White Papers & eBooks

INJECTION MOLDING

“Overmolding and Insert Molding: From Prototyping to Production” by Formlabs shows processors how to capitalize on the benefits of these processes and what makes them unique. It discusses the difference between the two and how each process works; how to determine which method to use; common applications, such as embedding electronics or making tools easier to grip; and how to create prototypes with 3-D printed molds. https://formlabs.com/blog/overmolding-insert-molding/

Custom injection molders use ultrasonic welding as a secondary operation when two thermoplastic parts need to be joined. It’s often the go-to method for joining plastic parts because it is a fast and efficient process that creates a strong seal and offers many advantages including simplifying part design, providing hermetically sealed enclosures, eliminating the need for fasteners, adhesives or tapes and more. Ferriot details the process, material selection, joint design requirements and more in “Ultrasonic Welding: What Designers Need to Know.” https://blog.ferriot.com/blog/ultrasonic-welding-what-designers-need-to-know

BLOW MOLDING

Lightweighting of preforms and bottles to reduce the amount of resin used is one way to reduce production costs in light of diminished sales forecasts for this year. Lightweighting can also play a role in achieving sustainability goals. Christophe Beck, director of advanced solutioning for Husky Injection Molding Systems, provides an overview of lightweighting and how to make the business case in “How to Reduce Your Production Costs in 2020 with Lightweight Beverage Packaging.” https://tinyurl.com/y2b3dhyy

COVID-19

The World Economic Forum captures perspectives from seven worldwide regions identified as advanced manufacturing or major industrial hubs in its report, “The Impact of COVID-19 on the Future of Advanced Manufacturing and Production: Insights from the World Economic Forum’s Global Network of Advanced Manufacturing Hubs.” The report addresses the global impact of COVID-19, provides examples of manufacturing and government responses and offers best practices to get economies and citizens back to health as quickly and wisely as possible. https://tinyurl.com/y5dzkssx

AUTOMATION

A new class of lean integrators is specializing in bringing collaborative automation to smaller companies. Universal Robots’ white paper “Cobots & Lean Integrators: Bringing automation to small and medium size enterprises” addresses benefits such as improved machine uptime, part quality, and employee productivity. It discusses the strengths and structures of lean integrators, and how they are empowering automation for smaller companies in all manufacturing industries. https://tinyurl.com/y4lfz4sm 

3-D PRINTING

The use of clear materials with 3D printing offers new levels of visibility and geometric freedom to design engineers in the automotive field, enabling products to be more thoroughly tested and verified, which translates to faster product development cycles. 3D Systems’ eBook, “Enhancing Automotive Design & Development with Clear 3D Printing,” shows how clear prototypes allow designers to see how a complex assembly works and to test how fluid and gas flow through a system. www.3dsystems.com/sla-clear-printing-automotive

QUALITY CONTROL

Volume Graphics’ white paper “Why CT? The Connection between Smarter Scanning and Product Quality” examines the current state of product inspection, what computed tomography (CT) scanning combined with analysis and visualization software brings to the table, and the benefits of moving to this more advanced methodology, with a variety of industry examples. www.volumegraphics.com/en/company/technology/why-ct.html