Zahoransky Introduces Expanded Management Team In India

Sathyapriya Balakrishnan is the first woman to join the Top Management Circle

ZAHORANSKY’s subsidiary in Coimbatore/India is being run by a new dual management team since March 1, 2022: Sathyapriya Balakrishnan, who has been at this location since 2017 and was previously Managing Director Reinhard Schnurr’s deputy, will be the first woman to join the ZAHORANSKY Group’s top management. As Managing Director, she will be responsible for ZAHORANSKY Moulds & Machines Pvt. Ltd. in Coimbatore. Balakrishnan and Schnurr will share joint responsibility for the Indian location, which focuses on mold making and machine assembly. Sathyapriya Balakrishnan says: “I’m very pleased to be part of the ZAHORANSKY Management Circle and am especially excited about the new challenges and opportunities this position will bring.”

In addition to her enthusiasm for the job, Sathyapriya Balakrishnan brings all the necessary qualifications to her new role. Along with her degrees such as a Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics and Communications, Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Sales and Marketing, and International Project Management Association (IPMA), she also has a strong knowledge of the industry. She can also draw on specific industry experience from her previous roles as Deputy Managing Director, Project Manager, ZAHORANSKY Lean Administration (ZLA) Coordinator, and Supply Chain Manager.

India Manufacturing Show: 5th Edition
MSME Aerospace and Defense Expo
Inauguration of Curtain Raiser May 7, 20222 Hotel Taj Yeshwantpur

Laghu Ugyog Bharati-Karnaraka in Association with IMS Foundation is hosting a three-day 5th Edition of India Manfacturing Show 2022 scheduled for third week of September 2022 at BIEC in Bangalore. Ministry of Defence and Government of Karnataka have extended their support for India ManufacturingShow 2022.

In view of this IMS Foundation, is organising a Curtain Raiser event of India Manufacturing Show 2022 on May 7, 2022 at 10.30 am at Hotel Taj Yeshwantpur, Aura Hall Bangalore.

Shri. Narayan Rane, Hon’ble Union Minister of State for MSME, Government of India has consented to inaugurate the Curtain Raiser along with Dr. Murugesh Nirani, Hon’ble Minister for Large and Medium Industries, Gok, Shri. MTB Nagaraj, Hon’ble Minister for Small Scale Industries Gok and Dr. E.V. Ramana Reddy, IAS, ACS to Government, Commerce and Industries Department, Gok.

India Manufacturing Show (IMS) is the country’s premier trade fair for Organizations from the Manufacturing, Engineering and related sectors.

The key focus sectors of the 5th Edition are on five different verticals all related to Aerospace, Defence
and General Engineering segments vis-à-vis:
1. Aerospace and Defence
2. Automation, Robotics and Drones
3. Electricals and Electronics
4. General Engineering
5. Energy Environment and EV Transportation.

IMS Foundation has already hosted five sectoral conferences to build traction and also to create awareness to the 5th Edition of India Manufacturing Show being held on September 15, 16, 17, 2022 at BIEC, Bangalore.

The three-day expo spread over 20,000 m2will be the largest exhibition for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises in Aerospace and Defence industry. IMS 2022 will provided opportunity to MSMEs from diverse Industry sectors like Auto Industry, Industrial Engineering, Electronics and Automation etc. IMS 2022 will also host Vendor Development Program, B2B meetings and Workshops. The event will be supported by overseas as well as leading Industry bodies of India.

The Fifth Edition will see over 500 exhibitors 20,000 business delegates and 150 experts addressing conference and workshops and VDPs. The participants in the event will include leaders from large defence global and Indian OEMs, Defence PSUs and Ordinance Factories as well as DRDO Labs.

IMS also plants to hold Consular and Diplomates Conclave in Bangalore and New Delhi.

Road Shows for inviting participation to the Expo in Major metros including Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Gandhinagar are underway. Three have already been held in Guwahati, Jodhpur and Delhi.

Interactive Meetings with five selected sectors with respective Trade and Business Association across the country are also planned.

Discussion with Industry and Trade Bodies representative in major industrial corridors of different States, especially Gujarat, UP, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, MP, Andhra Pradesh, Telengana, Maharashtra,
Punjab is ongoing.

Top Business Defence and Aerospace organisations like SIATI, SIDM, ADS, AIAI, ARAI, AIMA, AIMO, SME Chamber of India, Solar Energy of India, BRICS, Aerospace Industry Association of Tamil Nadu have evinced keen interest in participating in the expo.

Meetings for participation with Defence and Aerospace Government bodies such as DRDO, ISRO, HAL,ADA, Ordinance Factory, ADE, BEL, BHEL, BEML have also extended their support to the Expos. Webcast sessions with top International Aerospace companies in the world such as Boeing, Airbase, Lockheed Martin, Rolls Royce, Dassault Aviation, Bombardier, Bae Systems, GE are being held regularly.

The earlier four editions in 2010, 2012, 2014, 2017 were all a grand success as it was steering by Industry stalwarts including Anand Mahindra, Sajjan Jindal, Vikram Kirloskar and Ramadas. The participating companies at the expo had hugely benefits. Even this year the focus area that of Aerospace and Defence and also related segments are very vigorously promoted by Government of India under the Atmanirbhar Bharat where Prime Minister Shri. Narendra Modiji’s objective is to achieve atleast 30-40 percent indigenization component.

Momentive at K 2022:
LSR and Hardcoats for the mobility of today and tomorrow

At K 2022, Momentive Performance Materials will focus on the requirements of modern mobility concepts and will present corresponding developments from the areas of Liquid Silicone Rubbers (LSR) and Hardcoats at Booth B15 in Hall 6. These include flame- retardant LSRs grades for the cost-efficient production of hard-soft composites, and grades that crosslink at low temperature, thus facilitating the production of thick-walled parts. In the Hardcoats area, the focus is on innovative scratch and weather-resistant coatings that can be
applied with high accuracy and cost-effectiveness to virtually any shaped plastic part for automotive interior and exterior

Temperature resistance with increased flame retardancy
The new LSR grades NL6830FR and NL6850FR, both in dark gray, meet the UL94-V0 requirements at 1 mm thickness. With Shore A hardnesses of 35 and 45, respectively, they combine balanced yet very good mechanical properties with low compression set. Possible applications therefore include seals in the intake area of combustion engines, collective seals and O-rings, for example for use in sensor technology and in the drive area of electric vehicles requiring flame resistance.

Self-lubricating for hard-soft composites
Silopren™ LSR 2725/40 is a further developed, self-lubricating grade. It enables the cost-efficient production of rigid-soft composites in which engineering plastics including PBT are overmolded, for
example molded parts with integrated sealing or damping. Because Silopren LSR 2725/40 forms good initial adhesion to the substrate very quickly, short cycle times are possible. Full adhesion is achieved during subsequent storage at room temperature. At the same time, a migration process takes place, which the LSR surface its self-lubricating property that facilitates assembly processes. The material is resistant to high temperatures and flexible at low temperatures, combines good dielectric and mechanical properties and can be easily colored.

Even lower curing temperatures
Momentive will present the third generation of its LTC-LSR (Low Temperature Cure Liquid Silicone Rubber) at K 2022. This new liquid silicone rubber cures at even lower temperatures than the
development grade presented at Fakuma 2021. This allows the mold temperature to be lowered even further while maintaining the same short heating time, thus saving energy. This can contribute to more sustainability through reduced energy consumption and enables combinations with compounds containingtemperature-sensitive formulation components. Alternatively, it is now possible to almost halve the crosslinking time compared with a standard LSR, such as Silopren LSR 2050. Subsequent annealing is not necessary.

Momentive will be demonstrating the processing of the new LTC-LSR at its booth on a Victory 100-120 injection molding machine from Engel Austria GmbH. In this process, a fully automated mold with cold runner and valve gate system from ACH Solution GmbH is used to produce thick-walled, translucent tea light holders as giveaways that resemble cut glass in appearance.

Sustainable Hardcoat solutions for the protection of automotive exterior parts
Also at Booth B15 in Hall 6, the Hardcoats division of Momentive will present sustainable material- and energy-saving solutions in the field of crystal-clear, scratch and weather-resistant protective coatings for automotive exterior parts. Applied as an ultra-thin layer to the surface of plastic parts, Hardcoats reliably protect against damage caused by UV-radiation and mechanical and chemical stresses.

Applications in automotive exteriors include forward lighting, decorative trim and sensor covers. Increasingly, the focus is on plastic front modules that are replacing classic radiator grilles on electric
vehicles. Long-lasting Hardcoat solutions can be applied evenly to such large, three-dimensional surfaces, saving time, materials, and costs.

Momentive will be demonstrating what is possible with a live digital printing demonstration installed at the trade show booth together with the company FPT Robotik. This enables the scratch-resistant coatings to be printed with sharp contours onto a three-dimensional polycarbonate component using drop-on-demand inkjet technology. In an improved process, only the drop that is actually needed leaves the nozzle. This free-form digital printing process, which can be used on a large scale, also delivers high-quality results on component edges and for complex shapes. The demonstration will take place in a pilot booth where the print head is guided robotically over the component.

Momentive will also provide information on research topics, including easy-to-clean coated surfaces for sensor elements, such as LiDAR or cameras, and will show current examples of front modules from serial production.

PET to PET Reaches New Record With over 15,000 Tonnes of Recycled PET Materia

After a pandemic-related decline last year, PET to PET Recycling Österreich GmbH in Müllendorf, Burgenland, has drawn a successful interim balance for 2022 with a new record value: 15,131 tonnes of PET beverage bottles were kept in the resource cycle – this corresponds to an increase of 5.3% compared to the pre-crisis level (2019: 14,329 tons). “Together with our employees, we were able to overcome the major challenges posed by the pandemic. The armed conflicts in Ukraine have once again shown us the critical dependencies and thus the dramatic developments on energy markets,” explains DI Christian Strasser, Managing Director of PET to PET.

In the course of the increasing demand for recyclates, the company’s property was expanded by 19,000 m² this year in order to create additional storage space at the site. Interesting archaeological finds came to light during the work. A burial ground from the late Bronze Age was excavated by archaeologists and handed over for restoration. After careful processing, the finds are to be presented to the public in a suitable manner – among other things, at the upcoming celebration of the company’s 15th anniversary in September.

In addition to the expansion, PET to PET GmbH is also investing heavily in energy efficiency this year. The newly created area will be equipped with a photovoltaic system. Around 12,000 m² of PV panels will be used, which in future will cover about 10 % of the required electrical energy from the company’s own production. In further expansion stages, this figure is to be further increased. In the past, the company has already relied on 100% renewable energy for the operation of its plants.

Percentage of recyclate in beverage bottles already above European target for 2030Austria plays a pioneering role in bottle-to-bottle recycling. The majority of beverage packaging placed on the market in Austria already consists of high-quality reprocessed used beverage bottles. “We are particularly pleased that major beverage producers are already using 100% recyclate from our company to produce new bottles,” says Christian Strasser. The different use rates across all products in the market lead to an average recyclate use of well over 30%, which already exceeds the European Union’s targets (30% for the year 2030). “The PET bottle cycle in Austria is a showcase project for how high-quality packaging can be kept in the cycle and a best-practice example for many other packaging plastics,” explains Strasser.

Since June 2022, Mag. (FH) Thomas Billes has been part of the PET to PET management team as the new CFO. The native of Burgenland (40) graduated from a university of applied sciences in international economic relations and has already been working for the Burgenland-based company since 2010. After a short familiarisation period, he took over the tasks as authorised signatory for the areas of accounting, purchasing and sales. In his new position, he continues to be responsible for the commercial area of PET to PET, while Christian Strasser is in charge of the technical area, strategic corporate development and the company’s external image.

SABIC’S new SMT-capable ULTEM 3473 resin helps reduce weight of RF filters in 5G macro cells by up to 40%

SABIC, a global leader in the chemical industry, today introduced ULTEM 3473 resin, its first polyetherimide (PEI)-based material with surface mount technology (SMT) capability. This new product addresses the growing trend toward smaller, lighter 5G macro cells by providing a possible replacement for metal. For example, ULTEM 3473 resin can help reduce the weight of an aluminum radio frequency (RF) cavity filter by up to 40 percent. In a typical macro cell with 64 filters, this weight saving can be significant. Furthermore, this new resin can help facilitate the design of new, integrated antenna filter units (AFUs), which is not achievable with metal. Using injection molding, the dipole antenna matrix and RF cavity filter body can be produced as one piece. This approach simplifies production and may lead to additional weight savings and system cost reductions.

During close collaboration with the industry’s leading companies, we have witnessed a growing number of 5G infrastructure manufacturers validating the use of lighter materials to make it easier and faster to assemble, transport and install these components,” said David Wang, senior business manager, SABIC. “By offering an effective alternative to metal and helping enable the design of integrated antenna filter units, we aim to help them achieve these goals.”

Performance, Processing and Assembly Advantages
New ULTEM 3473 resin offers performance, processing and assembly advantages over die-cast metal and thermoplastics such as filled polyphenylene sulfide (PPS). The new SMT-capable resin enables components to withstand very high temperatures, up to 260°C, during the assembly process. With a coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) similar to that of metal, ULTEM 3473 resin provides dimensional stability under a wide range of operational temperatures, from -40°C to 150°C, over the long term. Dimensional stability of the material, in turn, helps ensure consistent signal filtering of the RF cavity filter by minimizing dimensional variations over these temperature ranges. In contrast, the CTE of filled PPS products increases significantly at temperatures above 85°C to 90°C, according to SABIC internal testing.

Apart from ULTEM 3473 resin’s advantages of low CTE and SMT capability, it provides excellent surface metallization performance during the chemical plating process. The result is good adhesion of the metal layer to the matrix, with low surface roughness. These factors help ensure low signal loss and long-term reliability.

Customers that opt for new integrated AFU designs made with ULTEM 3473 resin can significantly reduce cycle times compared to casting and machining aluminum. Injection molding multiple one-piece components can help manufacturers increase throughput, respond more rapidly to growing demand for 5G components and potentially reduce additional weight and system cost of 5G macro cells.

“Our new ULTEM 3473 resin is the first product in the portfolio that targets 5G macro cells and other electrical devices,” said Siguang Jiang, staff scientist, SABIC. “In addition to critical properties such as good dielectric constant and dissipation factor performance, the material offers increased heat resistance for the SMT assembly process. Its improved flowability helps customers achieve miniaturized, complex designs. Besides being an excellent candidate for 5G networking, ULTEM 3473 resin is potentially applicable to other sectors, such as industrial or electrical segments that require weight reduction solutions.”

Arburg at MSV: Showing What the Industry Needs!

• Production efficiency: electric Allrounder for for energy-efficient series production
• Automation: powerful solutions with local partners
• Digitalisation: “arburgXworld” customer portal and ALS host computer system

MSV, which will take place in Brno from 4 to 7 October 2022, is the most important mechanical engineering trade fair of the year for the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Arburg stand (Hall G1, no. 029) reflects that market is traditionally very important for the company. Two exhibits will demonstrate production-efficient series manufacturing on an electric Allrounder as well as the possibilities that adapted automation solutions can open up in day-to-day operation. The stand will also feature a demo station of the portal “arburgXworld” and its apps, as well as for the ALS Arburg host computer system as an overarching manufacturing execution system (MES).

Daniel Orel, Managing Director of the Czech Arburg subsidiary in Brno, explains the significance of MSV for the region and for Arburg: “This trade fair is extremely important for our customers in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. With its 50-year history and around 70,000 visitors attending every event, MSV enables us to present our technology portfolio to attendees and also gives us plenty of time to discuss the latest developments in the plastics industry with them.”

Digitalisation and production efficiency
For Daniel Orel, two key topics are digitalisation and production efficiency with a focus on energy requirements. The topic of digitalisation will be represented by an info station showcasing all the apps of the “arburgXworld” customer portal and explaining their functions and how they are combined in the different equipment packages. This station will clearly demonstrate how customers can boost flexibility in their day-to-day work and save time and money through intensive use of the apps.
The topic of energy requirements is also closely linked to the arburgGREENworld programme and its focus on circular economy and saving resources. For Czech and Slovak processors, the main priority is to make savings in this area in order to make production more efficient and avoid high energy costs. The hybrid and electric Allrounders are particularly helpful thanks to their highly energy-efficient operation.
At the MSV, an electric Allrounder 520 A with 1500 kN clamping force and size 400 injection unit is presented. This machine is equipped with a single-cavity mould from a Czech company to make a lunch box out of PP as an example of a classic packaging item. The cycle time is 20 seconds. The free gift – one for every visitor – clearly demonstrates a production-efficient and energy-efficient series manufacturing process can be used to produce plastic parts.

High-performance automation solutions
MSV also gives the Czech subsidiary an opportunity to demonstrate the capabilities of the Arburg Technology Factory (ATF) which houses a showroom, consulting service, spare parts facility and training opportunities alongside a machine warehouse, customer-specific machine modifications and the implementation of turnkey systems with local partners.
The second exhibit is a Kuka six-axis robot, whichs showcasse the possibilities offered by robot systems in automation solutions and turnkey systems from Arburg. The robot will build a model of the hybrid Allrounder 1120 H out of Lego bricks and take it apart again, demonstrating its accuracy and precision every time. The building kit consists of four different components and there will be a separate gripper, which can be changed automatically, for each of these component assemblies. The robot features a QR code scanner which can be used to read the codes of each subcomponent. This allows an image of the relevant component to be displayed on a screen along with an accompanying description.
Daniel Orel describes the aim of this demo setup: “As well as showing our customers the model of the Allrounder 1120 H with its parameters on the screen, we also want to demonstrate the potential robot, the gripper change and the scanner and how external products and peripheral equipment can be fully integrated.” This application is of particular interest for the companies from the extensive Czech and Slovak automotive production industry, who will need to keep automating and digitalising their processes in order to remain competitive both now and in the future.

MSV will showcase economic development
Daniel Orel also sees MSV as an opportunity to take stock of the situation in the plastics industry over the next few months up to the end of the year: “We should be able to identify the trends that are set to shape short-term developments in these uncertain times. By speaking to our customers, we get an idea of their situation and find out what is important to them at the moment and we have a good mix of information that will help us to give our customers appropriate advice and support them with their work.”

Arburg at Drinktec: innovative reusable cups

• Unique: reusable foam-moulded cups with future potential
• Strong together: combined expertise of our partners
• Versatile: broad Arburg portfolio for the beverage industry

Arburg will attend Drinktec in Munich from 12 – 16 September 2022 to showcase a pioneering application: at the Arburg stand 224 in Hall C 5, visitors will discover an outstanding innovation in the field of reusable cups. Arburg will demonstrate how an electric Allrounder 520 A injection moulding machine can produce foam-moulded IML cups from Bockatech, which are not only very light and very well insulated but also recyclable after multiple uses.

“At the World’s Leading Trade Fair for the Beverage and Liquid Food Industry, we will present a real innovation in packaging,” says Andreas Reich, Arburg’s Director Central Sales & Applied Technologies. “Manufacturing individual, reusable thermo cups using the Allrounder 520 A combines the EcoCore and MuCell processes with in-mould labelling for the first time – ensuring stable, quick and cost-effective series production.” This reusable cup by Bockatech is more stable than a paper or thermoformed cup of the same weight. In addition, the manufacturing process uses significantly less material. The end product is a very well insulated reusable cup that is even dishwasher-safe.

Strong partners
The cups, which are injected on an electric Allrounder 520 A with Gestica control system and MuCell package, are the product of a partnership with Bockatech and the other partners Borealis (material), Trexel (MuCell), Roboplas (IML automation) and MCC Verstraete (IML labels).
By combining EcoCore technology from Bockatech and Arburg’s high-performance machine with the “aXw Control ScrewPilot” for stable mould filling and the “aXw Control PressurePilot” for bionically optimised pressure control, the cups can be manufactured quickly and with low energy consumption. The cycle time for a 430-millilitre container is only around 5.5 seconds.

Light, stable and insulating, with an individual design
The material is enriched both chemically with a blowing agent (CO2) and physically using the MuCell process with nitrogen. This homogeneous solution is injected through a hot runner with a needle shut-off nozzle. The single-cavity mould then opens and the part expands. The resulting integral foam structure, with fine foam cells with diameters between five and 50 micrometres, is ultimately crucial for cooling and thermal insulation. The foam-moulded walls have a thickness of two millimetres, making them almost four times larger than those at the beginning of the process. The foam-moulded cup therefore has very good insulating properties and is suitable for hot and cold drinks. At the same time, it is very stable and can be produced with any design using the IML process.

Broad portfolio for the beverage industry
As a system partner, Arburg has many years of experience in the manufacture of closures for beverages and special items, specifically of multi-component closures. For which cube technology and Allrounder Cube machines are predestined. To implement optimised solutions in this sector, Arburg has the very experienced partner Foboha on its side. The Cube machines can manufacture standard and special closures from one, two or three components at very high levels of output with a small footprint. Not only that, but this is a reliable process, even for the processing of recyclates, PCR materials or bio-plastics. This topic, alongside resource efficiency, CO2 footprint and Circular Economy is an important component of the ‘arburgGREENworld’ programme.

A one-stop shop
Mould technology often has a big role to play in the manufacture of closures, e.g. for unscrewing and fitting lids. Electric mould functions of this kind can be implemented efficiently using the products from AMKmotion, since 2021 a company in the Arburg family.
Arburg therefore does more than supply injection moulding technology. It also provides its customers with professional project management and comprehensive consultancy support for the development of turnkey solutions for the beverage industry.