Selecting the right plastics manufacturing method for your project requires navigating a varied landscape of options, each with its unique benefits and challenges. This can be a daunting task. This guide aims to simplify that choice by providing a detailed comparison of popular plastics manufacturing techniques. From injection moulding and blow moulding to advanced 3D […]

Using recycled plastics can have big benefits, not just in reducing the overall cost of the manufacturing process but also the environmental impact it has by reducing the amount of plastic going into landfill. More often we are finding customers are wanting to use recycled plastics in the manufacture of their products. In this blog […]

Plastic is a durable material that is designed to stand the test of time. It can be recycled and used again and again.  Most plastics are used just once, and then end up in landfill or polluting the environment. Globally, eight million tonnes of plastic waste is dumped into our oceans. Moving away from single-use […]

When was the last time you went out for sushi and had soy sauce in any other type of container? No one says that it must be packaged like this, and frankly, other fish paraphernalia just isn’t perceived the same, but you wouldn’t trust soy sauce that came from anything else.  The soy sauce container […]

Plastic products are all around us in our daily lives. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live without plastic products?  The future of plastic manufacturing seems hazy, given all of the environmental concerns about plastic. Many people are trying to move away from traditional plastics in search of more sustainable alternatives.  […]

Last week’s blog was all about Cold Runner Systems, this week, it’s time you learnt all about the alternate option – Hot Manifold Systems!  To reiterate last week’s blog, the runner system is what controls the distribution of the plastic from the moulding machine’s nozzle to the tool cavities. If you haven’t already read it […]

Injection moulding is one of the most popular methods for manufacturing and mass producing plastic products. It can be used for a wide range of plastic products, from a button for your shirt, to parts for a car.  If you’re thinking of using injection moulding to produce your product, the first step is to choose […]

Have you ever gotten an injection? A flu shot? A vaccine? Anaesthetic? If the answer is yes then it’s almost guaranteed that a plastic injection moulded syringe was used.    With plastic manufacturing becoming more reliable after WW2, the use of plastics in consumables began to become common practice, and with this even more progress […]

As more and more companies move toward sustainability in their products, there have been some pretty impressive products made from recycled plastics that have hit the market.

$12 Outdoor Plastic Chair off Gumtree Not as Mechanically Sound as First Thought Local father figure, and little league coach, Bryan Walters (42) returned home yesterday after a day in the sun to sit down and enjoy a cold-one on his newly renovated outdoor patio. Much to Mr. Walters’ dismay, the bargain lawn chair he […]

Look around you, how many electronic devices can you see? …3….4….8? More than 23.5% of household fires are started by electrical products or electrical appliances; such as televisions, radios and power adapters. Often, these products are made from plastic or contain plastic components. Classed as ‘ordinary combustibles,’ most plastics are excellent fuels and are in […]

Although it’s probably not something you think about often, coloured plastics are an essential cog in the industrial design machine. Try to imagine the design process without it – it’s impossible! The truth is that you can’t have one without the other. Coloured plastics are an essential element in the tool making and manufacturing process […]

We recently discussed the rise of hemp bio-plastic being used as a plastic alternative and how this could impact injection moulding. Although the usability across the industry is still limited, it is indicative of the growing movement towards alternative plastics. These alternative, or bio-plastics, are leading the way for the manufacture of products and packaging […]

The Dienamics team has recently welcomed two new machines to the workshop! Both new machines offer excellent energy-saving capabilities and are a huge step in the right direction for Dienamics becoming a more environmentally friendly manufacturer. The machines are 90 tonne and 160 tonne. Tonnage, also known as clamping force, is the measurement which represents […]

The topic of hemp-based products has been very popular recently in the news and media. Its seeds and flowers are mostly used in nutraceuticals, however the stalks and fibers can be used in construction materials, paper, biofuel, and clothing. People are favoring it as a good production material for its fast-growing ability and environmental sustainability. […]

In our current manufacturing environment, plastics are being used to create everything from vehicle parts to buttons on clothing and even human body parts. For every application, a special and specific manufacturing process is required so that each part can be moulded based on its specifications. If you’re interested in manufacturing a plastic part, one […]

More than 300 million tons of plastics are now being produced every year. Half of that is estimated to be single-use plastic, and approximately 8 million tons of plastic finds its way into the oceans every year. Plastic has become such an integral part of our lives, but it has also clearly become an environmental […]

Not all plastics are created equal. Indeed, the first step in the plastics recycling process is to identify which type of plastic you are dealing with. For recycling purposes, plastic is divided into seven distinct families. Here, with examples of their most common uses: 1. PET (Soft drink bottles) 2. HDPE (Milk and cream bottles) […]

Trying to figure out what plastics can and can’t be recycled? Many people mistake the numbered triangle on plastic products as the recycling sign, but these symbols are actually the Plastic Identification Code and they classify the type of plastic material. There is conflicting information about which plastics can be recycled in kerbside collection, and […]

How does an Ultrasonic welder work? An Ultrasonic welder is a machine that uses kinetic energy from vibrations to heat and melt plastic together. The basic process comes down to a vibration frequency, measured in hertz, directing energy onto a section of the 2 parts you want to weld together. This often gives a better […]

How does a Regrinder work? A regrinder or plastic granulator is an electrically powered series of grinding blades, which takes plastic and chops them up into little pieces, commonly referred to as regrind. This regrind is a major step in any plastics recycling scheme. It takes what was reject or waste plastic and breaks it […]

Choosing the right plastic for any given project can be tough. Some are more rigid than others, some are better moisture and oxygen barriers, and there can be vastly different temperature tolerances. There’s always going to be a trade-off when it comes to strength, heat resistance, flexibility, finish, and most importantly, cost. The best way […]

Blow moulding products all have one thing in common: they are hollow and in one piece. It’s often used for glass and plastic products like bottles, jars, and containers. It’s a cost effective and quick method of moulding, but that doesn’t mean it’s not without its disadvantages. The process is limited to only making hollow […]

Polyamides (also known as PA, though commonly referred to as Nylon) are a family of engineering grade plastics, which are known for their immense tensile strength and high durability. They generally are semi-crystalline and have good thermal and chemical resistance. There are various grades of nylons, some common grades are Nylon 6 (PA6), Nylon 6,6, […]

    Polypropylene (PP) is commonly sighted as the second most commonly used plastic on earth, by weight used yearly by industry. Polypropylene was first polymerized in 1951 by a pair of Phillips petroleum scientists named Paul Hogan and Robert Banks. The ability of polypropylene to crystallize created a lot of excitement, and Italian chemist, […]

Polyurethanes (also known as PUR or UR) are a massive family of highly versatile engineering materials designed to provide properties not available in conventional rubbers, metals and plastics. Typically they have higher oil and solvent resistance, along with greater abrasion and tear resistance. Impact strength, low compression set and superior load bearing capacity are also […]

ABS is purpose built to be easy, cheap, stiff and tough, all while being capable of displaying great surface finishes and colours. Originally developed in the late 1940’s, ABS combines the acrylonitrile, butadiene and styrene monomers with the intent of displaying the best of each of these elements. Acrylonitrile is highly process able and glossy. […]

Polyoxymethylene (POM), usually referred to as Acetal, is a widely used engineering plastic. Its primary claim to fame is its use in mechanical parts. If it has to bear a load, like a gear, a handle, a zipper or the foot on a piece of furniture, then Acetal is it the material of choice. As […]

Plastic Co-extrusion is very similar to Plastic Extrusion, however, with co-extrusion you are inserting multiple polymers into the extrusion dies to produce a single profile with a range of physical characteristics. In this article, we’ll cover the differences from regular plastic extrusion and the benefits and disadvantages to Plastic Co-extrusion. So the fundamental difference to […]

Polyethylene terephthalate (PETE or PET) is one of the most commonly used thermoplastic polymers in the world and is better known in the textile industry by the trade name “polyester.” It is a naturally transparent and semi-crystalline plastic widely used as a fiber for clothing, as an effective moisture barrier with wide applicability in bottling […]

Polystyrene (PS) plastic is a naturally transparent thermoplastic that is available as both a typical solid plastic as well in the form of a rigid foam material. PS plastic is commonly used in a variety of consumer product applications and is also particularly useful for commercial packaging. Dow Chemical Company invented a proprietary process to […]

Extrusion is a simple process and is used the world over, from making spaghetti to window frames and door seals. Plastic Extrusion is when a material is being forced through a die (think a plate with a profile cut into it) and the plastic takes the form of that profile. In plastics, extrusion creates long strips […]

Polycarbonate is a naturally transparent amorphous thermoplastic. Although made commercially available in a variety of colors, the raw material allows for the internal transmission of light nearly in the same capacity as glass. Polycarbonate polymers are used to produce a variety of products and are particularly useful when impact resistance and/or transparency are a product […]

Blown Film is a manufacturing process that produce films of plastic sheeting and tubes. These sheets or tubes can either be fully cylindrical, or have other object inserted into them so they form useful objects like shopping bags, rubbish bags or cling wrap.  In this article, we will explore what the process of blown film […]

Rotational Moulding (Also known as Roto-Moulding or Rotational Casting) is great at making hollow objects. In fact, you probably enjoyed a roto-moulded product over Easter. Hollow chocolate Easter Eggs are roto-moulded, and so are kayaks, water tanks and hollow kids’ toys. In this article, we’ll show you the basic process of roto moulding and its […]

Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) is an unsung hero of the plastics industry. Whenever there is a dirty outdoor job, PVC is often the go-to material. PVC has been around longer than most plastics having been first synthesized in 1872 and commercially produced by B.F. Goodrich Company in the 1920s. By comparison, many other common plastics were […]

In our explorations of manufacturing techniques we have covered a number of ways to mass produce plastic parts. Today, we will look at one the one I like to think of as the most underappreciated, Blow Moulding. Blow moulding isn’t as well known as injection moulding, yet it is responsible for a creating fantastic number of […]

Polyethylene is the plastic worlds jack of all trades, the ultimate do anything tool. Like all good tools, its power lies in its simplicity. Let’s look at how the most common human made plastic on earth conquered applications ranging from food covering to ballistic protection, and how it might just work in your project. All […]

A new book, Brick by Brick: How LEGO Rewrote the Rules of Innovation and Conquered the Global Toy Industry, has traced how Lego made its recovery from the brink of bankruptcy by returning to its roots. In this book, Wharton professor David Robertson revealed how the Danish toy maker made resurgence from near bankruptcy by […]

Over the summer, 10 students from various departments at UC Davis have been getting together at the university’s Genome Centre to address the issue of plastic in landfills. The students are members of the UC Davis International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM), team and have been working on a special project for the world’s premiere collegiate […]

These days, consumers increasingly want to buy more sustainable products, and companies like AT&T are rising to the challenge. Over the last year, AT&T has been making headway in the field of sustainability, from accessory packaging made from 30 per cent plant-based materials, to creating a consumer-focused sustainability website, called EcoSpace, where customers can recycle […]

Every product you see at any store was probably delivered on a pallet. There are many different types of pallets, with wood and plastic being the most common. Thanks to plastic injection moulding, plastic pallets are designed for both space-efficiency and durability. Whether you’re moving or plan on opening a store, you can use plastic […]

Plastic injection moulding is a booming industry. Almost every product in the 21st century requires plastic in one form or another. The invention of plastic was one of the greatest achievements in industrial production due to the fact that it’s synthetic and not limited in nature. Here are the eight most important types of plastic […]

Few things are as ubiquitous as the plastic bag. Full of utility, a plastic bag is not only an efficient way of carrying things around, but it also serves as an efficient and reusable storage device. However, few people really know the history of the plastic bag, even though it is so prevalent in our […]