Entries by CMTUpdate

How to Choose the Right Plug-Assist Material

A question that we get asked a lot is, “What type of syntactic plug material should I use for my application?” Like most things in thermoforming, the answer is, “It depends.” However, we recognize that thermoformers and toolmakers want some degree of certainty when choosing plug materials. That’s why we have created a selector guide […]

Best Practices for Machining HYTAC® Plug-Assist Materials

Machining syntactic foam is not like machining other materials such as wood, aluminum or plastic. That’s why we have created guides to help toolmakers and thermoformers select the right tools and the right geometry for machining and cutting HYTAC® syntactic foams from CMT. Properly machined, HYTAC® materials generally require minimal extra polish or surface preparation.  […]

CMT Materials, Inc. To Expand in Europe with New Facility in Netherlands

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CMT Materials, Inc. To Expand in Europe with New Facility in Netherlands May 14, 2013 – Attleboro, MA CMT Materials, Inc. will open a new location in The Netherlands this year. The new facility will include full inventory, sales and customer service personnel, and cut-to-size services.  “By setting up a physical presence […]

Best Practice: Polishing HYTAC® Materials

HYTAC® materials may be polished to a smooth surface finish condition. A properly polished plug will reduce scratching and aid in plug life/reduce sheet stick to the plug. Syntactic foams are a variety of combinations of epoxy, plastic and hollow glass microspheres.  The same properties that make these foams the top choice for plug assist […]

CMT International Report: Chinaplas 2013

According to official tallies from show organizers, Chinaplas 2013 drew 114,000 visitors from around the world. From the perspective of your humble correspondent, rumors of a decline in the plastics industry have been greatly exaggerated, at least on evidence of our booth traffic. We saw visitors from China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand, just to […]

Best Practice: Threading HYTAC® Plugs

HYTAC®-B1X and XTL are thermoplastic-based syntactic foams. Due to the thermoplastic base, both B1X and XTL are extremely tough and durable. Unlike traditional syntactic foams which require inserts, B1X and XTL can be direct threaded. For all other HYTAC® materials, CMT recommends use of slotted inserts bonded into the base of the plug. We have […]

Field Notes: AMI Thin Wall Packaging Conference

CMT participated in the 2nd annual AMI Thin Wall Packaging Conference this week in Wheeling, IL. This was the first time that we attended this seminar and based on what we heard and who we met, it is likely that we will return next year. AMI is a global market research firm and they brought […]

Field Notes: National Hands-On Heavy Gauge Thermoforming Workshop

by Kathleen Boivin, Sr. Materials Engineer, CMT Materials Last week, CMT participated in the 4th annual National Hands-On Heavy Gauge Thermoforming Workshop at Pennsylvania College of Technology (Penn College) in Williamsport, PA.  CMT has participated in this workshop since its inception.  The first year, we attended the workshop as participants.  The last three years, we […]

Field Notes: National Hands-On Thin Gauge Thermoforming Workshop

By Terry Woldorf, General Manager, CMT Materials “Highly interactive.”   “Informative.”  “Surprising.”  “Great combination of lab, lecture and science and fun.”  These are just a sampling of comments overheard at the 4th annual National Hands-On Thin Gauge Thermoforming Workshop. CMT Materials, Inc. again was invited to present in the lectures and participate in the lab.  The […]

Field Notes: Kiefel USA Thin Gauge Thermoforming Workshop

By Conor Carlin, International Sales Manager On June 27-28, CMT participated in an impressive thin gauge thermoforming workshop hosted by Kiefel Technologies USA at their facility in Portsmouth, NH. The event was a highly technical affair with presentations from a variety of experts as well as a demonstration of a KMD85 inline thermoforming system. Attendees […]