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Eli Terry- Father of American Manufacturing
Antique Timepieces, American Manufacturing, and Clock Dating Chart America’s manufacturing expertise found its humble beginnings in the clock workshops of Eli Terry of Plymouth Connecticut at the turn of the nineteenth century. It was a special time in American history. The new country was between wars with England. Its leadership was passed from the founding…
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Mercedes 190E 2.3-16
Hambone’s Benz- A 1986 Mercedes 190E 2.3-16 Company Car The “Sixteen-Valve” Car In 1983 Mercedes Benz introduced the 190 series car. After more than a decade of watching BMW carve out a small sport sedan market segment, Mercedes responded. The BMW 2002 and the later 320i were the definition of what the market sought. Mercedes…
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Structural Foam
Structural Foam molding has been around since the sixties but remains unknown to many product designers. It is a way to injection mold very large parts. Traditional thermoplastic resins are used along with a blowing agent which produces a molded article with a cellular core and solid skins. These Polyethylene water tanks convey the concept…
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Gas Assisted Injection Molding
Gas Assisted Injection Molding was one of the fastest growing new injection molding technologies in the 1990’s. And yet, less than 20% of all currently active injection molding machines are equipped with this feature. Here’s how Short Shot Gas Assist works: In the initial phase, the resin is injected into the empty mold cavity. The…
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Design Guidelines
Piece part designers must have an understanding of the molding process being employed. Design for function and optimization require that every potential benefit of a given resin/process be exploited. At the same time there are design basics that must be respected. Such details as wall thickness, corner radius, and rib profile require special attention during…
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Highlands, NC
Highlands, North Carolina is a village located on the eastern continental divide at almost 4000 feet of elevation. Over 85 inches of annual rainfall insure beautiful forests, breath-taking waterfalls, and exciting whitewater activities. The area’s natural beauty attracts thousands of summer residents to enjoy the area’s fourteen championship golf courses and dozens of unique shops…
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Counterpressure Structural Foam
Counterpressure Structural Foam is a variation of the structural foam process. The purpose is to control the pressure drop at the leading edge that occurs during resin injection. Normally the pressure drop allows the blowing agent to expand during mold filling causing a visual defect called “swirl”. The Counterpressure in the mold cavity controls blowing…
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The Ultimate Barn Find
Coming soon……… The story of the lost 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO