Service Counters in America

Skippy - hey Buzz - nearing Tax time, what's news?

Buzz - hey Skippy - well, with prices up on everything (due more to the ongoing doubling of the money supply more than anything else) a quick plastics related "only in America story" as a bit of comic relief -

Seems that I have a project involving coloring some special white tinted plastic additive to add to virgin resin - I'd like the the final color of the additive to be the same color as the final plastic parts. I head down to the store and ask the two guys behind the counter "who's the painting expert? I have a special project I would like to ask you about."

One of the two steps forward to volunteer. I share that I have an experiment that requires adding some pigment to a 'white' liquid additive for plastics and need a color matching process - just like the kind you put into the paint you sell - I was wondering if you would color match this piece of plastic, then squeeze out the special color stuff you would normally add to a gallon of white paint -

and just sell me the special color stuff . . .

Skippy - Seems easy enough.

Buzz - yes, seems. The paint expert tells me to “Hold on now, the special color stuff is VERY expensive - its, well . . .
its SO expensive . . .”, and as he is trailing off, it seems apparent that he doesn't even KNOW how much a single cartridge of any particular color is.

“Hang on.” he says and heads to the back. I guess the gal he was talking to was his mom who probably cuts all the checks. He tells her the tale in shorthand - "This guy wants to buy some color for paint; without buying the paint . . . what should I tell him?"

After just a few seconds thought she stage whispers back
"Gee, that special color stuff is VERY expensive.
Its, well, so its SO expensive I don't even KNOW how much
a single cartridge might be . . .
Hmm, what to charge him - $25.00? $50.00?"

By this time, the silence in the place is deafening; everyone in the place is listening . . . you know, like the old commercial where someone says "Well, EF H*TTON is my broker and he says . . ."

Skippy - This doesn't seem to be moving along very well.

Buzz - Exactly, so I decide to sweeten the offer – “How about,” I say, “if I BUY a gallon of white paint, and you MATCH the piece of plastic I have, but give me the special color stuff "on the side" like so much salad dressing and I'll mix it myself . . .”

BINGO! NOW we're cookin’ with gas. Our paint expert jumps right into action and does the color match on the plastic piece lickety split and

'Mom' jumps back in with two suggestions -

a) he (me) will have to buy a small container for the special color stuff (“Gee whiz, if I have to I say, ok.”) and

b) "Don't sell him a gallon of the tint base if he isn't really going to mix it - sell him a gallon of the flat ceiling white - he might actually use that." (Again I say "Ok” - after all it's much (get this) ... CHEAPER than the tint base . . .)

Skippy - So how does the check out go?

Buzz - Well, it comes time to tally the damages. "How much is the gallon of paint going to cost me?", I inquire. "$21.00" is the reply. "Ok, so how much" I press, "is the small container for the special color stuff?"

"Well, that will be another $.99", comes the reply.

"Now, (finally) how much is the special color stuff going to cost me?",

"Well, that's FREE because it's part of the cost of the paint . . ."

…

Skippy - (speechless, sharp intake of breath)

Buzz - Wait for it, it gets better.

I think about the process for a moment or two and then ask -

"If I have any paint left over from the project, can I bring it back?"

…

Ok now all you RHPS fans - you know you're thinking ANTICI –

…
…
…

PATION . . .


“Sure, just bring back any unopened cans for a refund . . .” he says.



True story - only in America

Just our two cents
Skippy and Buzz

Need advice on managing regrind

Buzz - Morning Skip - it's been a while since we posted here - lots of things going on in various forums and hopefully as this spring unfolds we can get back onto a regular contribution schedule, but for now, another important question cropped up on use of regrind -

"We realize every heat cycle deteriorates the integrity of plastic resin. We have a few parts that can be made from 100% regrind. These parts require very little strength or cosmetic requirements. How do you manage regind of regrind? What do you do with the runner and sprue composed of 100% regrind? Regrind a second time, sell? It seems it can become a material management nightmare quickly. THANKS"

Skippy - Morning Buzz - well let's go through a couple thoughts-

a) some materials "live on" despite being regrind better than others

Buzz - right, and some materials can have a small amount of "sweeteners" to add as processing aids in subsequent passes through a machine. Size reduction equipment is likely to yield better "flow" and better process stability

Skippy - exactly so - next

b) work to establish a "use ratio" of "regrind aka sprues and runners and less than acceptable parts and start up scrap" that is slightly larger in intent than generation aka use a goal of 21% "regrind" when you generate a total of 20%.

Buzz - the obvious advantage in controlling a steady "process" is that this keeps things very close and as you get better, you may find that you need to reduce the percentage of what you classify as regrind as you get better -

Skippy - spot on, so to continue,

c) Generally "100% regrind" is still suspect for process "ability variability" unless it is (continually) well blended - keep an eye on aspect ratio (size of and percentage of each size) in the mixes and gravity induced separation -


Buzz - thinking this one through -- ask if the runner and sprue are say 20% of the shot weight, then use these as the "regrind" portion of an 80/20 mix with 80% being the "first pass" material and the 20% being the "second pass regrind".

Skippy - Right; just like mapping a "virgin and regrind" process, only a tiny percentage of the material on a descending basis remains and keeps moving forward as the "regrind of the regrind" becomes a portion as "regrind".

just our two cents -
Skippy and Buzz

for more on this discussion see it here:

http://www.linkedin.com/groupItem?view=&srchtype=discussedNews&gid=155135&item=42931513&type=member&trk=EML_anet_ac_pst_ttle

Rule of Accuracy - source unknown

Skippy: hey Buzz - sharing a little nugget -

"When working toward the solution of a problem, it always helps if you know the answer."


Buzz: "Corollary - Provided, of course, that you know there is a problem."

"Key Plastic Extrusion Indicators"

Skippy – hey Buzz – the hot summer months are finally here. We were involved in a question having to do with “extrusion performance indicators”:

What are your Key Performance Indicators for your plastics production process?

----------------

Buzz – well, here are a few thoughts from a profile extruder's point of view -

First, consider the intended outcome in an environment bounded by these four statements:

a) The extruder is responsible for continuously pumping plastic at a prescribed temperature and pressure
b) The cooling station (water, air, vacuum, etc) is responsible for continuously holding the plastic in the intended shape until cool
c) The take off unit is responsible for continuously pulling the extrudate down line through the "magic foot" represented by the interaction of the extruder and the cooling station
d) The cut off device is responsible for intermittently cutting good parts to length

Skippy – sounds like a pretty simple explanation of “extrusion” –

Buzz – well it is; and for a complex set of interactions, it is often best to “categorize” information in a way that reduces the over all complexity. When it comes time to troubleshoot a problem, for every production related symptom, ask yourself two questions and answer them;

1) which piece(s) of equipment is the one responsible for this condition?
2) What minimum change or correction must be made to achieve maximum desired improvement result?

Buzz - Here’s an example – based on one of our tenets – the greatest good an operator will ever do is to be a great OBSERVER -

The operator reports that he has been making boxes of product for some time now. In the last couple of boxes he has observed the following –

a) the part is still in spec, although he has made some “minor” adjustments to the take off speed
b) the boxes of product all contain the right amount of product and weigh the same as they have been for some time for full cartons – again because the parts are all in spec
c) a box normally takes about 55 minutes to run off –
d) the last box took 65 minutes to complete without a break or any casual loss

What is happening at the line?

Skippy – hmm – well you didn’t mention a cut off device, so we can eliminate that –

Buzz – right

Skippy – the parts are continually in spec, so the “magic foot relationship” is being maintained – it is therefore unlikely that the cooling station is the culprit -

Buzz – right

Skippy – once again, all we sell is time; and it took 10 minutes more to make a box of product

Buzz – yes . . .

Skippy – well the take off is responsible for that line speed and the direct measure of what gets done in a given amount of time in terms of product, so we must have been SLOWING the take off over time –

Buzz – yes right. So what ELSE is going on?

Skippy – well the parts are the right size, and a full box still weighs the same, as we drop the take off speed, therefore the extrusion output must have been dropping over time as well –

Buzz – bingo – and what could be causing that?

Skippy – well a couple of things, but upon a closer inspection at the extruder, it appeared that the pressure was up, the melt was hotter etc, so it was concluded that the screens might be being blocked over time by debris – which was verified during a screen change. After the screen change, the line was brought back up and the proper speed on the takeoff was yielding good boxes again at 55 minutes . . .

Buzz – perfect –

Skippy – but that was so EASY –

Buzz – yes you are correct. Once you categorize your information and step through it logically, things “fall into place pretty easily”. Good work.

This has been working for us for nearly 30 years - the measure of "how well" we are doing (since in the end, all we all sell is TIME) is the number of good units at the correct/reasonable cost produced in that time; insuring both we and our customer profit and continue to exist.

Just our two cents
Skippy and Buzz

"Bananas and Monkeys"

Skippy - hey Buzz; why does it seem that so many of the questions coming in are more about the myths from the past rather than the facts?

Buzz - well in answer - how about we share this "oldie but goodie" -

"Bananas and Monkeys"
________________________________________

Original source unknown.
________________________________________

Start with a cage containing five monkeys.

Inside the cage, hang a banana on a string and place a set of stairs under it.

Before long, a monkey will go to the stairs and start to climb towards the banana.

As soon as he touches the stairs, spray all of the other monkeys with cold water.

After a while, another monkey makes an attempt with the same result - all the other monkeys are sprayed with cold water.

Pretty soon, when another monkey tries to climb the stairs, the other monkeys will try to prevent it.

Now, put away the cold water. Remove one monkey from the cage and replace it with a new one. The new monkey sees the banana and wants to climb the stairs. To his surprise and horror, all of the other monkeys attack him.

After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to climb the stairs, he will be assaulted.

Next, remove another of the original five monkeys and replace it with a new one. The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked. The previous newcomer takes part in the punishment with enthusiasm!

Likewise, replace a third original monkey with a new one, then a fourth, then the fifth. Every time the newest monkey takes to the stairs, he is attacked.

Most of the monkeys that are beating him have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs or why they are participating in the beating of the newest monkey.

After replacing all the original monkeys, none of the remaining monkeys have ever been sprayed with cold water. Nevertheless, no monkey ever again approaches the stairs to try for the banana.

Why not? Because as far as they know "that's the way it's always been done around here."

And that, my friends, is how company policies are made.

Of Acme Threads and Diamond Dust

Skippy – hey Buzz – it’s finally April – nearing Uncle Sam’s initial harvest date – er um Tax Day -

Buzz – yup; lots of snow in the Northeast really hammered costs, productivity and profitability in February and March. Of course, that will all be just a dull memory by the time the tax implications for that roll around NEXT year –

Skippy – we’ve had some questions coming in across a variety of topics, and thought that this one might be of interest to a number of the new users of the “old timers” tooling systems –

“We have a variety of pipe and profile tools that have been around since the dark ages (60’s and 70’s). Our engineers keep designing around them, but although still ‘functional’, we’re having a lot of trouble getting these tools to seal (leakage) and to come apart at ends of production runs. They have something on them called “Acme threads” and we’re wondering why we are having so many disassembly issues?”

Buzz – ah, Acme Threads – strong ‘translation’ threads that were used to help convey large standardized tooling pieces together to assemble flow paths for polymer. These flow paths were on the way out generally from screw tips and breaker plate areas towards spiders/pins/shells for tubing or profile tooling and or adaptation between the gate and custom die lands. Not only good for tooling assembly back in the day, but known in some circles for generating a fair amount of industrial ‘diamond dust’ as well.

Skippy – ‘translation threads’ and ‘diamond dust’?

Buzz – yes; first, the translation of rotational energy (spinning) into horizontal movement allowed the operator to precisely align precision flatly ground faces or sealing surfaces between two pieces of tooling creating a sealed flow path between the two pieces. By CAREFULLY conveying the two pieces of tooling together until the very flat ground sealing surfaces were touching, the tooling could seal between the two surfaces without having to torque tools together with a variety of bolts.

Skippy – sounds easy enough – what sort of problems are these folks facing?

Buzz- well, by design the Acme threads are perpendicular to the flat sealing surfaces and by nature do require having a small amount of clearance in the threads for things to move smoothly. As with all threaded objects used in heated plastic tooling, a bit of molybdenum disulfide or copper-based 'anti-seizing' compound on the threads is always a good idea. Anyway, to continue, the flat section beyond the threads of the male portion of the tooling must extend further than the receiving flat area near the end of the threads area on the female portion so that the two don’t bottom out on thread early with the sealing surfaces not having coming into contact and creating the seal by touching each other. Also it is a good idea that the outside “corner” intersection be undercut and or knocked off at the outside edges of both the sealing face of the male and female portions. This additional clearance allows the two sealing surfaces to make contact BEFORE the corners can connect or binds up prior to the sealing faces touching (which never should).

Skippy – sort of like in the picture where "A" bottoms out against "B" before we run out of threads to look more like "C"? (Click on the picture for a larger view)



Buzz – yes and note further that when the sealing surfaces need to be “freshened’ by grinding flat again, they have to remain perpendicular to the Acme threads and the same rules to “corner interference” have to be observed.

Skippy – sounds like a robust system of assembly – so what about the “diamond dust”?

Buzz – well, Acme threads aren’t the easiest threads in the world to generate on tooling, and require a fair amount of design planning and tooling execution. These kinds of assembly threads are “designed for the ages” and as such, once successfully implemented are committed to tooling that is going to be around for a long time. Often this tooling is made from materials that will ultimately be hardened and treated to become long lasting tooling. Occasionally the tooling will be hardened almost into “spring steel” to be resilient against plastic and operator maintenance as well as ‘abrasive wear’ -

To continue; try as they might, most extrusion companies utilizing Acme threads aren’t able to avoid some small amount of leakages or incomplete clean ups in tooling over the life of these tools – and plastic (particularly something that will burn and degrade like PVC) eventually finds its way into areas of the tooling in or around the flat sealing surfaces and threads. Sometimes, edges are “shoe-shined” during clean up, sometimes a small leak occurs, and a small amount of PVC will turn to carbon and coat a small area inside the threads or clearances area. It is this small amount of carbon flake that may eventually cause a BIG problem.

Skippy – how can a small flake of carbon cause any trouble?

Buzz – well, remember that the goal of the “sealing surfaces” is to be conveyed towards each other slowly until they are in intimate contact – there is no room left in this impossibly small space left between two surfaces that are “flat” and so, plastic even under pressure takes the easier path out – though the intended flow openings in the tooling – not between the two flat sealing surfaces. However occasionally, a couple of circumstances (read moons coming into alignment) can conspire to create a very unique set of circumstances – and interesting by products -

Say that an operator is extremely busy and hurries the process of assembly – rather than slowly turn the tools sealing surfaces toward each other, they insert a bolt into the portion they will be rotating into place and “spins it up” like starting an old fashioned crank on a Model “T”. Beyond the scope of this discussion, threads are ramps enabling accumulation of leverage – and so as the operator spins the tooling, they are progressively adding energy while increasing the speed of the rotating mass; the heavy metal parts spin faster and faster, gaining inertia . . .

form a picture in your mind now, that at the same time, a small flake of carbon, previously hanging innocuously in a corner of the tooling, falls down between the quickly approaching impossibly flat sealing surfaces – and suddenly the moment of ‘impact' occurs.

Skippy – what happens in those milliseconds?

Buzz – well – huge torque is going to be applied from the accumulated inertial mass in the rotating piece. This is applied to the impossibly flat surfaces with a small piece of carbon trapped in between. As the crushing pressure of the accumulated spinning mass begins to focus in the single point of contact represented by the carbon, the carbon begins to be squeezed and smeared. The torque continues to carry the moving tool forward towards having the sealing faces touch, and yet, we still have inertia tearing forward with energy having yet to be expended and absorbed. The carbon, which by now has been transformed into a low quality industrial diamond, is now caught between the face and is continuing to be pushed and ground inexorably onward by forces in the rotating “spring steel” still hurtling forward. The diamond dust is harder than the steel, and as such is encouraged by the onslaught to plough into the steel faces, displacing steel material to the sides and perhaps behind it as it is gouged further and further into the seal face(s). Eventually the spring rebounds, but with not enough force to unlock, having spent some energy during the diamond formation phase, and rebounds back, and then forward again, back and forth like a SlinkyTM until finally coming to rest. Again, all this happens in only a fraction of a second . . .

Skippy – and so here we are with the two faces perhaps near enough but not really touching each other as intended with a small bit of diamond dust, ground like a fallen meteor skipping across a Kansas corn field embedded in one or both of the faces?

Buzz – you’ve got it. Sadly, the damage billing isn’t ready for final tally yet – eventually, we have to take the tooling apart, and it is going to take Herculean effort – not to mention a huge “cheater bar”, perhaps our burliest operator and a heat source to get the steel spring twisted enough toward “off” to encourage the spring to back away by crushing AGAIN over the diamond dust as it is unwound – it is not uncommon during the disassembly to find plastic leakage, and perhaps even MORE carbon trapped in the tooling against the next assembly.

Skippy – the tooling will have to be cleaned up again, and the sealing surfaces are likely to require grinding and lapping to be brought back to “flat and perpendicular” again as well –

Buzz – yes – most houses go through much of this process, without really even realizing it has been going on – you can bet that when you walk into an extruder and look at the sealing surfaces on Acme threaded assemblies and see ‘eyebrows’ gouged into the faces – diamond dust was being made along with plastic parts – and not of much positive value at all . . .

Just our two cents –
Skippy and Buzz

SNOW

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Skippy: - sorry for the delay on our next posting - we've had about 45 inches of snow over the last 14 days after a couple of trips out to important industry shows in Atlantic City and Atlanta -

Buzz: - right; but the good news is that we're getting good "mileage" on the snow blower -

Hope to be back soon with our next article - hopefully this weekend -
Skippy and Buzzz