What Will 2020 Bring?

Happy New Year. I hope you had some time to spend with family over the holidays. Our family was fortunate to enjoy our 33rd year, and three generations, in Marco Island, Florida. That’s most of us in our annual sand lounge we build for New Year’s Eve.

A new decade is upon us and what a wonderful time to be in plastics. Fabricated and formed plastic parts are opening new markets and finding new applications, due in large part, to advances in materials and machinery. Suppliers to the plastic shapes industry continue to innovate providing you with more choices and opportunities than ever before. The materials, machinery and tooling in this issue can help your company open new doors and create new opportunities this year.

We kick-off with our annual CNC Routers & Tooling editorial spotlight. We have 3- and 5-axis machines that can increase your productivity and profitability along with tooling that helps you achieve the best finish off your new, or existing, CNC router.

Next we look at what’s new in Composites. Composites are well suited for applications in oil and gas, semiconductor and electronics as well as medical, aerospace, analytic instrumentation and energy. They offer superior strength to weight ratios, a low coefficient of thermal expansion and are moisture resistant. Thermoset materials are the oldest plastic yet they continue to offer properties that cannot be matched by any other materials.

Finally, in ”Safety Solutions” Jack looks at Protecting Employees When Performing Machine Operations. As we enter the new year, OSHA is now concentrating more of their inspection efforts on machinery.

The reason for these increased inspections is OSHA is now seeing an increase in employee amputa tions. Injuries resulting from inadequate machine guarding are of concern due to their potential severity. If your company needs assistance with a safety related matter, Jack would be happy to help. As a reader of PD&F Magazine he is available for an initial consultation. He has over 45 years in industrial safety and can be reached via email at jpodojil@podojilconsulting.com.

This year we look forward to bringing you the news and new products that will enable you to create opportunities for your company. To find additional resources that can increase your opportunities this year, and this decade, search our website. com. You can also contact our advertisers or manage your subscription via eReader Service.

Enjoy the issue,

March/April 2020

• Saws & Tooling
• See-Through Plastics