A Comprehensive Plastics Education at NPE

Regular readers might be familiar with Pellet 2 Part, a series of articles covering the injection molding process. There’s a reason why a magazine called MoldMaking Technology has expanded coverage beyond just the tool—namely, the fact that making the mold is often no longer enough. As many readers can attest, sampling, flow analysis, engineering and other front- and back-end value-adds are now part of the job description.  

Beefing up knowledge of these areas is one reason you might be planning to attend NPE this year. If so, don’t miss out on the chance to deepen your broader plastics education at the PT Knowledge Network. Named for our sister publication Plastics Technology (PT) and hosted at booth W-2602, the network is designed to help plastics professionals to connect with the information resources they need.

Perhaps the meatiest offering is a series of presentations, which are scheduled throughout the week and tend to run about 45 minutes each. Topics include calculating shot size vs. barrel capacity, gate geometry, drying PET, solving extrusion problems, workforce development, additive manufacturing, and reshoring. Given that I work for MoldMaking Technology, I’m particularly interested in the presentation on “thinking in plastic” rather than in steel (which, in essence, is what we’re trying to do with the aforementioned “Pellet 2 Part” column).

At the least, stop by, have a drink and some refreshments at the bar, check out our multimedia displays, do some networking, and sign up for the various prizes and giveaways. I promise it’ll be well worth your time.

The PT Knowledge Network is presented by Plastics Technology in association with MoldMaking Technology, Modern Machine Shop, CompositesWorld, Automotive Design & Production and Additive Manufacturing. Learn more and register here.