Brochure: GMP Manufacturing

whitePaper | July 24, 2020

The advanced actuation system on Emerson’s new Branson GSX ultrasonic welder dynamically adjusts weld force to enable reliable assembly of plastic parts in product designs considered too small, delicate or difficult to weld before. This white paper outlines the development of the new actuation system and explains how improved force control — particularly “dynamic follow-through” after plastic melt — contributes to superior weld strength and quality. The paper also describes head-to-head tests in which the new Branson GSX actuation system outperformed existing welders with pneumatic and servo-controlled actuators by completing consistently good welds on plastic parts that could not be reliably welded in the past.

whitePaper | January 2, 2023

Additive Manufacturing (AM) and Injection Molding (IM) are often perceived as competing plastic processing technologies. However, organizations must be ready to utilize and switch between different production technologies to address changing product requirements, shift production schedules based on market demands, or respond to supply chain crises. This includes making both technologies complementary, not exclusive.

whitePaper | August 23, 2022

The contract packaging industry is growing at a 12.5% annual growth rate1, according to Contract Packaging Association (CPA). Driven by the continued increase in consumer brands (more than 30,0001 ), there are now over 1,0002 contract packaging companies in the U.S., ranging from smaller operations with 20 employees to some with more than 1,000 employees. More and more consumer goods companies are relying on contract packaging partners to continue providing quality products, faster time-to-market, reliable delivery, and continued innovation. While the packaging industry is seeing of opportunity and growth, there are some challenges to carefully navigate.

whitePaper | October 3, 2022

If yours is like most businesses today, you run a tight ship. When you see problems on your production line, you do not wait to solve them, and the result is a lean operation that does not let issues linger or snowball into larger problems. But it is impossible to fix what you cannot see or track. While Industry 4.0 is often a buzzword, Watlow® is already providing solutions that are helping manufacturers proactively forecast future issues and reduce costs. Given that the average cost of an hour of downtime in manufacturing was $532,000 in 2021, there is so much opportunity for businesses to save money with Industry 4.0.

whitePaper | July 26, 2023

In recent years, considerable progress has been made in the field of amorphous metals, also known as metallic glasses. Here, new insights were gained into the composition of alloys in order to achieve a better glass forming ability and thus enable larger components. While the first amorphous alloys usually consisted of two elements, the currently most promising amorphous alloys often consist of four to five elements. Occasionally zirconium-based alloys show the best glass-forming ability, with which the largest component dimensions can be realized.

whitePaper | January 9, 2023

Silicone rubber has many applications, from hearing aids to handles and grips on consumer goods. This report provides an overview of 3D printed tooling for silicone part production, including two part injection molds, overmolds, compression molds, and eggshell molds. These methods can be employed for the prototyping of soft silicone products, small-batch production of customer beta units, or production of custom end-use goods. A step-by-step guide is provided for producing a silicone keychain with an encapsulated Apple AirTag, employing mold design best practices from several Formlabs product design customers. We also present information about successful material workflows from Formlabs users, including silicone-resin compatibility and recommended mold releases for both tin and platinum cure silicones.