Plastics Plus Technology will have a display booth set up at the up at the Annual Manufacturers summit on Thursday, February 14th 2019 at the Riverside Convention Center.
This event is put on by the Manufacturers Council of the Inland Empire who’s Aim is to provide education on manufacturing topics to companies, individuals, and the community.
Overmolding is the process of injection molding a component using two different materials. Typically a rigid material is overmolded with a soft thermoplastic elastomer(TPE). There are many different reasons why you may choose to overmold, these reasons include: styling, weatherproofing or ergonomics. There is no doubt that you have seen parts that have been produced in this manner. Your toothbrush is a perfect example as most tooth brushes are manufactured from a rigid polypropylene material and have softer TPE grips that are overmolded. TPE overmolds can be essential for critical applications where you need a non-slip grip or better control and tactile feel.
Other types of overmolding include insert molding. A screwdriver is a great example of an insert mold. The steel screwdriver is inserted into the mold and plastic is overmolded onto the steel creating a handle. In some cases the handles can be molded with several different materials to create a different look or feel.
Product Design Considerations
As with any injection molded product, Good product design is essential to reduce cost and improve the quality of the end product.
Material Considerations
You can overmold TPE over a variety of different materials. TPEs can be formulated to bond to different materials so it is important to work with the material supplier to select the most appropriate material for your application. Here is a short list of some of the materials commonly used as the base substrate in overmolded components:
Tooling Design Considerations
The tooling design will be heavily dependent on your estimated annual volumes and target pricing. For very high volume parts with a low target cost, we would select tooling capable of running fully automatic. This would require specialized molding machines with multiple barrels capable of shooting more than one material at a time. The tooling is specialized and designed to fit a particular machine. These types of molds can be very expensive.
For lower volume parts, an operator or robot can manually place the substrate into the tooling and overmold the soft material. This process will require two tools, one to produce the substrate and another to produce the overmold. This can be done in a typical molding machine using a single barrel but would require multiple setups and a full time operator. The cost is higher but this is a better option for lower volume parts.
In around 1993 GE Plastics had a program where they recognized many of the women in the plastics industry. Our very own President, Kathy Bodor was selected to be a part of this group of woman from all around the country. The program was called GE’s Women of Plastics. All of the Nominees were invited to NBC Studios to meet and at the time GE owned NBC Studios. While at NBC, Kathy and her receptionist met the one and only Jay Leno.
Plastics Plus Technology Inc, has worked closely with one of our partners to develop 3d printed mold cavities for evaluating new injection molded part designs. With the help of our tool room PPT was able to configure a retired mud mold to accept 3d printed cores and cavities for use in prototype development.
The 3d printed cavities have been very helpful in market testing and bringing products to market quickly without the expense of a full blown injection mold tool. Currently we are producing small prototype parts from TPE materials but there is potential to create parts from ABS or other materials in future products. There are limitations on what types of materials we can ruwith the 3d printed cavities. 
For instance, high temperature engineering grade materials are not good candidates for cavities produced from this particular material. Generally materials with lower melt temps work best for use in 3d printed molds utilizing this technology. The cavities have poor cooling characteristics and the cycle times can be very long.
The 3D printed cores and cavities were produced with Vero white material on a Stratasys Polyjet 3D printer. This printer uses a process called photopolymerization to print objects. The photosensitive Verowhite resin material is applied layer by layer and cured with a UV light to create a very detailed and high resolution object. Parts and cavities produced with this kind of technology can have very good surface finish when compared to other 3d printed technology.
There are some design considerations to consider when developing parts that will use 3d printed mold cavities:
Tariffs have increased the cost of buying products from China. Components commonly used in injection molded products have been affected as well. These components include terminals that are used in electrical components, various inserts and other materials produced in China. At this time the tariff adds approximately 10% to the cost of the good sold but this could increase to 25% after 2019. Raw materials such as steel have higher tariffs.
A tariff of 25% on Imported Chinese steel has also been put into place. This added cost is cause for concern to molders who use imported Chinese steel to build their tooling. Naturally the injection mold industry is heavily dependent on steel for the production of their tools, for small precision close tolerance molds the raw material cost is only 10% of the total mold costs. Steel cost is a larger percentage of the cost for Large molds and molds that have less stringent quality requirements. For those molders who import finished mold tooling, the cost could be much higher, adding upwards of $10,000 to the mold cost. The good news is that the tariffs on steel produced elsewhere have been lifted. Steels produced in Mexico, Canada and Europe are not affected by these tariffs.
PPT works with local sources for tooling and materials so thus far we have not seen a big impact on tooling costs. Inserts however are another story, early in 2018 we immediately began to see tariff costs passed down from suppliers. Where possible, we searched for alternative sources for inserts and terminals that could be produced in the USA or Mexico.
While it appears that both China and the USA will eventually agree on a new trade deal, nobody can predict when. Until then, there will be pressure to use alternative sources produced anywhere but China.
The packaging industry is currently on blast, meaning, there are hundreds if not thousands of reports on how single-use and nonrecyclable packaging is devastating some of the most beautiful places on the planet. There have been disturbing videos of trash, debris, and indecomposable plastics washing up on shore in waves, literally. Single-use plastics are no doubt the culprit; often dumped into the ocean, river and washed down by rainstorms that result in huge environmentally impactful phenomenon like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, Beirut’s River of Garbage (Lebanon), La Pasion River crisis and the Dominican Republic beach full of trash.
While many city, state and federal governments have established prohibitions on single-use plastics, that will likely not be enough to reduce the impact that has already been done. In fact, there may not be a reasonable solution for years to come. However, companies who rely on plastics do have options for reducing their impact on the environment moving forward. A company who wants to be more environmentally responsible can do so in a variety of different ways:
Single-use packaging (grocery store bags, meat packaging, plastic wrapping, etc.) is one of the biggest contributors to the environmental crisis. The plastic is bad for the ecosystem, the animals that live there and will be bad for humans too! We are not immune to the chemicals that plastic can release once it is broken down by sea water; it can even end up in the food we eat like fish!
The best thing to do as a company going forward is finding solutions for packaging that can reduce the impact your product makes on the environment. Surprisingly, there are a lot of options and the list is growing as we progress with technology and awareness. Even if your company is committed to using plastic packaging, there are ways to make that packaging less or completely impactful on the environment. These changes can be costly or cost-effective, but either way, the environment will be the ultimate beneficiary of the move. However, your company can benefit too! There are plenty of branding opportunities with biodegradable plastics, and often consumers will look to see if you’re being environmentally responsible. Now more than ever!
If you want some examples of creative ideas for sustainable packaging, check out this blog post.
Authors note: My favorite packaging solution story is that of Saltwater Brewery’s Eco-Six Pack Rings. These rings are a really great solution to the disparaged plastic-ringed six packs.
Scroll to the bottom to see how our company has helped with our customer’s products and packaging.
While these two terms seem interchangeable, they are far from that. There are some key differences between biodegradable plastics and compostable plastics; each with their own set of properties and criteria.
Compostable Plastic is plastic which is “capable of undergoing biological decomposition in a compost site as part of an available program, such that the plastic is not visually distinguishable and breaks down to carbon dioxide, water, inorganic compounds, and biomass, at a rate consistent with known compostable materials (e.g. cellulose). and leaves no toxic residue.” American Society for Testing & Materials (ASTM).
In order for a plastic to be deemed compostable, it must meet three specific requirements:
Biodegradable Plastic is plastic which will degrade from the action of naturally occurring microorganism, such as bacteria, fungi etc. over a period of time. Note, that there is no requirement for leaving “no toxic residue“, and as well as no requirement for the time it needs to take to biodegrade.
For some of our customers, we offer biodegradable low-density polyethylene bags (ECLE).
These bags contain an additive that helps the material breakdown without compromising specs
like:
Shelf-life
Strength
Clarity
Printability
The biodegradable bags break down when in contact with other biodegradable substances found in landfills, home, and garden compost. The bags are offered in different colors, thicknesses and can be run on automated packaging systems. For more info on the bags itself, visit our supplier www.autobag.com.
Although not the only way, biodegradable packaging is one way to leave the planet less impacted by consumers. Like anything else, these bags and other sustainable packaging systems have to be disposed of properly to have the desired effect on the environment.
Want to learn more about our business? Here’s a quick introductory presentation made with Powtoon to give you an insight on what we do!
The world is producing more and more plastic waste everyday and it is important that designers take into account how their products will be discarded once they reach end of life. Traditional resin materials do not break down because bacteria do not have the capacity to break down the chemical bonds that the resin compounds are composed of. Sometimes, UV light or heat can break many of these bonds down but will create smaller and smaller particles which may not be very good for the environment, especially as these particles and chemical compounds are floating throughout the ocean and being injested by fish and wildlife.
New materials like PLA are composed of materials like corn syrup and have been designed so that bacteria can actually break down their chemical bonds in a relatively short amount of time. The long term environmental impact is greatly reduced when using PLA materials. Polylactic acid(PLA) is not derived from petroleum like most other plastic resins. It is made from abundantly available dextrose or Non GMO corn sugar. Corn is the number one source of sugar used to produce PLA but dextrose can be found in sugar beets, sugar cane, wheat or many other natural sources. Since PLA is not sourced from oil, its cost does not fluctuate with the price of oil. The biggest advantage of PLA materials is the fact that they are considered compostable.
PLA is compostable because the moisture and heat in a compost pile will attack the polymer chains and break them apart into small monomers which contain 
lactic acid. Microorganisms can metabolize Lactic acid and the remaining compounds and turn them into nutrients for the soil. The bi-products of composted PLA consist of carbon dioxide, water and soil nutrients. This is a much cleaner alternative to typical plastic resins and may be a great fit for certain applications. There are many different injection molding grades of PLA and manufacturers are constantly tweaking the formula of these materials to make them meet the needs of an ever growing list of applications.
One application were we have used this material is a dispensing spoon for quickly measuring formula. Like any job, there were specific requirements that the spoon had to meet, it had to be free of natural rubber latex and DEHP Plastisizer, but most importantly, the spoon had to be environmentally friendly. PLA was chosen because it easily meets the requirements for the application in a cost effective way.
There are huge advantages for utilizing Plastic resins to design parts and PLA is an interesting and environmentally friendly material to utilize on your next project. PLA is not perfect for every application though, contact PPT and we can help you in material selection for your application.
Plastics Plus Technology has dedicated a new molding machine to two of our long term employees. The new machine will be named Maisy, in honor of Maria and Deisy who have been with Plastics Plus Technology for over 30 years. The Machine will be fitted with decals and an inscription that reads “In honor of Maria Cordova & Deisy Quintanilla”
The new machine is a 200 ton Toyo all electric injection molding machine. This servo driven machine is more efficient, faster and more repetitive. The lack of hydraulics on the machine reduces the risk of contamination and will be important when we add our clean room operation. This machine is equipped with the latest in molding technology and it should serve as a valuable addition to our factory floor.
We are proud and thankful for the contributions that our employees have made to help build the company into what it is today and we are excited to get this machine up and running!
In an effort to keep up with the latest technology and improve efficiency, Plastics Plus Technology has added a new injection molding machine to our production floor. The new 55 ton Toyo all electric injection molding machine is faster and more efficient than a standard hydraulically operated machine. Since there are no hydraulic components the machine has less chance of contamination from oils and can operate in a clean room environment. This equipment is the first all electric machine in our facility, but it will certainly not be the last as our facility moves towards achieving the goal of reducing our impact on the environment.
Under construction. Check back later
Plastics Plus Technology is a woman-owned, USA contract manufacturer based in sunny Southern California. Our custom injection molding and value-added services can provide you with a one-stop job shop for all your injection molding needs. ISO 9001:2015, ISO 13485:2016 Certified. FDA Registered. Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs). WBENC.
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