Two Days Jam-Packed with Online Topics Ranging from Hardness Testing
Fundamentals to Best Practices, Calibration and More

Lake Bluff, Illinois… Buehler, an ITW Company is hosting Wilson Hardness Days, November 4-5, 2020.  This virtual educational program includes two half days of an immersion into Hardness Testing, Calibration, the Latest on Hardness Testers and DiaMet Software.  Hardness Days is part of the centennial anniversary celebration of Buehler’s Wilson hardness tester product line and is offered complimentary to all.
Dr. Mike Keeble, US Labs and Technology Manager and Dr. Evans Mogire, EU Labs and Technology Manager have planned educational programs for both beginners and experienced lab technicians.  Along with other Buehler experts they will share their knowledge on key hardness testing topics that will be of interest to Materials Labs at Universities, Research & Development Centers and Production Quality Control laboratories in many industries including automotive, aerospace, defense, and metals.
Dr. Keeble states, “As we celebrate Wilson, the hardness brand within Buehler, we want to mark this year with something special.  Many customers can’t travel to trade shows or our Solutions Centers to see the machines in action, so along with many other activities we decided to bring the lab to them with technical and educational webinars and now the Hardness Days event.”
Dr. Mogire adds, “Since we wanted to make this available to as many customers as possible, we decided to offer the program during the morning hours in the United States, which will allow our European customers to join us as well.  We are delighted to put this on and hope that this becomes a valuable resource for all industries that include hardness testing in their quality control programs.”
 
Attendees are invited to register once and obtain access to any or all of the online events.  Both days open at 9am CST and end at approximately 12:30pm CST.   The specific topic times are available on the web registration page; there will be 15 minute intermissions between topics for transition.  So participants can jump on or jump off as they like during the program.
The Wilson Hardness Days virtual event includes:

• Welcome to Buehler and Wilson Hardness
  • Wilson Hardness Equipment Overview
  • New Products Introduction Rockwell RH2150 and Universal UH4000
  • Plant Tours of Wilson Hardness Manufacturing in Illinois, USA and Shanghai, China
  • Tour of the Hardness Test Block Calibration Laboratory in Binghamton, New York

• Fundamentals of Hardness Testing Webinar

This webinar will provide a backgrou­­­­­nd to hardness testing, including its development and common uses.  It will outline the principles of hardness testing techniques, how they work and core requirements for using them.

• Troubleshooting & Best Practice for Hardness Testing Webinar

The commonly used hardness testing techniques will be discussed.  Best practice guidelines for hardness testing will be provided, as well as an outline of common problems, how to recognize them and how to avoid them.

• Live Demonstrations of DiaMet Software Webinar

Automated Hardness Testing is driving a revolution in efficient quality control evaluation. This session will include the following demonstrations of how software allows us to improve speed and reproducibility, creating confidence in testing and efficiency in your hardness testing process.  The demonstrations will cover:

• • Case Hardened Depth:  Gear with Multi-locations and Multi-Sample Testing
  • Hardness Mapping:  Additive Manufactured (Medical) and Welds
  • Coating Testing: All about the Indents
  • Weld Testing: DiaMet Tools to Make It Easier

• Best Practices of Test Blocks with Daily & Indirect Verification

This session discusses the challenges related to the manufacturing and calibration of hardness test blocks and their use in daily verification.   In particular, details concerning accreditation, metrological traceability, and hardness standards will be reviewed.
In addition to Dr. Keeble and Dr. Mogire, presenters include Julien Noel, Buehler General Manager and ITW Vice President; Benjamin Mangrich, Americas Commercial Director; Sarah Beranek, Global Director of Innovations; Doug Ngai, Hardness Applications Engineer; Matthias Pascher, Hardness Product Manager; Mike Connors, Senior Service Technician; Sandra Brosious, Metallurgic & Quality Control Supervisor for Test Block Lab; and Ryan Wise, Hardness Production Manager. If you cannot attend all the programs, simply register and you will receive access after the event.  Questions and answers will be handled by our team at the end of each presentation and may be submitted in advance on the webinar registration page.
www.buehler.com/buehler-webinar-registration.php / https://www.hardnesstestingdays.com / www.buehler.com / https://www.buehler.com/newsletter-signup.php / www.itw.com
 
 

APK Relies on Coperion ZSK Extruder Technology for Newcycling
For its innovative, solvent-based plastic recycling process Newcycling, APK AG in Merseburg, is relying on the high-performance ZSK extruder technology and technical process expertise from Coperion. Using the Newcycling process, multi-polymer and multi-layer plastic packaging, that previously could not be recycled, can now be separated and processed into homogeneous regrind using ZSK twin screw extruders. In contrast to chemical recycling, the polymer in this process remains unchanged and does not require energy- and cost-intensive re-polymerization. Newcycling, therefore, is highly efficient from a cost and from an environmental perspective.
Thanks to the innovative, solvent-based Newcycling treatment, as well as the excellent devolatilization performance and gentle material handling in the ZSK extruder, the quality of the recyclates is close to that of virgin product.

Plastic Waste as Challenge and Opportunity
The amount of plastic waste produced daily is one of the greatest problems of modern times. Worldwide, nearly 80 million tons of plastic packaging waste accrues annually. Of this amount, currently only about 10 percent of the resources used are recovered by recycling. 90 percent of it is incinerated, dumped into landfills, or littered into the environment.
The necessity of a circular plastic economy has never been greater. With its innovative Newcycling process, APK is laying an important cornerstone for achieving the goal of greater sustainability and higher recycling rates in the plastics industry.
This one-of-a-kind physical and solvent-based process enables clean and single-origin polyamide (PA) and polyethylene (PE) pellets with virgin-near material character to be extracted from complex PA/PE multi-layer films. These recyclates can be reused in high-quality products up to the original application. Downcycling can thus be reduced and closed-loop recycling becomes possible.
Newcycling – An Economical and Ecological Sensible Recycling Process
In Newcycling at APK’s Merseburg location, PA/PE multi-layer film is first mechanically pre-treated, undergoing among other things shredding and classification. Next, the PE layer is dissolved and liquefied in a solvent bath, leading to separation of the polymers and polymer layers. The undissolved PA is then separated from the dissolved PE using conventional solid-liquid separation technology and the polymers are further processed in separate material streams.
The PA is introduced into a Coperion ZSK twin screw extruder where it passes through various process sections and is processed into a high-quality PA melt using very high dispersion performance and intensive devolatilization. Finally, it is pelletized into first-class PA recyclates.
Following pre-evaporation, the PE is likewise introduced into a ZSK twin screw extruder together with the solvent. There, intensive devolatilization of the liquid takes place, precisely calibrated for this application to produce first-class results even when PE/solvent ratios fluctuate. The solvent is completely volatilized and added back into the Newcycling process in a closed loop. PE remains in the form of a homogeneous, high-quality melt that is then pelletized. The PE recyclate possesses quality similar to that of virgin product.
PE recyclate manufactured using APK’s Newcycling technology and marketed under the brand name Mersalen, as well as PA recyclate sold under the brand name Mersamid, stand out for their high product quality and substantial reductions in emissions. Newcycling recyclates exhibit on average 66% fewer emissions than virgin material of a given plastic. In pointing out the market potential for it, Klaus Wohnig, CEO of APK explains: “Our recyclates’ very high degree of purity has been confirmed by numerous expert reports. Mersalen for example is suited for a wide range of applications such as cosmetics packaging.” Jochen Burger, Process Engineer at Coperion, elaborated: “In APK’s innovative Newcycling process, we see a very important step along the path to a circular economy in the plastics industry. Thanks to the use of first-class technologies and comprehensive process expertise from APK and Coperion, very high-quality recyclates are being manufactured. At the same time, the process saves energy and resources because it replaces cost-intensive new plastic production. In this way, we are serving the environment and future generations. Coperion is proud to support APK in this innovative process.”
 
www.coperion.com / www.apk-ag.de

Production using green electricity and offsetting of unavoidable emissions with carbon certificates

Global manufacturer of plastic packaging and recycling specialist the ALPLA Group is unveiling the world’s first carbon-neutral recycled PET.
ALPLA switched its PET Recycling Team plants in Wöllersdorf, Austria, and Radomsko, Poland, to a mix of electricity from renewable sources in order to produce carbon-neutral rPET (= recycled polyethylene terephthalate). ‘This step has already had a big impact on the carbon footprint of our food-grade regranulate – according to the calculations, emissions are cut by up to 90 per cent compared with virgin material. The feedback from the market regarding this further development has been very good,’ explains Georg Lässer, Head of Recycling at ALPLA.
The company is now offering its customers carbon-neutral rPET based on the purchase of certificates. The remaining, unavoidable emissions relating, for example, to delivery of the input material to the plants, are then offset with carbon certificates. ‘The world’s first carbon-neutral regranulate can make a significant contribution to climate protection and highlight the value of used plastics,’ says Lässer.
Carefully selected projects with a social background
ALPLA has selected specific projects in cooperation with the climate neutrality alliance Klimaneutralitätsbündnis 2025 and the NGO Helioz. A reforestation project in Nicaragua is being supported. In China, traditional coal-fired stoves are being replaced with ovens run on biomass. These not only vastly reduce emissions, but also prevent the health implications caused by harmful exhaust air. In Ethiopia, 5,000 household packages (modern stoves, vegetable seeds, seedlings, training) are being financed. In regions in Asia and Africa, ALPLA is supporting the organisation Helioz, which provides solar devices that monitor water disinfection using PET bottles.
Recycling for climate protection
Based on life cycle assessments, packaging types containing a high proportion of recycled material have the least impact on the climate. With the world’s first carbon-neutral rPET, ALPLA is helping its customers to achieve their sustainability goals. ‘We are once again demonstrating that close collaboration between packaging developers, packaging manufacturers and recycling experts can lead to solutions which set an example for the industry as a whole,’ Lässer concludes affirmatively.
www.alpla.com / www.klimaneutralitaetsbuendnis2025.com / helioz.org
 

ST BlowMoulding was established in 1980, on the occasion of its 40th anniversary, we are pleased to dedicate a thought to those who took part in its history. It has been 40 years of goals, choices and sometimes daring changes, constant commitment and a lot of satisfaction.

One of the greatest successes of ST BlowMoulding, leader in suction blow moulding technology, is the ASPI Series blow moulding machines, of which, in just over 10 years, it has sold more than 140 machines. Even in the technological field, there was no lack of significant innovations such as the 4WDS lateral radial thickness control system and D-Print / W-Print parison marker devices.
Furthermore, the last few years highlight the ever more constant presence of ST BlowMoulding in the industrial packaging field with the increasing production of blow moulding machines for the manufacturing of IBC and machines with parison transfer technology for L-Ring drums.
Today, ST BlowMoulding has over 400 machines sold worldwide and an increasing investment in research and development of new technologies.
A special thanks goes to those who have believed in us over the years: our partners and customers who have honored us with their trust, the employees, and all the professionals who with their passion and competence, have contributed making this milestone possible.
Moving Forward, by Your Side.

UK’s National Centre for Additive Manufacturing supports Formula Student race team’s electrification ambitions

The Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), part of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, supported by Innovate UK, is focused in accelerating the UK’s industrial growth, developing and proving innovative manufacturing processes and technologies together with creating and embedding future skills.
Driving the commercialization of additive across the UK’s manufacturing sector
Accelerating the adoption of additive manufacturing is a specific focus for the National Centre for Additive Manufacturing Centre (NCAM), part of the MTC. NCAM works with a growing ecosystem of member partners, companies of all sizes and research institutes to challenge the boundaries of additive manufacturing regionally and nationally.
For the past three years, the NCAM’s DRAMA research project has helped build a stronger additive supply chain for the UK’s aerospace sector – an industry which has the largest number of small and medium sized enterprise (SME) companies in Europe.

The automotive sector and motorsports have also been the lifeblood of manufacturing in the West Midlands – one of the UK’s industrial heartlands. For generations the region has been the crux of invention, technology and innovation that has defined motoring and mobility globally.
So, it’s fitting that the NCAM’s Coventry-based team has been using additive technology to continue that innovation legacy and pushing the boundaries of automotive engineering with one of the UK’s leading formula student racing teams.
Electron Beams meets Electrification
Over the past three years, the MTC has been working with Oxford Brookes Racing (OBR), the formula student racing team at Oxford Brookes University, on various projects. After a long and successful history of combustion entries in the hotly contested formula student competition, OBR was keen to make the shift to all-electric for the 2020 season.
Once again, the OBR team turned to NCAM to explore the potential of additively manufacturing a complex and critical part that connects the suspension link, the brake mounts, the wheel, as well as housing the gearbox to the race car’s electric motor.
The part is based around a 4WD in-hub motor configuration with AMK AC servo motors mated to a compact epicyclic gearbox capable of producing over 300 N-m of torque at each wheel. Energy is supplied from a 600V, 6.6 kW-hr battery pack using lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) pouch cells with a peak output of over 130 kW. All to be managed through an open controls platform, ideal for implementing torque vectoring and advanced vehicle controls to unleash the full performance potential of an electric race car.
“Our team was aiming not only to develop a platform to take on the other top Formula Student teams in the world, but to also serve as a test bed for innovation in electric vehicles and controls software. It has also given us an opportunity to be on the forefront of not only performance, but also the industry by gaining both the knowledge and hands-on experience working with electric vehicles,” comments Charles Boileve at Oxford Brookes Racing.
“We’re here to help wherever we can. In fact, the OBR team already had a strong concept and design for additive in mind, which was about 90% there. Our team was able to add our deep additive expertise, offer guidance and add that remaining 10% in order to get the project up and running,” says Ruaridh Mitchinson, product development leader at NCAM.”
“The collaboration case study project enabled demonstration of the full AM end‑to-manufacturing process; from a conception idea to design for AM, manufacture, inspection and post processing machining. The most exciting thing was working closely with MTC Design for Additive and process engineering experts to fully explore the EBM AM process capability, as well as disseminating the knowledge to Oxford Brookes racing team,” adds Mitchinson.
Core to the NCAM team’s expertise is identifying and tailoring the most appropriate technology for a specific application. In the case of the OBR part, electron beam melting (EBM) and a GE Additive Arcam EBM Q20plus were selected from a wide selection of technology at the center’s disposal. Once EBM was selected as the most appropriate, Emmanuel Muzangaza a senior research engineer at NCAM, worked closely with the OBR team on its part.
EBM systems create dimensionally accurate parts quickly and efficiently by utilizing a high-power electron beam. The process takes place in vacuum and at high temperatures, resulting in stress-relieved components with material properties better than cast and comparable to wrought material.
Some of the factors leading to the choice of selecting EBM over other additive technologies for the OBR project included;

• Design freedom that allows for dense nesting of entire build tank and large, bulky parts without swelling and the ability to easily create little to no supports on parts at low costs
• High process temperatures mean that parts can be produced with no or minimal residual stress
• Cost-Effectiveness. EBM enables the use of reactive and crack-prone materials such as Ti-6Al-4V at low costs and the possibility to reuse powder extracted from the system’s Powder Recovery Station (PRS).

2020 Season’s Red Flag
COVID-19 put paid to the FSUK 2020 season. However earlier in the year, over 80 teams from across the UK still participated in a virtual competition. The OBR20 team placed fifth overall in the Statics category and third overall in Virtual Dynamics category, which had they been scored together – as is done at the real-world event – the team would have placed second overall, and runners up for the third year in a row.
“While we hit a bump in the road this year, we continued to better ourselves as engineers – by pushing ahead and looking forward. The electric revolution is still coming, so we will be striving for perfection as a team, and remain committed to our vision of building a multi-year legacy,” adds Boileve.
www.ge.com/additive

Perstorp is pioneering the Oxo-market by launching the first partly renewable carboxylic acids – 2-Ethylhexanoic Acid Pro and Valeric Acid Pro. 2-EHA Pro is based on 25% renewable raw materials, and Valeric Acid Pro contains 20% renewable content. The renewable material consists of biogas, and replaces natural gas using the mass balance concept. Users can expect the same quality as the existing 2-EHA and Valeric acid, with the additional benefit of a lower carbon footprint. The renewable oxo portfolio will also include oxo aldehydes and alcohols.
“As customers wish to reduce their environmental impact, and develop more sustainable products, the interest in chemical products with renewable raw materials is increasing. We are proud to be the first to offer two new partly renewable oxo acids that will help customers reduce their carbon footprint and support the sustainable sourcing of renewable raw material. Our ambition is also to offer 100% renewable grades in soon future”, says Sam Chia, Product Manager.
In the last few years, Perstorp has expanded its portfolio of Pro-Environment products, produced from renewable and/or recycled raw materials, to cover both base polyols, specialty products, deicer, plasticizer and now acids, aldehydes and alcohols. All Pro-Environment products are ISCC PLUS certified, meaning that all our sustainable raw materials are certified in all parts of the value chain back to the point of origin. All Pro Environment customers are also given information about the GHG-value of the product and their contributions to reduced CO₂– emissions.

“Continuously innovating to finding new sustainable solutions to reduce environmental impacts and meet the market demand for more environmentally responsible products is part of our DNA. Being able to offer the first renewable 2-EHA and Valeric Acid is one step towards our goal to becoming Finite Material Neutral, while inviting customers and users to join the movement towards a more sustainable tomorrow”, comments Logan Tseng, Product Manager.
Perstorp is world leading in dedicated 2-Ethylhexanoic Acid and Valeric Acid production. 2-EHA is used in plasticizers for PVB film, synthetic lubricants, as a corrosion inhibitor in radiator coolants, siccatives & paint driers, and resins. Valeric Acid is used for aviation lubricants, refrigeration lubricants and other esters for synthetic lubricants. With 2-EHA Pro and Valeric Acid Pro there is now a renewable alternative to help users lower their carbon footprint.
www.perstorp.com

• Company’s commitment and actions to sustainability recognised by Chemical Week
• Journey of continuous improvement since establishment of sustainability programme in 2014

INEOS Styrolution, the global leader in styrenics, announced that it has been chosen by Chemical Week as a finalist in the magazine’s sustainability awards 2020 under the category “best sustainability programme”.
INEOS Styrolution was nominated as a finalist based on its annual sustainability report, which provides a comprehensive review of the company’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance over the past year, and outlines the company’s strong commitment and actions to transition to a circular and low-carbon economy.
INEOS Styrolution was particularly recognised for its sustainability programme that has evolved significantly since it was established in 2014. Initially, the company concentrated its efforts on optimising its portfolio and provide high quality, safe and durable styrenics products to customers.
To address the increasing global challenges, the focus of the programme expanded to developing circular solutions. This has significantly accelerated the company’s efforts to develop post-consumer recycled products. Here the company has made significant steps forward with the introduction of INEOS Styrolution ECO, its family of sustainable products. This includes Terluran ECO, the company’s first ABS grades comprising post-consumer recycled material, and Styrolux ECO and Styroflex ECO made using renewable feedstock. The company also achieved a breakthrough in 2019 by producing virgin polystyrene at lab-scale from previously depolymerised material and is now focusing on producing this recycled polystyrene at commercial scale.
INEOS Styrolution has also been awarded a platinum rating by EcoVadis due to its advanced sustainability performance, ranking it in the top 1% of plastics manufacturers worldwide.
Petra Inghelbrecht, Global Sustainability Manager, comments: “Our programme has a strong focus on innovation for circularity and value chain collaboration. Our aim is to further shift towards low-carbon, circular polymers by reducing our greenhouse gas emissions. We are very proud for being recognised for our efforts.”
www.ineos-styrolution.com