With around 330 participants and experts from throughout the world, the First International Thermoset Symposium in Iserlohn was a very successful forum for operators, processors, and manufacturers of machines and raw materials. The concept of the "thermoset family” was well received during the symposium. In addition to the total of 17 practice-oriented technical papers presented by highly qualified speakers, the conversations at the exhibition stands during the breaks and the evening event with an underlying supplementary program in the Parkhalle of Iserlohn contributed to a dynamic exchange of experience. This successful symposium could only be realized thanks to the intensive preparations of the organization committee, composed of personnel from the companies AICAR SA, Bakelite AG, Dugro GmbH, Iserlohner Kunststoff - Technologie GmbH, Perstorp AB and Raschieg GmbH, and from the AVKTV and the Märkischen Fachhochschule in Iserlohn. In fact, the planning work was commenced a full year before the symposium was held. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Paul Thienel greeted the participants and hosted the symposium. To kick off the symposium, Dr. Jochen Kirchhoff, President of the NRW Employer’s Association, spoke about the lack of qualified personnel, experts and engineers in the plastics area. According to a survey, three of ten companies lack the qualified per-sonnel required to realize innovative projects. To ensure that qualified personnel will be available in the future, Dr. Kirchhoff pointed out the opportunities in crossdiscipline employment and in pilot projects for unemployed and prospective engineers. The coming interest for prospective engineers cannot be awakened early enough. "Children could be allowed to perform experiments in grade school to ensure that they are not too late to learn something about physics and chemistry, as is presently the case.” Technical talks on various areas covered by the raw material manufacturers commenced after Dr. Kirchhoff’s introductory address, and highlighted innovative advances in the area of molding compound development. An experiment vividly illustrating the subject of fireproofing was performed at the speaker’s podium, demonstrating the very good thermal behavior of thermosets compared to thermoplastic materials. Surface finishing, particularly plating of PF moldings, represents a further advance in the area of thermosets. Moldings such as handles for sanitary facilities may be chrome-plated using this method. By this means, thermoset materials can gain entrance to additional, previously unexploited market segments. In the area of thermoset processing, opportunities for practical persons right at the machine to enhance process reliability and to optimize the molding process were outlined. Drying and preheating the molding compounds can achieve considerable improvement in the economy of thermoset processing. Machine and raw material manufacturers have implemented a number of options in this direction in the past. Reductions in the cycle time of up to 33 % have been achieved. In addition to continued development of the periphery, a number of advances in the areas of injection molding machines and compression molding equipment could also be outlined. Thus, a trend toward machine technology (including embossing and vacuum units) specially adapted for use of thermoset molding compounds is evident. Special processes such as multicomponent injection molding using thermosets and thermoplastics will also make it possible to realize the newest, most innovative products in the future, with the accent on reduction of manufacturing costs and integration of multifunctional assemblies into a single product. The descriptions of possibilities offered by curing tests and other test methods relevant in thermoset processing were intended to provide the participants with an overview of information on questions that repeatedly arise in this area. In the area of thermosets, simulation of the mold filling operation was long impossible due to the chemical crosslinking that occurs and the associated difficulty in determining the viscosity. Now, reliable viscosity data may also be determined in the area of thermosets thanks to development of a special highpressure capillary rheometer. This type of simulation also takes account of thermoset crosslinking. It considerably simplifies development of the increasingly complex thermoset moldings. Many additional advances could be described. The wide range of participants who confirmed their attendance to the symposium organizers shows that it has indeed been possible to assemble a "thermoset family”, and the surprisingly large number of participants makes the interest in the "old-fashioned” thermoset material apparent. The advances in the thermoset area show one thing clearly: that thermosets are truly a "new material” with a future.

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