Literature Searching for Plastics Fabricating ... - ACS Publications

Literature Searching for Plastics Fabricating Methods and Machinery HENRY W. WEHR, JR., and G O R D O N B. THAYER

Downloaded by UNIV LAVAL on September 28, 2015 | http://pubs.acs.org Publication Date: June 17, 1954 | doi: 10.1021/ba-1954-0010.ch016

Plastics Technical Service, Dow Chemical Co., Midland, Mich.

Searching the mechanical engineering literature for information on fabricating methods and machinery should include consideration of periodicals, manufacturers' technical data, institutional publications, patents, textbooks, proceedings of various professional societies, bibliographies, unpublished data, foreign literature, dissertations, and abstracts. This paper has been prepared to guide people in the fields of plastics fabrication as well as outsiders interested in plastics to the available information. A bibliography is included with suggestions for obtaining some types of information which are not widely available.

Sources of information are discussed as groups in this paper; the bibliography is sub divided into the same groups.

Periodicals A rather sizable list of periodicals on fabricating methods and equipment for plastics is available to the searcher. Unfortunately, not a l l of these periodicals reach libraries be cause they are published i n the interest of a specialized group of advertisers and are dis tributed to a carefully selected list of prospective buyers. The editorial and advertising material i n these periodicals is a rich source of immensely practical information. The advertisers demand results from their expenditures, and the editors usually have close and frequent contact with them. There is much pressure to provide information which is useful at once rather than background material. Periodicals which are specialized i n product design and engineering are sources of i n formation on methods and equipment. Foreign periodicals present information which often is not given much space i n United States literature. One of the reasons for this difference i n emphasis is adaptability to mass production markets. Production methods employed b y foreign people may be too expensive for use here. However, there are many principles of technology which have been adapted to United States economy, and there will be many more. Some people have substituted ingenuity and hard work for natural resources and mass buying power. I t is not practical to discount foreign technology merely because it is not like that i n the United States. The present status of plastics fabrication is such that physicists and high polymer specialists are reporting behavior of plastics which has not been widely adapted to fabrica tion techniques. F o r this reason the searcher may find information of value concerning fabrication i n periodicals not ordinarily considered i n the field. The bibliography contains a list of periodicals compiled with the foregoing ideas i n mind. Articles on the technology of molding, extruding, compounding, calendaring, laminating, and tooling are to be found i n these publications. 134

In LITERATURE RESOURCES; Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1954.

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Manufacturers' Technical Data Plastic material manufacturers, machinery builders, specialty item distributors, and fabricators of plastics supply information concerning the use of their products as well as other information pertaining to fabrication of plastics. Some of the publications are ex tensive essays on various phases of plastics fabrication, while others are little more than descriptions of the products. Nevertheless, these sources of information are extremely important because of the lack of more formal presentations i n standard textbooks and references. A bibliography of some of the technical data (24) supplied b y one manufacturer has been prepared as an example. Such publications are revised frequently because of the ever-changing conditions for which they are produced. It is impossible to list all the information which is available, because of limited space and the fact that the compilers of this list cannot possibly be acquainted with everything which is currently published. Sweet's Catalog Service (25) publishes a catalog file which covers literature issued b y the major manufacturers i n the United States. Editors of trade publications and scientific journals are acquainted with many of the manufacturers' publications, and the editors may be a source of considerable current i n formation. Also, the advertising pages of trade papers carry announcements of new technical data bulletins. M o s t of the large manufacturers and many small ones have established technical service organizations which prepare publications and may be con sulted i n specific cases in which general data are not sufficient.

Institutional and Governmental Publications Institutional publications are not likely to provide readily usable information for the engineer i n manufacturing fabrication equipment for plastics. However, universities which maintain engineering research institutes and private engineering research institutes often supply extremely useful information concerning machine design and process princi ples on the theoretical level. Such institutions usually do research work on a contract basis for industrial clients. Some of their findings are, therefore, restricted as far as dis tribution is concerned. Other information is often made available generally. Typical engineering research institutes are Battelle Memorial Institute, 505 K i n g Ave., Columbus 1, Ohio, and the University of Michigan Engineering Research Institute, ' East Engineering Bldg., A n n Arbor, M i c h . These may suggest other institutes for spe cific information. The United States Government Office of Technical Services supplies information on government research documents. Some of these services have been described previously (26) and they are not discussed at this time.

Patents Patents contain much information concerning fabricating methods and machinery. The United States Patent Office has established classifications for various kinds of equip ment. This classification list is available i n most libraries and can be obtained from the United States Patent Office. One of the best methods of keeping up with new patents is to establish a standing order with the Patent Office for all patents as they are issued within the classifications desired. The Patent Gazette (29) is issued weekly b y the United States Patent Office, and it may be studied for abstracts of new patents. Also, various current magazines publish patent digests i n their editorial pages ; (27) and (28) list new patents as a regular editorial feature. These digests are often several weeks old, but they are a good source of i n formation. Foreign patents may be found at the United States Patent Office, although they are not classified i n the same fashion as the United States patents are. Two references on searching United States (30) and foreign (31) patent literature are included, as they have been found of considerable help i n searching patent literature. In LITERATURE RESOURCES; Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1954.

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Textbooks Engineers who have been engaged i n building and designing fabrication equipment for plastics have been much too busy to write textbooks which cover such equipment i n detail. M u c h of the equipment is specialized, and some of i t is kept secret. Some fea tures, of course, have been patented. I n general, the principles of mechanical engineering design have been applied to processing equipment; therefore, the standard engineering textbooks and handbooks are recommended for useful information concerning design of equipment. There are a number of books about plastic fabricating and machinery avail able, and these have been listed i n a bibliography.


Proceedings of Various Professional Societies Several professional societies have been extremely active in promoting the publication of information concerning fabricating methods and machinery for plastics. The official publications of these organizations have carried the new papers to a considerable extent i n the past. A bibliography listing publications of the principal societies which are likely to have information is given, with the location of the society headquarters.

Bibliographies The field of fabricating methods and machinery for plastics has not been covered ex tensively b y bibliographies published as such. The main source of bibliographies lies i n reading the literature and obtaining the information from the various articles which have been prepared carefully enough to contain their own bibliographies. Some trade publications publish bibliographies of articles of recent origin on an annual basis. Also, the Rubber and Plastics Division of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers makes an annual review of papers of interest to mechanical engineers on articles concerning rubber and plastics. The reviews are published i n Mechanical Engineering (53.)

Unpublished Data Industrial concerns engaged in the manufacture of plastic materials or equipment for processing such materials have many unpublished data i n their files. A considerable* amount of this information is available. It is something of a problem to be able to find i t , but there are several places to begin looking. M o s t manufacturers of plastic materials have technical service departments which are i n contact with the various laboratories in the organization. These technical service groups are able to be of assistance i n many cases to uncover unpublished information which is of interest to the searcher. Editors of trade journals have wide contacts industrially and can often steer the searcher to the information he wishes to obtain. Professional societies can also guide the searcher to various individual members who may know of data which have not been pub lished but which can be made available.

Foreign Literature M a n y industrial concerns subscribe to foreign periodicals and abstracts. Industrial libraries are an excellent source of foreign literature references. I n general, foreign litera ture on fabrication methods and equipment for plastics comes largely from European countries. This is because the industry is well established there and is not highly organ ized in other countries. It has become generally true in most cases that people look to the United States for new ideas in fabrication technology for plastics. The searcher, there fore, is likely to find a considerable amount of United States technology described in foreign literature. This does not mean, however, that other people are not making new developments of interest. Since the end of World W a r I I , many American industrial organizations have In LITERATURE RESOURCES; Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1954.

WEHR AND THAYER—LITERATURE SEARCHING FOR PLASTICS FABRICATING METHODS

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searched European technology for new equipment and materials. A number of new items of equipment have been introduced in the American market either through agents of foreign manufacturers or through American manufacturers who have adapted foreign equipment. A study of the advertisements of domestic manufacturers of equipment will serve to keep the searcher up to date in this regard.


Dissertations Very little information concerning fabrication methods and machinery directly is available in the form of dissertations. Equipment for fabricating plastics is expensive and is difficult for research institutions to obtain and maintain with the latest design features. Also, the needs of industry are considerably more specific than the work which can be handled by students of basic technology. For this reason the development of equipment and methods on the manufacturing level usually is done in industrial plants rather than in educational institutions. Dissertations are not likely to prove to be a fertile field for fabrication equipment development ideas. Abstracts At the present time abstracts in the field of fabrication methods and equipment for plastics are not a very important source of information. No formal abstracting service in this field is known to the authors, although possibly some abstracts cover fabricating methods and equipment when such information appears in other classifications of litera ture. Chemical Abstracts deals mainly with the chemical nature of the materials being fabricated and not with the fabrication processes and machinery. It does not appear likely that an abstract service would be able to pay its own way because of the relatively few engineers who are engaged in development of fabrication methods and equipment for plastics. Some of the trade magazines do abstract each others' articles as well as recently received manufacturers' technical data bulletins. This information is not usually classified nor is it selected by any systematic method. Bibliography PERIODICALS

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) (15) (16) (17) (18) (19) (20) (21) (22) (23)

British Plastics, Illiffe and Sons, Ltd., Dorset House, Stamford St., London, S.E. 1. Canadian Plastics, 341 Church St., Toronto, Ont., Can. Chemical Abstracts, American Chemical Society, 1155 Sixteenth St., NW, Washington 6, D.C. Design News, 4612 Woodward Ave., Detroit 1, Mich. India Rubber World, 386 Fourth Ave., New York 16, Ν. Y. Industrial Equipment News, 461 Eighth Ave., New York 1, Ν. Y. Journal of Polymer Science, 250 Fifth Ave., New York 1, Ν. Y. Machine Design, Penton Bldg., Cleveland 13, Ohio. Materials and Methods, 330 West 42nd St., New York 36, Ν. Y. Modern Industry, 400 Madison Ave., New York 17, Ν. Y. Modern Packaging, 575 Madison Ave., New York 22, Ν. Y. Modern Plastics, 575 Madison Ave., New York 22, Ν. Y. New Equipment Digest, Penton Bldg., Cleveland 13, Ohio. Packaging Parade, 101 Park Ave., New York, Ν. Y. Paper Industry, 431 South Dearborn St., Chicago 5, Ill. Paper Trade Journal, 15 West 47th St., New York 36, Ν. Y. Plastics (British), 27 Shaftesbury Ave., London, W.1. Plastics Industry, 342 Madison Ave., New York, Ν. Y. Plastics News Letter, 22 West Putnam Ave., Greenwich, Conn. Plastics World, 22 West Putnam Ave., Greenwich, Conn. Product Engineering, 330 West 42nd St., New York 26, Ν. Y. Rubber Age, 250 West 57th St., New York 19, Ν. Y. Tooling and Production, 1975 Lee Road, Cleveland 18, Ohio.

MANUFACTURERS' TECHNICAL DATA

(24) Dow Chemical Co., Midland, Mich., Plastics Technical Service, Technical Data Bulletins. "Technology of Injection Molding." Vol. I, "Fundamental Considerations"; Vol. II, "Nozzle Designs"; Vol. Ill, "Polystyrene Containers for Electric Storage Batteries"; Vol. IV, "Molding Heavy Sections"; Vol. V, "Controlled Flow, Balanced Gating and Other Consider ations in Polystyrene Molding." In LITERATURE RESOURCES; Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1954.

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"Coloring of Styron by the Fabricator." "Extrusion of Styron." "Adhesives and Coatings for Styron." "Machining and Mechanical Finishing of Styron." (25) "Plant Engineering File," Sweet's Catalog Service, Division of F. W. Dodge Corp., 119 West 40th St., New York 18, Ν. Y. GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS

(26) Ball, N. T., and Flagg, C. R., ADVANCES IN CHEM. SER., NO. 4, 70 (1951). Searching the United States Government Documents. PATENTS


(27) Design News, 4612 Woodward Ave., Detroit 1, Mich. (28) Modern Plastics, 575 Madison Ave., New York 22, Ν. Y. (29) Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office, Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D. C. (30) Fleischer, Joseph, ADVANCES IN CHEM. SER., NO. 4, 61 (1951). (31) Ibid., p. 81. TEXTBOOKS

(32) Bakelite Corp., New York, Ν. Y., "Molding Technic for Bakelite and Vinylite Plastics," 1941. (33) Davis, R. L., and Beck, R. D., "Applied Plastic Product Design," New York, Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1946. (34) DeBell, J. M., Goggin, W. C., and Gloor, W. E., "German Plastics Practice," Hazardville, Conn., DeBell and Richardson, 1946. (35) Delmonte, J., "Plastics in Engineering," Cleveland, Penton Publishing Co., 1949. (36) DuBois, J. H., "Plastics," Chicago, American Technical Society, 1945. (37) DuBois, J. H., and Pribble, W. I., "Plastics Mold Engineering," Chicago, American Technical Society, 1945. (38) Haim, G., and Zade, H. P., "Welding of Plastics," London, Crosby Lockwood and Son, Ltd., 1947. (39) Halliday, W. M., "Moulds for Plastics," London, Temple Press, Ltd., 1948. (40) Herb, C. O., "Die Casting," New York, Industrial Press, 1952. (41) Hicks, J. S., "Low Pressure Laminating of Plastics," New York, Reinhold Publishing Corp., 1947. (42) Mansperger, D. E., and Pepper, C. W., "Plastic Problems and Processes," Scranton, Pa., International Textbook Co., 1942. (43) Plastics Catalog Corp., New York, "Modern Plastics Encyclopedia," 1950. (44) Richardson, H. M., and Wilson, J. W., ed., "Fundamentals of Plastics," New York, McGrawHill Book Co., 1946. (45) Sachs. C. C., and Snyder, Ε. H., "Plastic Mold Design," New York, Murray Hill Books, Inc., 1947. (46) Sandy, A. H., "Moulds and Presses for Plastic Moulding," London, Crosby Lockwood and Son, Ltd., 1947. (47) Sasso, J., "Plastics Handbook for Product Engineers," New York, McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1946. (48) Simonds, H. R., "Industrial Plastics," New York, Pitman Publishing Corp., 1945. (49) Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc., New York, N. Y., "S.P.I. Handbook," 1947. (50) Thayer, G. B., "Plastics Molds," Cleveland, Huebner Publications, 1946. (51) Thomas, Islyn, "Injection Molding of Plastics," New York, Reinhold Publishing Corp., 1947. PUBLICATIONS OF PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES

(52) Chemical Engineering Progress, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, 120 East 41st St., New York 17, Ν. Y. (53) Mechanical Engineering, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 29 West 39th St., New York 18, Ν. Y. (54) S. P. E. Journal, Society of Plastic Engineers, Inc., 409 Security Bank Bldg., Athens, Ohio. (55) "S.P.I. Handbook," Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc., 67 West 44th St., New York 18, Ν. Y. (56) Transactions of A.S.M.E., American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 29 West 39th St., New York 18, Ν. Y. RECEIVED October 14, 1952. Presented before the Division of Chemical Literature, Symposium on Literature of Synthetic Resins and Plastics, at the 122nd Meeting of the AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY, Atlantic City, N. J.

In LITERATURE RESOURCES; Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1954.

Literature Searching for Plastics Fabricating ... - ACS Publications

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