PDM show makes plastic fantastic

Taking place from 18th-19th May, the annual Plastics Design and Moulding Exhibition (PDM11) is the most comprehensive plastics event in the UK and is a must-attend event for anyone involved in the production of plastic products. PDM is a vibrant source of information, education and inspiration for plastics design and moulding professionals. PDM11 is the place for plastics and design professionals to network and learn. Visitors can meet representatives from every part of the UK plastics design and moulding community including suppliers of injection moulding machinery, rotational moulding machinery, blow moulding machinery and ancillary equipment as well as automation companies, mouldmakers, polymer producers, compounders, polymer distributors, masterbatch and additive suppliers, software companies, materials testing specialists, moulders, rapid prototyping companies, design companies and other industry services. "Following on from the huge success of last year's seminar, the British Plastics Federation's Rotational Moulding Group is once again working with PDM to put on a similar session," says Martin Spencer, Chairman of the BPF's Rotational Moulding Group. "The BPF is particularly excited that PDM is coming to ExCel in London and the opportunities that this seminar will bring to interface with the London design community." The annual event, which this year moves to the ExCel Centre in London for 18-19 May 2011, includes a free two-day programme of design-related seminars and a new plastics design workshop. The BPF (British Plastics Federation) is also holding a seminar specifically for designers on the role of colour and additives in plastics densign and manufacture. The PDM11 conference programme – running across both days of the show – tackles a host of in-depth topics that are based around the core subject of design for plastics manufacture. Seminar topics include: Award Winning Injection Moulding; Medical Device Manufacture; Injection Moulding – design and product development, Injecting Innovation into Plastic Component Design and Manufacture and Injection Moulded Part Design – issues and optimisation. The BPF Rotation Moulding Group will also be hosting a session on Design Innovation in Rotational Moulding. Full details of the PDM conference programme are at the end of this press release. Injection moulding technology group Engel, design company Agentdraw and materials distributor Plastribution are collaborating to hold PDM's first plastics design workshop on 18th May in the Titanium room, right next to the PDM 11 exhibition area at ExCel. The workshop repeats the successful format of similar events held earlier this year in which product designers can present new concepts and part-developed projects in a confidential session and receive fee high-level advice on product design, tooling and manufacture. Plastribution, Engel and Agentdraw are all exhibiting at PDM11 as well. To register for a session at the plastics design workshop visit www.pdmevent.com/workshop. "Our first two plastics design workshops have been very successful, with some very interesting projects that might otherwise have taken much more time and money to bring to reality," according to Mike Boswell, managing director of Plastribution. He says: "The multi-disciplinary approach with our partners Engel and Agentdraw has been very fruitful, with one of the most promising projects to date being a metal replacement component for a demanding application." The BPF colour and additives seminar, taking place on 19th May in the Titanium Room is being organised by the BPF's Masterbatch and Technical Compounds Group. The group's member companies will make presentations and be on hand to offer their expertise to designers attending the seminar. Topics covered in the seminar will include: adding value through colour and additives; forecasting colour trends; liquid systems; the challenge of innovative polymers; advancements in colour and additive technologies. There will also be opportunity for questions and discussion. Greg Hammond, chairman of the BPF's Masterbatch and Technical Compounds Group said: "The British masterbatch industry is at the forefront of colour and additive technology within the plastics world and PDM is the ideal platform on which to showcase our abilities to the design community." The seminar will be held in two sessions: the morning session starts at 10.30 am and finishes at 12.30 pm; the afternoon session starts at 2.00 pm and finishes at 4.00 pm. For further information and to register contact Sarah Plant at the BPF, email splant@bpf.co.uk or Tel 020 7457 5000. Attendance is free but the number of places at each seminar is limited so booking is recommended. PDM11 is co-located at the ExCel Centre with a unique new event dedicated to industrial design: the Product Design + Innovation conference.