing as foam parts grow ever larger and [...]

In-mold labeling, film decorating, and fabric laminating are becoming well established. So what's the next phase of the trend toward eliminating secondary operations by doing it all in the mold? [...]

Growing competition from low-cost overseas producers has spurred U.S. injection molders to reconsider what market segments they serve and how. Domestic molders involved in consumer products, electronics, medical, and automotive [...]

Electrically driven valve pins, a low-cost alternative to valve-gatrag, mold-mounted temperature controllers, and new components for fast color changes are some of a host of new components and systems unveiled [...]

Injection molding robots introduced at NPE pushed the work envelope for speed, reach, payload capacity, ease of programming, and ability to handle more sophisticated tasks. The news at the show [...]

Advances in electric drive technology were evident in nearly every injection machine builder's booth in Chicago. New electric and hybrid models sported direct-drive motors for injection and other functions, and [...]

Web-based or wireless monitoring, combined temperature and pressure sensing, cost-saving modularity, and better ways to display and report process and production data are some of the advances in control and [...]

Processing guidelines for molders interested in exploring the burgeoning field of wood-plastic composites was one hot topic at the Molding 2006 International Conference and Exhibition, held recently in Las Vegas [...]

It's a big step up--in both volume potential and technology requirements--from molded automotive headlamp covers to window glazing. Polycarbonate has dominated the market for vehicle headlamp covers for 15 years, [...]

Hard chrome and electroless nickel plating remain the two most popular surface treatments used to protect molds and mold components from wear and corrosion. However, highly engineered coating technologies continue [...]

Water injection technology (WIT) is taking hollow-part injection molding into territory where gas assist hasn't gone before. In use for only about five years, WIT first found a following in [...]

Multi-component injection molding has had a lot of 'buzz' in recent years, stimulated by popularity of multi-color and soft-touch overmolded products for consumer, automotive, packaging, and other markets. The technology [...]

The 'rapid' in rapid-tooling technology originally meant that molds could be made much faster than with conventional machining. That's still true. But in the last few years, RT technology has [...]

Molders were treated to a trove of injection machinery introductions geared toward applications from micro-molding to packaging to large parts. At least nine companies offered something new in electric machines. [...]

Pressure-sensitive and glued-on labels, shrink-sleeve labels, pad and offset printing, heat-transfer foils and decals--all are conventional methods of decorating injection molded products. All of them involve secondary operations. And all [...]