Minneapolis, Minnesota January 27-29 2002

This event was rescheduled from it's original date in September and, without the Rotoplas event, was not expected to rock the world in terms of attendance. However, 258 people attended making it a respectable 'Spring-Size' event. Suppliers outnumbered molders (surprise) approximately 120 to 90 and there were some complaints about not being able to find a molder to talk to at times. Again though, finding an alternative way to meet 90 potential customers in one room for the cost of one event is tough and those that thought about it realize the value of even these 'quiet' meetings.

I enjoyed it as it actually afforded the opportunity to talk with people instead of trying to track people down through the masses. Larger Fall meetings are great for sheer size, but sometimes it can be difficult to find the person you need.

The presentations and workshops were as follows:

"Integrating Design and Manufacturing to Develop New Market Opportunities" Michael Paloian (Integrated Design Systems, Inc.)

Interesting look at making proposals to customers for converting their existing products to rotational molding.

"Update #1: ARM Funded Cycle Time Reduction Project at The Queen's University of Belfast" Prof. Roy Crawford, QUB

End of first year report on how the project is proceeding, included computer simulation studies on heat transfer using RotoSim software. A look at the various factors affecting cycle times and their relative importance.

What's New - General Polymers - "New Material Offering Greatly Improved Surface Lubricity and Mold Release Properties"

Adding a siloxane compound to polyethylene without affecting impact  properties to improve surface properties.

What's New - STP Equipment, Inc. - "New In-Line Shuttle Series from STP"

Review of shuttle machines and improvements made by STP to existing oven and cooler designs.

What's New - ExxonMobil Chemical Company - "New Improved Consolidated Rotational Molding Grades"

A review of the merged grades from the former Mobil and Exxon offerings.

"Comparison of mLinear and mCrosslinkable HDPE in Fuel Tank Applications" Don Loti (ExxonMobil Chemical Company)

How metallocene materials offer improved properties over standard materials.

"The Future of Color and Graphics Applications in Rotomolding" Scott Saxman, Mold In Graphic Systems

Overview of mold-in-graphic products including two new items, PE compound and high temperature graphics.

What's New - Ferry Industries, Inc. - "A New Line of Shuttles and Clamshells"

Improved versions of the clamshell design and upgraded shuttle styles.

What's New - Teknor Color Company - "H2Stat: Teknor's Newly Patented Antistat"

Review of the mechanisms of static charge build-up in parts and results from a new antistat system that can eliminate the problems of static swirl in parts. 

What's New - Plastics Consulting, Inc. - "A New Flow Gauge for Compact Molds"

Smaller versions of the Flow Gauge mold design to allow molders to test and evaluate the performance of materials on a comparative basis.

"Update #2: ARM Funded Cycle Time Reduction Project at Auckland University" Dr. Simon Bickerton, University of Auckland

Review of computer simulation studies on ways of improving heat transfer to molds during heating and cooling. A detailed review of fins, their design and number to produce a significant improvement in heat transfer.

"PE Foam: The Road to Added Value Products and Increased Profits", Johan Aasen, Motion Technology, Ltd. AS.

Using PE foam for improved products and new designs. Cooperation opportunities in joint design ventures.

"Your Processes, Equipment and Tooling Committee at Work", Paul Nugent

 A look at the work that the PET Committee and the Cycle Time Reduction Committee does for ARM members and how inspirational our future president Daven Claerbout is to the group.

What's New - Chroma Corporation - "Liquid Color for Rotational Molding Applications"

Liquid color and dispensing systems for rotomolding operations.

What's New - Kann Manufacturing Corp. & Alan Yorke Engineering - "A New Alliance in Rotomolding Machine Manufacture"

Kann Manufacturing has licensed production of Alan Yorke machines for the North American Market.

"Long Term PE Design Properties for Rotational Molding", Blair Graham, ExxonMobil Chemical Company

Review of how to measure and use creep design data for various polyethylene grades and a comparison of how density and melt index can affect performance. 

Workshop - "Now that You Have a 5-Axis CNC Router, What Do You Do with It?

Discussion of the use of routers in finishing, including machineing threads into polyethylene parts. Didn't see it unfortunately.

Workshop - "Open Forum on Mold Pressurization in Rotational Molding"

Discussion of the benefits of using pressure on bubble removal, part properties and cycle time reduction. Good audience interaction.

Workshop - "From Lab to Shop Floor: Relating PE Properties to Rotomolding Performance"

Good review from basics to more advanced themes on the standard measures used for PE and how they affect final in-service perfromance.

Workshop - "What's Your Problem?"

An opportunity to brainstorm common and not-so-common problems. Look forward to the transcript!

Workshop - "Research and Development Being Performed by Students at the University Level"

Three good projects and three good presentations by the researchers at QUB. Look forward to more of these and more involvement by other groups.

Process, Equipment and Tooling Committee Meeting and Cycle Time Reduction Committee Meeting

These took place on Saturday and Sunday morning to discuss a whole range of projects and ideas, including:

Prototype Mold Systems - glass fiber, polyurethane and spray metal systems

Sphere Mold Trials - Discussion of the results of molding trials conducted at Nova Chemicals and Meese, Indiana. These new molds are being used to compare materials, machinery and processing cycles to support the initiative at The Queen's University and The University of Auckland.

Shrinkage Mold Trials - implementing a series of tests using the ARM mold to develop a database of information to be posted on the ARM website for member reference.

ABC Booklets - a number of new booklets are proposed inculding: welding, shrinkage, thermal management of molds, decoration and adhesion and mold placement.

Ultrasonic Cure System - an extension of the trials conducted several years ago - we are following up with companies in the US for commercial interest.

Troubleshooting Video - converting the manual on troubleshooting common molding problems into a video format for ARM members.

The Cycle Time Reduction Committee discussed two major items:

Misting in the Oven - a series of tests being conducted to evaluate the use of a water mist in the oven chamber for the purpose of increasing heat transfer.

Brainstorming Session - this was the first in a planned series of sessions to generate ideas for molder review and comment. The topic was mold pressurization, internal heating, cooling and venting. The committee brainstormed through the basic problems and challenges associated with these techniques, the objectives of a workable system and what the practical hurdles to overcome were. A report on the session and the proposed system that the group came to will be published in Rotation^TM magazine (www.rotationmag.com). We look forward to your comments.

New and Interesting

The Mold In Graphic's new PE compound is a terrific idea. This is a putty like material that can be placed in a mold to fill solid areas such as bosses, handles, hooks etc. that could not be filled in during normal molding. Samples showed that thicker sections and flanges could easily be incorporated into molded parts.

Again, Mold In Graphic's have tackled the perrenial problem with Molded in Graphics, that of hot molds and smearing graphics. Their new Millenium graphics actually require the mold to be hot for them to work. Great development.

Al-Cast showed some new tooling designs with reinforced flanges that help to make molds stiffer. These new CNC features retain better flatness and parting life, particularly for long molds such as flat panels.

Upcoming PEC Event in Paris

This is a joint meeting being held in Europe between:

There will be a lot of technical papers and interesting topics.

Details on the schedule for the event can be seen at www.2PEC.com

Upcoming Rotoplas^TM Event in Toronto

The Rotoplas^TM show will now be on a three year basis. The next one in Toronto promises to be as large as ever. Providing we see some signs of economic recovery, every supplier and a very large proportion of the world's molders will be there too. Don't miss it.

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