Appliance Technology

Break the mold on design, innovation, sustainability and more!

Refrigerators, dishwashers, hair dryers, televisions, power tools, even carpet-cleaning robots—all sectors of this far-reaching industry have at least one thing in common: plastic components.

Manufacturers of these components have special interests in design engineering, decorating, and assembly technologies—all to be represented in exhibits at NPE2012. The range of appliance-specific raw material technologies at NPE2012 will be vast. Some examples are engineering thermoplastics, rigid and heat-resistant thermosets, transparent polymers, elastomers for soft-touch grips and handles, compounds for cords and connectors, and foamable plastics for insulation and packaging. Processing equipment to be exhibited are large injection molding machines for dishwasher parts, vertical presses for wire harnesses, micro-molding machines for gears, fasteners, and electronics, and coextrusion systems and thermoformers for refrigerator liners.  

Search the exhibitors’ product lines online and create a “My Show Planner” schedule to organize your trip to NPE2012.

Reshape the Future: Technologies for Processors, Designers and OEMs

After an extremely successful debut at NPE2009, the International Plastics Design Competition (IPDC) will return to NPE2012 with even more entries representing a wide array of end-markets and technologies. This competition is what “breaking the mold” is all about—as entrants from any end market and from any country submit innovative new designs and compete in categories such as sustainability, emerging technology and even a People’s Choice award that tallied 10,000-plus votes in 2009. These innovations will all be on display, along with their related supply-chain exhibitors and targeted educational sessions.  As a backdrop to the exhibits, NPE2012 will offer the most comprehensive educational program in the plastics industry worldwide. SPI’s Business of Plastics Conference will offer tracks dedicated to bioplastics, sustainability, medical & healthcare and advocacy, regulatory affairs & safety. SPE’s ANTEC 2012 will offer white papers on these and additional technical issues.

TechnologyCentral@NPE2012

Focus your NPE experience and see the Emerging Technology Pavilions on Material Science, Sustainability and Energy. Also check out the nine Market Pavilions targeting such areas as Moldmaking, Thermoforming and  Processing.

Among the exhibitors across the exhibit floor you can expect to find at NPE2012 are those supplying:

• Design engineering products and services, such as CAD/CAM systems, rapid prototyping, and contract manufacturing by companies that design and produce parts, assemblies, or entire products.
• Toolmaking services. NPE is always a veritable tooling supermarket, including suppliers that specialize in molds for components ranging from large parts like washing machine agitators to small ones with extremely tight dimensional tolerances, such as plastic gears and micromolded medical and electronic parts. 
• Raw materials ranging from thermoplastic and thermoset compounds to specialty colorants and additives. Look for material innovations that deliver new customer values ranging from molded-in functionalities to decorative effects and shelf appeal.
• Primary processing equipment systems for all fabricating methods, including new systems that extend product development capabilities by increasing design freedom and expanding the scope for parts consolidation and light-weighting.