PMM Insight: A Plastics Machinery & Manufacturing Podcast
Plastics Machinery & Manufacturing brings you our podcast! Each month we will provide an interview with a plastics industry professional, PMM in Person; an audio article, PMM Perspective; and a Commentary examining an issue in the industry. Find more of our content at plasticsmachinerymanufacturing.com.
Episodes
Senior reporter Bruce Geiselman highlights five of PMM's recent top stories, including innovations in blow molding, Novatec's newest drying and conveying equipment, and a combined cobot and laser that automates tooling repair.
Blow molding machinery makers at NPE2024 approached sustainability from multiple angles. Some emphasized energy efficiency, others their capabilities to work with PCR and biomaterials, or with lightweighting technologies.
Industry 4.0 technology is slower to come to blow molding than to other processes, but it is making inroads.
Hear what machinery makers had to say about their newest technologies.
An election year always brings arguments about immigration. If you earn a living in the plastics industry, you should be in favor of opening our borders to anyone who wants a job, especially a manufacturing job, says Editor Ron Shinn.
We have a serious labor shortage in the manufacturing sector and demographic trends tell us it is not going to get better. Sensible, bipartisan immigration reform will allow U.S. companies to grow.
When SencorpWhite departed the thermoforming market last year, other OEMs saw opportunity.
BMG, Illig and Kiefel are now offering solutions to SencorpWhite users that allow them to keep their tooling and in some cases even improve upon their performance.
Senior reporter Bruce Geiselman discusses the three companies' efforts in this episode of our PMM Insight podcast.
Conair president Jason Ganim talks about the changing role of auxiliary equipment manufacturers, the new collaborative relationship processors expect and responding to needs for specialized solutions. New technology, including artificial technology in auxiliary equipment, is helping processors deal with labor and skill shortages as well as improve product quality. Ganim talks about Conair’s smart controls, machine-to-machine commun...
Senior Reporter Bruce Geiselman shares some of the top stories on our website this month, including innovations in extrusion equipment and news regarding a major thermoforming machinery manufacturer.
Robert Schad, founder of Husky and Athena Automation/Niigon, left an indelible mark on the plastics industry and a legacy of philanthropy. He died July 11 at age 95. Editor Ron Shinn looks back on his encounters with Schad over the years, his colorful personality and his drive for perfection.
Artificial intelligence, process monitoring and other digital technologies were a major theme at NPE2024. Senior reporter Bruce Geiselman talked with three extruder makers -- Colines, Reifenhäuser and Collin -- to learn about the benefits of their Industry 4.0 technologies.
If you want to know the state of the plastics machinery business, don't look to pundits or economists; ask a salesperson. Good ones listen closely to their customers and often defy conventional wisdom, says Editor Ron Shinn, and we are wise to listen to what they had to say recently.
Editor Ron Shinn rounds up five top stories from Plastics Machinery & Manufacturing, including a look at Industry 4.0 technology in injection molding, comments from OEMs on the state of the economy and their businesses, and equipment debuts from Dri-Air, Conair and Athena.
Artificial intelligence can be hard to define, but it's coming to plastics processing. Doug Anger, engineering manager for training provider RJG Inc., says processors should look beyond the headlines and buzzwords and start viewing AI as another innovation to add to their toolboxes.
Part quality, efficiency and profit margins can be improved by technologies like predictive maintenance and real-time monitoring, Anger tells Editor Ro...
From trimming cycle times to optimizing the use of recycled materials, the ability to collect data and tweak production based on it offers molders many benefits, said representatives of injection molding machine makers — and molders are beginning to embrace Industry 4.0.
In this episode of PMM Insight, Senior Reporter Karen Hanna shares what she learned on the NPE floor about the state of smarter injection molding.
PMM Managing Editor Lynne Sherwin attended NPE2024 as a first-timer. Editor Ron Shinn talks with her about her experiences, what she and other PMM staffers heard from participants, and what it might foretell for plastics machinery makers and processors.
When we think of the factory of the future, we often picture a fully automated facility with few workers. But manufacturing gurus are beginning to talk about Industry 5.0, a human-centric, sustainable and resilient approach, in which robots and humans do what they do best in tandem, rather than having machines replace people. PMM Editor Ron Shinn explains why this may be the real future of manufacturing.
The recently concluded fourth round of UN talks on a global plastics treaty made some progress in narrowing down the issues still facing delegates, according to Stewart Harris, senior director for global plastics policy in the plastics division of the American Chemistry Council. But there is still crucial work to be done before the fifth and final meeting in November.
Hear Stewart's analysis and predictions on what an eventual trea...
Processors who reject smart manufacturing technologies are putting their future at risk, says industry expert Alaa Elwany of Texas A&M. The government is mulling ways to help manufacturers unlock Industry 4.0 innovations, while surveys indicate growing interest among manufacturers.
Senior reporter Bruce Geiselman looks at the state of smart manufacturing in the plastics industry in this episode of PMM Insight.
Read more:
Manufacturing technologies are evolving quickly, and those who don’t implement Industry 4.0 risk being left behind. Start small, but in a way that allows your company to scale up, says Editor Ron Shinn.
A survey of more than 300 manufacturers found that 99 percent say they plan to increase spending in technology and Industry 4.0 in 2024. At the same time, the cost of sensors, hardware and computing services are coming down.
In this episode of PMM Insight, Mo Abuali, digital director for manufacturing, retail and distribution at Wipfli LLP, told Editor Ron Shinn that these two trends have the potential to significantly improve man...
PMM Editor Ron Shinn has been to every NPE since 1991. In this episode of PMM Insight, he chooses 10 of the 111 Product Innovations featured in our April show preview issue that he's most excited to see.
Editor Ron Shinn, a veteran of dozens of plastics trade shows, looks forward to NPE2024 in May. It's been six years since the last one, and at the rate technology is advancing, there'll be many revelations to enjoy on the show floor.
Popular Podcasts
Join Holly and Tracy as they bring you the greatest and strangest Stuff You Missed In History Class in this podcast by iHeartRadio.
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.
If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people.
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.