2019 SPE Thermoforming Division Conference – Milwaukee

CMT was delighted to participate in another great SPE Thermoforming conference, held this year in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Individual seminars were informative and well attended. With the unfortunate absence of Mark Strachan, we applaud the last-minute presenters that had the unenviable task of filling Mark’s shoes. Although Mark was deeply missed, the conference and adjunct presenters were spectacular in providing good information, making for productive seminars for all those in attendance.

CMT would like to recognize Ian Munnoch of MSA Components for the honor bestowed upon him as the 2019 SPE Outstanding Board Member of the Year. Ian was also one of the SPE members that gave a last-minute presentation on the science behind plug assist material and geometry.

Number 1 on the hot topic of conversation list at the CMT booth was HYTAC®-C1R copolymer plug assist material.  This very durable, high friction product provides excellent results for deep draw products and challenging part geometries. C1R’s great optical results with clear Polypropylene was also recognized in multiple discussions.

Another critical focus area was HYTAC®-XTL thermoplastic syntactic foam as customer’s shared experiences with XTL’s excellent durability and material distribution. HYTAC-XTL is the latest generation of thermoplastic syntactic foam offering double the flexural toughness compared to industry standard B1X. HYTAC-XTL is easier to polish and offers a 14% lower CTE making XTL the ultimate plug material for fine detail, high durability/toughness and scratch free thermoforming. The fact that XTL is also a lower price than B1X was not of interest to anyone.  (OK, we were just checking to see if you were really reading – yes, we readily admit several people gave us accolades for both improving performance and reducing cost!)

Much focus was on the heavy gauge market during the 2019 SPE Thermoforming conference in Milwaukee. CMT is committed to taking a fresh look at current offerings as well as potential for new product development for the heavy gauge market. In addition to plug assist material, syntactic foam continues to be evaluated as a material option for positive and negative molds. Conversations at the conference and trade booths have resulted in coordinated efforts with strategic partners to further conduct beta testing. Laboratory space has been made available to CMT to test materials and product performance in heavy gauge environments.