Fall 2001
Volume 7 • Number 1

• PLASTICS TECHNOLOGY CENTER CHANGES NAME
• TELL US WHAT YOU THINK: PTC Plastics Assistance Consortium
  
• PROCESS AND TOOLING SOLUTIONS
  
• PTC ENHANCES 3D PRODUCT DESIGN COLLABORATION WITH CONCEPTSTATION
  
• UPCOMING WORKSHOPS AT PENN STATE ERIE
• GIVE FEA A TRY
• VISIT THE PTC BOOTH AT AMCON

PLASTICS TECHNOLOGY CENTER CHANGES NAME

The former Plastics Technology Deployment Center (PTDC) has changed its name to the Plastics Technology Center (PTC) as of July 1. The PTC continues to operate as a partner of the Northwest Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center (NWIRC), and the two organizations continue to share offices in the Uniflow Center at 1525 East Lake Road in Erie.

"Without a doubt, the NWIRC will continue to support the work of the PTC," said Hugh Wolcott, the NWIRC's manufacturing outreach director. "The services offered by the PTC to manufacturing companies in northwestern Pennsylvania are in line with our goal of strengthening the region's manufacturing firms."

"Since its inception at Penn State Behrend in 1994, the Plastics Technology Center has helped more than 300 companies with plastics product design, development, and enhancement," said Robert W. Light, associate provost and associate dean, who oversees the administration of the PTC. "The PTC is able to work with plastics and plastics-related companies both locally and throughout the United States using collaborative software via the Internet. Plastics-related companies are those that we have termed as developing, manufacturing, marketing, or procuring plastic components, tooling, or materials. The PTC often serves as a virtual engineering department for these companies as their needs grow and change."

Services offered by the PTC to plastics and plastics-related companies include: product design, development, and enhancement; materials and manufacturing process selection; prototyping and rapid tooling efforts; CAE analysis of products; tooling development assistance; process improvement and optimization; and training.

"I can't imagine not having the PTC," said Greg Cronkhite, president of Sterling Technologies of Erie. "It gives Sterling access to millions of dollars worth of state-of-the-art technology to complement what we provide in-house. Our customers love that." Sterling recently enlisted the PTC on another of several projects to develop a reinforced plastic tank that would withstand an internal pressure of 20,000 pounds.

As a non-profit outreach center of the School of Engineering and Engineering Technology at Penn State Behrend, the PTC has recently adjusted its fee-for-service charges to be more competitive in the current market, Light said. PTC clients will continue to have full access to the laboratory equipment and faculty resources of the plastics technology program at Penn State Behrend in conjunction with PTC projects.

PTC's mission is to provide unique, high-end plastics-related engineering services to companies in support of growth and innovation. According to Theresa Warner, lead project engineer with the PTC, the center often works with start-up companies as well as established businesses to keep them competitive in today's changing market. While many PTC clients are repeat customers, the center always welcomes new clients with new challenges.

Back To Top

TELL US WHAT YOU THINK:
PTC Plastics Assistance Consortium

The Plastics Technology Center is considering the creation of a Plastics Assistance Consortium, which would offer members a direct line of communication with PTC engineers. A typical interaction might include helping to resolve short-term issues such as troubleshooting a process, selecting an appropriate resin, or reviewing part designs. PTC engineers would, in effect, become a virtual engineering staff that could be called upon as needed once a company becomes a member. The consortium would also offer informative seminars and breakfast sessions throughout the year, as well as reduced rates for member companies for product design and development and analysis activities to help keep costs down and bottom-line profits up.

The PTC is still in the idea-generating phase for the Plastics Assistance Consortium and will be relying on your feedback to jump-start this initiative quickly. The PTC encourages your comments and suggestions about the services to be offered, rate structures, and other pertinent issues. Please send your comments via e-mail to Theresa Warner at tmm155@psu.edu or by fax at (814) 452-1924. You may also call (814) 452-0094, ext. 36, to discuss your ideas and thoughts directly.

Back To Top

PROCESS AND TOOLING SOLUTIONS

The Plastics Technology Center (PTC) is committed to providing high-quality, high-impact services to companies involved in the plastics industry. The PTC has the staff, resources, and capabilities to provide companies with high-end results. The PTC works in partnership with companies to help determine technical solutions to a wide variety of problems encountered with processing and tooling.

Tom Moyak, project engineer with the PTC, is the resident process and tooling problem-solver. Tom earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Plastics Engineering Technology at Penn State Erie, the Behrend College. He has many years of experience in areas such as injection molding; new tool and process development; process training; mold, process, and machine troubleshooting; production scheduling; plant layout and inventory control. Tom also has experience using RJG cavity pressure transducers as a tool for qualifying new molds, for process control, and for the monitoring of production molds; and he has experience with in-mold decorating and sonic welding of plastics parts. Tom has run thousands of tool samples on many types and sizes of injection molding machinery, using a wide range of resins.

Tom has recently come to the aid of two different companies with two very different problems. Both companies were having trouble with their end product. Tom met with the first company to discuss the problem in greater detail and review the material and process set-up sheets. He was able to make a recommendation involving some changes to the process within hours. Follow-up has indicated that making the suggested process-related changes solved the problem.

With the second company, the problem was a dimensional one due to excessive warpage. Tom reviewed the molding process, mold drawings, material specifications and the molded component. He traveled to the molder's facility and performed a mold sample. After completing the sample and reviewing the gathered information, Tom generated a detailed report outlining suggested tooling modifications. The recommended tooling changes are being quoted by the tool shop for implementation.

Tom's vast experience within the plastics industry best suits him for solving processing- and tooling-related problems. He is willing to evaluate most any problem, examine it in great detail, perform a mold sample to give him a feel for the problem, and then provide a written report detailing his recommendations. According to Tom, "Sometimes an outside source is just what is needed for an objective solution." He also points out, "The PTC's goal isn't just to solve the problem, but also to help the company learn, so they can internally address similar problems in the future."

For more information on how Tom may be able to help your company, please call Tom at (814) 452-0094 or e-mail him at tmoyak@psu.edu.

Back To Top

PTC ENHANCES 3D PRODUCT DESIGN COLLABORATION WITH CONCEPTSTATION

The Plastics Technology Center (PTC) is now utilizing ConceptStation™, a next-generation web-based interactive tool to further enhance 3D design collaboration with both local and national customers. Use of ConceptStation allows PTC engineers to interactively review and discuss 3D solid models with customers via the Internet, saving valuable time and capital for both parties. Interactive reviews of models are performed more often than traditional design review meetings, thereby speeding up the design and development period to get the product to market faster. The use of ConceptStation has also enabled PTC engineers to more rapidly incorporate engineering changes to boost the overall quality of the finished design.

ConceptStation is a web-based collaborative environment for 3D viewing and mark-up, developed by RealityWave Inc. of Cambridge, Massachusetts. The basic functionality of ConceptStation includes:

• Advanced Viewing - ConceptStation viewer includes rotate, pan, zoom, section-view, measurement, and isolate-part features.
• Associated Mark-up - ConceptStation enhances mark-up with features such as measurement, bleed-through, clip-plane, transparency, and an associated comment log.
  
• Internet Architecture - ConceptStation was built using RealityWave's patented VizStream™ technology. This feature-rich development platform enables the use of 3D in visualization, collaboration, configuration, data association, and animation over the Web.
  
• "Any-Time" Messaging - Real-time messaging works in conjunction with the mark-up feature to provide designers with feedback from other participants logged in simultaneously. Centralized version control enables "any-time" collaboration, providing participants with comments and associated mark-up whenever they choose.

For more information about ConceptStation, please call the PTC at (814) 452-0094. We welcome the opportunity to show you the advantages of collaborating using ConceptStation.

Back To Top

UPCOMING WORKSHOPS AT PENN STATE ERIE

Design Of Experiments (DOE) For Injection Molding
Date: December 10 - 12, 2001

Educational Goals
To compete in today's global market, quality must be designed into both product and production processes. This must carry through at all stages of manufacturing with processes and procedures that facilitate a process of continuous improvement. Carefully designed experiments (DOEs) can remove hindrances to high quality and productivity at every stage in the production of plastic parts.

This workshop has been developed to give you practical experience utilizing both the Penn State Erie processing lab and the computer lab (primarily using Microsoft Excel). Emphasis will be placed on in-class interaction and the "hands-on" experience of carrying out and analyzing experiments.

Who Should Attend?
Those involved at any level in the development or production of plastic parts and are concerned with the continuous improvement of their processes will benefit. This workshop will emphasize injection molding, utilizing examples from that process; it will also be of value to those working in other plastic processes and desiring training in constructing designed experiments for plastics.

Injection Molding Fundamentals
Date: December 17 - 19, 2001

Educational Goals
This workshop has been developed to provide you with a thorough understanding of injection molding basics and terminology by offering "hands-on" experience through lab exercises that reinforce the concepts introduced in the classroom sessions. While in the lab, a maximum of four participants per press will allow each participant to reap the benefits of learning by doing. Participants are encouraged to bring their problem parts to the seminar for diagnosis and discussion during the problem-solving session.

Who Should Attend?
Those who wish to improve their knowledge of thermoplastic injection molding technology and the language needed to succeed in the business of plastics should plan to participate. A variety of people benefit from this seminar, including operators, process and project engineers, manufacturing engineers, molding techs, team leaders, designers, mold makers, and sales and marketing staff.

For more information about either of these workshops, including a detailed course outline, visit the PTC Web site at http://ptdc01.bd.psu.edu and click on "Training Dates," or contact Shelley Readel at (814) 452-0094 ext. 40.

Back To Top

GIVE FEA A TRY

Not sure if your part will fail? Why not give computer-simulated Finite Element Analysis (FEA) a try? Call the PTC today at (814) 452-0094 to discuss your options.

Back To Top

Visit the PTC Booth at AMCON