ARM International 28th Annual Fall Conference
Kansas City, Missouri, 2nd-4th November 2003
Attendees: 370+
(with spouses)
Countries Represented:
30+
Good conference. Kansas
City may not have been the most attractive location in the world but there was a
good turnout for the meeting with some useful presentations in the workshops and
general sessions. Always a great opportunity to network and catch up on old
friends, we made a lot of new contacts as well.
Technical Exhibits:
The exhibits are always one of the highlights
of the show. It started around noon on Sunday and while things were quiet for
the first few hours, they picked up during the later half (probably something to
do with the combination of it being a Sunday, football games and an open-bar
reception). There were 59 exhibits from suppliers of machinery, materials and
services.
Francesco Mondini in his Roman Emperor toga
outfit (honest, he doesn't dress like this normally) was promoting the PEC (Pan
European Conference) meeting coming up in March in Rome (see www.paneuropeanconference.net)
.
Presentations:
The Importance of Product Design, Glenn
Beall, Glenn Beall Plastics, Ltd.
Glenn gave the keynote address on how the
perception of design by industry and the latest generation of management has
changed. Design work is being pushed from the larger companies onto their
suppliers, often at the expense of design effectiveness. He highlighted the
difference between product design and part design as being a gap in management
understanding - all too often, product designers do not have the skills or
experience needed to convert their concepts into working parts that can be
manufactured. He encourages companies to bring designers, customers, molders
and mold-makers together in order to improve final designs and also noted that
machinery and mold-builders are capable of making equipment better than that
commonly used by molders. Some thought provoking statistics including the fact
that there are 25,000 plastics companies in the US and that the Big Three
typically carry out 5000 design changes to a car after a new model is released
compared to 250 by Toyota.
A New Approach to Efficiency in Rotational
Molding Machines, Carlos Garcia, Reduction Engineering, Inc.
Carlos highlighted the flexibility and cost
effective output that can be achieved by a double shuttle machine compared to
a carousel format. The Rotoline machines are being produced in Brazil and have
been installed in South America, the US and Australia.
Plasma Treated Metallocene Polyethylene,
Solving Your Adhesion Problems in Rotomolding, Borealis A/S
Plasma modification alters the surface
characteristics of the polyethylene powder to make it reactive. This
reactivity is retained after molding so that the final molded parts can be
painted, for example.
Workshops:
Lean Manufacturing for Rotational Molding,
Paul Nugent
Yours truly talking about basic improvements
that all rotomolders should consider for their operations. See Lean
Manufacturing for more information.
Future of the Rotational Molding Industry,
Mark Kearns, Queen's University
Presentations by students from Queen's
University on development and research projects. (Sorry - didn't see it).
Issues & Answers: Foaming, Steve
Osborn, Trilogy Plastics, Inc.
Question and answer session on practical
aspects of foaming for rotational molding. (Sorry - didn't see it).
Rotomolding Safety & Awareness: Hand
Safety, Personal protective Equipment and the Safe Cutting and Trimming of
Plastic Parts, Brian Slack, ExxonMobil Chemical Canada
Practical workshop on one of the key safety
issues in rotomolding. (Sorry - didn't see it).
It's What's Inside that Counts: How
Stabilizers Add Value to Your Product, John M. Zenner, PhD., Cytec
Industries, Inc.
A detailed review of stabilizer systems and
their effectiveness in rotational molding. (Sorry - didn't see it).
Problems & Solutions, Phil Dodge,
Equistar Chemicals
Open forum for exchange of ideas and
questions - along with a few magic tricks from Phil.
K-KontrolTM - A Permanently
Fixed Data Monitoring System for the Rotational Molding Process, Dr. Gareth
McDowell, 493K Limited.
Gareth described a system of high
temperature slip rings developed during his PhD studies that he has
successfully mounted on rotomolding machines for measuring temperature of mold
or plastic temperature for continuous process control. Interesting system -
even more interesting goal he has set for installation levels...
Product Development Center, Chroma
Rotational Molding Div., Inc.
Chroma Corp. has established a rotomolding
center complete with an Alan Yorke molding machine that is available for
testing and development work as well as molding training. Bob Swain also
announced the availability of ABS material as developed during the
Brigham-Young research program.
Eliminating Fuel Vapors in Marine Tanks, Robert
White, Imanna Labs
Bob gave some encouragement and advice on
how the rotational molding industry should approach the federal authorities
(EPA) with regards to the latest regulations and listed some of the potential
challenges involved.
An Infrared Look at Rotational Molding,
Rodney Syler, L&R Enterprises
Rodney demonstrated some clips from his
latest in-mold video work showing temperature distribution inside the mold via
an infrared mold. Also demonstrated his nerve - the camera cost between
$25,000 and $30,000!
A Comparison between Direct Electrical
Heating and Hot Air Rotational Molding Machines, Mark Kearns, Queen's
University
Mark compared performance measurements from
a hot-air machine with the latest electrical machine developed by PPA, Teo in
Ireland. The analysis claimed that when molding a 1.8kg (4lb) 3mm (1/8")
part, the hot-air machine ran at 1.6% efficiency vs. 21% for the electrical
machine. While the electrical machine is certainly of interest (particularly
given that they were able to match heating rates with the hot air machine by
increasing the density of the heating elements) and undoubtedly an efficient
approach, I disagree with the analysis and the overemphasis on the hot air
machine performance.
The analysis is too simplistic and overlooks
the fact that the calculations are based on energy requirements for an entire
220 size oven containing a single 300mm (12") cube mold running 1.8kg
(4lbs) of plastic. It is more reasonable to assume that a molder would want to
put more than one small mold in an oven of this size. In fact you could place
upwards of 20 of these molds on a single arm in the machine and raise the
efficiency level of the hot air machine above the 21% of the electrical
machine (even allowing for increased energy consumption with the extra mold
mass).
Rotomolding Around the World, Paul
Nugent
You can see a copy of my entire presentation
at Rotomolding Around the World.
ARM Cycle Time Reduction Project, Prof.
Roy Crawford, Queen's University, Dr. Simon Bickerton, University of Auckland
Roy and Simon presented details of the ARM
sponsored cycle time reduction project. Some of the variables were interesting
but the project appears to have been too narrow in it's perspective, focusing
on a computer simulation of the process. Many of the variables considered have
been examined and reported on in previous work done in the 70s, 80s and 90s.
One key factor that will be interesting to assess when considering the
reported 40-60% cycle time reductions is how closely the baseline cycles
compare to real world cycles. From the charts displayed during the
presentation, the initial cycle times appeared to be much longer than those
that most molders would use - the gains do not appear realistic.
Simon's presentation was a repeat of last
years work in Toronto - surface modification of the molds for improving heat
transfer is interesting but some practical data of real molding would make
this more interesting and relevant.
Cycle time reduction in rotomolding will be
gained primarily in the operator station - once this is achieved, current
machines are already capable of pushing the molding cycle faster.
New Parting Line Sealer, Tom Innis,
Mold In Graphics Systems, Inc.
Interesting presentation on MIG's caulking
system for closing up mold gaps. However, we always seem to hear about every
product that MIG makes as well - short and to the point may be more
appreciated by the audience....
Robotics Presentation, Fred Robinson,
Kuka Engineering
Fred took the time to assess rotomolding
operations and see how his robotic experience could be applied. Some good
videos and even some brainstorming on how robots could be used for transfer
and manipulation of molds and parts.
Molded Parts Competition:
Just a couple of the parts
entered into the competition...
Overall Winner - Conversion of steering
console to a rotomolded part. Very nice part with excellent surface finish and
good attention to detail and finish.
Award Ceremony:
As always at the Fall meeting,
a number of awards are presented to individuals who have contributed strongly to
the industry. Dave Mulligan of Roto Plastics, Inc. and Jack Schneider formerly
of Wedco, Inc. were both inducted into the Rotational Molding Hall of Fame. This
is the highest honor that can be bestowed by the Association and requires at
least 25 years of service. It was great to see Jack and his wife Vy after
several years of retirement - we miss them at the pool Olympics!
Einar Voldner of Synergy
Polymers, Ltd. was presented with the Charles C. Frederick Distinguished Service
Award. I didn't manage to catch him on the night of the presentation, here he is
with his wife Anne-Greth.
The camera shy and elusive Jim
Moloy of ExxonMobil Chemical was also awarded the Charles C. Frederick
Distinguished Service Award. Jim has served for a number of years at board level
as the Supplier Liason.
Well done to all the recipients - it is
great to see their efforts and work rewarded.
Entertainment:
This turned out to be one of the highlights of the show. Tom 'Seger'
Innis showed off his considerable skill on the guitar and a great rock and roll
style to keep the entire company entertained late into the evening. It is rare
that almost all of the audience has stayed to watch the post dinner event. Tom
has set a new high in the standard and will hopefully find himself as a regular
on the program!
Tom on guitar being supported by the Rotettes, Clark Boyce,
Scott Saxman and Jeff Dunne.
