The deepest dream of any designer is to manufacture his new device in an only one continuous process leading directly from the raw materials up to a packaged device. With the inescapable evolution of plastic processing techniques and robotics this beautiful dream comes true as we can see a diagrammatic example on figure 1-Examples of In-Line operations.
These techniques are fast developing, not for some intellectual satisfaction or out of fashion but because of a higher logistics freedom and interesting savings in time, money, energy, characteristics and quality. All the markets benefit, to a more or less extent, of the in-line compounding, for example, Automotive, Packaging, Electricity & Electronics, Appliances, Healthcare & Medical, Industrial, Communications, Railroad etc. Manufactured parts are as diversified as, for example, airbag doors, boards, booths, bottles, computer components, conduit, covers, doors, films, fittings, front-ends, joints, moulded parts, panels, pipes, profiles, sheets, tailgates, trays, WPC...