Penn State Behrend Announces Annual Innovation & Emerging Plastics Technologies Conference

Penn State Behrend proudly hosts its annual Innovation and Emerging Plastics Technologies Conference at its Erie, Pennsylvania campus. The two‑day event showcases talks from leading industry experts and offers hands‑on tutorials, many of which take place in the state‑of‑the‑art 10,500‑ft² plastics processing laboratory.

Penn State Behrend’s processing technology lab covers 10,500‑ft². Source: Penn State Behrend

Morning sessions run parallel across three distinct tracks, followed by in‑depth three‑hour tutorials in the afternoon—some featuring hands‑on labs. Evening networking sessions bring together more than 200 plastics professionals from 40+ companies.

Speakers come from premier suppliers such as Engel, Oerlikon HRSflow, Wittmann, Arburg, Milacron, AIM Institute, Barnes, Boy Machines, Mold‑Masters, Kistler, Absolute Haitian, Technoject, Conair, Moretto, and others.

Tutorials cover a range of critical topics—including Mold Maintenance for Hot‑Runner Systems, Introduction to Automation, Basics of Mold Material and Coating Selection, Injection Molding Setup and Control Strategies, Sustainable Processing, Practical Rheology, Injection Molding Troubleshooting, and more. The conference will also feature live demonstrations of low‑pressure molding and other advanced molding processes in the lab.

Related Content

• The Protection Business

  The humble combination cap and plug gave Caplugs a cornerstone product and a name, but 75 years later the company has grown to encompass so much more.

• California Molding: How To Make It Work

  Manufacturing in the Golden State has always presented unique challenges. Performance Engineered Products rises to the task through continuous improvement.

• The Connector Conundrum: 3D Printed Mold Tooling’s Role in Innovation

  ReelView Fishing faced an electronics obstacle in the development of its new technology for underwater video. Additive manufacturing for moldmaking allowed for the speed necessary to iterate to a solution. How inventors and invention will benefit from new ways of obtaining production‑ready tooling.