DIEFFENBACHER optimizes material utilization Material-efficient carbon and SMC component production with Fiberforge and SMC cutting and packaging system

More than anything else, sustainable production means saving resources and using valuable raw materials as efficiently as possible. With its Fiberforge tape laying system and the fully automatic SMC cutting and packaging system, DIEFFENBACHER, a supplier of complete composite systems, offers two solutions that significantly reduce material consumption in the production of carbon and SMC components.

The DIEFFENBACHER Fiberforge enables fully automated production of layups from thermoplastic UD tapes for small and large series production. Using the special DIEFFENBACHER nesting method, the tapes are cut to the required length and combined into a layup in a load-oriented manner via a rotary table. “In the process, the tape ends can be trimmed at any angle between -45° and 45° to produce a contour with minimum waste,” explains Marco Hahn, Sales Manager of the Forming Business Unit at DIEFFENBACHER.

Different tape types, even with varying widths, thicknesses and reinforcing fibers, can be combined in one component without manual intervention. “The high degree of automation enables consistent component quality and high flexibility in component design. Compared to organo sheets, our customers achieve high material savings with the Fiberforge. In one sample application, we achieved just 6.7% waste with the Fiberforge, while with the organo sheet there was more than 50% waste. In addition, the angle cut enables diagonal cuts of the tapes and thus saves valuable material,” says Hahn.

By combining length and width cuts, the DIEFFENBACHER SMC cutting and packaging system can generate all conceivable cutting patterns. In accordance with the desired lay pattern, the intelligent nesting control determines the cutting pattern and optimizes material use. Weight deviations from the raw material are measured and actively compensated for in downstream stacking. Error-prone manual steps that could affect production quality are eliminated.

“Combined with our lay-up robotics and our stacking gantry, which is used to package individual blanks before they are inserted into the die, we offer our customers maximum flexibility for realizing the most complex lay-up patterns,” states Hahn. “We also help customers produce more sustainably, efficiently and cost-effectively with our solutions for minimizing energy consumption, which include our short-stroke presses and adaptive accumulator management,” Hahn adds. “Together with our customers, we are continuously working on implementing further ideas to increase sustainability.”

Coca-Cola Collaborates with Tech Partners to Create Bottle Prototype Made from 100% Plant-Based Sources

AQUAPAK SAYS IT IS RIGHT TO RAISE THE PROBLEMS THAT WET WIPES ARE CAUSING BUT TECHNOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE NOW TO MAKE THEM ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY

Labour MP Fleur Anderson says that as well as causing environmental damage, the cost of clearing wet wipes from blocked drains ends up on our water bills.  She is proposing a new law to ban the sale or manufacture of wet wipes that contain plastic. 

Commenting on the proposals, John Williams, Chief Technical Officer at Aquapak, said: “We are pleased that the issue of the environmental damage being caused to our sewerage systems and  waterways by wet wipes  is being raised. Current wet wipe design focusses on use rather than  disposal and we need to move to innovative materials to answer the problem whilst allowing continued use of this very useful product.”

“Our patented technology means there is now a solution to the problem. Aquapak’s Hydropol material allows the creation of completely flushable and biodegradable wet wipes on existing manufacturing equipment, whilst also using the functional properties of Hydropol – high tensile strength, controlled water solubility, excellent resistance to oils and greases. It gives wet wipe manufacturers not only an environmentally friendly product, but one which is highly functional and acceptable to the consumer.

“Therefore an outright ban on plastic in the manufacturing of wet wipes isn’t necessary; rather the focus should be on the selection of innovative and enabling materials to maintain the useful properties of wet wipes whilst resolving the problems of environmental damage, blocked drains and preventing associated costs from being passed onto consumers.“

Hydropol^TM – all the benefits of plastic without causing problems in rivers or sewers

Aquapak has developed a novel biodegradable, non-toxic and water-soluble polymer called Hydropol^TM which is three times stronger than alternatives and is designed to be used in existing thermo-processing equipment, giving it a wider range of applications.  Hydropol^TM enables nonwovens to retain their strength whilst enabling flushability and safe biodegradation.

The base plastic is currently used for dishwasher tablets, ingestible pill casings and soluble stitches.  Hydropol^TM ‘s resistance to low temperature solubility and high barrier to elements adds functionality, providing a wider range of uses.  It can be recycled, re-pulped, composted and is distinctively compatible with anaerobic digestion.  Furthermore, if unintentionally released into the natural environment or waste water system, Hydropol^TM – which is non-toxic to the environment and marine safe – will dissolve and subsequently biodegrade, leaving no trace.   

Blown film products commercially available and made from Hydropol^TM include garment bags, ESD bags, organic waste disposal bags and laundry bags for infection control.  Its solubility makes it easy to separate from other materials, simplifying the confusing recycling options that exist for different packaging.

Extrusion coatings and laminates for paper/board applications are at customer production trial stage, including a number of home delivery and ecommerce applications, packaging for dried pet food, snacks, cooked meat and convenience food applications.

Nonwoven fibres for applications such as wet wipes and cellulose combinations for thermoformed trays are currently in development and laboratory scale spunbond and meltblown fibres have been developed with collaboration partners such as NIRI.

www.aquapakpolymers.com

Life cycle assessment of Mondi’s paper for pallet wrapping shows lower climate impact

• Mondi commissioned an independent life cycle assessment (LCA) comparing its Advantage StretchWrap paper to conventional plastic stretch film.
• The ISO-based approach shows that the new paper pallet packaging performs better in several environmental impact categories including climate change, with 62% lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions when compared to virgin plastic stretch film.
• Mondi sees LCAs as a useful tool to analyse advantages of different material solutions and guide decision-making.

04 November 2021 – Mondi, global leader in packaging and paper, commissioned a life cycle assessment (LCA) comparing its new ground-breaking paper pallet wrapping innovation, Advantage StretchWrap, with conventional plastic stretch film wrapping. The full study was conducted by an external consultancy, is ISO-compliant and includes an external critical review. Based on the assumption that both materials are recycled at the end-of-life, the findings showed that the paper-based pallet wrapping by Mondi has a lower climate impact as one of the LCA indicators.

The basis of comparison is the potential environmental impacts arising from wrapping one pallet. The LCA examined 16 indicators to understand potential trade-offs between the two materials. It covers all relevant life cycle stages, from raw material extraction, production, up to the application on a pallet at the customer. In addition, the impact of the end-of-life stage is assessed.

The LCA found that Advantage StretchWrap has 62% lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions when compared to virgin plastic stretch film, and 49% lower GHG emissions when compared to plastic stretch film made with 50% recycled content. Advantage StretchWrap has a lower environmental impact than plastic in a number of categories including climate change and fossil resource use. The plastic stretch film did perform better in some indicators, such as land use and freshwater eutrophication.

Karoline Angerer, Product Sustainability Manager Kraft Paper & Paper Bags, Mondi, says: “Given the complexities of material choice, we see independent critical reviews as essential to ensuring LCAs that deliver objective and reliable results focusing on the environmental benefits of each material. At Mondi, we use these results as part of our decision-making process in line with our MAP2030 sustainability commitments. Our customers value our attention to detail and how we partner using our EcoSolutions approach to develop solutions that are sustainable by design.”

Gamut Capital Management to Acquire Davis-Standard

Gamut Capital Management, L.P. (“Gamut”), a leading New York-based middle market private equity firm, has announced today that they have signed a definitive agreement to acquire Davis-Standard, LLC and its affiliates (“Davis-Standard”) from ONCAP, the middle-market private equity platform of Onex (TSX:ONEX).

Davis-Standard is a leading supplier of extrusion and converting systems and related aftermarket products and services for the rigid packaging, flexible packaging and infrastructure end-markets with an installed base of approximately $7.5 billion of equipment globally.

“We are excited to partner with the Gamut team during this next phase of Davis-Standard’s long history as a provider of highly engineered solutions to an extensive base of industry-leading customers. The resources Gamut brings to this investment will enable us to not only accelerate growth within our markets but also transform Davis-Standard into a leading, value-added global process solutions business,” said Jim Murphy, CEO of Davis-Standard. “We achieved great growth and performance under ONCAP’s successful ownership and look forward to leveraging the strong foundation we built as we move into our next phase of growth.”

Jordan Zaken, Founding Partner of Gamut, said, “We are very excited to continue to grow the company alongside the Davis-Standard management team. As a leading player in extrusion and converting technologies for the packaging and infrastructure sectors, Davis-Standard offers not only the opportunity to expand with customers in fast-growing end markets, but also to further extend its service offering to support its customers in the aftermarket. Gamut is excited to continue to invest in the business to bolster the comprehensive solutions Davis-Standard provides to its customers in the areas of efficiency, sustainability and automation technology.”

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.

www.gamutcapital.com

arburgXvision 9: “Mould Strategy 2.0 – new ideas for reducing costs!”

• Ninth live programme: Around 450 viewers followed the interactive TV format
• Expert presentations: Correctly configuring, maintaining, and protecting injection moulds against wear
• Live presentation: Conserving moulds and machines and keeping processes constant

Lossburg, 02/11/2021

Once again, “arburgXvision” had a fascinating topic lined up for its viewers: “Mould Strategies 2.0”. In the ninth episode, Arburg experts Christoph Blöchle and Christian Homp presented strategies for significantly increasing the utilisation rate of injection moulding machines. In addition to the expert presentations, there were instructive live links hosted by Philipp Jarosch in Arburg’s Training Center. Around 450 people watched the interactive internet TV programme live on 28 October 2021. Anyone registered with “arburgXvision” can watch this and all previous episodes in the Media Centre.

In what was once again a very entertaining two hours, the experts competently shared valuable ideas and inspiration and interacted live with viewers to answer key questions. The main topics in theory and practice were strategies for protecting, preparing and monitoring injection moulds as well as tips for combating wear.

Interaction of machine, mould and controller

Christoph Blöchle, Technical Sales Manager at Arburg, argued that “each mould is only as good as the machine that it runs on”, adding that the aim was to produce high-quality mass-produced parts with an optimal price/performance ratio. This requires a low machine load, little wear on the mould, and fault-free operation. “In
other words, ‘Mould Strategy 2.0’ means the perfect interaction of machine, mould and controller," Christoph Blöchle underlined in his technical presentation. Machine technology plays a major role when it comes to symmetrical force application, platen parallelism and force distribution on the tie bars, for example. Key tips from an expert on protecting your mould: If there are process variations, the machine alignment should be checked first and the toggle-type clamping units adapted to different mould installation heights to ensure constant clamping force.

Strategy: Increase reliability – reduce wear

“The best mould strategy is actually really simple: increase reliability and reduce wear,” declared Christian Homp, Team Manager Applications. He went on to stress how important it was to find the perfect compromise between controllable technology and a high utilisation rate. “This starts with the selection of the right material, but also covers the issue of the use of hot runners and ejectors, considerations on flow path wall thickness ratios, and the selection of the right injection unit, drive technology and peripheral equipment,” said Christian Homp. As a supporting tool, he presented the “MachineFinder”, which can be used to determine the optimum machine technology for the requirements of the part and mould. He also explained how assistants such as the “aXw Control ScrewPilot” and “aXw Control ReferencePilot” provide support in a way that is easy on the mould. In addition, Homp talked about how various monitoring functions can be used to prevent damage to the mould during ongoing processes and how maintenance points can be programmed depending on the cycle.

Live link: Tips and tricks for moulds
Philipp Jarosch, Team Manager of the injection moulding facility, used two Allrounders in Arburg’s Training Center to demonstrate which mistakes to avoid when preparing machines and moulds and the various monitoring options available. He first showed how problems closing moulds can be solved by levelling the machine correctly instead of increasing the clamping force and hence wear. During the second live link, the injection moulding expert demonstrated how mould breathing could be monitored, for example, using a compression path sensor. He also explained how wear can be detected and how forces can be monitored and maintenance points set using the Gestica controller.

Mould and machine will communicate with each other
With moderator Guido Marschall, the experts reiterated how important it is to take a holistic view of the manufacture of a new product and to involve application technology advice at an early stage. “A well-designed mould strategy helps to protect your investment, reduce production costs, and increase part quality,” Christoph Blöchle emphasised. The direction in which Arburg is heading in terms of mould strategy was formulated by Christian Homp as follows: “In future, the mould will communicate directly with the machine controller and facilitate production. At Fakuma2021, we and one of our mould partners demonstrated for the first time how this can be done.”

Last programme of the year on 25 November 2021
Entitled “Sustainable production: Conserving resources in the plastics industry”, Arburg’s last programme of 2021 will address a particularly relevant topic. Experts Bertram Stern, Sustainability Manager, and Dr Philipp Kloke, Application and Process Development Engineer, will explain important aspects of sustainable and future-proof production and show how recyclates and bioplastics can be processed reliably and efficiently. Several live links will also give viewers a deep insight into injection moulding machine production in Lossburg.

To join the event and stay up to date, simply complete a one-off registration at www.arburgXvision.com. This provides free access to all previous events and to the Media Centre for this outstanding series of programmes.