Shopping for Motorcycle Body Kits

Motorcycle owners looking to buy motorcycle body kits or fairings will find a wide range of options available, including different styles and colors and a variety of different body parts and accessories. While prospective buyers may find some motorcycle body kits at local motorcycle specialty stores, they may have to search the Internet to find the perfect body kit to complete their motorcycle customization. The selection of body kits available online is far greater than the selection available through brick and mortar stores, so individuals looking for unique styles will definitely want to shop online for their motorcycle fairings.

Regardless of whether a buyer chooses to shop locally or online, he or she will want to establish a relationship with the motorcycle dealers he or she uses for motorcycle customization. There are many inferior products on the market and oftentimes buying from a respected dealer is the only way to guarantee that a buyer is purchasing a quality motorcycle body kit.

Prospective buyers will want to establish where the fairings or body parts were made as well as the method that was used to mold the ABS plastic. Buyers looking for high-quality fairings that are built to last should consider only products made using compression molding and from countries that are known for producing quality parts.

How 3D Printing Will Impact Industrial Automation

3D printing technology has been around since the 1980s, but in the past 10 years the market for this technology has been undergoing a dramatic change. From its primary applications as a means to create small plastic models and prototypes, 3D printers are now commonly used to create full-scale clothing, prosthetics and electronics products. But its biggest potential lies in industrial products, says Alex Chausovksy, senior principal analyst, industrial automation, IHS.

Speaking at the 2014 IHS Industrial Automation conference, Chausovsky noted that industrial machinery production—which represents $1.6 trillion of the $3.8 trillion global industrial capex spending in 2013—is the area to be most dramatically affected by advancing 3D printing technology. Because 3D printers can now work with materials such as titanium, steel, aluminum and copper, the technology is poised to be a game changer when it comes to making parts for industries such as automotive and aerospace.

The increased ability for innovation in design, Chausovsky said, means that companies armed with 3D printing technology can “work from function rather than fit,” allowing changes to be made far more quickly than ever before. This translates into faster speed to market for new products and reduced development costs, as far less material—40-70 percent less—is required to make a product using 3D printing technology versus traditional methods.

Dramatic market changes as a result of 3D printing are expected to impact the machine tool and plastics injection molding first, noted Chausovsky. To illustrate his point, Chausovsky pointed out that current modern manufacturing methods to create an end-of-arm robot tool costs $10,000 and takes about four weeks. Using FDM (fused deposition modeling) techniques, however, the cost is only $600 and can be done in 24 hours.

Current methods used to manufacture “motors and drives, sensors, hydraulic drives and valves are all threatened,” Chausovsky said. “We’re on the cusp of seeing new ways to produce motors, using deposition versus lamination. Leading motor manufacturers are experimenting with this now.”

Chausovsky added that variable frequency drive heat sinks created with 3D printers using lattice structures have been proven to do a better job of heat dissipation than many current types and are smaller in size.

Potentially the biggest change that 3D printing could bring to the manufacturing industry is a restructuring of intellectual property rights. To illustrate this point, Chausovsky spoke about how a replacement for an old seatbelt bracket on an Airbus A310 aircraft was recreated using 3D printing. A CAD model of that bracket did not exist, Chausovky said, so it was reengineered by digitally scanning an existing bracket to create a 3D CAD model, thereby allowing a replacement part to be printed.

This process could have a huge impact on after-market sales of parts, Chausovsky said. “Manufacturers will have to think about IP (intellectual property) in a different way. They may need to move from selling physical parts to selling CAD files for customers to print.” For this business model to be effective, however, the “price point will need be appealing to stop customers from just scanning a product and reverse engineering it themselves.”

Chausovsky likened this potential market transition to what occurred in the music industry with Apple iTunes. It was Apple’s model of selling songs for 99 cents that made it appealing enough for people to buy the music legally rather than risk threat of prosecution through illegal downloading.

Though this outcome is not yet a reality today, industrial parts manufacturers need to begin thinking about this today. As 3D printing patents start to expire, it means that high costs of the technology to date will soon start to be less of a factor. Chausovsky said the 3D printing market is expected to grow 30-40 percent a year for the next 5 years. Current 3D printer suppliers such as 3D Systems, Stratasys, Arcam, EOS and ExOne will soon be joined by the likes of Hewlett-Packard, Canon, Epson, and Xerox —all of which have announced their intent to enter the market. Other companies looking into the market include 3M, Google, Microsoft, Apple, Samsung, IBM and Amazon.

With this level of concentrated industry focus, the current limits of 3D printers—such as high printer and material costs, as well as speed and size limits—will likely be overcome in the not-too-distant future.

If the 3D printing industry progresses as Chausovsky predicts, industrial part IP as we know it today could disappear in 10 years. Which raises an even bigger question — what will be the impact on innovation?

Explore Global injection molded plastics market outlook that is poised to grow at a CAGR of 5.36% to 2018

The Global Injection Molded Plastics market can be divided on the basis of application into the following segments: Packaging, Consumer Goods, Automotive, Construction, Healthcare, and Others.

Injection molded plastics are produced by injecting compressed liquid plastic into a mold and releasing it after it is cooled and solidified. The major raw materials used commercially in the molding process include PP, ABS, HDPE, and PS. Injection molded plastics provide the benefits of flexible designing and low cost of mass production. It is used in various industries including Automotive, Packaging, and Consumer Goods, among others. Because of their light weight, injection molded plastics are increasingly being used to replace metals in various industrial applications.

Analysts forecast the Global Injection Molded Plastics market to grow at a CAGR of 5.36 percent over the period 2013-2018.

Braunform introduces injection molds with quick-changing system for maximum efficiency and flexibility

A quality-by-design (QbD) approach places emphasis on the production process during development and its impact on product quality. Implementation of QbD has proven to be reliable and economic when it comes to commercializing complex products.

Gerresheimer, a company with expertise in pharmaceutical and medical technology, announced that it is applying an integrated mold qualification and validation concept for a fast and cost-efficient time-to-market. The company notes that this approach provides process windows for reliable large-scale production and offers options for different deployment scenarios and qualification levels.

Injection molds have to be qualified and validated during every phase of the development and industrialization process according to GMP guidelines. This procedure consists of four stages: design qualification (DQ), installation qualification (IQ), operational qualification (OQ) and performance qualification (PQ). The qualification service of mold manufacturers, however, often only includes some parts of this process.

“Molds that are not inspected on the injection molding machine that is later used for large-scale production under real production conditions will have to undergo post-delivery requalification procedures. For the customer, this means additional cost and extra time”, Dr. Peter Mayr, head of Quality Assurance Technical Competence Center, Gerresheimer Regensburg GmbH, Wackersdorf, explained in a press statement. Gerresheimer’s approach is to offer a complete integrated qualification and validation process, which is performed under real production conditions, on the actual injection molding machine and under relevant production conditions, Mayr added.

The critical production parameters are determined so that a process window for reliable production can be defined. A factorial design of experiments (DoE), analyzed with Minitab (a program that was specially developed for quality-related applications), allows the determination of the process mean and the process limits for the production. Some stages, such as DQ and IQ, would be carried out at Gerresheimer’s Technical Competence Center (TCC), whereas OQ and PQ are conducted at the envisaged production location. According to Gerresheimer, this approach facilitates a faster and more cost-efficient process and allows a seamless run of qualification and validation without the need for requalification measures.

For international projects, Gerresheimer suggests carrying out the predominant part of the qualification process on the development site and then relocating the injection molding machine or the mold to the final production site later on.

The company offers two types of transfer arrangements, according to Michael Wiglenda, director, Technical Competence Center, Gerresheimer Regensburg, Wackersdorf—“a repetition of part of the OQ on the customer’s site in order to analyze the mold’s performance under different ambient conditions or on a different injection molding machine.”

Wiglenda also explained that different qualification levels are available and can be tailored to the customer’s project. Molds that are only used for prototype production, for example, are perfectly covered by an “S level” qualification, which includes DQ and parts of the OQ. Molds for clinical tests or large-scale production require full qualification according to Gerresheimer’s “standard level,” which features qualification and validation based on the mean process parameters. For particularly complex products, a high potential deployment risk or complex-regulation markets, Gerresheimer recommends its “PLUS level” qualification, in which test runs are carried out with maximum and minimum parameters of the process windows.

Braunform introduces injection molds with quick-changing system for maximum efficiency and flexibility

Braunform GmbH helps customers improve efficiency and flexibility in their molding requirements with its latest innovation - a quick-changing system for large, multi-cavity molds.

Multi-cavity injection molds with high output often need short cycle times, flexibility and ease of maintenance to give OEMs a good return on their investment. Also required is the increasing consumer demand for individual products or different product SKUs or variants across industries.

These factors result in a correspondingly large number of mold variants characterized by different geometries, which necessitates different mold cores or mold pins, which have to be replaced by costly assembly work. That makes the interchangeability of mold cores and pins costly and time consuming. Now, with the patented Braunform Quick-Changing system for these multi-cavity molds, OEMs or their molders have a flexible, inexpensive alternative without long set-up times.

The patented Braunform systems are distinguished by the quick-change system of individual cavities/cores or sets of cavities/cores with modular design. By simply unlocking a device that holds them in the mold, cores and pins of different geometries can be exchanged within the quick-change system. While in the modular design complete components and thus large-scale molding areas can be replaces by simple handgrips.

A solution for replacing nozzle side inserts was created in which a gate side nozzle is eliminated. The module designed can be separated from the mold during disassembly by a releasing electrical connection at the mold without additional work.

The modular design allows for more compact injection molds, because each modular unit is similar to a small mold in itself. Due to the direct centering of the inserts, ejector side to nozzle side wear is minimized. With the "floating cavities" the thermal expansion of the mold plates has little influence. Additionally, Braunform notes that because of the modular design of the core/cavity units, the modules can be used in a pilot mold for testing purposes before the final installation takes place in the production mold. This minimizes risk as well as ensures that the project is done on time.

With this system, customers realize cost efficiency due to reduced set-up times, and the costs to produce the pilot and production mold amortize within a very short time.  When maintenance and/or repair is required the modules can be replaced quickly so there is very little loss of production, and production can be started again quickly. For clean-room medical or pharmaceutical applications, if repair of a module is required, the quick-change system allows for the module to be repaired or replaced in the clean room environment without transferring the mold outside the clean environment.

Metal and Ceramic Injection Molding : Global market expected growth to $1.9 billion by 2014

The global market for metal injection molding (MIM) and ceramic injection molding (CIM) has exhibited spectacular growth over the last two decades. BCC Research studied this market twice in the past, first in 2005 and then in 2008.
In 2004, the global market size for MIM was reported to be $382 million, with expected growth to $571 million by 2009. In 2009, the market size for MIM was reported to be $985 million, with expected growth to $1.9 billion by 2014.
Currently BCC Research is reporting the global MIM market to be $1.5 billion in 2012 with expected growth to reach nearly $2.9 billionby 2018.
The main objective of this report is to understand the growth, potential future growth and the changes that are taking place in the MIM market. Since ceramic injection molding is a related market, details of this industry are also covered in this report.
The market has grown into several new applications, firearms being the most prominent. One of the objectives in this study is to take a deeper look into this market, the major players and the market characteristics in this industry.
On the supply side, the report also takes a deeper look into selected powder/feedstock and equipment suppliers, who have helped in developing the industry, while growing along with the industry. These case studies on the application and supply sides are expected to provide readers with a clearer understanding of the market from a historical perspective.
The report also looks into the technical aspects of the industry, and discusses the technical trends, current challenges and breakthroughs and potential future directions the industry will take. A separate chapter has been included with analysis of the U.S. patents related to the metal injection molding industry. Here trends in various subcategories are presented and discussed.

Integrated plastic/metal injection molding helps cars trim weight

HONG KONG — Although it consumes a scant 9 percent of European plastics production, the auto industry is driving plastics research in the region, said Mathias Weber, head of the injection molding department at the Institute of Plastics Processing at Germany’s RWTH Aachen University.

Under pressure to meet tough new European Union pollution standards (a fleet’s average emissions must be 130 grams CO2/kilometer next year and 95 CO2/km in 2020), automakers are scrambling for ways to put their cars and trucks on a diet. Hoods and body panels are obvious candidates for weight reduction, but so are myriad plastic-on-metal parts.

Weber’s focus on the key role of the auto industry was seconded by Andreas Poettler, manager of the processing and application technology department at injection molding equipment manufacturer Engel Machinery (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.

Weber and Poettler spoke at a Sept. 26 plastics technology seminar in Hong Kong.

“Automotive is one of the biggest drivers of innovation,” said Poettler, especially electric cars, which he pronounced “a megatrend.”

One solution to the weight challenge is integrated metals/plastics injection molding, which can shave precious grams — and manufacturing time — off the electronic circuitry that plays a big role in today’s motor vehicles. “We hope to combine the whole process in one production step,” Weber said.

For body parts, plastics can be bonded to sheet metal. Since 2006, IKV has been pioneering a whole host of intriguing applications by marrying liquid metal to plastic.

Integrated metal/plastic injection molding has strong appeal to the electronics industry, said Weber, demonstrating how injection molding and metal-die casting can be combined to manufacture a Bauhaus-inspired LED desk lamp.

Another hybrid approach is in-mold metal-spraying. “It’s quite a new process, [which IKV has been researching] since 2012, and therefore not fully automated. But we hope to combine the whole process in one production step,” he said.

Weber suggested one possible application: integrating the antenna into the back of a phone.

Hybrid approaches deliver more flexible and durable products, but their biggest advantage is as part of an integrated process that saves production time and labor costs while meeting highly precise standards, Weber said.

Despite their obvious benefits, Weber said lifecycle research had not begun on the best way to recycle hybrid plastic/metal products.

Weber’s presentation was a highlight of the annual conference, sponsored by the Hong Kong Plastics Manufacturers Association Ltd., with members of the 100-strong audience peppering him with questions afterward.

Car parts have long been a staple of Hong Kong and mainland manufacturers.

Dubbing optics a “key technology of the 21st century,” Weber outlined applications in cars, medical gear and communications technology. Plastics’ higher freedom of design and lower production costs offer manufacturers strong technological and economic incentives to replace glass, he said.

As anyone who’s ever strained their eyes on a cheap microscope can attest, optics manufacture has extremely low tolerance for particle contamination and distortions. Weber said that IKV’s research efforts are focusing on precise manufacture and homogeneous cooling, which reduces warping.

Production times can be slashed and a finished product’s Strehl ratio (a 0-to-1.0 measure of its quality) can be boosted by multilayer injection molding. Paradoxically, creating a lens in three layers, rather than one or two, is both quicker and much more precise.

“The inner layer can be produced at a lower mold temperature and thereby a very short cooling time,” Weber said. This “onion technique” can reduce cooling times by up to 35 percent, he said.

Weber also discussed foaming efforts — that is, having air bubbles in the finished product. Foamed plastics are obviously lighter, but also gain from reduced cycle times, warping and increased flowability due to lower viscosity.

Hollow parts are frequently made with gas- or water-assisted injection technologies. But in a dramatic video, Weber demonstrated the benefits of firing — albeit slowly — a bullet-shaped projectile through a product while it is being molded. The resulting inner surfaces are highly uniform, Weber said.

Engel’s Poettler evangelized energetically of “in situ polymerization,” which his company is developing. “We will create nylon directly inside the mold. So we have all the advantages of a thermoplastic.”

Besides weight savings, a key advantage of this new technique is recyclability.

Types and Categories of Plastics

An expansive portfolio of plastics is on hand for today's industrial applications. The tailored polymers exhibit properties that compete with metals and ceramics, ushering in the plastic age. The evolution of these plastics began at the dawn of the twentieth century, with industry in search of substitutes for elastic materials that lacked key characteristics, the capacity to withstand the extreme temperatures of the foundry and the caustic spills on oil rigs and gas refineries, but the formidable substance has since matured to include countless plastics. Each polymer is graded and adaptable, able to promote dominant characteristics and subdue undesired properties, bringing the best in elasticity or durability to industry.

Taking hold of these properties, we see that plastic falls into several fundamental domains. Thermosetting plastics are malleable before they harden, but once they do cure, they retain their shape and resist change. This class of polymer is tough and durable, currently the champion form of plastic for moulding components in many industrial fields. Car body parts are examples of a thermoset plastic, as are other components destined for use in harsh environments where elevated temperatures, abrasive forces, and corrosive chemicals are present.

So far we've seen a distinct separation between plastic. Thermoplastic is the next type of plastic that retains this simple contrast. Thermoplastic materials include nylon, polyvinyl chloride, and dozens of polymers based on weakly-linked molecular bonds. Consistent to this structure, these substances melt under high temperatures, and they're easy to mold, unlike a thermosetting plastic, which can only be shaped once during an initial heat-formed manufacturing process. We then add elastomers to the mix, synthetic rubber substitutes that aren't strictly a type of plastic, but we'd be remiss in not mentioning this highly pliable polymer and its properties, characteristics that can be adapted to include a rigid structure that compares to a standard plastic. And this is where the waters become murky. An elastomer can be conditioned to conform to the thermoplastic model or the thermoset definition. Think of today's vehicle tyres and how they burn without deforming. The same dual properties exist within polyurethane, and we must conclude that it's the production matrix of a plastic that defines the tailored properties, whether the substance forms a thermoset, a thermoplastic, or exhibits the pliable traits of an elastomer.

For further elucidation, refer to the above types of plastics, the categories set by organic chemists, and add further study by researching epoxies, silicones, and other polymer groups.

Types of Plastic Injection Molding Process

This article provides a brief overview of the different types of molding and their advantages and applications. Plastic has become one of the most commonly used materials in both domestic and industrial spheres. The ability of plastic to take any shape or mould is one of the main reasons for its widespread usage. There are various techniques for moulding plastic into the desired shapes and plastic injection molding is one of the best techniques.

In today’s manufacturing environment, Injection molding is the automated process through which various goods are produced. By injecting the material like into a heated container various components or goods are manufactured.

Below are the types of molding:

a) Blow Molding – Well suited for hollow objects, like bottles:
b) Compression Molding – Well suited for larger objects like auto parts.
c) Extrusion Molding – Well suited for long hollow formed applications like tubing, pipes and straws.
d) Injection molding – Well suited for high-quality, high-volume part manufacturing.
e) Rotational Molding (Rotomolding)– Well suited for large, hollow, one-piece parts.

3D Printed Injection Molds Help Seuffer Slash Tooling Costs By Up to 97%

Even if you don’t know it, you use hundreds of injection molded parts and products every week. The injection molding process is employed by manufacturers all over the world to produce parts in a variety of materials, most commonly thermoplastics. The metal molds or tools used in the process can cost tens of thousands of dollars and weeks to produce on a CNC machine. Before mass production begins, the injection molded part needs to be evaluated for performance and fit. If significant changes are required, a whole new aluminium or metal mold has to be milled. Very expensive and very time consuming!

But Seuffer, a manufacturer of parts for household appliances and commercial vehicles, located on the edge of the Black Forest in Germany, has discovered the benefits of additive manufacturing. Seuffer is using Stratasys 3D printed injection molds to dramatically reduce the time and cost of producing injection molded sample parts.

“With Stratasys 3D printing, we can design first drafts of the injection mold within a few days and 3D print them in less than 24 hours for part evaluation,” said Andreas Buchholz, head of research and development at Seuffer. “Traditionally, it would take 8 weeks to manufacture the tool in metal using the conventional CNC process.  And while the conventional tool costs us about 40,000 euros, the 3D printed tool is less than 1,000 euros, a savings of 97%.”

Pressure, Pumps, and Process: Generating Big Energy Savings

Let me share an example of what process efficiency looks like at Husky’s factory in Milton.

Our work, which involves the production of injection molds for the plastics industry, requires an extensive milling and metalwork process. This means that we need ready access to metal working fluids throughout our entire plant. The sophisticated system of pipes and pumps we use is designed to ensure this access – but, until recently, we did not realize that it was wasting a lot of energy.

With the help of an Efficiency Vermont engineer, we devised a way to test the entire system. First, we installed energy sub meters throughout the facility to take precise measurements of energy usage over several weeks. Efficiency Vermont’s analysis of this data showed that we were likely generating a lot more cutting metal working fluid pressure than we needed to – even during times of peak production.

To test this theory, we systematically lowered the pressure on every single pump by plugging up relief valves over the course of several days. Next we lowered the pressure throughout the facility and confirmed that the system could still operate normally – more than meeting our manufacturing needs, while using a lot less energy. This small change, which required no capital investment, is already saving us $10,000 per month, and we saw an immediate drop in our electric bills.

Plastic mold-plastic vacuum formers

Plastic mold-The vacuum former uses a simple concept. They use the power of a vacuum to suck gooey plastic sheets very tightly around an object you place in them, making a 3D copy of pretty much what ever you want.

Plastic vacuum formers are an important part of prototyping. If you need a nice plastic robot body, or custom case for a project you are doing, get your tools, 'cause this one's easy to build and fun to play with.

Plastic vacuum formers are usually big, expensive machines; however we don't always need to make huge pieces for our projects, so these machines would be pointless to have, or at least that's what I tell myself so I won't want one .

Advanced Metal Injection Moulding in UK

Sheffield-based William Beckett Plastics has successfully launched a metal injection moulding (MIM) company Beckett MIM, capable of mass producing complex functional parts.  As one of the world leading manufacturers of plastic packaging for the cutting tool industry, the company transferred its skills to breakthrough to the metal injection moulding industry. Earlier this year the company won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade for the second time.

The technology used to create parts using MIM is well-known and consists of four main stages: feedstock preparation (metal powder + thermoplastic binder); injection moulding; debinding; and sintering.

Beckett MIM is the only company in the UK to offer small, intricately detailed parts with tight tolerances using Titanium alloys, Inconel alloys, Copper alloys and Tungsten carbides.  Stainless, low alloy steels and other metals are also offered. Beckett MIM recently filed a patent for a combined process of MIM, burnishing and thread rolling that produces threads on metal fasteners without using cutting.  The process creates a fully dense, lightweight component with optional hollow section and a good grain structure.  Furthermore, 100 percent of material is utilised, which is a crucial attribute of this process that is required to offset the high costs for the creation of metal powders, especially for Titanium alloys.

The company has been involved in a Knowledge Transfer Programme with the University of Sheffield (supported by the TSB), which has enabled them to develop the MIM process further and to use the equipment at the Mercury Centre in Sheffield for the debinding and sintering stages.  More recently, the company received Regional Growth Funding which will be used to finance the move of Beckett MIM to another location within the Sheffield region and equip it with the necessary machinery to produce larger quantities of components in-house.

Components fabricated by MIM can already be found in aerospace, automotive, medical, consumer products and IT markets. Going forwards, Beckett MIM hopes to increase its presence in the aerospace and medical markets.  The main challenges associated with this step are the materials standards for the respective industries which are backed by years of tried and tested data.  However, this has not deterred the firm as they have completed the necessary steps to prove that MIM metal alloys are comparable to wrought alloys.  As a sign of industry’s growing interest in MIM technology, BS ISO 22068:2012 standard for MIM materials has been released.

MIMs market share in the metalworking industry is constantly growing as the shape and material challenges inherent to conventional metalworking technologies are removed.  This growth is also enhanced by MIM being an energy efficient technology with no material scrap. Beckett MIM is also working on a number of development projects that will allow them to produce MIM foams with up to 50 percent porosity, and over-moulding or sinter-joining which allows two different materials to be joined together within the process.  

Plastic Uses In The Construction Sector

Plastic is a fundamental material within the construction industry. This blog entry looks at some of the uses plastic has and why its popularity within construction has dramatically increased.

WHAT IS PLASTIC USED FOR?

• Seals- used for sealing a variety of products including doors, valves, bags etc
• Profiles – common material sourced for doors and windows using PVC-U
• Channels – often used for sewage drainage.
• Insulation – help conserve energy by providing a layer that is inserted into walls and roofs.
• Interior design. – Nowadays we are seeing plastics being used for aesthetic reasons within the home. In addition to this plastic is also considered to be a hygienic surface that can be wiped down.
• Exterior design – due to plastic’s properties and its ability to be moulded into various shapes, plastic is contributing to some of the leading building designs

WHY IS PLASTIC USED IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY?

• cost effective
• low maintenance
• corrosion resistance
• strong
• easy to transport
• easy installation
• sustainable

There is huge scope and potential for plastics to help the construction industry develop innovatively and economically, therefore we can only expect its production to increase.

What’s New in Plastics

One of the primary design rules to follow when designing injection moulded plastic parts is to maintain uniform wall thickness.  That’s because uniform wall thickness leads to parts that fill with more uniform filling patterns and more uniform pressure, temperature, shear stress and shrinkage distributions.  All of that leads to higher quality moulded parts that are less likely to warp or deform out of shape after they are ejected from the mould.

In addition, plastic parts with non-uniform wall thickness – or with significant variations in wall thickness – may be very difficult to fill and pack and could have defects such as short shots, sink marks and vacuum voids. And relatively thick sections with longer cooling times will dictate and increase the overall cycle time, causing an increase in manufacturing costs.

All of that is why one of my favourite new features of SOLIDWORKS Plastics 2015 is the Nominal Wall Thickness Advisor, which allows a user to determine the nominal wall thickness and view the percentage differences from nominal.  This new tool can then be used as a guide to help the user design better plastic parts that have more uniform wall thickness that are easier to manufacture and of higher quality.

Easily review variations in plastics part wall thickness with the new Nominal Wall Thickness Advisor

One of the reasons we developed this feature was to provide our users with a quick and simple way to help ensure they were designing plastic parts that would be easy to manufacture. And based on the results of recent a market survey, we found that over 60% of respondents required two or more rounds of mould rework before their moulds would produce acceptable quality parts (see figure). The good news is that our new Nominal Wall Thickness Advisor will also help users “design-in” higher quality so they can reduce or eliminate the number of rounds of costly and time-consuming mould rework required before producing good parts.

Drainage Solutions for Gardens

Garden drainage solutions

Do you get garden drainage problems? Land drainage or soakaways are principally used to solve waterlogging in lawns. If you have clay in your soil then this makes the absorbtion of rainwater difficult, hence pooling and soggy gardens. If your problem is severe, then an underground drainage system may be your only solution. These systems can be installed yourself with some research, or you can hire a professional, such as a landscape gardener, or drainage expert, to design and fit them. Such systems involve a lot of digging into the soil to install a pipe system that helps either to collect and disperse evenly, or collect and drain away completely the excess water lying in your soil to a drain hopefully helping to maintain a dryer lawn.

drainage solutions for gardens
Deck drainage solutions

Firstly choose a deck board that’s grooved for better water drainage with a slight fall of 1 in 100 built in to the deck structure, and with the fall being away from the house. Always keep the grooves swept free of debris and moss to aid the flow of the water, and prevent pooling of water on the boards. If there’s soil below the decking then ensure you use an adequate weed barrier that’s able to absorb water, as well as prevent weeds etc from growing up through the decking. If your decking is on a hard surface such as concrete or gravel, then you could install a simple gutter at the lowest point using a rainwater gutter to drain the water to  the nearest drainage point or create a gutter shaped valley in the concrete to do the same.

Driveway drainage system

Inadequate driveway drainage can lead to problems such as flooded homes or garages, so a suitable drainage solution should be devised and built. The simplest solution would be a drive with a surface layer of loose gravel over a sub base allowing the water to soak through to the soil below, or at least if creating a ‘hard’ surface, then where appropriate if  possible it is to angle the surface, to simply allow water to run-off into an adjoining lawn or flower bed. Driveways should always be sloped away from your home, and any soakaways, or diversion channels, shouldn’t direct the water near the house walls. Also to prevent flooding into garages, directly in front of garage doors or any areas where the slope leads down to the structure, you could use a trench drain system, which catches and diverts the water to a nearby drain. These systems can be bought in kit form for garages or could even be designed and made using concrete and a suitable mould such as a rainwater gutter.

drainage solutions for gardensBalcony drainage

Keeping a balcony slip-free, and dry is very important, especially for its users, and also to prevent excess water dropping on the surfaces below, and causing hazards there as well. Rainwater collection systems can be integrated into the balcony structure itself on construction of the balcony, or terrace, or it might also be possible to simply use a standard gutter system attached to the edge of the surface as you would on a house using downpipes to then carry the rain away to the drains.

For further information on drainage solutions for gardens, please do not hesitate to contact Speedy Plastics and Resins on local number (0844) 8586670, and our team will be delighted to help.

7 Signs You Should Fix Your Tired Guttering

Guttering doesn’t last forever and sadly, when it does get worn down or broken it can cause damage to the rest of your property. However, unless you regularly go out and check your guttering when it’s raining or closely inspect the gutters themselves it can be hard to know when they need replacing.

Here are seven handy guttering replacement tips to help you know when you need to act to prevent damage:



1. They are physically damaged

This seems really obvious, but often people don’t take the time to look and see how their gutters are performing. Cracks, breaks, holes and other damage to your gutter will mean that they don’t work as efficiently as they should be.

What to do: depending on how severe the damage is you will either need to replace or repair the gutters to prevent further damage.



2. There is significant sag/ pitch

Guttering Close UpImage Source
If your gutter isn’t properly lined up then the water won’t flow down it correctly. Any point where it dips will become the natural point for the water to be deposited which can cause water damage to the building. When the gutter pitches forward this essentially turns it into an extention of the roof, eliminating its usefulness.

What to do: If your gutters have sag or pitch that is causing the water to divert to a different path then you will need to replace this section. Often the cause can simply be lose or broken hangers, but sometimes this causes damage to the gutters themselves. Closer inspection should give you a much better idea of what needs fixing.



3. Gutters have come apart

When the joints on the guttering split apart the water will simply fall down this gap. Splits can sometimes be very obvious or more subtle, but they will all be noticeable when there is water flowing through them.

What to do: Most splits can simply be put back together, but if the join has broken you will need to replace that section of the guttering.



4. No longer hugging the roof

Guttering that has pulled away from the facia board will cause the same issues as sag and pitch. The majority of the time this will be down to the mounting brackets breaking or coming lose, but occasionally the gutters could have become dislodged by the wind, an animal or stray football.

What to do: Replace any broken brackets and damaged facia boards and ensure that the guttering is hanging properly. If the guttering has simply become dislodged then this will just need to be fitted back in place.



5. Peeling exterior paint

Damaged paint or facia boards can be an obvious sign that your guttering is leaking. Unfortunately by this stage it may require extra measures to ensure that everything is in correct working order.

What to do: Determine the extent of the damage, if it is only the paint that’s damaged you can simply re-paint this area. However, if the damp soaked through then you may need to look at replacing these sections to prevent rot and mould. You will need to determine the problem with the guttering and fix it in relation to the above points.



6. Signs of dirt and debris

This is a sign that comes before peeling paint as it is where dirt or debris has found itself due to a different watercourse. At this stage there tends to not be any significant damage to the building or the exterior, it just shows that the guttering is not working properly.

What to do: If you notice that this has happened then you want to act as quickly as possible to figure out where the issues lie with the guttering. Once you find the problem, amending it using the above points and your problem should be sorted.



7. Plants are growing

Lack of maintenance often leads to clogged gutters and the biggest sign that this has happened is when plants start to grow. Generally speaking there won’t be damage as such at this point, but if left to grow you will start seeing sag and cracks appear in your guttering.

What to do: clean your gutters of all dirt, plants and other items that are clogging the flow of water. This should completely fix any issues that you’ve been having with your guttering. If not, again, refer to the above points.

Mould Protecting Your Bathroom

Take a look in your bathroom – does it look grubby? If the grouting between your tiles is discoloured and the area around your taps is discoloured then you may be suffering from a case of mould or mildew.

You’re a clean person though so how is there mould in your bathroom? Find out here.

Why Have I Got Mould?

Mould is a fungus that grows in multicellular filaments called hyphae and is transferred in tiny spores that are invisible to the naked eye.

Mould grows when mould spores land on wet surfaces. Mould needs water to survive and this is why it is common in bathrooms and kitchens more than any other area in the home. Mould may be found on tiles near a shower, around taps or on shower curtains where water has collected to form pools.

Why is Mould a Bad Thing?

Well, apart from not looking great, mould can be bad for your health.  If you suffer from allergies then it may be a particular problem as mould can produce allergens or irritants which will agitate your allergy. Mould can cause a reaction among those who are allergic, with hay fever-like symptoms such as sneezing, watery eyes or a skin rash.

Mould may also cause asthma attacks and can give those who are not allergic reactions too. In rare occasions where there is exposure to mould over long periods of time mould may cause a cough, headaches and even fungal infections.

How do I Get Rid of Mould?

Reducing mould and mildew is easy if you know how; there are a number of different ways of removing it. One of the most basic cleaning agents is good old fashioned soap and water. Mix in a little baking soda for some added oomph and scrub with a brush.

You could also place white vinegar into a spray bottle and apply it directly to the mould. Vinegar is an acid and when neat will make an area inhospitable to mould. Leave the vinegar sit for around an hour before scrubbing. You could also use ammonia or bleach as cleaning agents but make sure not to mix these as they can produce hazardous fumes.

If you cannot get rid of the mould then replace the caulk or grout. This is easy to do and will leave your bathroom looking new again.

How to Prevent Mould?

If you can control the moisture then mould will not form so keep your bathroom well ventilated and make sure to dry down surfaces after you have a bath or shower. Alternatively you could fit plastic wall cladding panels instead of tiles. These are waterproof and do not need grouting and therefore the chance of getting mould is unlikely.

Clean your shower curtain down on a regular basis. Yes this may sound strange but shower curtains are a breeding ground for mould. A disinfectant product will keep them clean and mould free; or launder them every few weeks to keep them fresh.

You may also grow mould around your windows thanks to condensation. If your windows are steamed or have drips running down them after you have a bath or shower then give them a wipe down. A quick once over with an anti-bacterial wipe every few weeks should do the job.

Are you running off to the shops now to get those cleaning ingredients? Take a look at our cleaning products first – you may save yourself some money!

Manufacturing

This week I have commit my time to cover off many of the questions we receive on manufacturing materials and methods. I could write a book on this as it is a huge subject matter but I will try and provide a top level overview of some of the most common materials and methods and a bit of a glossary of terms so you can be informed when dealing with your Chinese manufacturers.

Plastics:

Plastics are one of the most popular manufacturing materials on the planet. There are obvious and less obvious products that are made from plastics and are probably the most versatile manufacturing materials available.

Plastics can be made into almost limitless shapes, textures and finishes and can fool many people into thinking they are made from another material.

The type of plastic used to manufacture your goods will vary depending upon a number of factors. These could include but are not limited to; Texture, Size, Food contact, Precision, Strength

Different plastics have varying properties and applications. Here is a list of the most commonly used plastics and examples of where they are used in every day products:

Name
Short Name

Application
Polyester
PES

Textiles and clothing
Polyethylene terephthalate
PET

Carbonated drinks bottles, peanut butter jars, plastic film, microwavable packaging.
Polyethylene
PE

Wide range of inexpensive uses including supermarket bags, plastic bottles, food safe barrier lining of cups and bags
High-density polyethylene
HDPE

Detergent bottles, milk jugs, and moulded plastic cases.
Polyvinyl chloride
PVC

 Plumbing pipes and guttering, shower curtains, window frames, flooring.
Polyvinylidene chloride
PVDC

Foods packaging
Low-density polyethylene
LDPE

Outdoor furniture, siding, floor tiles, shower curtains, clamshell packaging
Polypropylene
PP

Bottle caps, drinking straws, yogurt containers, sports bottles/shakers. appliances, car bumpers, plastic pressure pipes systems
Polystyrene
PS

Packaging foam/”peanuts”, food containers, plastic tableware, disposable cups, plates, cutlery, CD and cassette boxes.
High impact polystyrene
HIPS

Refrigerator liners, food packaging, vending cups.
Polyamides  (Nylons)
PA

Fibers, toothbrush bristles, tubing, fishing line, low strength machine parts: under-the-hood car engine parts or gun frames.
Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene
ABS

Electronic equipment cases (e.g., computer monitors, printers, keyboards), drainage pipe.
Polycarbonate
PC

CD’s, eye glasses, riot shields, security windows, traffic lights, lenses
Polyurethanes
PU

Cushioning foams, thermal insulation foams, surface coatings, printing rollers (Currently 6th or 7th most commonly used plastic material, for instance the most commonly used plastic in cars).
As I am sure you can appreciate, people tend to use the short name when referring to plastics and the Chinese will be no different. The actual names are quite a mouthful.

Your Chinese manufacturing factory should be able to make suggestions about the materials you will need to use. Quite often, if you have found a factory that already made a similar product, they will have experience with and, more importantly, in-house capabilities with that type of plastic.

If you are an innovator looking to develop a brand new product, I would strongly recommend working with your design agency to make suggestions on materials at the CAD development stage. Tiger Global also has a vast amount of experience in manufacturing across a broad range of plastics and are always on hand to offer advice.

10 REASONS TO USE HYMID – UK PLASTIC INJECTION MOULDING

1. We are not an agent – we take full responsibility of the entire toolmaking project.

2. We eliminate risk – our deep understanding of Chinese culture and practice has enabled us to forge excellent relations with our Far Eastern suppliers.

3. Backed up by a bone fide British company, with a fully equipped toolroom & mould shop.

4. Value for money – we don’t do cheap; we do quality tools. Cheap tools invariably cause long term problems and delay your product getting to market.

5. Engineering expertise – Your project will be supported by Design, Manufacturing and Process Engineers with over a century’s worth combined expertise in the two-shot moulding projects.

6. ISO 9001 Quality Assurance, UK guarantee, full traceability – all supported by an MRP system which fully integrates processes.

7. Our technical experts project-manage tools in China, dealing with any issues on the spot– not on the phone.

8. We analyse the component design of all new projects to see if our experience of “design for manufacture” can improve mouldability; minimise second operations, reduce assembly time and simplify tooling – adding value at every stage.

9. We invite you to view our facilities (in fact, our doors are open to all) because we are proud of our quality of production and believe face to face meetings create trust and avoid confusion. We’re a nice bunch, too!

10. We are problem solvers and solution finders. Hymid are “…second to none when it comes to Two Shot moulding” (Robert Dix, Crowcon Detection Instruments Ltd.)

Give us a call on 01803 615308!

Tags: 2 shot moulding, mould tool design, mould tool trial, Product design, project management,prototype tooling, UK Plastic Injection Moulding

Manufacturing a plastic product: Injection Moulding Manufacturing a plastic product: Injection Moulding

Popular manufacturing process for plastic products and here we explain how product design considerations must be made.

Advantages:

• Allows excellent surface finish, repeatability and speed.
• Mould decorations can be integrated into the actual moulding process, eliminating the need for a separate printing process
• Colouring is possible
• Inserts and snap-fits can be moulded to aid assembly

Disadvantages:

• Tooling costs are very high, depending on the number of cavities and complexity of the design
• Large parts take longer to solidify and thus can increase mould cycle times

Design Considerations:

• High volume production runs only
• Mould cycle times depend on the size of the part
• Warping and shrinkage can occur after the part is ejected from the mould cavity, ribbing can help reduce these effects
• Stress can occur at sharp corners and draft angles
• Draft angles should be at least 0.5o
• The melted plastic must inject into the thickest section and finish at the thinnest
• Wall thickness should be uniform (ideal) or within 10%
• Uneven wall sections cause the part to warp
• Ribs should not exceed 5 times the height of the wall thickness, so use many shallow ribs instead

Benefits Of Vacuum Die-casting

Vacuum die casting is a relatively new process when compared to the hot and cold chamber methods. It is meant to give added strength to casts and less porosity. Similar to low-pressure casting, the mold is placed above the bath of molten metal where the cylinder chamber acts as a vacuum to force the liquid into the mold cavity.

A point to remember and one of the bigger problems associated with die-casting is porosity. This is caused when gas enters the molten metal to cause turbulence. Once the cast sets, it becomes porous which makes it more brittle and prone to cracks.

With vacuum die-casting, the turbulence is reduced and the cast is strengthened. This generates less waste as do-overs become more infrequent and productivity increases. In terms of structural and automotive applications, the importance of reduced porosity is all too vital.

Vacuum die-cast components can be made to be thinner and more complex compared to other processes. Surface quality is also increased and rejections are reduced. This translates into cost-effectiveness, high production and less waste as stated before.

Components that need to be painted or powder-coated stand to gain much with vacuum die-casting as porous surfaces can lead to uneven finishes. Customer satisfaction is guaranteed and the number of dissatisfied returns and replacements is reduced.

Polyethylene

By far the most popular thermoplastic commodity used in consumer products (especially products created by rotational moulding), polyethylene is created through the polymerization of ethylene (i.e., ethene).

Chemical Composition

The ethylene molecule is C₂H₄   (CH₂=CH₂)

Ethylene

Polyethylene Polymer

A.K.A.

Polyethene, Polythene, PE, LDPE, HDPE, MDPE, LLDPE

• LDPE (Low Density Polyethylene) is defined by a density range of 0.910 - 0.940 g/cm³. It has a high degree of short and long chain branching, which means that the chains do not pack into the crystal structure as well. It has therefore less strong intermolecular forces as the instantaneous-dipole induced-dipole attraction is less. This results in a lower tensile strength and increased ductility. LDPE is created by free radical polymerization. The high degree of branches with long chains gives molten LDPE unique and desirable flow properties.
• HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) is defined by a density of greater or equal to 0.941 g/cm³. HDPE has a low degree of branching and thus stronger intermolecular forces and tensile strength. HDPE can be produced by chromium/silica catalysts, Ziegler-Natta catalysts or metallocene catalysts. The lack of branching is ensured by an appropriate choice of catalyst.
• MDPE (Medium Density Polyethylene) is defined by a density range of 0.926 - 0.940 g/cm³. MDPE can be produced by chromium/silica catalysts, Ziegler-Natta catalysts or metallocene catalysts.
• LLDPE (Linear-Low Density Polyethylene) is defined by a density range of 0.915 - 0.925 g/cm³. is a substantially linear polymer, with significant numbers of short branches, commonly made by copolymerization of ethylene with short-chain alpha-olefins (e.g. 1-butene, 1-hexene, and 1-octene).