Pennsylvania College of Technology's Plastics Innovation & Resource Center offered three national seminars and hands-on workshops in June.
The PIRC, formerly the Plastics Manufacturing Center, provided seminars in rotational molding, thermoforming and extrusion, all led by world-class instructors.
The unique events combined the expertise of the instructors with the training capabilities and modern facilities of Penn College's plastics and polymer technology department.
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Christopher J. Gagliano, program manager of Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Thermoforming Center of Excellence, demonstrates a process for participants in the National Hands-On Thermoforming Workshop.
Held in early June, the center's Extrusion Seminar & Hands-On Workshop attracted 40 participants representing 25 companies and 15 states, plus Canada and the Dominican Republic.
The seminar, now in its 14th year, is led by well-known extrusion consultant Chris Rauwendaal, president of Rauwendaal Extrusion Engineering Inc. in Auburn, Calif., and Kirk M. Cantor, professor of plastics technology at Penn College.
Hands-on sessions included use of a single-screw extruder, twin-screw extruder, blown-film line, injection molder, melt rheology, indexer and tensile tester.
The center presented its annual Hands-On Rotational Molding seminar June 19-20. Led by instructor Paul Nugent, of MNOP Consulting, the seminar gave participants hands-on experience in combination with classroom training on higher-level technology in rotational molding.
The course helped to develop the connection among material preparation, molding parameters and final part quality.
Jerry Ramsey, president-owner of New Berlin Plastics, assisted in the workshops and opened his plant for a field trip. Eighteen participants representing 15 companies from seven states and three Canadian provinces attended the workshop.
The center's National Hands-On Thermoforming Workshop, held June 25 to 27, attracted 32 participants from 19 companies in 10 states.
The workshop was led by thermoforming experts Mark Strachan, president of Global Thermoforming Technologies Inc., and Jay Waddell, founding partner and key management principal of Plastic Concepts & Innovations LLC. There were 12 additional guest speakers from across the nation and Canada.
The workshop, which like the others balanced class time and hands-on instruction, provided instruction in plastic materials for thermoforming, thermoforming techniques, advanced forming techniques, and trimming, assembling and stacking.
For more information about the Plastics Innovation & Resource Center at Pennsylvania College of Technology, visit www.pct.edu/pirc.
