August 2023 Issue
August 2023
Digital Edition
Features
Featured articles from the August 2023 issue of Plastics Technology
Five Strategies for Cutting Reshoring/ Nearshoring Costs via Data Automation
Leveraging real-time data via tools like ERP and MES is one form of automation plastics processors can apply to capitalize on reshoring and nearshoring trends.
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Flexible-Film Processor Optimizes All-PE Food Packaging
Tobe Packaging’s breakthrough was to create its Ecolefin PE multilayer film that could be applied with a specialized barrier coating.
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Index Still Searching for Growth
But the good news is that June’s results were nearly a point above May’s.
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Processor Turns to AI to Help Keep Machines Humming
At captive processor McConkey, a new generation of artificial intelligence models, highlighted by ChatGPT, is helping it wade through the shortage of skilled labor and keep its production lines churning out good parts.
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Four Industry 4.0 Tech Adoption Insights from Indiana Plastics Manufacturers
As more plastics manufacturers step into the Fourth Industrial Revolution, insights have emerged about how best to approach the digital transformation journey.
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The Cost of High Employee Turnover in Injection Molding: Why Retention Matters
Starting in molding in 1993 and clocking in for nearly every job on the floor over the intervening decades, I’ve seen all sides of the hiring, training and retention process in the industry. Here are my thoughts on how to keep your most important asset — your people.
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PS Prices Plunge, Others Appear to Be Bottoming Out
PS prices to see significant drop, with some potential for a modest downward path for others.
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Attention Molders: Time to Get Serious About Sustainability
If you’re not looking at ways to make your injection molding operation more sustainable, perhaps you’d better get started.
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How Polymer Melts in Single-Screw Extruders
Understanding how polymer melts in a single-screw extruder could help you optimize your screw design to eliminate defect-causing solid polymer fragments.
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Is Your Die Flow Changing Despite Following All the Correct Formulas?
Maybe the problem is that you're starting up with a dry die. Here are tips to solve this issue.
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Foam-Core Multilayer Blow Molding: How It’s Done
Learn here how to take advantage of new lightweighting and recycle utilization opportunities in consumer packaging, thanks to a collaboration of leaders in microcellular foaming and multilayer head design.
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Design Optimization Software Finds Weight-Saving Solutions Outside the Traditional Realm
Resin supplier Celanese turned to startup Rafinex and its Möbius software to optimize the design for an engine bracket, ultimately reducing weight by 25% while maintaining mechanical performance and function.
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Tracing the History of Polymeric Materials: Part 31, The Conclusion
Let’s close this lengthy series with some personal anecdotes.
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Spring Water Bottler Opens rPET Facility
ADG Solutions Expands Recycling Product Line
Lindner Recycling Opens New Headquarters
Custom 3D Printed Parts Made From Bio-based Elastomers
Digital Inventory Startup Replique Spins Off From BASF
