NPE 2006 adds rubber pavilion.

The first TPE/Rubber Pavilion ever organized for an NPE plastics trade show is sold out, with all 6,500 square feet of its planned space at NPE 2006 taken by 26 exhibitors, according to the General Products Group of the Rubber Manufacturers Association.

The RMA organized the pavilion in an agreement with the Society of the Plastics Industry, sponsor of NPE 2006, which takes place June 19-23 at McCormick Place in Chicago, IL.

Both thermoset rubber and thermoplastic elastomer technologies are represented among the exhibitors, which include material and equipment suppliers, processors and industry associations. In addition, one exhibit in the pavilion will be a display of products entered in a new TPE Product Design & Development Awards competition, with the winners to be announced on the last day of the show.

Educational programs at NPE 2006 covering elastomer technologies will include TPE/rubber conference sessions from the RMA's General Products Group on Wednesday, June 21; TPE/rubber seminars from the Rubber Division, ACS, on Tuesday and Wednesday, June 20-21; and a TPE overmolding design seminar sponsored by GLS on Tuesday, June 20.

Presentations will be given free of charge by the RMA's General Products Group on Wednesday, June 21. "TPEs 101: TPEs for dummies," by Jonas Angus of TPE Solutions will provide an introduction to thermoplastic elastomers.

"Market perspectives on TPEs and intermarket competition," by Robert Eller of Robert Eller Associates will discuss TPE and thermoset rubbers and the global growth and market trend perspectives.

"Case study and technical perspectives on TPEs/TSRs: The paradigm shift," by Carl McAfee will present a case study of rubber/TPE in the roll coveting industry.

"Novel olefin elastomers for the plastics industry," by Wendy Hoenig of Dow Chemical will discuss the molecular architecture approaches to advanced polyolefins product development and the use of the "Speed Based1" market development approaches to provide new products for market success.

"Bridging market gaps with propylene based plastomers and elastomers," by Lisa Madenjian of Dow Chemical will highlight a versatile family of specialty propylene-ethylene copolymers produced with a catalyst in combination with Dow's proprietary Insite technology and solution process. These resins are said to expand the performance of traditional polypropylene and further enable substitution of non-polyolefin polymers such as flexible polyvinylchloride (PVC), ethylvinylacetate (EVA) and styrene-ethylene-butene-styrene (SEBS) block copolymers.

"Enhanced melt strength ethylene/ alpha-olefin copolymer elastomers for thermoforming, blow molding and extruded profiles," by Laura B. Weaver of Dow Chemical will present a new family of ethylene/alpha-olefin copolymer elastomers available for processors who seek melt strength enhancement. The enhanced melt strength is a feature made possible via patented reactor based technology that includes unique ethylene/alpha olefin copolymer grades with enhanced levels of long chain branching, broader molecular weight distributions and higher molecular weights.

The Rubber Division, ACS, will sponsor a seminar on Molding Technology for TSEs and TPEs on Tuesday June 20. The course instructor is John Sommer and the course includes the 472-page textbook, Elastomer Molding Technology.

This half-day workshop will describe and compare important molding methods (compression, transfer and injection) for TSEs with those for TPEs (injection and blow). Injection is emphasized because it is the major molding method common to both elastomers. Injection molding machines and their characteristics will also be described and compared. Finally, there will be a limited description of mold designs for TPEs and TSEs.

Introduction to Rubber Technology will be held on Tuesday, June 20. The course instructor is R.J. Del Vecchio of Technical Consulting Services. The course includes the full textbook, A Beginner's Guide to Rubber Technology.

This half-day course will be a general introduction to the theory and practice of rubber technology, including the basic polymer types, their properties and the test methods used to evaluate them, common compounding practice, forming methods and practice, use of specifications, and quality control. Comparisons and contrasts will be drawn with plastics technology.

TPEs/TSRs: Comparing and Contrasting Applications and Processes will be presented on Wednesday, June 21. The course instructor is Charles Rader, a consultant in rubber technology with specialization in thermoplastic elastomers. The course includes the full textbook, Basic Elastomer Technology.

Advantages and disadvantages of TPEs will be examined, including specific successful applications. This course will be taught at an introductory level, presenting practical information on the reasons for the success of TPEs in many applications; an understanding of their lack of success in other applications; the major hurdles TPEs have encountered and overcome; generic classes of thermoset rubbers with which specific TPEs compete; the versatile means of processing TPEs; and the myriad of TPE applications.

TPEs: Choosing the Right TPE For Your Application will be presented on Wednesday, June 2. Charles Rader will be the instructor, and the course will include the textbook, Basic Elastomer Technology.

The principal area for the great success of TPEs is said to have been replacement of thermoset rubber. Successful innovation with a TPE requires a definition of the performance parameters needed in a specific application, in conjunction with the cost requirements of the finished article. The process of commercializing a TPE in a practical application is examined in detail, with the objective of giving optimum value to the end user of the rubber part. TPEs are said to offer a major opportunity to the processor of conventional thermoplastics. This course will be taught at an introductory level.

Registration for each of these four Rubber Division seminars costs $525 for Rubber Division members and $625 for non-members. Further information is available from the Rubber Division [phone].

GLS will present a seminar on TPE Overmolding Design on Tuesday, June 20. Participants will learn from leading industrial designers, molders, materials manufacturers and other notable speakers how to design and process TPE overmolded products that pop off the shelf and add value to a brand.

Presentations during the TPE overmolding seminar will include the following: "Design trends," Michelle Maniscalco, Injection Molding Magazine; "TPE markets and trends," Walter Ripple, GLS; "Engineering thermoplastics options and trends," Phil Noren, GE Plastics; "New injection overmolding technologies," Ansgar Jaeger, Demag Plastics Group; "In depth TPE overmold design," Malar Shetty, GLS; and "Doing business in China," Jim Buonomo, Nypro. Panel discussions will also be part of the presentation schedule.

Further information on the TPE overmolding seminar is available from GLS [phone].

Further information on NPE 2006: The International Plastics Showcase is available from the Society of the Plastics Industry [phone].