Plastics News Daily Report - May 10, 2018 - 94

94 ‹ PLASTICS NEWS DAILY REPORT ‹ May 10, 2018

By Don Detore
Plastics News Correspondent
The demand for miniaturization,
particularly in the medical and electronic device sectors, has prompted
MHS-Mold Hotrunner Solutions Inc.
to release its next generation M3 microinjection molding machine.
The product, along with the new
line of cooling-free, zero-maintenance valve gate actuators, is on
display at NPE2018.
Georgetown, Ontario-based MHS
expanded its product range for high
injection molding solutions with its
new M3, Model M-3-D08. It is the
only dedicated microinjection molding machine capable of producing
small, direct-gated plastic parts on
a large scale.
Its electropneumatic molding
cell delivers both high-volume and
low-volume production capabilities
to industries that require extreme
precision, quality, speed and flexibility, the company said.
"We believe micromolding plays a
critical part in the future of plastics
production, and that now is the time
for a big leap forward," said Harald
Schmidt, president of MHS.
Schmidt said his company wants
to take microinjection from a niche
enterprise to the mainstream.
"The M3 makes it easy for OEMs
and molders to get into the game,"
he said. "Injection molding precision plastic parts has never been
this easy, efficient or profitable."
The features of the M3 include:
* High quality, direct gated parts
without wasted cold runner material or secondary processes.
* Faster cycle times for small
parts, ranging from 0.0001-0.400
grams, generally ranging from four
to five seconds, depending on the
part.
* Extremely high production out-

Plastics News photo by Joe Wilssens

MHS releases updated micro injection machine
BOOTH W8081
MHS-MOLD HOTRUNNER
SOLUTIONS INC.
puts of up to 60 million direct gated
plastic parts per year.
* Fast, cost-effective prototype
molding and low-volume molding.
* Ability to produce two different
part designs with each shot, each
with different part weights.
* ISOKOR injection technology,
which reduces melt residence time
and protects resin morphology.
* Portable, easy to move with leveling castors.
* Integrated automation with
standard touchless parts and takeout.
* User-friendly machine controls
with a large touch screen interface
and secure cloud access.
* Clean room friendly.
According to the company, the latest iteration of M3 --- the first version
was first introduced in 2013 --- offers
all the advantages of direct valve
gate runner technology. Part quality, cycle times and scrap material
waste are all improved compared
with cold runner technology, MHS
said, providing substantial savings
when molding costlier plastics such
as polyetheretherketone (PEEK) or
bioabsorbables.
Using conventional cold runner
micromolding, MHS said it is common for the weight of the runner
to be several times greater than
the weight of the part produced.
This new machine can direct gate
parts as small as .000 grams with a
fine gate diameter of 0.5 millimeters
(0.197").
The high pressure ISOKOR injection process, MHS said, improves
the quality and consistency of each
part. Since the machine uses a lower melt residence time than conven-

MHS-Mold Hotrunner Solutions President Harald Schmidt presented the company's all-new generation of
its M3 microinjection machines, a new injection process for high precision medical and electronic parts, at
NPE2018.
tional machines, plastic degradation, a challenge in micromolding, is
eliminated.
The M3 prevents a molder from
having to monitor the material since
only a minuscule amount of plastic
is moved through the system.
"We want everyone to start
thinking small," Schmidt said. "It
can be made with plastics, at this
scale and speed, and direct gated,
there are so many advantages and
possibilities."
The M3, however, is not restricted to microparts. The company
said having enough clamp force
and shot volume to produce larger small parts, as well as it has the

ability to expand the number of
parts produced on one machine.
MHS is also using NPE2018 to introduce its latest line of cooling-free,
zero-maintenance valve gate actuators that cover a wide range of injection molding applications.
MHS said the line features internally actuated Rheo-Pro IVG nozzles and manifold mounted black
box cylinders for what the company calls a "bulletproof" performance to plastic part applications
of every size for various industries.
The products are built entirely
without O-rings or lubricant, so
that practically no amount of heat
or force can wear them out, even

at temperatures of 850° F. With no
o-rings or lubricants, the pistons
require very little maintenance
over the life of a mold, which the
company said is an advantage over
other pneumatic, hydraulic or electric shutoff actuators, including
those without high-temperature
materials.
"Valve gating is still very much
a growth market as manufacturers
around the world move to automated and more efficient injection
molding production," Schmidt said.
"We feel we now have the most reliable and user-friendly hot runner
systems in the world, and we plan
to disrupt that space."

By Jim Johnson
Plastics News Staff
A Minnesota extruder is teaming
up with an Italian maker of thermoforming machines to bring something new to NPE2018, they said.
And it's all with help from a New
Jersey guy.
And the way Ed Husvar sees
things, using crystallized polylactic acid resin to make compostable
food trays makes perfect sense for
folks looking to make an environmental difference.
The CEO for Emory Group LLC
of Lincoln, N.J., says production of
thermoformed CPLA food trays is
taking place for the first time ever
at an NPE show.
The trays are being formed
from a resin that is treated with a
nucleating agent to create crystallization, a process that allows for
expanded use of traditional PLA in
higher temperature applications,
said Husvar.
Husvar's Emery Group is a sales
agent for Advanced Extrusion Inc.
of Rogers, Minn., which manufactures CPLA sheet by treating traditional PLA with the nucleating
agent during the melt cycle.
OMG srl, the Italian thermoform-

ing machine maker, is working with
Advanced Extrusion to produce
the trays at the show at the OMG
booth.
Advanced
Extrusion
sheeting made from CPLA withstands
a surface temperature of up to
275° F, making the material microwave-friendly, Husvar said. This
differs from traditional PLA, which
is more temperature-sensitive, he
said.
John Thibado is owner of Advanced Extrusion and developed
the CPLA sheeting that he says is
the only kind of its type on the market. Other companies, he said, have
run trials on CPLA, but he believes
he is the only one commercializing
the product right now.
"End use applications are food
service where a lot of cities, communities are requiring the stop
use of [polystyrene] foam trays,"
Thibado said. "Even PET trays that
are highly recyclable are now being
taken out of the food service industry. So this is a great alternative to
service that market," he said.
The Advanced Extrusion owner
said there were not many challenges on the formulation side in creating his CPLA product line. There
are currently three formulations

Plastics News photo by Jim Johnson

OMG, Advanced Extrusion team up for CPLA tray
BOOTH S34043
OMG SRL

ROOM S230-14
ADVANCED EXTRUSION INC.
available.
"The challenges were not so
much on the extrusion side. There
were tests we had to do on the material to ensure it would perform in
the intended markets we wanted to
serve. The challenges were more
on our customers, the thermoformers, having them understand the
shrink rates, having them understand their equipment," he said, as
it relates to using CPLA.
OMG President Roberto Fretta was on the show floor near the
company's PVE72 model thermoformer that is making food trays
from Advanced Extrusion sheet.
His company decided to work
with the material as a way to differentiate itself from other thermoform machine manufacturers also
at the show.
"Normally in the fair, every company that builds the thermoforming machine go all the time with

Roberto Fretta, president of OMG srl. (left), and John Thibado, owner of
Advanced Extrusion Inc., hold a CPLA tray made at NPE.
PET, polypropylene, PET, polypropylene, PET, polypropylene. So we
said we see something new. So we
decided to jump with this guy and
this new material," Fretta said.
Thibado said, "OMG, they are
always an innovator as it relates
to their thermoforming machines.
OMG, they have some unique features that are standard that complement our process. They were a
perfect fit for us to collaborate with
us on this show."
Husvar said the material has en-

vironmental advantages.
The CPLA is compostable, which
allows consumers to place their
containers in with other more-traditional compost such as yard
waste and food debris. Individuals can put the CPLA trays in with
compostables collected and sent to
commercial facilities or place them
in their own backyard compost
piles, Husvar explained.
"It's a step above biodegradable.
It's compostable," Husvar maintained.

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