Impact - PE-HD - Safripol (Pty) Ltd

Plastics Technology, 2004-03-31, Disposable Packaging Goes "Natural"
A compostable "natural" composite developed by EarthShell Corp. is likely to have a broad impact on disposable packaging markets, company sources say. At EarthShell"s inception in 1992,...

Plastics Technology, 2004-03-31, Disposable Packaging Goes 'Natural'
A compostable "natural" composite developed by EarthShell Corp. is likely to have a broad impact on disposable packaging markets, company sources say. At EarthShell's inception in 1992, it e...

Plastics Technology, 2007-02-02, The Impact of Processing Aids on PLA Extrusion Performance
The interest in extruding PLA (Polylactide resin) is growing for several reasons. These include the fact that the polymer comes from a renewable resource and that it is a degradable, environmentally f...

Plastics Technology, 2008-12-30, Bio-Resins Tackle Durable Applications
... and processability limitations, they are being alloyed with conventional resins and fortified with impact modifiers, reinforcing fillers, and nano-additives (see Learn More box).

Plastics Technology, 2009-02-04, Novel PC/Polyester Blends Combine Stiffness and Ductility
An unusual balance of high modulus and ductile impact behavior is claimed for Xenoy HMD resins, recently launched by SABIC Innovative Plastics. As we reported initially in November, these PC/PBT and P...

Kunststoffe international, Absorption of Water by Molded Plastics
...ties Water absorption causes molded parts to swell, lowers their softening temperature (glass transition temperature), reduces their stiffness (modulus of elasticity) and decreases their strength. At the same time, their ductility and impact strength increase. Furthermore, diffusion processes can lead to internal constraints, e. g. as a result of concentration differences within the part. Since polyamides constitute the largest group of engineering plastics, examples of their use abound in, e. ...

Kunststoffe international, An Impact Way beyond its Small Market Share
Although fluoroplastics only make up a very small part of the overall plastics market, they are an indispensable component of many applications. These materials play a central role in today’s megatrends of digitalization, clean-energy generation and modern mobility concepts. In fluoroplastics, the hydrogen atoms of the main carbon chains are completely or partially replaced by fluorine atoms. Because these carbon-to-fluorine bonds are very stable, fluoroplastics exhibit a special combination of ...

Kunststoffe international, Automotive Display: A Matter of Form
...or the heat emitted from the displays, dimensional stability, scratch resistance despite numerous abrasion strokes and optical quality that must be comparable to high-quality materials such as mineral glass. High impact strength is also necessary in order to prevent splintering of the cover glass, even in the event of head impact in the worst case. In addition, it must also be possible to integrate touch operation. As with every lifetime component in the vehicle, a fatigue strength of over 10 ye...

Kunststoffe international, Beyond Human Capabilities
...earance of the part. Direct influencing factors are process variables such as the melt temperature, but disturbance variables such as environmental influences, batch fluctuations of the raw material and inhomogeneous mold temperatures also have an impact on part quality. An additional complication for the process technician is that he can only change machine values (e. g. injection speed) and parameters of the peripheral devices. Only in connection with the machine configuration – including scre...

Kunststoffe international, Correctly Assessing the Energy‧Efficiency of Heating Systems
...efficiency to us,” says Rottach. Insulation and Heat Balance Are Key Factors The technology expert makes a vivid analogy with the construction industry: “We know that insulation and ventilation in houses have a much greater impact on heating cost than does the efficiency of the heating system. The insulation in new houses is now so good that, even when the temperature is 15 °C outdoors, there is no need to turn on the heating. Enough heat is emitted by the inhabitants and appliances to maintain...

Kunststoffe international, Diverse Shapes and Applications
...erature. This benign rheological behavior is beneficial for processing as well. Examples of styrene polymers are: Polystyrene (PS) is being used as crystal clear, stiff, but brittle homopolymer general purpose polystyrene (GPPS) or as impact modified, stiff but opaque (high) impact polystyrene (HIPS). Styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer (SAN) is a transparent, stiff and thermoplastic polymer material with enhanced stress cracking resistance. SAN is based on the monomers styrene and acrylonitrile. ...

Kunststoffe international, Drivers of Electromobility
...omponents such as sensors, connectors, ADAS or electronic enclosures. Furthermore, in close cooperation with Stuttgart, Germany, based automotive supplier Bosch, DSM has developed a dedicated test facility for measuring the impact of electrical corrosion for different application cases both with and without direct metal contact. To further minimize the problem of electrical corrosion caused by additives, DSM has introduced ForTii Ace as a high temperature PPA with the highest Tg (glass transitio...

Kunststoffe international, Easier to Reach the Destination
...et today’s materials may contain 10 % or less. To use the example of door cladding materials, which nowadays can boast densities lower than 1 g/cm3. One material solution used to achieve this is Daplen EE001AI, a highly impact-re‧sistant PP compound providing very good surface aesthetics and scratch resistance – and a density of only 0.95 g/cm3. Above and beyond its pleasing aesthetics, Daplen EE001A1 also fulfils other demands placed on interior materials. It meets the highest OEM standards in...

Kunststoffe international, Excellent Resistance at Reduced Weight
...(compression-free screw conveyor, D = 30 mm, L/D = 15). The test specimen is a plate with the dimensions 80 x 80 x 4 mm, from which specimens for the tensile test and unnotched specimens for determining the impact strength are milled out (Fig. 2). Studies with Chemical Blowing Agents The foaming effect of the chemical blowing agent results in a weight reduction of the thermoset test specimens. In order to analyze the influences and interactions of the process parameters, the component weights ar...

Kunststoffe international, Flexible Guiding Systems for Cooling Air
...ximum plant efficiency. Since the mass throughput strongly depends on the amount of heat removed from the bubble, existing cooling systems are being constantly further developed and optimized [1], which also has a positive effect on the ecological impact (see Box p. 34). Principles and Challenges of Blown Film Cooling Conventional blown film lines use air cooling rings and internal bubble cooling systems to convectively extract heat out of the film by blowing cooled air from outside and inside ...

Kunststoffe international, Foamed and Still Extruded in One Step
...xtruder (Fig. 5). A typical window profile formulation of PVC powder and different ‧additives, such as thermal and light stabilizers, lubricants, acrylic impact mod‧ifiers and fillers, was used. Problems with the Die Both the PVC outer layer and the PS foam could be very easily extruded in the first tests in separate operations. However, since the die heated up to about 190 °C in the coextrusion process, the formation of a stable foam in the profile was hampered. The manufactured profiles were ...

Kunststoffe international, From the Sea to Electronics
...ammability tests as well as the Glow Wire Ignition Tests (GWIT) and the Glow Wire Flammability Test (GWFI). Compared to PET, PBT has a lower strength, rigidity, and glass transition temperature. However, it exhibits better impact resistance, faster crystallization, and better aesthetic properties. Moreover, it processes at a lower temperature profile, which makes it more advantageous for injection molding applications than PET. Flame retarded PBT compounds with halogen-free flame retardants sho...

Kunststoffe international, Half a Million More Parts
...s microparticles which produce a more gentle clean than conventional dry ice pellets. This is accelerated with compressed air to supersonic speed and can penetrate even into very delicate contours as well as cavities. The impact results in a combination of kinetic, thermal shock and thermokinetic effects. At the impact point, this results in a kind of “microexplosion” that spreads over the surface. This “explosion wave” has very efficient lifting force, which reliably removes the contaminants f...

Kunststoffe international, Heat Aging Data
...tensively. Heat aging is usually documented in diagrams, which represent the decrease of significant properties over time after storage at elevated temperatures. This information is also available in Campus. The indicative properties here are Charpy impact strength at 23 °C Charpy notched impact strength at 23 °C Stress at break Strain at break Puncture – maximum force at 23 °C Tensile impact strength Electric strength The term used for these diagrams is “long term heat aging” (LTHA). In the dia...

Kunststoffe international, Influences on Microdamage Strain Limits
...d on the microdamage strain limit by adding fibers or hard fillers [14]. No information is available about the impact of fiber orientation and fiber length. The estimated value C2 ≈ 0.5 provides a rough indication [21], which by the way is not a bad fit for the transition from the linear to the non-linear range of many stress-strain curves. A proportional decrease in the critical strain with increase in mass fraction ψ of chopped strands is postulated by the equation C2 ≈ 1 – 1.5 × ψ [16]. Howe...

Kunststoffe international, Less Is Often More
.... The surface temperature of the hose was found to be 51 °C lower. This effect is noticeable to the machine operators, and generally makes working on the machine more comfortable. It also impacts the shopfloor climate, because all of the saved heat flow would otherwise have contributed to the shopfloor ambient temperature in the form of lost heat. What is more, operating health and safety is increased because employees no longer have to fear being burned if they touch the hoses. Ultimately, the ...

Kunststoffe international, Maintaining Clarity Long-Term
...uch as Evonik focus on developing and modifying thermoplastics to resist attack by specialty chemicals used in healthcare.The specialty molding compounds based on polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) produced under the brand name Cyrolite are transparent, impact-modified copolymers specially developed for medical technology. They are particularly suitable for use in medical device technology and diagnostics equipment. Cyrolite products are available in eight grades with nuanced property profiles. They...

Kunststoffe international, Metal Substitution with Improved PA
..., however they are the materials of choice as soon as a higher toughness is required. The Ultramid-XP grades combine these properties. They reach the mechanical level of PA66 GF products with the same glass fiber content and have higher impact strength than these. Due to the higher impact strength, they offer an alternative to impact-modified PA compounds for various applications (Fig. 3). In component tests, it was possible to demonstrate other very good mechanical properties of the Ultramid XP...

Kunststoffe international, Polymer Materials
...nt, debate centers mainly around the global spread of macro- and microplastics. This has given rise to a massive image problem and hostility to the material, frequently referred to as “plastics bashing”. This is now having an impact on the use of plastics and composite materials indispensable to our lives in the technical, medical, and sports sectors. However, this image problem can also be traced back in large part to historical origins. Since the first production of semi-synthetic plastics suc...

Kunststoffe international, Polypropylene Beats Aluminum
...tric vehicles have been produced mainly from aluminum. Recently, however, a number of vehicles have caught fire after objects lying in the road were flung up at high speed against the battery trays. These components were designed to resist low-speed impact stresses and could not withstand this ballistic impact. As a result, the objects pierced the trays and damaged the batteries, which then began to burn. ElringKlinger AG, Dettingen an der Erms, Germany, therefore developed a ballistic-impact-re...

Kunststoffe international, Present in a Multitude of Trends
...odule walls, covers, spacers, frames for pouch cells and crash absorbers. The material properties sought after here are characteristics such as high dimensional stability, low-temperature impact strength and fire resistance (UL 94 V-0) as well as electrical properties such as high tracking resistance and good thermal conductivity. Battery developers also prefer thermoplastics such as PC because of the high degree of freedom in terms of shaping and low-cost injection molding in mass production. T...

Kunststoffe international, Quickly and Gently around the Bend
...ur in specific areas of the hot runner, something which ultimately cannot be ruled out with any conveying system.Preform manufacturers should be aware of such zones because, in addition to dust formation, the molecular-chain decomposition can also impact part quality and impair the barrier and bursting-pressure resistance as well as taste neutrality. As a rule, hot runner systems are therefore designed in such a way that both the pressure requirement and the residence time of the melt in the sys...

Kunststoffe international, Recycling that Gets under the Skin
...ness for use of the transport boxes produced in the two-component (skinmelt) process. To allow the product reliability to be subsequently assessed, further investigations were performed, particularly on the impact and continuous service properties. Recycled Material Increases Strength The mechanical properties were investigated in detail at the Institute of Polymeric Materials and Testing at Johannes Kepler University in Linz, Austria. For this purpose, small type 5A multipurpose test specimens ...

Kunststoffe international, Runway Lights for the Seat Belt
...isting paint systems and find one more suitable that would fulfil the requirements with regard to scratch resistance, the plastics specialists in Helmbrechts even developed the device for a belt tongue impact test. An SPS-controlled traction device guides the belt tongue upward and then lets it fall onto the belt buckle. In each case the angle is varied in order to create a realistic situation. Finally the decision was made for a more elastic paint system which provided very good results. From t...

Kunststoffe international, Strong in Medicine and Sanitary Applications
...raw materials. This trial indicated that there are no differences in physical properties between products produced from fossil-based versus renewable-based resources. As such, consumers can help minimize food waste with less impact to CO2 emissions. Hygiene articles are also an important area of application for PE (Fig. 2). Women have high demands for hygiene products. These products have to fulfill their primary purpose of being hygienic and comfortable to use and wear, while also being safe, h...

Kunststoffe international, Sustainable Growth
Because of its good temperature resistance, impact resistance and aesthetics appearance, acrylonitrile-‧butadiene-styrene is often used in household goods and in the automotive industry. The development of a ‧circular economy also shows successes. More and more ABS materials used in a range of applications are ‧containing a contribution of recyclates. Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) is the largest-volume engineering thermoplastic resin, offering an excellent balance of heat, chemical, and ...

Kunststoffe international, Sustainable Growth
... in 2019, with around 11 million t. The EMEA region followed in second place with around 30 %, and North and Latin America with almost 20 %. One reason for the positive development in the global PU market was that weaker vehicle sales impacted PU less than other plastics. The PU market encompasses the total quantities of all isocyanates and polyols used in PU production. The drawback to this positive growth was that the pricing erosion which began in 2018 continued in 2019, and was worsened thi...

Kunststoffe international, Symbiosis of Toolmaking and Serial Production
...These criteria should therefore be taken into account both in the process and tool identification as well as in the subsequent identification of the tool and component failures that occur. In particular, failures that have a high financial impact on the life cycle cost of the tool provide considerable potential for savings and should be analyzed in detail. This selection process including failure definition is followed by the preparation of the forecast system. It is necessary to record the holi...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, A Coater with a Clear Perspective
..., non-scratch polysiloxane coatings by the appropriate method can rectify this deficiency. KRD Sicherheitstechnik, Geesthacht/Germany, specialises in non-scratch sealing of plasticised plastics. Since 1988, for instance, it has been producing high-impact glazing for police vehicles. Another example is to be found on a catamaran currently sailing the oceans of the world. Its external glazing panels are composed of a coated polycarbonate (grade: Makrolon, manufacturer: Bayer). The catamaran is a...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, A Commonsense Quota System
A Commonsense Quota System The Impact of the Quota Provisions of the German ELV Legislation on the Use of Plastics Siegfried Schäper, Ingolstadt/Germany The German End-of-Life Vehicle legislation is transposing European Directive 2000/53/EC into national legislation. This legislation makes it possible for the material flows of recycling to largely follow market demands. According to its provisions, lightweight engineering and the use of plastics, especially of composites and sustainable ma...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Additives
..., pigment or an anti-static agent. If plastics additives, with the exception of fillers and pigments (performance additives), are initially divided up into the rough categories of processing aids (e.g. waxes and lubricants), property enhancers (e.g. impact modifiers) and plastic modifiers (e.g. plasticizers) (Fig. 1), then annual world production (2001) can be put at 8.5 million tons. The average growth rate is 4% per year, while the mean annual increase in demand for thermoplastics from 1996 to...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Additives: Custom-engineered Plastics
...ems has grown. For production of PE and PP cable insulation, aluminium and magnesium hydroxides represent suitable replacements. In order to achieve adequate protection, however, the hydroxides must be used in large amounts, which has a negative impact on the mechanical and electrical properties. Süd-Chemie offers a solution with a new nanofiller. Thanks to the small particle size and good wettability, cable formulations with Nanofill require considerably less aluminium trihydroxide. Moreover, t...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Additives: Tough and Heat-resistant: New Silicone Particles for Thermosets
...t: New Silicone Particles for Thermosets Additives A new generation of nanoscale silicone and core-shell particles is revolutionising the modification of heat-resistant thermosets. Even small additions of the new particles significantly increase the impact strength and fracture toughness of reactive resins and other plastics. Jochen Ebenhoch Highly crosslinking reactive resins, such as hot-curing epoxy resins, bismaleimide resins or cyanate resins are used as structural adhesives, moulding and f...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Adhesives: What Do Adhesives Accomplish in Practical Processes?
Composite Materials What Do Adhesives Accomplish in Practical Processes? Adhesives. Thermoplastic natural fibre-reinforced composites are gaining increasing market share. A frequently discussed problem is the adhesion between the natural fibres and the polyolefin matrix. A great deal of study has been carried out on the basic principles, but what an adhesive is actually able to do in practice in the various composite processes is barely known. Natural fibres in composites are nothing new. The a...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Ageing Test: Assessing Ageing Quantitatively
...mple models. Determining temperature/time thresholds to DIN EN ISO 2578, for example, provides a simple relationship between material properties and temperature. However, under identical ageing conditions for one and the same part, a 50% decrease in impact strength can, for example, occur much faster than a 50% decrease in tensile strength. It is therefore absolutely essential, when performing such tests, to simulate the stress on the parts as realistically as possible [2]. Using the Arrhenius e...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Airbag Module in PA 6 Recyclate
...s of using this chemical recycling know-how on an industrial scale. In a pilot project conducted with Opel, Infinity was injection moulded into housings and all the necessary investigations conducted on these components. This is a heat-stabilised, impact-modified PA 6 injection moulding grade, reinforced with 40 % glass fibre, for moulded parts offering increased toughness in the freshly moulded state and with improved strength and toughness overall. It achieves the performance characteristics o...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Airbus to Fly with PPS
...vern PPS at every stage from material properties through to all the processing operations to the finished aircraft. The PPS already satisfied all the basic requirements for use in aircraft construction: resistance to temperature extremes, hardness, impact strength and excellent chemical resistance. From - 40 to + 240°C, this material maintains constant hardness, rigidity and dimensional stability. Its inherent flame retardancy without the need for flame retardants is an essential safety fact...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, All-round Supplier for Polyurethane Systems
...the supplier and customer sides. The World Wide Web - browser-assisted navigation - also provides access to information, products and services. Technology for No-fogging Materials With the Lyondell acquisition, Bayer has also acquired the patented Impact technology - an extremely effective method for producing long-chain polyether polyols. Dr. Hans-Wilhelm Engels, head of Research in the Polyurethanes Business Group, sees this pioneering technology as an important growth engine for the polyol ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, All-round Talent: Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)
...file sector is that of window profiles. Nowadays, 55% of all window frames made in Germany are of PVC. Appealing design, good heat insulation, long-term stability and low maintenance are the decisive purchasing reasons. In particular, good impact modification of the profiles is needed for the working processes of assembly and installation. In addition to blends of PVC with K-values ranging from 65–68 and impact modifiers of acrylate-PMMA and acrylate-PVC, PVC graft copolymers have mainly become ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Application and Recovery: Plastics in Electric and Electronic Appliances
...with flame retardants, while grades used for applications which require high strength and rigidity are often reinforced with fibres or other fillers. Blends can be used to produce structural components with tailor-made properties such as an improved impact resistance, rigidity, heat resistance or a more precise geometry (Table1). Both the perpetual advancement of existing products as well as the frequent introduction of new electric and electronic equipment go hand in hand with the optimisation ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Attractive and Robust
...rticularly interesting 3D decoration effects can be achieved with films that are sublimated from above and below. Coextruded films with Vestamid EX9200 and VestamidX7376 surface layers are particularly robust in mechanical terms and display a high impact strength. The surface layer permits higher sublimation temperatures, thereby leading to shorter decoration times. The decorative films are produced by calendering or by the chill roll process with layer thicknesses of 0.25 to 0.8 mm. The formula...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Automated Injection Moulding and Welding of Bumpers
...affei Kunststofftechnik GmbH, Munich) (Fig. 1). Then three separately produced plastics parts must be welded together. These are two mounting brackets used to fix the bumper to the bodywork and a strip required for clip-mounting the carrier for the impact-absorbing element. Less Space and Three Days for the Modification Owing to the structural situation and occupation of the production hall with other machines, the space available for automation was very limited. The floor space for all the op...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Automobile Construction: A Substitute for Sheet Metal
... comparison with other mate-rials. Although the engine covers have large dimensions, they are characterised by low distortion and dimensional stability. They are also very break-resistant, since the PA 6 has been modified to make it high-impact resistant. In conjunction with its low mass, this is a relevant feature particularly given the high dynamic load caused by the engine’s vibrations. Thanks to PA 6’s heat distortion temperatures up to 190°C (HDT/A), the cover parts can withstand continued ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Automotive Applications: Thermosets Get Going
...heat resistance and their resistance to fuels and other chemicals. If complex geometries are required, plastics are often given preference over competing metals such as aluminium, since the elaborate chip-forming machining process has a negative impact on the cost of aluminium parts. A high level of functional integration is additionally possible with the aid of injection moulding, which is the chief process employed today. The classical processing method used for belt pulleys made of phenolic r...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Automotive Conference: Lightweight Construction as Magic Phrase
...ral part made of plastic. The technical specifications list a large number of requirements, such as design, surface, economics, weight, ergonomics and strength – to which the legislators have added crash safety, passenger safety, head impact conditions and emissions limits. Emissions values, a familiar problem in conventional SMC, have been brought to a reproducible low value by dint of a number of measures, such as emissions-optimised formulations, crosslinking conditions, processing parameters...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Automotive Glazing: Clear Prospects
...ndows, headlamps and other vehicle lights, can now be used for large-area tailgate and roof glazing as well. The material not only masters the complex challenges of applications of this type, but also stands out through its low-cost processing, high impact strength, lasting UV protection and its dimensional stability. The engineering thermoplastic also offers a very high level of freedom for integrating functional and decorative features, such as hinges, heating wires, lettering and black-shaded...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Bayer and Thieme Real Material Partners
... equipment and workpiece supports. The Automotive unit specialises in safety and decorative parts for automotive construction. Production examples include energy absorbers for vehicle interiors and exteriors, in-lays for bumpers, and parts for head-impact protection. The production of special trim is just one of Thieme's areas of expertise. Applications here include column trim, roof frame and the production of airbag covers. Thieme parts are found in the Mercedes S class, several Audi model...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Behind Bars
...ood acoustics, there was the further aspect of the high ductility required of the materials chosen for use. This ductility is particularly necessary for the spring integrated into the lock housing. Finally, this must withstand up to 100000 door impacts without changes in the spring characteristics or breakage of the spring. FEM and Moldflow Calculations Based on these requirements KiekertAG chose glass-fibre reinforced PBT (grade: Celanex2300GV1/30, manufacturer: Ticona). All requirements coul...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Biodegradable Materials
...niche-like applications. These include the use of polylactide as a surgical suture material that biodegrades in the body. Interestingly, there are also applications in which the biodegradability is of no importance. For instance, because of its high impact strength, cellulose acetate is used for screw driver handles that can withstand hammer blows. Starch blends are also suitable for printable, matt coatings on paper and cellulose film for sweet wrappers that do not unwind themselves. Disposal ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Biodegradable Products: Nature-Compounds
Biodegradable Products: Nature-Compounds Biodegradable plastics can replace conventional plastic products in short-lived applications such as fast-food packaging. Novel materials that have been optimised for extrusion and injection moulding meet practical requirements for ease of processing and functionality. Biodegradable plastics that are made from renewable raw materials and can be thrown into organic-waste bins are a “natural” way of conserving resources and cutting costs. They are parti...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Bonding of Plastics
...recyclability or integration of sensors into adhesives). In fibre composites, which can be joined by bonding, developments are occurring in two directions: the use of renewable natural fibres to reinforce thermoplastic matrixes for low-environmental-impact mass-market products and the use of carbon fibres in thermoset or thermoplastic matrixes for high-performance products (aircraft construction, plant construction, special vehicle construction). For these cases, bonding technology must offer so...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Building: Trends with Polycarbonate Sheets
...n of about 10%. In the year 2003 the global PC need for sheets was 300000 tonnes, estimations for 2008 give about 400000 tonnes. The most important arguments for PC sheets compared to glass are the only about half as much specific weight, the high impact strength and resistance to fracture and the far greater ductility. Their low weight facilitates handling when assembling, permits the use of lighter support structures and because of the static gives to the architect greater formative liberty (F...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Calcium Silicate as a Functional Filler: Wollastonite – a High-performance Filler
...s between 20 and 40wt.-%. Polyamides reinforced in this way offer a range of different possibilities for the design of low-warpage, rigid mouldings. They have excellent rigidity and dimensional stability while retaining the typical high impact strength of the polyamides. The low linear thermal expansion coefficient of wollastonite makes it possible to produce mouldings with good resistance to heat deflection. In addition, these components are easy to paint and exhibit outstanding paint adhesion....

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Cause and Remedies: Brittle Fracture in PBT
... the PBT damaged in this way was mixed with original granules and made into test specimens. Interestingly enough, adding this material does not lead to either a fall in the tensile strength or the elongation at fracture, or to a reduction in impact strength. One explanation could be the good solubility of the thermally shortened, but not oxidised, molecule chains in the PBT. Thermal or thermo-oxidative degradation is a general phenomenon associated with PBT and thus affects the majority of polym...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Characteristics and Costs in Equilibrium
...ion in different ways. Some properties like the elastic modulus and the strength increase steadily with increasing degree of gelation while others like the elongation at break decrease. A special feature for window production is the very important impact strength. Depending on the formulation it has a clear maximum [1] at a degree of gelation between 60 and 75 %. Sample Preparation For the investigations four window screen profiles that differed in their shape, their degree of gelation and in ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, China is the Market Driver: Expandable Polystyrene (EPS)
... EPS foams have become an indispensable part of many industries and our everyday lives. The range of applications covers thermal and sound insulation products in the construction industry, very lightweight but highly effective packaging inserts for impact-sensitive goods, thermally insulating containers for temperature-sensitive items such as fish and numerous specialty applications. One such application involves load-bearing layers in road construction. The new formula 1 racetrack in Shanghai...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Colourfast Window Profiles
Colourfast Window Profiles Heat-resistant Combinations of ASA and ABS Florian Hennenberger, Ludwigshafen/Germany For more than 40 years now, impact-modified PVC has been doing outstanding service in the construction industry for profile production, particularly for window frames. Nevertheless, there has recently been an increasing call for alternative plastics for this application. The styrene copolymers ASA and ABS are possible candidates. More than half the windows in Germany are curre...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Colourmatch-capable Film Technology: A Technology Waits in the Wings
Exterior Parts A Technology Waits in the Wings Colourmatch-capable Film Technology. With this process, in contrast to previous ones, the surface is decorated in the vehicle body colour before the component is manufactured. After thermoforming and backmoulding with an LGF-reinforced thermoplastic, we end up with a finished part for the outer skin having a Class A surface. Daniel Zulkarnain Ulf Schlotterbeck Henning Gleich Thermoplastics cannot be coated online by conventional painting proce...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Colours in Light
...mopan KU2-88…, manufacturer: BayerAG). However, to a limited extent it is also suitable for extrusion and extrusion blow moulding. Thanks to its excellent adhesion in composites, TPU is the ideal material for overmoulding high-impact, heat resistant hard components of polycarbonate (PC), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) or PC+ ABS blends. This method is already used for producing a TPU covering on trays, cladding or complete centre consoles. The inherent damping of the thermoplastic polyur...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Combinations Enhance Performance Many Times Over
...ackaging with special optical or haptic effects. Research into the predictability of process variables, such as temperature conditions, viscosities and the shrinkage behaviour of thermoplastics and crosslinking moulding compounds, in terms of their impact on processability and attainable bonding will contribute towards making the multicomponent process even more reliable. The Author of this Article Dipl.-Ing. Ansgar Jaeger, born in 1961, is Head of the Process Engineering Development Dept. at D...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Complex Blow Mouldings for the Engine Compartment
...negative effect on the material properties. Particularly affected are the resistance to media and to heat-aging as well as the heat distortion temperature. At the same time, the strength and elasticity modulus are reduced while the extensibility and impact strength are increased -which may be an advantage or a disadvantage, depending on the application. Branched Polyamides for Extrusion Blow Moulding By implanting long-chain branched polyamides, Bayer AG has succeeded in developing new pseudo-...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Continued Strong Growth: PET in Beverage Packaging
...les for non-alcoholic beverages rose 46.3% in 2003, compared with one year previously. PET one-way bottles, by contrast, showed a 16.3% decline. With non-carbonated beverages, there was also a trend towards beverage cartons (+16.9%). The long-term impact of the compulsory deposit is difficult to judge. But whatever the long-term trend turns out to be, there has, at all events, been a move towards PET. The big discount houses have stopped stocking cans and have replaced them with PET bottles. Thi...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Continuous-strand-reinforced composites: Multilayer Knitted Fabrics for Rail Vehicles
...fness and strength indicated that the composites are tough and hence have a high dynamic load-bearing capacity and damage tolerance. The tensile-creep tests also confirmed the comparatively high strength potential of the CKF composites. The impact resistances of the composites proved that high CKF weights per unit area or thickness as well as an increasing number of layers and an increasing stitch yarn proportion in the CKF conduced to impact resistance levels that were higher than those of the ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Cosmetics Packaging: Trend towards Transparency
...city and the ability to seal even through grease render it particularly economical in processing. Its crystal clarity and high gloss render it an oft-preferred material for skin concepts and, because the material also offers very high impact strength, Surlyn is also used in a wide range of injection moulding applications, such as sports articles and transparent, decorative accessories for kitchens and bathrooms. The Author Claudia Tillmanns is Cosmetic Program Leader at DuPont Packaging and Indu...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Cost Efficiency and Innovations
...ehensive programme of restructuring, especially in Europe, and by increasing productivity through new world-scale facilities. This company division achieves some 10 % of its overall sales with specialities. These include Styrolux, a clear and high-impact styrene-butadiene copolymer for transparent packaging, household articles and toys, and also Neopor, which can be used to achieve the so-called three-litre house for the first time, thanks to its excellent insulation properties. The polyester-ba...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Cost Explosion: Glass Fibre-reinforced Plastics (GRP)
...ises in crude oil prices. The effect has been strongest on those raw materials that are based on benzene derivatives. GRP material suppliers have tried to absorb costs as much as possible but several price increases have been necessary to offset the impact, especially as there seems to be no relief in the continuing raw material price hikes. Some industry experts even go so far as to say that spiraling crude oil prices could severely stagnate the economic recovery of the whole chemical industry ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Cost-effective Modifier for Tailor-made Properties
Cost-effective Modifier for Tailor-made Properties Karlheinz Hausmann, Geneva/Switzerland, Bernard Rioux, Paris/France, and Manfred Schinken, Bad Homburg/Germany A new family of ethylene-acrylate copolymers is suitable for improving the impact strength of engineering plastics and as a universal carrier material for masterbatches. The new grades, produced in a tubular reactor, are economical to use and offer high functional efficiency, a combination welcomed by compounders and processors alik...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Costs and Benefits: Recycling Plastics from Electrical and Electronic Products
...ve to the market. For this to be the case, they must meet certain minimum specifications at a price that is significantly below that of the virgin material. Conservation of resources, avoidance of landfill disposal and minimisation of environmental impact are the main objectives in the treatment of waste plastics from whatever application sector. The options to be considered cannot just be restricted to material recycling of waste plastics. The efficiency of this form of recycling must, however...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Crash Simulation: Computer Modelling
...ic in a specifically targeted way. But all-plastic parts can also be sensibly used in many applications. In the area of pedestrian protection, in particular, there is great potential for plastics parts because of the lower energies involved in such impacts as compared with other types of crash. Specific Behaviour of the Plastic At high stresses, such as usually occur in crash situations, plastics display marked non-linear stress-strain behaviour. This behaviour is often highly dependent on str...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Custom-tailored Engineering Materials: Polyphenylene Ether (PPE)
...ryl [4]. Normally, they are designated as modified PPE resins and combine the best properties of the PPE and styrene polymers. PPE and PS: the Right Partners The styrene resins employed for the modified PPE blends range from cyrstal styrene to high-impact styrene (HIPS). The mixed blends exhibit linear behaviour, with the respective blend property representing the sum of the linear contributions from the two polymer fractions [5]. For instance, the heat deflection temperatures and glass transiti...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Customised Mould Technology: Integrated Rotary Platform for Flexible Two-Component Production
...us modular parts had to be mounted accurately on the console support. It was essential for the clearances to be exact”, explained Helmut Herb, a senior officer at Otto. "Furthermore, the console frame support had to meet anti-squeak and head-impact safety requirements. This latter requirement was accomplished by over-moulding certain areas with the soft component”. Faced with this difficult task, Otto turned to tool and mouldmaker Erich Schweiger GmbH & Co. KG. "The first question, of co...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Data Quality in Commercial Databases
...eating the new database did not mean stockings. Another example features a different type of conversion error that ought to be apparent to experienced plastics specialist immediately (Table 2). In Campus, BASF AG gives four values for the Charpy impact strength and notched impact strength for one of its ASA materials - as does a commercial database provider, except that, during conversion, the values for unnotched impact strength were mixed up with those for notched impact strength. Misidentifi...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Decoration on the Front, Attachments on the Rear
...r Automotive Eybl (Germany) GmbH, Munich, developed the entire door trim and its production process working on the basis of specifications from BMW AG in Munich. The basic material used for the trim is a talcum-reinforced polypropylene (PP) that is impact-modified with EPDM to ensure that the door trim meets the stringent requirements, including during a side-on collision. The soft-touch coverstock for the basic support is made of materials based on thermoplastic polyolefins (TPO). The outer dec...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Decorative Surfaces in the Automotive Interior
...urethane is UV resistant in its aliphatic formulation. For use in automotive interiors, it shows outstanding low-temperature properties. The material retains its characteristic properties even at very low exterior temperatures down to - 35°C. On impact, the passenger airbag is still guaranteed to open, even under extreme conditions such as low temperatures, without any risk of injury from splintering of the surface material. Since in most automobiles the passenger airbag system is seamlessly...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Demand Continues to Rise: Polystyrene (PS)
...aterial must be reflected particularly in the limited product assortment. BASF replaced its 500 gloss series with a multi-functional product (PS 454 C-new), which combines the gloss of the earlier 500 series products with the good fluidity and impact strength of the former PS 454 C. BASF offers a standard polystyrene in PS 145 D that is available as a mixing component for impact resistant polystyrene and that was developed particularly for production of FFS foils (FFS: Form-Fill-Seal). The mater...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Demanding in Profile
... electrics (housing, cable ducts and cables) will be important applications for the foreseeable future. But before PA 6 and PA 66 can be widely used for these demanding applications, they require modification in the form of improved flexibility and impact strength at medium and low temperatures. Materials developers of the compounder Akro-Plastic GmbH, within the K.D. Feddersen company alliance, have been co-operating closely with applications designers at HellermannTyton GmbH to realize various...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Design for Innovative Materials
... in the case of an avalanche accident to protect the casualty's head and allow him or her to breathe properly. The load-bearing structure of the helmet is formed by a pneumatic tube system which adjusts to the shape of the head. Beneath it is an impact-absorbing, protective plastic foam of the kind used in motor cycle helmets. For both components, use could also be made of the more rigid or more flexible grades of Hytrel, DuPont's thermoplastic elastomer. The mouthpiece and the holder fo...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Designed for the Sun
..., on the other hand, produces a suction effect and pulls on the roof. The equipment used in the field of street furniture such as bus shelters are often exposed to extreme vandalism. The hatches in ships and boats not only have to be impact-resistant and scratchproof, they also have to resist salty seawater. This means that the material must have not only good transparency, high impact strength and break resistance, it must also offer good temperature and heat stability in combination with good ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Designing Injection Moulded Parts with FEM
...coelastic behaviour, or even better, to use viscoelastic material models. From the point of view of the raw material manufacturer, it is extremely important to continue intensive work on these mathematical descriptions. Particular challenges are the impact characteristics and crash behaviour (high plastic deformations and strain rates) taking into account anisotropies and processing influences. Fig. 1. Comparison of the quality of the results at various mesh densities grobes Netz = Coarse mesh...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Details of Economic Development: High-density Polyethylene (PE-HD)
...chemicals, to canisters, wide-necked and L-shaped ring drums (Fig. 3), IBCs and storage and heating oil tanks. As basic technical criteria, these containers must comply with specifications such as - high rigidity for good stackability, - high impact strength and low-temperature impact strength and - high environmental stress cracking resistance for surface-active contents, especially under additional mechanical load. The trend towards bimodal and multi-modal products will continue because they d...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Determining Wear Mechanisms
...lymers, especially elastomers, have low wear rates. Studies on the erosion behaviour of selected polymers and FPC were conducted to establish the correlations between material and wear properties. Erosive wear occurs when solid or liquid particles impact on surfaces and is normally characterised by material loss that depends not only on particle velocity and impact angle but also critically on the type of surface of the material. The use of fibre-plastic composites for applications in which hi...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Developing Customised Compounds
... toolbox comprises all traditional plastic groups, from polyolefins, styrene polymers, and engineering plastics to advanced polymers and thermoplastic elastomers. Functional additives provided include all conventional fillers and reinforcing agents, impact modifiers, stabilisers and other function enhancers. In this context, Albis' technical service department has more the function of an ideas factory, supporting and partnering plastics processors and users in their parts development. "I...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Development and Trends: Plastics – a Mature Industry?
...nto ever new fields of application. They have thereby increasingly reinforced their strong market position. For example, the copolymerisation of styrene with butadiene can be designed so as to produce either thermoplastic elastomers or stiff, high-impact thermoplastics. Here again, either an opaque, impact-resistant polystyrene, such as is found in refrigerator interiors, or a transparent impact-resistant polystyrene for packaging purposes is produced (Fig.3). The property differences are the re...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Development Trends: Composites for Aircraft
...onent the vertical tail on the Airbus A300, the weight-savings potential of composites was pursued even more intensely in subsequent aircraft generations. In this way, it was possible to both lower the operating costs and improve the ecological impact of the aircraft. At the present state of the art, up to 20% of the structural weight of a modern passenger airliner exists of composites, based primarily on carbon fibres in an epoxy resin matrix. For the 7E7, which is supposed to start flying as o...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Development Trends: Extrusion Blow-moulded Automotive Components
...re often mass-produced by injection moulding. While the initial investment is higher, the price per part is lower due to the higher automation potential. More exacting demands on the stress crack resistance of the material render heat and impact resistant modified PP the material of choice. Most machines used for this area of application belong to the range small extrusion blow-moulding machines in the clamp force range of between 40t to 60t which machines used for dual production processes ofte...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Diesel Lines: Some Like it Hot
...urer: Degussa AG, Düsseldorf/Germany). The Right Polyamide for Every Line System Diesel lines made from polyamide 12 have performed sterling service for years. The moulding compounds fulfil the fundamental requirements for low-temperature impact strength and chemical and diesel resistance. Manufactured pipes can be thermoformed by all common methods and offer sufficient heat-ageing resistance for engines featuring traditional injection. Different polyamide grades are used for extruding fuel l...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Dimensional Stability and Impact Strength
Dimensional Stability and Impact Strength (PC+ASA) Blends for Automotive Body Panels Martin Weber, Heiner Görrissen and Reinhard Jakobi, Ludwigshafen/Germany Blends based on polycarbonate (PC) and acrylonitrile-styrene-acrylic ester (ASA) are noted for their good weatherability and processing stability. A new product with improved flowability and toughness has been developed for the field of automotive body panels. Applications in the field of automotive body panels (title photo) constit...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Driving the Automotive Industry: Engineering Elastomers
... toughness and abrasion resistance and therefore an ideal modifier for other polymers such as SBR and NBR or thermoplastics. Lanxess, for example, is further developing Nd-BR for the production of high-impact PS. Butyl rubber (IIR) has low gas permeability and so, besides its main application as a lining in tubeless tyres (about 85%), it is also used for chewing gum, protective clothing and linings for reactor vessels and pipes. Ethylene-propylene rubbers (EPM, EPDM): DSM, Geleen/Netherlands,...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Dynamic Growth: Liquid Crystal Polymers (LCP)
...nks that will be used in the next generation of the space shuttle. In addition to the extremely good barrier action with respect to hydrogen, which even diffuses through steel, a major factor in this regard was the exceptionally high impact strength of LCP, which is retained even at extremely low temperatures. Since LCPs are finding more and more applications in medical technology with its ever more intelligent systems, Ticona, as the leading manufacturer, has introduced to the market a series o...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Ecological Beneficial Composites
..., the mechanical characteristics improve with fibre length. This is an indication of an adhesion to the matrix that is not yet optimised. By using finer fibres (for instance 5 mm flax) the flexural strength and flexural modulus are increased and the impact strength is reduced at the same time. This is interpreted as better binding of the DDA fibres to the PMMA (polymethyl metacrylate) caused by the increase in surface area. The best results are obtained with a long fibre carded fibre mat. Adhes...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Economic Compounding: Nanocomposites
...ate that the combined addition of all formulation components usually leads to the best compounding result. PP nanocomposites have promising application in the automotive industry, e.g. for highly stressed parts under the hood, which must have good impact strength, even at low temperature, and good heat resistance. Experience with Polyamide For the nanocomposites based on polyamide (PA), the same PA6 (UltramidB3K, manufacturer: BASF, Ludwigshafen/Germany) was used in all the trials. In the thre...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Economic PVC Pelletisation
...e surroundings. The mixer connected upstream of the pelletising line blends the powder components, such as PVC resin powder, stabilisers, internal and external lubricants (processing auxiliaries), fillers, (e. g., chalk), pigments, plasticisers and impact modifiers, according to the desired end product. Depending on the bulk density and free-flow characteristics of the powder blends, the material is fed to the pelletising extruder by means of a crammer feeder with a vertical stuffing screw or a ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Economical Production of PU Parts
...ents have very good flow properties. This results in extremely complicated shapes and low wall thicknesses. The parts have excellent service properties, can be painted with low preparatory work and have very good paint adhesion with excellent stone-impact resistance. Their excellent heat resistance and very low coefficient of longitudinal thermal expansion are unimpaired. With suitable attention to structural design, they can thus be used in applications involving online or inline painting. Pref...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Editorial: Is Germany being Ousted from the Top League?
...ng production also wear thin within a fairly short time, which means that profits cannot be maximised on a sustainable basis in this way. What would be more effective in safeguarding the future would be technological advances that had a positive impact on production costs and a product's utility value, plus the uncompromising, forward-looking training of those human resources we know we are going to need when current employees retire. Whether the resignation of team coach, Rudi Völler, will ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Elastomers: Flexible and Customised
... EPDM are becoming increasingly important. The challenges are to increase the continuous service temperature and match viscosity to the particular processing method [1 to 2]. As a result of their low viscosity coupled with good low-temperature impact strength and light weight, TPE-O are in considerable demand for geometrically complex automotive interior and exterior applications (Fig.2). Recycling-friendly polyolefin “single-polymer solutions” can be seen in dashboard panels where, for example...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Electrical Engineering: Plastics Go Electric
...xtensive work. Depending on the legal system and customer industry, different methods and assessment criteria are used for material and/or component testing. Besides the specific regulations governing products, wider legislative trends also have an impact on the polymer laboratories of plastic suppliers. For example, environmental legislation prohibits the use of certain constituents or demands separate collection and recycling. Other demands are made on materials by processors, who – in additi...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Engineering Plastics: Products for Innovative Processes
...004 relating to the following polymers: polyamides, styrene copolymers, polyesters and associated blends, polyacetals and polymethyl methacrylate. Polyamides and Blends (PA6, 66, 46 and 12) The main characteristic of the new Technyl SI (SI = Super Impact) product family from Rhodia is high impact strength without loss of rigidity. The new products have a 30% higher Charpy impact strength than a standard PA6-GF but a comparable elastic modulus. Other new product families include Technyl Force (...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Epoxy Resins (EP)
...tly evaluating the cost effectiveness and feasibility of changing their production lines to include GMA-based powder coating topcoats. Other uses for GMA- and epoxy-based powder coatings include any applications requiring outstanding weatherability, impact resistance and hardness. Composites Epoxies have been used in high-performance composites for more than 40 years. They far outperform other, cheaper, composite materials, such as polyesters, in regards to corrosion and chemical resistance, s...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Escalators Made of Plastics
...art is more accurate than the conventional die-cast parts and does not require any finishing work. Die-cast steps, by contrast, are straightened after casting. Added to this, the injection mouldings are subject to less loading, which has a positive impact on their service life and hence on the production costs. Moulded Part Layout as a Design Challenge As is so often the case with substitutions, the external geometry is virtually identical to the aluminum step to ensure that it fits in with th...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Europe is the Largest Market: Polyaryletherketones (PAEK)
... on which it is based are especially suitable for challenging applications with an intricate fine structure or mouldings with long, narrow flow paths. 90G has slightly lower toughness because of its somewhat higher crystallinity; the Izod notched impact strength value according to ISO 180 has been reduced from 5.5 (Pendant 151G) to 5.2 kJ/m2 (90G). An equally innovative development is Ultra-High-Purity PEEK 450 U002 from Victrex plc., which satisfies the very highest purity requirements. Cleanr...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Even Smaller: Adhesive Layers on a Molecular Level
... small amounts of material applied, and, in addition, they cannot migrate, since the entire layer is covalently bonded. Furthermore, because of the extremely small amounts of material involved, an Aldyne primer layer has no negative impact on recycled material nor does it represent an impediment to recycling in general. Well-bonded on Both Sides The primer layers are anchored not only to the polymer film via covalent chemical bonds, but also to the substance applied during conversion, be it...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Everything under Control
... and transparency. This material allows the desired design features (film hinges, snap connections, elastic elements and flexible lever) to be implemented with no compromises in the material demands for this application (dimensional stability, high impact strength, good transparency and attractive aesthetics). The Author of this Article Dipl.-Ing. Dietrich Brünger, born in 1961, is Senior Technical Account Manager Plastics Additives at Milliken Chemical, Gent. Contact: dietrich.brunger@milliken...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Evolution, Not Revolution
...entioned above to see how they might be put to good use. It was confirmed that further developments are continually occurring in the areas of handling, build chamber and material. For example, alphaCam GmbH, Schorndorf/Germany, is using a new high-impact, heat-resistant polycarbonate (PC) for making functional prototypes. It builds the prototypes in an FDM Titan system made by Stratasys, Eden Prairie/USA. It also plans to use glassfibre-filled PC and even polyphenylsulfone (PSU) for high-heat sp...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Exhibition Preview: North American and Canadian Products at K 2004
... 7). Polymer Modifiers Crompton Corp. will feature its extensive line of Blendex polymer modifiers, acquired from GE Specialty Chemicals last year, which include process aids, gloss reducers, impact modifiers, and heat-distortion modifiers. New additions include a SAN-based grade for clear PVC that reportedly provides very high-heat deflection. Also new is Blendex 338, an ABS-based impact modifier for rigid PVC fencing and siding. It is said to have excellent weatherability. DuPont Dow Elastome...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Expandable Polystyrene (EPS)
... 3 % is expected, spurred particularly by governments' increasing energy consciousness (CO2 problem, greenhouse effect etc.) and increasing energy prices. In the building sector (about 55 % of world-wide consumption) EPS is used for thermal and impact sound insulation. As a packing material (about 38 % of consumption) EPS finds uses in the entire range of manufacturing industries (electrical/electronics industry, transportation industry and mechanical engineering) as well as in the food sect...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Expandable Polystyrene (EPS)
...wood strips, cardboard and PE protective plastic films have been used for packaging white goods like washing-machines and dishwashers, laundry dryers and refrigerators (Figs.3 and 4). The major functions of the EPS shaped parts were to absorb impact forces on the package and to provide the connection between the force transmitting wooden strips and the equipment and thus to obtain a stable unit of packaging material and packaged product. The electrical industry’s desire to reduce the number of i...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Expandable Thermoplastic Polyurethanes: On Light Soles
...is precisely the high wear resistance of this thermoplastic elastomer that allows TPU soles to be designed with a considerably lower wall thickness than genuine or artificial rubber or PVC soles (title photo). This weight reduction ultimately has an impact on the wearing comfort. Elastogran GmbH, Lemförde, has developed a system known as Elastollan Light which has been specially optimised for injection moulding soles. This system can be used to manufacture products with a density of up to 0.5g/c...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Expanded Boundaries
...nd thus reduces flow resistance. The reduced active surface area that this produces is a great advantage for the chemical resistance. Trends Current research in the field of PPS is focusing on, e. g., tailored extruder grades with further-improved impact strength, ductility and elasticity for the wire and cable industry. Particularly free-flowing grades are intended to enter new markets as potting compounds for encapsulating electrical devices. Fig. 1. PPS consumption in Europe in 2000 Kfz =...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, FE Method: Design Concept for Stacked-type Spiral Dies
...ibution more precisely, the flow rate was measured at the outlet from the cooling ring. A multi-hole probe was used, which was moved by NC-controlled traversing around the circumference of the cooling ring outlet gap. The total pressure and impact pressure measured locally were used as a basis for determining the magnitude and direction of the velocity at every measurement point. Fig.8 shows the measured air-velocity distribution, to whose disruptions the disturbances in the cooling ring can be ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Fibre Composites: Bonding Automotive Bodies
...of the vehicle doors are also bonded with a two-component epoxy adhesive (grade: Araldite2015). The main demands on these adhesive bonds, which have been proved in numerous functional tests, are high strength, high heat and impact resistance and excellent sealing properties. Class A components made of fibre-reinforced plastics for the vehicle outer skin are produced from SMC in large quantities for medium-sized and large series. Bonding is the established joining technology for such SMC componen...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Fibre Reinforced Plastics: Tailor-made Reinforcing Textiles
...ic mechanical strength of sewn FRP specimens. Apart from a visual inspection of defects, the seam profile and fibre damage, it is also possible to subject resin-impregnated and cured FRP specimens to tensile, compressive, flexural, shear, peel and impact load. This loading can be either static, cyclic or dynamic. Different strength investigations were conducted on sewn FRP specimens in cooperation with the IKV Plastics Processing Institute, the Lightweight Construction Institute and the Institut...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Fibre-reinforced Plastics: Lightweight and Corrosion-resistant
...e in the low and medium velocity range as well as their damage tolerance. In order to achieve a differentiated assessment of the influence of the sewing threads, investigations were conducted on both stitched and non-stitched laminates. Testing Impact Strength The laminates investigated had a [0/-45/90/45]7 structure. The seven individual 35631/1240 multiaxial nonwovens from Saertex are each made up of four UD layers. An overall composite made up of seven layers was stitched with a twisted E-g...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Fibre-reinforced Plastics: Naturally Better
...e natural fibre structure, in the case of approx. 3 to 4mm thick parts (density range from 700 to 1100kg/m3) are of the order of 32 to 38N/mm2 for tensile strength, 3000 to 4500N/mm2 for modulus of elasticity and 10 to 30kJ/m2 for impact strength (Fig.4). As has been demonstrated, natural fibre solutions are already found in areas that were formerly occupied by glass fibre-reinforced parts. However, it can also be seen that the aim of weight saving of 15% has not yet been fully achieved so far i...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Fillers: Improved Properties and Processing
... the compounds based on, for instance, polyamides, PBT, polyethylene and polypropylene. Noteworthy in this regard especially are the low tendency of moulded part to warp, the surface quality and stiffness in conjunction with very good impact strength. Provençale, Brignoles/France, has a long tradition in Germany. Focal point of this year’s presentation was the calcite grade Mikhart MU 12T, which was developed specifically for the increasingly important window profile market. Technically, it is c...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Flame Retardants
...non-reinforced polyamide 6 and 66 (no blooming, high heat stability) in UL 94 V0 grades. The new Safron series was presented at K2001 in Düsseldorf already. This includes systems for polypropylene (Safron 5261, 5371 and 5721), high impact- and expandable polystyrene (Safron 5261) and also polyamide (Safron 5251-5254, 5241), which guarantee low corrosion, good flow behaviour and improved light and UV stability as a function of the planned application. The products are dust-free and do not contain...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Flame-retardant Curing
...ucts are often subject to particular flame retardancy requirements. At the same time, increasing attention must be paid to the toxicological consequences of a fire, and the recycling of flame-retardant epoxy resin products, and therefore the health impact of flame retardants. This involves meeting a wide range of different flame retardancy standards for different final products and countries (Table 1) [1, 2]. In general, a distinction is made between reactive and non-reactive flame retardants (T...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Flexible and Inexpensive
... the fibres in the core region tend to be orientated perpendicular to the direction of flow. Compared to the more pronounced isotropy witnessed in short fibre compounds, this results in excellent dimensional stability, lower warpage and outstanding impact resistance. The highest growth rates for PP-LGF are to be found in the automotive sector, in applications that include fan shrouds, instrument panels, battery trays, front ends and underfloor covering. Acceptance in other market sectors such as...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Fluid Injection Technique: Production of Media-conveying Ducts
... the layer thicknesses and channel diameters remain sufficiently constant over the entire length of the pipe. The outer layer of a part produced in this way can satisfy a series of requirements on mechanical properties such as stiffness, impact strength, tensile strength or bursting strength. In addition to this, it is also possible to implement properties such as a high heat distortion temperature, increased flame retardance and media barriers for the part. The inner layer can similarly fulfi...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Fluid Injection Technique: Understanding Residual Wall Thickness
Injection Moulding Understanding Residual Wall Thickness Fluid Injection Technique. The material distribution is one of the most important criteria when using the fluid injection technique. The residual wall thickness has a significant impact on the mechanical properties of the hollow plastic part and, for fluid conduits, directly establishes the area of the flow cross section. In addition to the process parameters and part geometry, the material properties of the polymer used play an importan...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Fluoropolymer Prevents Flow Instabilities
...lt due to the additive. For this reason, velocity measurements were performed at positions close to the glass window (y = -2 mm), where the scattering of the laser beams due to cloudiness - and consequently the lower detection rate - had less of an impact. Since the surface defect disappeared on the entire broad side (y direction) of the extrudate, it can be assumed that the results conform in qualitative terms with the velocities in the plane of symmetry. The profile obtained when using the flu...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Foam Injection Moulding: It's Not the Bubble Size that Counts
...l Properties The material savings that result from the foaming of the melt lead to a reduction in the mechanical characteristic values of the injection moulded parts. Viewed in percentage terms, the drop in the modulus of elasticity in tension, the impact strength and the modulus of elasticity in bending is generally greater than the weight reduction achieved. Due to the reduced cross-section, the tensile modulus is always lower in foamed parts than in compact parts. In the case of the PA6, PBT ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, For the Car of Tomorrow
...g also helps lower the vehicle's centre of gravity and thereby improves handling and makes a major contribution to active safety, especially in the case of vehicles with a high superstructure. The plastic also contributes to passive safety: high-impact polycarbonate glazing is virtually unbreakable and thus affords greater protection against break-ins as well as more safety in the event of an accident. Polycarbonate is a thermoplastic that can be injection moulded and thus is amenable to all...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Framework Principle: New Production Process for Fibre-reinforced Composite Components
... early stage of development. During the conceptual design phase, specifications were derived from the tested properties and functionalities of the original seat back. The E-LFT seat back was then designed to withstand the following loads: - front impact - rear impact - cargo impact - head restraint anchorage and - seat belt anchorage. To exploit the advantages of the process and the material components, the reinforcing directions were detected in an initial numerical simulation. The main functi...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, From the Idea to the Product
From the Idea to the Product Examples of a Consistent Development Process Ernst Schmachtenberg, Rainer Dahlmann, Oliver Pfannschmidt, Markus Glissmann, Sven Prollius and Jochen Töpker, Aachen/Germany In the course of part development, complex and interlinked problems are frequently encountered which have to be worked through on a step-by-step basis. The huge variety of problems that arise and the links that exist between them are set out on the basis of specific examples taken from differe...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Full House: Innovative Systems Prove an Attraction
...lso troublesome. Playing around with these structures can bring impressive improvements in properties but can also destroy them – “troublesome” relates to the fact that these minute additives bring about a deterioration in impact strength. The remedy is not always to be found by moving in just a single direction. Big dimensions – and in this case length – have a positive impact on properties too. The reference here is to long-fibre thermoplastics (LFT). With this high-performance construction ma...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Functional Filler: Precipitated Calcium Carbonate in PVC
...late-modified PVC window profiles show that up to 10phr (per hundred resin) PCC of the type Schaefer Precarb 400 (manufacturer: Schaefer Kalk GmbH & Co. KG) can be used without problem. By increasing the PCC content from 3 to 10phr, the notched impact strength went up by as much as 12% without any significant change in the surface gloss. In comparison, under identical test conditions and with a corresponding formulation with standard PCC, the notched impact strength increased by only 6% and was ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Functionality is the Key Factor
...rated functional elements, the cap and the exchangeable drug cartridge are made of polycarbonate (PC; grade: Makrolon, manufacturer: Bayer). This material satisfies the very high mechanical requirements such as stiffness, dimensional stability and impact strength plus the high biocompatibility specifications. By opening and closing the cap, a dose of the powdered active ingredient is forced into a cavity, where it is finely dispersed by a battery-driven motor and transported into the lungs on in...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Gear Lever in Hand
... CelstranPPGF30, shown in Fig.1, clarify the suitability of the long-glass-fibre reinforced PP compared with PA6GF30 as the substitute material for the core of the gear lever handle. Its high rigidity and strength in combination with the excellent impact strength are particularly necessary in order to ensure perfect function of the system for transmitting force to the transmission. Polypropylene as matrix material has very good adhesion to the ethyl component of the SEBS and so guarantees durabl...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, General-purpose Plastics: Appearance Ever More Important
...tutes the key here. mPE M 3581 UV (pellets) and M 3583 UV (powder) can be sintered more rapidly and then compacted at a higher speed. Bubbles can be removed more efficiently. Additional advantages include excellent dimensional properties, superior impact strength at low temperatures, resistance to chemicals, outstanding surface gloss, less permeation of solvents and fuels and also extraordinary adhesion properties. Three new metallocene PE-MD and PE-HD grades (M2710EP, M3410EP and M470EP) have b...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Glazing: Coating Ensures Clear View
...w the KRD Group has developed Uvirex polycarbonate-based multi-layer glazing that offers this combination for the first time. These products are heat-stable and chemical-resistant, withstand weathering and other environmental effects and retain good impact strength and flexibility. Until now, it was not technically feasible to produce a system that met all these requirements. High UV protection could previously only be obtained with thick coating layers. However, such coatings tended to crack wh...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Growing with the Electronics Market: Liquid-Crystal Polymers (LCP)
...t took over the LCP sector from Eastman and now sells the former Titan product line under the name Zenite 5000. These materials round off DuPont’s LCP portfolio with grades showing extremely low warpage, high weld line strength and excellent impact resistance. Developing Materials Tailored to Demands Lead-free soldering, MID technology (MID: moulded interconnect devices), miniaturisation and the precision requirements required thereby are the most important points that characterise the current...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Grown Dynamically: PBT Compounds
...T, PBT belongs to the family of saturated polyesters. Both materials offer an interesting combination of properties in the form of particularly high rigidity, very good dimensional stability, low water uptake and good heat resistance. Along with the impact strength, which can be improved even further by the addition of impact modifiers, PBT offers semicrystalline materials a well-balanced profile that renders it suitable for plugs and plug connectors as well as for structural and visible parts o...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Growth Through Innovations and E-Commerce
...ade: Cycolac) meet the requirements of the electrical industry for improved flame protection with lower emissions and a higher chemical resistance. GEP is additionally offering two new (PC+ASA) blends (grade: Geloy) with improved heat resistance and impact strength. The new developments in the field of PBT (grade: Valox) include a new extrudable product type which fulfils the requirements for hollow cables for optical waveguides. A further PBT type can be used for a flame-retardant transport bel...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, High Barrier: Nanoscalar Particles Enlarge Potential Applications
...oscalar fillers that has a typical spherical domain formation (Fig.4). As Figs.5 and 6 show, this polymer architecture improves both the mechanical characteristics and the barrier properties of the nanocomposites. Thus, the already high notched-impact strength of PE-HD was increased by approx. 80%. With regard to permeability to toluene, the PE-HD/PA6 nanocomposites behave similarly to pure nylon. The suitability of these kinds of materials for demanding applications such as fuel tanks and fuel...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, High Fitting Accuracy
...te; Bauteilende = Component end Fig. 3. Laminate prepared for autoclave curing Fig. 4. Cross section of the supporting positive model as a partially stiffened elastomeric membrane with a carbon reinforced plastic base plate and an opening for impact with autoclave pressure Fig. 5. Schematic structure of the elastomeric pressure element with silicone inner liner Schaumstoff-Modell = Foam model; Aufgespritzter Silicon-Liner = Covered silicone liner; Elastomeres faserversteiftes Auflegepositiv =...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, High Growth Rates: Polyphenylene Sulphide (PPS)
...ished as a key industry standard for demanding applications. Mechanical Properties Linear PPS has a lower proportion of inorganic impurities, higher tensile strength and elongation at break as well as higher flexural resistance and notched impact strength than the crosslinked variety. Reinforcement of the polymer with glass fibres – also in combination with mineral fillers – results in products that have outstanding mechanical properties even at very high temperatures. Their HDT/A rises to 27...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, High Growth Rates: Polysulfones (PES/PSU)
...s for pots and pans or hot-air convection ovens. In plumbing applications, PSU and PPSU find preferred use as pipe couplings because of their excellent resistance to hydrolysis and stress cracking. Compared to PSU, PPSU offers greater impact strength and better chemical resistance, but has a considerably higher price. Although injection moulding is the most commonly encountered processing technique, other methods are also employed: for instance, extrusion for production of semi-finished goods (p...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, High Requirements - Low Investment Costs
...nd lower weights possible. Compared to automobile parts made of metal these advantages are even greater than compared to other plastics. The lighter weight of the vehicle reduces fuel consumption considerably. Concerning accidents, the high notched impact strength ensures that no splitter pieces are produced. This is important when activating airbags since splitter pieces must not be produced nor micro-particles dispersed in the interior of the automobile. Demanding safety tests show that parts ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, High Throughput and Flexible Systems
...r output. The compounder used became torque-limited [13]. The degree of dispersion determines the quality. It is not only a question of the finest possible structure. The material properties required by the customer such as stiffness, elongation and impact strength determine the filler and its surface chemical treatment as well as the degree of the delamination and dispersion [14]. For glass fibres the fibre length determines the properties of the product. Long fibre compounds are in demand as s...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, High-density Polyethylene (PE-HD)
...al chemicals, up to canisters, L-ring and wide-necked drums, storage tanks and heating oil tanks and IBCs (intermediate bulk containers). All these vessels must meet the following basic requirements: - high stiffness for stacking, - high impact and low-temperature impact resistance for maximum safety on impact or accidents, and - high environmental stress cracking resistance for surfactant contents, in particular under additional mechanical loads. Bimodal products are increasingly being used, wh...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, High-efficiency Polymeric Foam: Improving Occupant Safety
Safety Improving Occupant Safety High-efficiency Polymeric Foam. High-efficiency components for impact energy absorption (energy absorbers, EA) were introduced in the automotive industry to meet legal and consumer requirements for improved occupant safety. Newly developed polymeric foams offering high energy absorption combined with low density can provide a less costly alternative to the metal-based energy absorbers previously used. Eugenio Toccalino Niek Bindels Gerhard Slik Polypropylene-base...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, High-grade Bath Concepts: Pampering the Senses
...First of all, a solid polyurethane layer is applied, then a foam layer and finally another solid layer, creating the polyurethane sandwich. All bathtubs and shower trays in Germany have to be able to withstand, among other things, a standardised impact test without damage. In the so-called falling ball test, a 200g steel ball is dropped onto the material from a height of 1m. Thanks to its impact-absorbing sandwich structure, this hurdle is no problem whatsoever for the PMMA/polyurethane composit...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, High-Grade Design
...ith synthetic resin fulfil these requirements and also readily permit the integration of additional parts, such as toilet-roll holders and paper towel dispensers, etc. These materials are also less cold to the touch than ceramics, are generally more impact-resistant and can be repaired with appropriately-coloured pastes in the event of damage. Apart from artificial stones with an acrylic matrix, parts based on unsaturated polyester are also available on the market, Fig. 3 [7]. The resin masses a...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, High-Modulus Polyamides
...ow any appreciable effect on the elastic properties of PA 66 containing 30 % chopped glass fibres (E-glass) in nominal diameters of 10 to 17 µm (Table 1). However, elongation at break, and tensile and flexural strength as well as Izod flexural impact strength all decreased by 5 to 10 % in this range. A slight increase in Izod notched impact strength was observed. Adding a further 20 % S2 glass reinforcement raised the tensile strength again. Further tests studied the influence that glass f...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, High-performance Applications: Trends in Packaging Technology
...rting line. The number of parting lines ranges from single-face moulds to daylight and multiple-daylight moulds with up to 4 parting lines. Given the same clamping force, this means that the output from one production unit can be further increased. Impact on the Injection Moulding Machine Concept The corollary of complex moulded part geometries, rising numbers of cavities and stack mould technology is that current packaging moulds, especially moulds for multicomponent packaging, are becoming mu...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, High-performance Elastomers: From Abrasion Resistant to Self-healing
...hey assume the shape of the wearer’s foot during running. Functional and damping elements made from these materials become deformed and compressed. By contrast PA 12 elastomers (grade: Vestamid E, manufacturer: Degussa) have a very good cold impact strength, are highly flexible and are elastic thanks to their polyether blocks. In comparison with other thermoplastic elastomers, they are notable for their particularly high resilience after deformation. Soles manufactured from them therefore always...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, High-Performance Polyamides
... EMS-Chemie, Domat/Ems/Switzerland). Outstanding features are its high ductility and flexural fatigue strength. Its glass transition temperature is 155°C. This polyamide is notable generally for its high chemical and weathering resistance, high impact strength and stress-cracking resistance. Even thick-section parts are highly transparent. It is very flame resistant and absorbs only minor amounts of water in comparison to other polyamides. Grilamid TR has so far mainly been used in the sanit...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, High-performance Polymers: Metal Substitution and Miniaturisation
... saves fuel costs. Also on board, in the form of transparent partitions between the different seating categories, is Radel R 7000 tr from Solvay. Polyphenylsulphone’s premiere in the Airbus was expedited by its high transparency, notch impact resistance and low environmental stress cracking. With a glass transition temperature of 265°C and a heat deflection temperature of 255°C, Supradel, the polysulphone from Solvay, is more heat resistant than all the transparent, amorphous polymers currently...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, High-temperature Thermoplastic Films: Flexible Printed Circuits
...cs that possess enough thermal stability to allow them to be soldered in standard reflow soldering processes. Table 1 compares several major properties of various heat-resistant thermoplastics with those of PI. PPS has a comparatively low notch-impact strength and elongation at break and is therefore relatively brittle. The LCP exhibits pronounced directionality in its mechanical properties. The corresponding values for PI and PEEK are higher. The melt temperatures of 280°C for PPS and LCP and ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, House Shows: Show of Expertise at Coperion
...ity is equipped with a whole host of equipment and devices to measure and document a unit’s conveying performance and behaviour, the conveying properties of various bulk products and obtain the data needed to design a new plant, e.g. impact force and abrasion. The range of available equipment (mixers, valves and switch points, sifters) and the installed conveyor lines with diameters from DN50 to DN200 and a total length of over 2000m (Fig.5) allow the technicians to examine all conveying methods...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Hydraulic pellet conveying: Probationary Phase Successful
...user, the employment of water as a conveying medium for plastic pellets has two significant advantages: - Water and the conveyed pellets have almost the same density. For this reason the water pellet mixture can be easily conveyed, and neither impact forces at the bends nor separation occur throughout the conveying route. - During hydraulic conveying the load ranges from 250 to 300kg of plastics pellets per cubic metre of water, so that pipes with a considerably smaller diameter are required for...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Impact Modification Of Thermosets
Impact Modification Of Thermosets Addition Of Hygrothermally Decomposed Crosslinked Polyurethane Jürgen Gremmels and József Karger-Kocsis, Kaiserslautern/Germany The impact modification of brittle thermosets with liquid rubber is relatively expensive. An inexpensive alternative is to use hygrothermally decomposed polyurethane as the modifier. The process was tested with the aid of two epoxy resin grades and compared with the conventional method. Thermosets are highly crosslinked, ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Impressive Variety: Polysulfones (PSU, PESU, PPSU)
...esistance to acids and bases as well as good dimensional stability even in complex geometric shapes. PPSU offers in addition exceptional mechanical properties such as low susceptibility to environmental stress cracking and an extremely high notched impact strength on the level of polycarbonate. As a technology leader, Solvay Advanced Polymers has initiated market introduction of a next-generation sulfone polymer in which the upper temperature limit in use has been raised even considerably highe...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Improved Efficiency and Quality
...ion (without internal cooling). Increasing Output The output of an extruder for a given screw diameter depends on three important characteristics, namely: installed torque, maximum screw speed, and specific drive energy. In window profile extrusion, impact-modified PVC formulations are chiefly used, which are relatively shear sensitive. It has been found in practice that current screw designs should not be used at above particular limiting circumferential speeds, since some excess shearing of th...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, In-mould Foil Foaming with PU: Impact Resistant, Light and Economical
Impact Resistant, Light and Economical In-mould Foil Foaming with PU. In-mould foil foaming technology is in the process of entering the field of vehicle bodies. In agricultural vehicles and construction machines moulded parts made of PU strengthened thermoplastic foils are convincing because of their high stability, their extraordinary bearing strength and their especially good economy. Glass fibre reinforced variants have already become generally accepted in some cases as the easier, more ver...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Increased Demand: Polyoxymethylene (Polyacetals, POM)
...following material combination: laser-transparent POM natural coloured (Hostaform C 9021), a black grade as absorbent joint part (Hostaform C 9021 black 14). Successful results were also obtained with special glass fibre-reinforced and impact-modified grades. Special laser welding grades ensuring high process stability are also available on the market. Even in the very mature field of extrusion, specific product developments have succeeded in providing process and cost advantages. Two new grades...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Increasing Substitution: Low-density Polyethylene (PE-LD/LLD)
...g. A small quantity goes into injection moulded articles [1, 2]. It has long been state-of-the-art to add PE-LLD to PE-LD for film applications. The standard amount of 20 to 25% PE-LLD added today improves the mechanical properties (extensibility, impact strength) and sealing behaviour, in particular [2]. Metallocene-catalysed PE-LLD grades now have a market share of 10 to 15% [4], playing a key role in wound-up stretch film, sacks for heavy materials, and also free-cutting and laminating film (...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Industry-oriented Software Solution: Company-wide Networking of Injection Moulding Operations
...nected via a Citrix VPN (VPN = Virtual Private Network). Customers and suppliers were connected to HTP via EDI during the first expansion phase. This involved use of the bäurer CRM solution (sales management solution). Impact on the Company Structure Introduction of this integrated solution also had an impact on the internal structure of the company. To keep system problems to a minimum and remove obstacles to decisions, hierarchical barriers, which were previously common in the course of super...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Influence of Process Conditions on the End-Use Properties of Injection Mouldings: Material-based Process Control Recommended
...m mechanical strength, there are dramatic differences in the deformation capacity of the material structure for the different specimens. This is clear from the different tensile strain at break and, in particular, from the different tensile impact strength achieved in each case. Standardised in terms of the value for an injection speed of 20cm3/s, the tensile impact strength established can be as much as 55% lower, while the measured weight and the shrinkage change by only 2.5% or 15%. The resul...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Injection Moulding (2): Increasing Productivity and Cost Efficiency
...d stimulus for higher machine sales can be explained by two key factors in Europe and, more particularly, in Germany. Firstly, the hydraulic and hybrid machines on offer are highly sophisticated in technical terms, which ultimately has an impact on their overall efficiency and hence their energy consumption. Secondly, injection moulding machines are frequently integrated in manufacturing cells here and a large number of engineering plastics are processed. The share of overall energy consumption ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Injection Moulding and Crosslinking
...oulding, injection and injection-compression moulding are among the most important processing techniques. The advantages of compression moulding are the unrivalled gentle processing of long-fibre-reinforced materials, which benefits the strength and impact resistance of the parts produced. Also, moulds can often be provided with more cavities than with injection moulding, since the moulding compound can be introduced directly into the individual cavities and a sprue system is unnecessary. Large ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Injection Moulding of Long-Fibre-Reinforced Thermoplastics
...sing parameters is described. Plastics are reinforced with fibres to improve the composite material by making use of the high strength and stiffness of the fibre. Significant improvements in mechanical characteristics (tensile strength, stiffness, impact strength, heat resistance and abrasion resistance) can be obtained through addition of fibres. The glass, carbon or Aramid fibres used have strengths about two orders of magnitude greater than the matrix material. In order to make full use of ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Injection Moulding of Natural Fibre Reinforced Thermoplastics
...ey were first treated in a twin-screw shredder unit (grade: B01, manufacturer: G. Claas Recycling) and then in a granulator (grade: CS, manufacturer: Condux). The ground material was then dried and used to produce dumbbell test specimens and notched impact strength specimens on an injection moulding machine (grade: Allrounder 420 C 1000-250, manufacturer: Arburg GmbH, Lossburg/Germany) in line with the Campus standard. The processing parameters are given in Table 3. To put the results into conte...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Injection Moulding Simulation: Balancing a Family Mould
... has advanced at a specific point in time. As a result, it is in sheet 3 that the melt reaches the edge of the sheet first, after a flow path of 20mm. As of this time, the melt can no longer spread out unimpeded, and this also has an impact on propagation in the other cavities. Finally, sheet 3 is the first cavity to be completely filled, after 813ms, followed by sheet 1 and, last of all, sheet 2 after 1091ms. That means a relative difference of 29% expressed in terms of the mean value of the sh...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Injection Moulding Technology for the Packaging Industry (2): Systems Approach
...moulding technology to create innovative, time- and cost-saving system concepts. A recent example that illustrates this claim can be seen in the fully automated production cell supplied to an American customer for injection moulding cups from high-impact polystyrene.The primary aim was to ensure the economic functionality and productive performance of the whole system as a unit. The cups are injection moulded on a machine with 6000kN clamping force in a 2x16-cavity hot-runner mould and removed f...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Injection Moulding Technology for the Packaging Industry (3): Swivel Arms Save Time and Space
...elative to conventional assembly solutions". Most flip-top caps are moulded as free-fall parts or are removed by robots and closed outside the injection moulding machine. While both of these approaches work, they harbour risks that can quickly impact on productivity and competitiveness. Overbeeke quotes a typical example of frequent downtimes or mould damage due to jammed free-fall parts. "Uncontrolled falling can also cause individual parts to damage or contaminate each other. There are...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Injection-compression Moulding: Plastic Car Windows on the Advance
...racy. The HM 20000 2P/19000 Unilog B4 production unit also features a screw and cylinder unit optimised for the processing of transparent PC. Car windows of PC can deliver a 40% to 50% weight reduction compared with glass, has very high impact strength and enhances the passive safety of the vehicle’s occupants. The reduced weight also cuts fuel consumption. At the same time, the car’s centre of gravity is lower so that the handling of the vehicle is improved. The problem concerning polycarbonate...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Injection-Moulded Packaging
... predicting filling behaviour in the packaging industry. Thin-section packaging benefits particularly from this as elaborate tests are eliminated and development times are shortened. The demand for short cycle times and higher productivity has most impact on mould-making technology. A major step towards meeting it is the use of multi-daylight moulds. They increase output by 80 to 100 %, given the same machine size. Multi-daylight moulds have been in use since the start of the 1980s [1, 2] and th...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Inline Compounding of Long-glass-fibre-reinforced Thermoplastics
...h quality and reproducibility, which is processed at once. Long-fibre-reinforced thermoplastic components offer high rigidity coupled with light weight, energy-efficient moulding with high potential for functional integration and, above all, good impact strength and energy absorption. The retention of long fibres reduces splitting during material failure in a crash and so contributes to passive safety. The state-of-the-art in the area of long-fibre-reinforced thermoplastics is processing semi-...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Innovation through New Processes
...ess. If a fibre-reinforced thermoplastic composite has to meet even higher requirements in relation to energy absorption capacity, the use of an elastomer matrix is an option. Elastomers have very low creep tendency, high elongation at break and impact strength and a wide spectrum of properties from soft and flexible to hard and tough. Low-viscosity elastomers (pourable elastomers, dispersions or solutions) can be processed into components by filament winding using slightly modified machine tech...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Innovations in Flame Retardants
...5), a joint development between the Japanese company Dai-Ichi Kogyo Seiyaku (DKS) and DSBG, offers an improved property profile in styrene copolymers such as - high melt flow during the injection moulding process, - excellent light stability, - good impact strength properties as well as - high heat distortion temperature (HDT). The combination of 67 % aromatic bromine with a cyanurate segment provides good flame retardant efficiency and thermal and UV light stability. In addition, by melting FR-...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Innovations Today and Tomorrow: Polypropylene for Flexible Packaging
...te. If we look at the shift in the overall property profile of PP flat film (Fig. 1) over the last decade, it is evident that improvements have been made above all with regard to the mechanical properties such as flexibility/rigidity and impact strength. But significant advances have also been made in the optical, fabricating, barrier and heat resistance properties – although not to the same extent as with the mechanical characteristics. Alongside these milestones in polypropylene development, i...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Innovative Direct Processing of Natural Fibres
...x: Novolen 1106H) as a function of the chosen MAH grafting formulations (Table2) and the magnitude of the difference from a PP/flax composite conventionally compatibilised with Exxelor PO1020 may be determined from the flexural strength and IZOD impact values measured in accordance with ISO178 and 180 (Figs.4 and 5). It was found for the three fibre contents between 20 and 40wt.% that direct PP grafting with 1phr MAH increases the flexural strength by 10–12% relative to that for the reference ma...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Innovative Solutions from VDI-K: Outside and Under the Bonnet
...r ducts and enhance pedestrian safety. The parts may not start to flap at high speeds. Continuous-fibre-reinforced PP is the material employed. A glass-fibre length of 20mm yields an outstanding ratio of toughness to elastic modulus. The impact strength, too, also rises sharply (Prof. Dietrich Denker, Polymer-Tec GmbH, Bad Sobernheim/Germany). Optimum Use of Material Properties Optimally tuned exhaust turbochargers require different mass throughputs in different operating modes. This can be acc...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Integrated and Global
... offering them to all the company's customers. Technologies that prove being successful in internal processes and customer relations are immediately introduced into all global divisions and markets by Dow. E-business solutions thus have a direct impact on Dow Chemical's market performance. They stimulate growth in sales, promote customer loyalty, reform internal processes and contribute towards the direct reduction of costs. Dow also sees its e-business strategy as being of direct benefi...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Integrated Solutions
...ties of painted bumpers in new material with those made of recycled material. When the bumpers are being recycled, most of the old paint is removed, but it is not feasible to eliminate all of it. This residual component has a negative impact on the tensile properties of the material. It is possible to compensate for this quality impairment by using Recycloblend 660 instead of the conventional additives employed (see Fig. 5). The Authors of this Article Margot Clauss is Marketing Manager for Add...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Integrative Processing Technology: Injection Moulding Processes – Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
...ize limit is 1,5m2 in series production. The benefits of plastic glazing are obvious, for instance - relatively great design freedom, - opportunities for integration of functions, - significantly lower weight and - high impact strength. Unconventional design ideas such as windows with tight radii (cockpit windows) for automobiles have failed to date in glass because of the limited design freedom and the associated lack of a high-volume production technique. Given the right injection moulding te...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Interview: "Economical On-Line Coating"
... That would save time and also cause fewer quality problems. Kunststoffe: What requirements do plastics have to fulfill to be suitable for on-line coating? Wittig: High thermostability, lower thermal expansion than is the case now and good impact strength – even after coating. So far, only polyamide-based blends meet these requirements. In the coating lines, they have to withstand maximum temperatures of 190 to 200°C in cathodic dip coating and a surface temperature of 180 to 190°C for the entir...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Interview: The Benefits of Joining Ranks
...yurethane technology. Kunststoffe plast europe spoke with Rudolf Brumund, Managing Director at Hennecke, Volker Brüninghaus, Head of Automotive, and Dr.-Ing. Michael Begemann, Head of Rigid and Flexible Foam Lines. Kunststoffe plast europe: What impact has the restructuring of Bayer AG had on Hennecke and what are the consequences of these measures in terms of your current situation and future position? Brumund: We were very much on the perimeter of the reorganisation of Bayer AG first into ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Interview: “Ensuring Sustainable Development”
...her customers. Again, Schwarzheide, our site in Lausitz, East of Germany, is a very attractive location from which to access the Eastern European market. Kunststoffe: How will the increasingly closer ties with customers impact the pricing policy of BASF products? Feldmann: Depending on the business model involved, each customer gets the level of service that he needs and desires from us. In the case of commodities, customers are mostly interested in consistent product quality and logistics servi...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Interview: “With the Four Pillar Strategy, We Are on the Right Track“
...al care – which is an important industry for Advanced Polymer Shapes -, as well as the coatings and plastics industry, which is relevant for Methacrylates and Advanced Polymer Shapes. Kunststoffe: What investments will have a substantial impact on the growth of specialty polymers in the years to come? Spindler: Strategic emphases in this field are the expansion of the high performance polymers segment, focussing on high-performance polymers for special requirements in terms of temperature, mech...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, IP Support: Lightweight Automotive Instrument Panel Carriers
...g. In the past, it was the need for this additional processing operation, in particular, that denied glass-fibre-reinforced PC+ABS grades wide access to these application sectors. A notable feature of the new blends is their relatively high Charpy impact strength. With a Charpy value in the region of 35kJ/m², they have about twice the impact strength of a normal SMA grade with a similar glass fibre content. This higher toughness reduces the need to use metal inserts to obtain higher vehicle...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, It All Depends on the Blend
It All Depends on the Blend Reducing the Impact Sensitivity of Fibre Composites Andreas Kessler and Andrzej K. Bledzki, Kassel/Germany, Horst Frenzel, Dresden/Germany Fibre composites are used as lightweight materials in a wide number of applications. However, a drawback to the use of such materials is their susceptibility to damage under impact perpendicular to the laminate surface. Great importance is therefore attached to the development of laminates with a low tendency to delaminate. ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Joining Polyamide Inexpensively
...optical properties. Tables 1 and 2 give typical values found in standard commercial polyamides. The focus of the current investigation was on natural-transparent and pigmented PA 6 grades with and without glass fibre reinforcement, mineral fillers, impact modification, flame retardants and different pigmentation (red, green, yellow, white, black and carbon black). The wall thickness was seen to be the third main influencing variable, as had been expected. Rectangular, injection moulded testpiece...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Joining, Texturing, Modifying: Selecting the Right Laser
Special Selecting the Right Laser Joining, Texturing, Modifying. While the use of laser technology was often limited to expensive products in the past, inexpensive diode lasers and more compact Nd:YAG lasers are finding an ever-wider field of application in the plastics industry. For every specific application, the question always arises as to what is the right laser beam. Arnold Gillner Applications within the field of plastics range from products for packaging, electronics, household appli...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Large Investment Plans: Polyurethanes (PU)
...arch and development. The sale of the dosing technology activities to Krauss-Maffei Kunststofftechnik GmbH, Munich/Germany, in 2003 and the successful efforts of BASF to obtain a license agreement for the production of impact polyols shows that attention in Lemförde/Germany is increasingly being focused on the exciting material side of polyurethane application technology. The largest area of application for versatile polyurethanes in 2003 continued to be the flexible foam sector, which – taking...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Laser Welding: Joining Polypropylene Parts
... mounts for the headlamp washers are installed directly on the front bumper in the Class A surface region. A frame for attachment in the rear bumper covering is incorporated into a cover (Fig.2) for the trailer coupling. For these applications, high-impact filled polypropylene grades are used. Mainly because of their partial crystallinity, polypropylenes show a strong tendency to recrystallise, and therefore to show sinkage marks in the areas affected by heat during welding [3]. However, all the...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, LFT-D Processes: Visible Parts from Continuous-strand-Reinforced Thermoplastics
...ced injection moulded parts. Apart from great economythese economical benefits, a major advantage of flow compression over injection moulding is the possibility of manufacturing large-area surface parts that havewith thin walls combined withand high impact strength [1]. Until now, it has not been possible to use LFT methods for visible automotive parts exterior body panels as the surface quality was not optimalrequirements have not been fulfilled so far and the paintability of polypropylene, esp...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Life Cycle Costing: Making Sustainability of Plastics Measurable
...c approach, which takes into account not only the three aspects of sustainable development but also the dimension of time. For the ecological assessment of products, the life cycle assessment (LCA) – i.e. analysing the product's environmental impact over its entire life cycle (from cradle to grave) – has become well established. It also takes the time dimension into account. Especially in the packaging segment, discussion should not be restricted to the possibilities existing for its dispos...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Lightweight Construction: Hybrid Front-end Combines Contradictions
...cularly important in front-engine cars, where every gram counts. To achieve an optimum, an analytical simulation model was first generated using the basic geometry of the front-end frame, web plates, struts, longitudinal beams, bumper brackets and impact absorbers. This model was then used for extensive parameter studies for varying the material grades, wall thicknesses and cross-sections of the front-end frame module precisely according to the occurring loads (Fig.2). This preliminary layout wa...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Lightweight Construction: LWRT Technique for Car Underbody Covers
...f creating a welded trimming effect along the entire component edge, which prevents lateral moisture absorption. The remaining surface area is protected by a thin film cover. It is important that this outer skin has sufficient impact strength. Adequate testing equipment was used to assess the strain caused by stones (Erichsen 508 based on DIN 55996 –1, under tougher conditions). These tests showed the skin’s sufficient impact resistance even at very low temperatures. The adhesion between the se...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Lightweight Construction: Natural Fibres in Automotive Interiors
...parts based on wood or natural fibre-reinforced polymers are up to 30% lighter than comparable plastic solutions), - they have good acoustic properties, - there is low tool wear when they are processed, - they have a favourable overall environmental impact, - they have good heat resistance, and - they have excellent crash management properties (e.g. no splintering). In the past, these advantages led to significant growth of natural fibre plastics for automotive interior trim applications. In 20...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Logistics: Centralised Painting of Plastic Parts
...ts the plastics supplier in a new situation, as might be expected. Not only does he paint what he himself produces, now he also paints externally made plastic parts. This can add complexity as regards property and risk transfers right through to impacting on honouring parts warranties – a comprehensive, clear, contractual solution is recommended. The usual outcome is that the company has to be integrated further into the auto maker’s business processes and settlement modalities in order that int...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Low Manufacturing Costs: Plastics Encapsulation for Solar Modules
...th TPU consists in vacuum-free continuous lamination with a roll laminator (Fig.3). The processing rate is much higher than for a vacuum laminator with lower investment costs. This process is protected with patent EP 1302988. Polycarbonate as High-impact Encapsulant Glass, which can splinter, is not desirable for some applications of modules, e.g. maritime applications, vandal-proof modules or curved modules for architectonic applications. Solid or double walled panels of a weathering-resistant...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Market & Profiles
...are increasingly used for water supply lines (Photo by Battenfeld) Bayer/BASF Licence Agreement Bayer MaterialScience AG and BASF AG have signed a licence agreement which permits BASF to produce polyether polyol with the help of Bayer’s Impact technology. Impact technology is the name for a beneficial polyoxyalkylation process using double metal cyanide as a catalyst. The licence agreement involves a continuous technique for the production of long-chain polyether polyols, which is the starting ...