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Focuses on the reliance of plastics processors on robots to enhance productivity. Assistance of robots in an array of functions; Retrieval of parts from the mold; Use of linear motors on part-removal robotics.

Focuses on the prototyping market. Price range of small machines for prototyping; Information on the prototyping market; identification of several injection molding manufacturers; Comments from the director of product management for 3D Systems, Mervyn Rudgely.

Reports on Forward Technology Industries Inc.'s development of a vibration welder designed for welding large or geometric parts by friction-induced heat. Description of equipment; Contact information.

Focuses on the need for plastic molders' active participation in solving color problems. Inconsistent feeding of colorant into machine, inadequate mixing of colorant, and incorrect formulation as common color problems; Right formula as a solution for color problems; Role of screw design in mixing capability; Advantages of using rotating disc technology; Trained eye as the final arbiter of color.

Focuses on trends in plastic materials and process technology showcased at the Society of Plastics Engineers' (SPE) Annual Technical Conference held in Indianapolis, Indiana on May 5-10, 1996. Vitamin E formulation from Hoffmann-LaRoche; Low-viscosity, maleated polyolefin impact modifiers for nylon; Ceramic microspheres for antiblocking applications.

Introduces Wayne Machine & Die Co.'s turnkey twin screw compounding lines used in the plastics industry. Features and functions.

Looks at medical processors and the challenges of the plastics industry. Information on challenges of industry; Details on medical processors; Information on strategies for successful processors; Importance of high-technology equipment.

Ponders on the role of centralized computer systems in plastics processing. Common uses of computers in the industry; Benefits from centralized systems; Computers and software used by various companies; Husky Injection Molding Systems of Canada's development of its own central computer system.

Describes technology introductions in injection molding. Prices of the more popular on-board controllers for injection molding; Control technology of injection molding; Companies involved in the development of new technology in injection molding; Description of reduced instruction set computation (RISC) technology.

Reports on technological advances in plastics processing which were featured at the 1994 NPE Show. Injection molding; Extrusion; Blow molding; Compounding and recycling; Auxiliary equipment; Materials; Tooling and components; Testing and measuring; Finishing.

Reports on the applications of large injection molding machines. Traditional association with automotive applications; Sampling of nonautomotive applications by companies; Return-on-investment.

Focuses on component selection for injection molding of plastics. Robots; Hot runners; Drives; Sensors; Heaters.

Focuses on automation capabilities offered by mold-temperature controllers. Benefits offered by integrated systems; Increased flexibility and simplicity for processors; Increase in the use of microprocessor controls; Increasing number of suppliers focusing on long-life products.

Reports on automation needs of granulator suppliers. Employment of size-reduction equipment in complex systems; Maximization of efficiencies of processors.

Reports on the trend among builders of all-electric injection machines to add larger sizes to their stables. Need for a machine to use electric servomotors to inject the resin, for screw recovery and to build clamp tonnage; Reduced electric consumption; Features of the all-electric Mitsubishi ME injection machine.

Examines the automation of both design and use of hot-runner molding systems. Benefits of systematic computer-assisted hot-runner design techniques; Specialization by moldmakers in hot-runner molds; List of primary markets.

Discusses the benefits provided by the use of automation in welding in mass production lines in the plastics industry. Improvement of both precision and speed of welds to eliminate rejects and increase the volumes; Mechanization of the parts to an ultrasonic welder by use of a positioning slide or rotary dial plate; Mass production of large polyamide structural components for truck air-intake housing.

Explains how machine maintenance offers plastics processors opportunities to boost revenues. Ferromatik Milacron's move to enforce its maintenance recommendations in Europe by writing them into leasing contracts; Maintenance practices in Japan and North America; Benefits of regular machine maintenance.

Reports on innovations in fabric insert molding systems that boost productivity and facilitate recyclability. Use of the systems to eliminate secondary operations; Use of the same basic resin for recycling like polypropylene; Patent-pending version of the 'cascade needle valve' technology of Van Dorn Demag's approach to fabric molding.

Reports on trends in hot-runner systems for plastics molding. Miniaturization and modularity as the dominant trends in the plastic molding sector; Factors that drive technological developments in plastics molding; Mechanical improvements in component and manifold designs of plastic molding equipment.

Focuses on automated assembly technologies and production advances in the plastics injection molding market. Purpose behind injection molders' adoption of automation systems; Optical media packaging as the target of injection machine model developments; Importance of automation on the success of injection molders.

Reports on the expanded integration of underhood systems through the multiple-part molding of automotive plastics. Strategic shift in the design of air-flow and fuel-flow systems; Molding of multiple components for assembly into one part through vibration or ultrasonic welding; Greater use of nylon 6.

Reports on design requirements for medical plastic molders in the United States. Material suppliers provision of requirement for specific applications; Development of proprietary processing techniques.

Describes the developments in robotics for injection molding. Virtual-reality programming; High-speed robot with a linear motor; Emergence of servomotor technology being designed into smaller robots and mass-produced in standard packages.

Reports a renaissance in the plastic industry's insert molding process. Increasingly recognized ability of insert molding to eliminate the cost of post-molding assembly; Flourishing of insert molding in highly automated transportation-component applications, electrical devices, medical components and telecommunications devices; Intensifying competition among machine builders to supply equipment.

Presents coating developments for molds and mold components. Release of titanium nitride coatings from Balzers Tool Coating Inc.; Chessen Group Inc.'s launch of its Cortin chromium nitride; Plasmatech Inc.'s development of the V55-GKM dual-frequency gas plasma system for surface modification.

Presents information on hot-runner systems, focusing on their use in several plastics molding applications. Advantages of hot-runner systems; Reference to demands faced by suppliers of hot-runner systems; Identification of companies which develop and supply hot-runner systems; Examination of advances made in hot-runner systems technology.

Looks at developments made to high-performance tools used in the moldmaking process. Objectives of developments made; Reference to some of the tools which have been improved; Details on some of the tools used in the moldmaking process; How tools can improve productivity.

Comments on the development of dryer technoloy as it relates to the plastic industry. Operation of sensing systems; Characteristics of a just-in-time molding environment; Advantages of retorfit options.

Focuses on the plastics industry and its automation options. Information on Norton Kaplan of Automated Assemblies Corporation; Statistical information on Kaplan; Details on the company Hekuma; Indepth look at the company CBW Automation.

Focuses on the increase in acceptance in the use of modular approaches to robotic end-of-arm tooling (EOAT) in North America. What EOAT entails; Advantages of implementing this method; Reference to the use of EOAT in the United States and Canada.

Gives information on the equipment which can be used in the plastic process. Information on the two-axis RMC 120-DI/O motion-control unit; Description of the low-share pumps; Details on other equipment.

Discusses the reasons why no more than 20 percent of processors have adopted computer-integrated manufacturing during the past decade. Main reason for this; Indication that this will change; Details on the failures of data-management systems during the 1980s and early 1990s; Comments from Amir Raza, general manager of the Mascon Products Division.

Presents information on the front-loading washer being used by Maytag Corporation aimed at premium segments of Northern American market. Detailed information on the design of the washer; Comments from David Ellingson, Maytag's director of product design engineering.

Presents information on the race between Hettinga Technologies Incorporated, Bayer Corporation and GE Plastics to commercialize film-based insert techniques for single-shot injection molding of automotive taillights. Details on the promotion being done by Hettinga; Other promotion by the companies involved; Comments from Bayer's business director for film at Bayer's Polymers Division, Peter Geise.

Presents information on the improvements in micro-technology. Identification of how this technology is coming to pass; What is the most difficult aspect of miniaturizing the technological components; Details on how they are performing.

Presents information on increasing sophistication as it relates to computer controls, mold sensors and additional monitoring devices. Factors associated with acquiring process and production data; Growth of enterprise-wide information systems; Requirements of production-monitoring systems; Features of a systems integrator developed by Graytech Systems; Comments by David J. Graybill, president of Graytech Systems.

Looks at multicomponent molding of plastic products by product designers in the plastics industry. Factors which play critical roles in success or failure of process and end product; Details on offshoot of the technology known as in-mold-assembly; Examples of in-mold-assembled parts; Obstacle in trying out large multicomponent molds; Typical versions of multicomponent molding. INSET: Basic shots and nozzles..

Introduces Automated Assemblies' AZ-10 Series Servo Robots specially designed for use with injection machines.

Presents several drying systems and dryer diagnostics packages for use in plastics processing plants. Includes the BAS-1000 dryer diagnostics package on Ohio-based Bry-Air's RD Series dryers; Ohio-based Comet Automation Systems' CDD-400 dryers; Connecticut-based Dri-Air Industries' compact PDII dual-hopper portable drying systems.

Looks at the growing acceptance of rigid polyvinyl chloride (PVC) materials for injection molding. Development of high-flow, easier-to-mold injection grade PVC materials as a factor behind this trend; Advances in PVC processing; Examples of applications.

Focuses on the use of robot builders in customized plastic molding. Engineering of work cells; Control systems; Part contacts concerns; Cycle-time savings.

Examines design and manufacturing challenges in the medical devices industry. Evolution of `high-end disposables'; Growth in demand for miniaturization; Concern over safety and comfort aspects in design of medical devices; Selection of material for a given application; Emergence of Asia as a base for production of commodity medical disposables.

Features the two chiller products for used in the plastics industry. Sterlco Vision line of chillers; Conair Tempro's line of 7.5-and 10-ton air-and water cooled models.

Focuses on the technological improvements in the screws and barrel designs used in injection molding of plastics. Use of suitable alloys to resist wear; Use of software programs to optimize screw designs; Ability of barrier screws to produce a high melt quality at a rapid recovery rate; New approaches in the optimum alloy composition.

Examines design innovations for hot-runner molds. Reduction of delivery times for manifolds and components; Reduction of amount of temperature deviation acceptable in the mold; Reduction of space available in molds for hot-runner components; Increase in commercial applications of hot-runner technologies.

Reports on the increased use of top-of-the-line servomotor-controlled systems in robotics. Advantages of servomotor technology; Utilization of three-axis frequency drive with single inverter motor control and rectilinear motions; Maintenance and repair of robots.

Looks at the growing popularity of small injection molding machines for plastics. Inherent benefits of small machines; Trend toward built-in abilities; Description of a number of these small machines.

Looks at advances in process controls for injection molding machinery for plastics. Examples of technology enhancements; Emphasis on control effectiveness at reasonable cost; Examples of these process control products.

Focuses on developments in injection molding technology which are keeping pace with technological developments in the compact disc (CD) industry. Agreement between groups led by Toshiba and Sony on common technical specifications for a unified digital video-disc (DVD) standard; Technologies being developed by moldmakers and builders of injection molding equipment for optical disk applications.