XT polymer - PMMA - Röhm GmbH

Plastics Technology, 2004-03-23, NPE 2000 News Wrap-Up: High-Volume Thermoplastics
...VLDPE resins, a hexene LLDPE with improved stiffness/ strength balance, and an LDPE for high-speed extrusion lamination. News in polypropylene included a grade for thin-gauge thermoforming, a resin sp...

Plastics Technology, 2004-03-24, New Polymer Uses Sunlight To Arm Itself Against UVDamage
...g sunlight to protect against sunlight-that's the unusual concept behind GE Plastics' new Lexan SLX polymer. This clear, high-gloss resin was commercialized for Class A auto body panels and other outd...

Plastics Technology, 2004-03-24, Renewable PLA Polymer Gets "Green Light" For Packaging Uses
...anced films, and shrink labels. It"s also showing up as the sealant layer in form-fill-seal coextrusions. The novel resin is forging roles in thermoformed cups and containers and is about to appe...

Plastics Technology, 2007-02-01, "As Good as New" Chain Extender Restores Reclaimed Resins
A new additive can re-link polymer chains in reclaimed PET, nylon, and polycarbonate to revive degraded properties.

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, 2007-02-27, New Specialty Polymers Improve Fuel-Cell Economics
Recently formed alliances of fuel-cell start-up companies and engineering-polymer suppliers are already bearing fruit. Their research is coming up with new ion-conducting plastic films for use in Prot...

Plastics Technology, 2007-03-29, Polystyrene Ionomer Extrudes More Easily
...s that link polymer chains together as the melt cools, but unlink again when remelted. These "extra" ionic bonds confer enhanced properties.

Plastics Technology, 2010-08-02, Injection Molding PLA Bioplastics: Validating Moldability for Paper Mate Pens
...ate the injection molding process for a high-profile consumer products launch. Since Mirel is a new polymer with different properties and processing characteristics, it is only natural to question the...

Kunststoffe international, 3D Printing with Pellet Extruded Plastics on Metal
...cs Technology Colloquium 2016 in Aachen [1]. This concept was applied by Yizumi Germany GmbH, Alsdorf, Germany, involving the same research team, and was industrialized into a scalable production system. The technical key element is a lightweight extruder weighing only 7.5 kg. It can still be used to process all common materials from PMMA and PC to PP and PA – with and without fiber reinforcement. At the same time, the lightweight construction approach also allows for small robot sizes to be use...

Kunststoffe international, Absorption of Water by Molded Plastics
...ell-known phenomenon. Far less well known is that a body will also expand (swell) upon absorbing a liquid, e. g. water, and will thus undergo a change in its mechanical properties. This behavior is observed very readily in the polyamides class of polymers. Polyamide 6 and 66 absorb about 2.5 wt. % of water at room temperature and 50 % relative humidity; the water saturation point for these polyamides in water is about 8 wt. %. The material properties change markedly as a function of water absor...

Kunststoffe international, Almost like Human Bone
... ceramic material is released, and so enhances bone healing by acting as a scaffold for the newly formed bone tissue. Resomer composites are ready-to-use pellets that can be processed into implants by the common techniques of injection molding or extrusion. The uniform distribution of the ceramic additives in the polymer is crucial for constant product quality and the characteristics of the implant. Figure 1 shows a scanning electron micrograph of an injection molded test specimen after shock fr...

Kunststoffe international, An Impact Way beyond its Small Market Share
...process technology (linings, hoses, coatings) right through to electrical and electronic engineering (cable sheathing, dielectrics, substrates for printed circuits). Additionally, fluoro‧plastics are used as breathable membranes in the textile industry and are used as linings and membranes for roof structures and cladding in the construction sector. 33,800 t of polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE) were consumed in Western Europe in 2018. Thus, this fluoroplastic took pole position ahead of polyvinylide...

Kunststoffe international, Delivering Efficiency Even in Harsh Environments
...hermoplastic polymer is being used more and more frequently in many products. In contrast to commodity and technical polymers, polyetheretherketone (PEEK) is a high-performance polymer located at the top of the polymer pyramid and ideally suited to extreme and demanding environments typically replacing metals. This is due to their high-performing properties such as light weight, high strength and very good dimensional stability, as well as their high resistance to wear, high temperatures, fatigu...

Kunststoffe international, Different Viscosities Combined in a ‧Material-Friendly Way
The challenge of compounding a rubber-bitumen mixture was to bring the raw materials together in a way that was gentle on the material despite their very different viscosities. The material is to be melted, mixed, ‧dispersed, homogenized, degassed and discharged under controlled temperature conditions in a consistently high quality and viscosity. With the planetary roller extruder, Entex has transferred the manufacturing process from a batch process to a continuous process. From its inception to...

Kunststoffe international, Diverse Shapes and Applications
...styrene-acrylate copoly‧mer (ASA) is a product similar to ABS, but with excellent weatherability because of the use of butyl acrylate rubber containing no double bonds compared to butadiene rubber. It is widely used for automotive exterior parts (mirror housings, grilles, and so on) and for other outdoor applications in the area of sports/leisure and durable electrical and electronics (E&E) housings. Blends: polystyrene blends homogeneously with polyphenylene ether (PPE) to yield high temperatu...

Kunststoffe international, Drivers of Electromobility
...icles with combustion engines, every gram of weight ‧reduction directly contributes to lower emissions, hence lower potential penalties as per the latest CO2 targets in the EU. For battery electric drives, designers need to compensate the extra weight of the high-capacity batteries, which can quickly add up to around 800 kg for a car with a good range. More and improved lightweighting structures are also needed for preventing a driving experience compromised by the inertia of a heavyweight vehic...

Kunststoffe international, Easier to Reach the Destination
...odels made by various automotive marques, for example the Skoda Scala (Fig. 1). It will play an important role in future EV manufacture. Need for Weight Reduction Drives‧‧ ‧Innovation in Automotive Exteriors and Structural Parts A focal point when it comes to modern vehicle exteriors is the integration of sensors and various measurement technologies required for advanced driver assistance systems (Adas) and for self-driving vehicles. Yet there should be no need to compromise when it comes to ver...

Kunststoffe international, Food Safe Post Consumer Recyclate
...ria specified by the efsa and FDA. PCR-HDPE for Direct Food Contact Erema received confirmation from the FDA in autumn 2019 that HDPE produced using up to 100 % post consumer recycling (PCR-HDPE) with the patented Intarema TVEplus RegrindPro extrusion system in combination with the ReFresher module is suitable for use in food packaging. The starting material is a defined input consisting 99 % of food contact compliant HDPE packaging, e. g. milk and juice bottles. The PCR-HDPE recycled this way ...

Kunststoffe international, Glass Fiber-Reinforced Polyphenylene Sulfide Made Weldable
...onents made of DIC.PPS in highly stressed areas. In addition to material properties, joining technologies such as laser plastic welding are also in demand to meet these requirements. For example, PPS could previously only be joined to a limited extent using laser radiation due to its optical properties. In a joint project between Bühler Motor GmbH, DIC Corporation and Evosys Laser GmbH, it was shown that a new type of laser system technology can be used to join even a demanding material such as ...

Kunststoffe international, Green Shape Changers
Shape-changing structures (smart structures) are able to change their shape in response to external stimuli. The change of shape is self-induced and requires no artificial energy input. In view of the increasing demand for efficiency and resource conservation, shape-changing (smart) materials offer a sensible approach to integrating functionalities into a component without giving rise to additional energy and material costs. Even greater sustainability is achieved if the components are produced ...

Kunststoffe international, Influences on Microdamage Strain Limits
The quality of a part design or a strength proof depends to a large extent on how well the material property in question meets the design conditions. For this paper, information about the influences exerted on the strain limits of “microdamage”, as a criterion for mechanical material failure, was compiled from the literature, evaluated and prepared for application as far as possible. Strength testing of thermoplastic parts proves to be quite simple if it is strain-based and if micromechanical d...

Kunststoffe international, Less Is Often More
...uously increase them. So, how might energy efficiency be increased? One possibility is the use of heat recovery, e. g. secondary heating. Another is afforded by thermal insulation. Insulated forming tools are now commonplace, as are insulated extruder zones. But is there any advantage to be gained by installing insulation away from the main sources of heat, such as in mold hoses? RK Kutting GmbH, Talheim, Germany, and Ejot GmbH & Co. KG, Bad Berleburg, Germany, jointly examined a current mass-pr...

Kunststoffe international, Maintaining Clarity Long-Term
...ils, greases, and processing aids, are also important but not within the scope of this discussion [7]. Plastic components must also endure mechanical stresses, especially complex moldings exposed to varying mechanical loads and temperatures over an extended period [8]. Even when they are stressed below the breaking stress, cracking may occur [9]. Chemicals often significantly accelerate this process in what is known as environmental stress cracking [6, 8].Polymers can be modified to resist slow ...

Kunststoffe international, Medical Applications of Additive ‧Manufacturing
... approx. USD 55 bn in 2029. More conservative analysts such as 3D Hubs project an expected annual growth rate between 18 and 27 %. But even that outshines many other industries by far. The British market analytics company Context predicts double-digit growth rates for 3D metal printers (Table 1) as well for polymer printers (Table 2) for the coming years. Industrial mass and mid-scale serial production, however, account for the highest sales increase in the field of additive manufacturing. This ...

Kunststoffe international, Metal Substitution with Improved PA
...he part decrease significantly. Ultramid B3WG10 XP can therefore also offer advantages in the overall cost consideration of a part compared to PA6-GF60 and PA66-GF50. As product development continued, XP technology was extended to PA66, with the aim of transferring the improved production properties. Ultramid A3WG10 XP BK23346 represents an alternative to the already available PA66-GF50 and PA66-GF60. Compared to a PA66-GF50, it offers increased mechanical properties in all areas and, compared...

Kunststoffe international, Paying Attention to Layers in-between
...M) process lets manufacturers obtain plastic objects consisting of several bound-together layers of material. It is divided into three main stages: Formation of multi-layer polymeric melt, dose cutting and insertion, mold compression, forming and extraction. During the first stage the various materials are melted and fed into the co-extrusion head. Here they merge, forming a single multi-layer melt. The material making up the central layer (marked dark blue in Fig. 1) is fed into the center of t...

Kunststoffe international, Polymer Materials
...still considered by many consumers to be an inferior, cheap material used as a substitute for supposedly higher-quality materials. These currently widespread views are no new phenomenon but have long been associated with these materials and to some extent have historical origins. There are also some difficulties in defining the term plastics. That is why it is better to refer to this material group as “polymer materials” (poms). Polymer materials is the generic term for: biogenic polymers (natur...

Kunststoffe international, Protective Coat for Electronics and Body
...face bond between electronic components and coating materials is one of the most important challenges [12]. Apart from interface surface effects, chemical and physical aging occurs within a coating material (bulk) [13] due to internal and external aging causes [14]. Contrary to aging, corrosion not only involves the material, but also the environment in which the coating is used [15]. Corrosion with or in the surroundings can damage the coating. Therefore, impairments can occur not only in the m...

Kunststoffe international, Quickly and Gently around the Bend
...ncrease in melt channel diameter, however, it would seem obvious to regard the shear effects as being the cause.Dust Formation Varies with PET GradePreliminary tests involving the 4-cavity experimental mold revealed that dust generation varies extensively with the grade of material obtained from the various manufacturers, and so the university team decided to study this phenomenon to establish which grades were more susceptible to degradation. They even produced dust themselves and established t...

Kunststoffe international, Reactive Extrusion of TPU
The simple replacement of petroleum-based components with renewable ‧alternatives in a well-established reactive extrusion process is a promising route to more environmentally friendly thermoplastic polyurethane ‧elastomers (TPU). However, this requires a comprehensive understanding of the interactions between chemical reactions and material flow within an extruder, as well as a thorough understanding of the effects of heat and shear on polymerization and melt processing. Driven by the strategy ...

Kunststoffe international, Recycling that Gets under the Skin
...4). It is interesting that those boxes that consist entirely of recycled material show the highest maximum force and compression values by far. However, both the profiles of the force-displacement curves and the extent of the standard deviation of the compression values show that, when reclaimed plastic wastes are used, significant scattering of the properties must be taken into account. Tests on boxes made completely of virgin material, by comparison, show approximately congruent curve profiles...

Kunststoffe international, Replacing Metal in the Gearbox
...atic Search for the Right ‧Material Pairing As they hunted for the right material, the GK Concept team did more than scrutinize data sheets and conduct simulations. They subjected the thermoplastics in question to extensive material tests under the operating conditions to ensure that even storage in an oil bath at 150 °C would not cause any significant deterioration in mechanical properties. In the end, the developers came to the conclusion that PPA with a 30 % content of chopped carbon fibers (...

Kunststoffe international, Semi-Crystalline, and yet Thermoformable
...formable for thick gauge applications because of their semi-crystalline nature. Specially developed PEKK grades now allow processing in this method. These can be used to produce large semi-crystalline PAEK parts with large wall thickness exhibiting extreme mechanical, chemical and flame retardant properties. Polyaryletherketones (PAEK) are used in technically challenging industry sectors, e. g. aerospace industry and the oil and gas market. The generic PAEK family includes different polymers, d...

Kunststoffe international, Strong in Medicine and Sanitary Applications
... While glass needs to be sterilized before filling, PE is the material of choice when it comes to manufacturing pre-filled bottles by the aseptic “Blow Fill and Seal”, or BFS, process. In an integrated process, the bottle is manufactured by extrusion-blow-molding, aseptically filled and sealed using the same machine. The filled bottle then goes into an autoclave to be steam-sterilized at temperatures of up to 115 °C. A typical polyethylene for this type of application is a LDPE (low density PE)...

Kunststoffe international, The Invention of Plastics Recycling
...erent areas of use. At the K 1971, Alpine of Augsburg, Germany, introduced mills for large-volume thin-walled blow and deep-drawn molded parts in lightweight construction, as well as robustly designed machines for recycling extruder waste or massive rejects. Fine grinding is done by pin mills or cross-flow mills after the grinding material has been sprayed with liquid nitrogen [3]. However, these approaches were suitable for recycling only relatively clean production rejects; growing mountains o...

Kunststoffe international, The Role of Chemistry in Plastics Recycling
...places mechanical recycling above chemical recycling and immediately below direct re-use (Fig. 1). The Physical and Chemical Processes Involved in Plastics Recycling All plastics recycling involves waste pre-treatment to a greater or lesser extent, even though this is often only associated with the mechanical type. The pre-treatment primarily consists of a cascade of physical steps, such as shredding and sorting with the aid of screens, magnets, eddy current units, separating tables, and optic...

Kunststoffe international, The Switchover Problem and its Consequences
...result in switchover marks or sink marks on the part surface. If the switchover process is executed too late, pressure peaks occur which can lead to high residual stresses and flash [3]. Because the injection molding process is also affected by external interferences, the ideal switchover time can change during production. This requires continuous adjustment of the machine settings to ensure consistent part quality. In addition, the threshold of the switchover signal (such as the screw position ...

Kunststoffe international, Turning Old into New
Due to their good feed characteristics and self-cleaning properties, twin-screw extruders enable even contaminated post-consumer polystyrene to be depolymerized continuously and efficiently. This opens up a promising recycling route in terms of industrial implementation via renewed polymer synthesis to produce plastic granules with a quality approaching that of virgin material. Polystyrene is used to produce a wide variety of food packaging and also for thermal insulation in construction. Especi...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, 30 Years of Playmobil: Investing in the Future
... eroded surfaces. An eroded surface creates a certain matte effect on the part. We don't want our figures and parts to have any greasy, shiny surfaces, but rather to have a subdued matte surface that looks natural." To an extent depending on a mould’s complexity, it can take between 12 and 16 weeks for it to be made. The moulds are often composed of hundreds of individual parts. This is the reason for the long lead time. It is particularly long in the case of filigree and complex multi-...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, 3D Simulation: How Accurate are Warpage Predictions?
...een clearly that the simulation underestimates the ovalness of the part. A more detailed examination of the material data showed that the figures were not consistent with the new data from the material manufacturer. For example, the density of the polymer given in the database was too high, which meant that the fibre volume percentage was overestimated. The thermal coefficient of expansion was given as 70x10-5 K-1, which is nearly half the figure of 130x10-5 K-1 given by the material manufactur...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, A Comparison of Temperature Control Systems: Optimum Thermal Design of Injection Moulds
...ed part quantity, the machine and man-hour costs, the cycle time and the agreed acceptable reject quota. Greater investment in mould design can reduce cycle times and re-ject quotas, and consequently bring down unit machine and man-hour costs. Such extra effort at the beginning of a project can thus pay off during the course of the production cycle. Although the thermal design of the mould plays an important role in the production sequence as a whole, it is often given only secondary importance....

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, A Home Game for the Italian Plastics Industry: Rendezvous in Milan
...developments to be unveiled by the Italian machinery sector at the Milan show are awaited with excitement. Numerous companies have already revealed to Kunststoffe plast europe what they intend to display – a summary of these is presented below. Extrusion of Films and Panels Dolci Extrusion, Milan, has developed a new three-layer coextrusion line with a maximum effective width of 2000mm (Fig.1). The line features three parallel extruders with compact drive systems that economise on required flo...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, A Substitute for Metal: Polyetherimides (PEIs)
...ster groups in order to making the molecular chain more flexible. This way, a polymer of high thermal and oxidative stability was synthesised, providing a material which could be processed well with commonly used methods like injection moulding and extrusion. PEI standard types were established among high performance materials long ago. Recent refinements, as well as the commissioning of future production operations at GE Plastics in Spain, made it possible to launch a series of very exciting ne...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, A Wider Area of Application: Compounders and Pelletisers
...specific applications, direct processing of compounds into semi-finished or finished products is continually gaining importance. Werner Wiedmann The machines mainly used for compounding plastics are co-rotating, closely intermeshing, twin-screw extruders. Some 17000 such extruders are in use worldwide. They are constructed on a modular system. The screw elements arranged on the shafts can be designed for conveying, mixing or kneading. The heatable/coolable barrel elements are usually 3 or 4D...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Adding Value through Quality and Technology
... The Precision Mould Making department produces moulds weighing up to 2000 kg and measuring about 500 x 600 mm, and contributes to half the company's total turnover (1999: approx. DM 40 million). About 80 % of the moulds built are supplied to external customers. Its know-how in engineering, mould making, simultaneous engineering and production also extends to thin-section engineering. For instance, it can produce injection-moulded parts with section thicknesses down to 0.3 mm. Of course, th...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Additives
...warpage of PE at all. It can be used for large-area injection mouldings, such as bottle crates (Fig. 7). The market leader in ultramarine pigments, Holliday Pigments, Kingston upon Hull/Great Britain, has presented a new series with an extreme colour intensity (grade: Premier XS). The pigments are available with both a red cast (grade: XSR) and a green cast (grade: XSG). It is possible to reduce the pigment concentration in existing formulations and still achieve the same covering power. One spe...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Additives: Custom-engineered Plastics
... Lanxess, the new chemical and polymer division of Bayer AG, introduced new plasticisers. The adipic polyesters, which are available in both high- and low-viscosity formulations, are characterised by their good processability and resistance to extraction by oils, and are certified for use in PVC film in food packaging applications. Phthalic-acid based Ultramoll PP II – a low-viscosity polymeric plasticiser – is another new product intended especially for the rubber processing industry. The hardn...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Additives: Tough and Heat-resistant: New Silicone Particles for Thermosets
...y affected by the nanoscale silicone particles. On the contrary: in many cases they are even improved. With the development by Wacker Silicones of new nanoscale silicone and core-shell particles for extremely low-viscosity resin formulations and transparent materials and coatings, the spectrum of possible applications for this highly promising compound class can be substantially broadened in the near future. Acknowledgement Our special thanks are due to the Fraunhofer-Institut für Zuverlässigk...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Adhesives: What Do Adhesives Accomplish in Practical Processes?
...ibre to the matrix can the properties of the reinforcing component really come into their own. This is particularly important in the specific case of thermoplastic natural fibre-reinforced plastics (NFRP), because natural fibre does not attain the textile-mechanical level of its glass fibre competitor in all respects. Furthermore, the necessary performance properties of the composite material require optimum adhesion. Stresses in outdoor application – above all moisture in combination with tempe...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Ageing Test: Assessing Ageing Quantitatively
... able to establish a reliable relationship between changes in the material under real conditions and changes under artificial accelerated conditions. In the case of relatively simple processes, for example retardation, relaxation or thermal ageing, extrapolation of the material behaviour over a decade is now possible with fairly simple models. Determining temperature/time thresholds to DIN EN ISO 2578, for example, provides a simple relationship between material properties and temperature. Howev...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Airbag Module in PA 6 Recyclate
...onmental pollution that will result from the disposal process employed to date. At Opel alone, vehicles that have been equipped with plastic housings on the passenger side since 1995 will be coming up for scrapping in increasing numbers over the next ten years. With annual demand for PA 6 for these housings set to run at 850 t in the year 2001 (Fig. 2), it is obvious that the growth in the potential quantity of waste needs to be countered by closing the material cycle. Landfills can then be spar...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Airbus to Fly with PPS
...cations in aircraft construction being located in the galley, as well as in the flooring and seating. These humble beginnings have long since been surpassed, and high-performance plastics have now become established on the highly-stressed aircraft exterior, where they similarly offer considerable weight and manufacturing advantages. The glass-fibre reinforced, high-performance polymer, polyphenylene sulphide (PPS; grade: Fortron, manufacturer: Ticona), is playing a key role in this development. ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, All-rounders: Industrial Gases in Plastics Processing
Gas Technology Industrial Gases in Plastics Processing All-rounders. Industrial gases such as nitrogen and carbon dioxide offer interesting varied uses for injection moulding, extrusion and polyurethane technology. The range of applications extends from foaming through cooling right through to material displacement. Ursula Resgren Andreas Praller There are various ways in which industrial gases can be used in plastics processing. For one thing, they are used in the manufacture of foamed prod...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Antireflection with Moth-Eye Structures
...ptical or mechanical functions. Antireflection, light waveguides, radiation diffusion and retroreflection are some of the optical functions used in display, projection and lighting technology (Fig. 1). The characteristic feature is that structures extending over several square centimetres show details on a submicron scale. Processes for replicating such structures must therefore provide great accuracy of detail over a large area. Microreplication in polymers employs roller embossing, pressing an...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Application and Recovery: Plastics in Electric and Electronic Appliances
...play a significant role in the innovation process. These materials have the potential for tailor-made solutions which meet customer requirements in their every aspect. On average, E&E equipment contains about 20wt.-% of polymer material. Due to the extraordinary diversity of the equipment itself and the specific construction and quality requirements within each individual group of appliances, the polymer content can vary significantly, from 3% to about 60% (Fig.2). In order to meet the fire safe...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Attractive and Robust
..., such as skis (Fig. 1), snowboards (title photo), special sports shoes and racquets for different sports. Alongside this, countless mass-produced articles, including low-cost ones, incorporate decorative labels applied in a variety of ways, e.g. textiles, tableware or household appliances. Advertising offers a vast field of application for decorative films. Back-lit, transilluminated and floodlit signs, buses or railway carriages with films bonded on to them and large-area decoration for floors...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Automotive Conference: Lightweight Construction as Magic Phrase
...ocessing parameters kept within narrow limits, barrier layers and postcuring. Blowing agents have been used in plastics for many years. The underlying technology is now enjoying a renaissance. This is allowing further potential to be extracted from lightweight plastic. In the so-called SGI process, melt containing blowing agent is injected into the closed cavity through several hot runners. For volume increase, the mould is then opened by, e.g., 1.5mm to allow the material to foam. BMW studied w...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Automotive Glazing: Clear Prospects
...l and decorative features, such as hinges, heating wires, lettering and black-shaded areas – even with a pronounced three-dimensional glazing geometry. In addition to this, an effective infrared barrier is under development in order to reduce the extent to which the passenger compartment heats up in direct sunlight and thus also to reduce the load on the air-conditioning system. A comparison of the fundamental properties of glazing materials (Table 1) highlights the advantages of Lexan polycarbo...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Babylonian Confusion?
...n how to make data exchange more efficient. As more and more different 3D CAD/CAM systems are used for product development, the area of data exchange is becoming a major issue. Thus, in prototype construction, product developers like to avail of external service providers, since the latter have the necessary experience in prototype and model production, machine technology and follow-up techniques. Consequently, flawless, complete, reliable data communication between the partners is absolutely ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Back to Nature
...d in a number of different variants. The feedstocks for manufacturing BMs are grown in fields. Composting as a means of recycling the products represents a variant that closes the cycle after consumer use. Energy recovery or fermentative gas extraction would be also conceivable. However, this cannot really be considered a completely closed CO2 cycle until the feedstock for the production of the BMs is renewable and the energy expended in consuming them is also covered by renewable sources of ene...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Barrier Properties: Permeability of Polymer Alloys
... polyolefin: This case applies, for example, to water permeability. Fig.2 shows that the water permeability of PA (P=180g*25µm/m2*24h) is higher than the water permeability of PO (P=10g*25µm/m2*24h). The water permeability of Orgalloy, a PA/PO mixture, lies between that of PO and PA (P=100g*25µm/m2*24h). The water permeability of PA6 can therefore be reduced by the addition of water-impermeable PO. Polyamide has better barrier properties than polyolefin: A typical example, which frequently occ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Beer Bottles - A New Market for Polyester
...chnology to date is the multilayer technology (three or five layers, including protective layers). This, however, makes the beer bottles considerably more expensive and calls for special recycling processes. This is why current innovations, such as exterior or interior coating of PET bottles (with organic or inorganic substances) are currently attracting the attention of bottle manufacturers and beer-bottling plant operators, but these new coating technologies have not undergone much testing so ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Biodegradable Film: For the Sake of the Environment
.... In addition, the incorporation of natural inorganic fillers into the matrix (PLA/copolyester) is significantly improved. Since the polymer compound is perfectly homogeneous, a film produced from Bio-Flex can be stretched by blown film extrusion down to a gauge of 8 µm. Compared with straight biodegradable polyester films or biodegradable polyester films filled with thermoplastic starch, the tactile properties are also improved. The material is compostable according to DIN EN 13432, which means...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Biodegradable Materials
...34;reconditioning" hides a serious problem. For, the material has to be restored to its original purity if a "cradle-to-cradle" cycle is to be set up. The problem is an unavoidable consequence of the Second Law of Thermodynamics, and is extremely difficult to resolve for plastics in particular. When glass or metal is melted, any adhering contents, labels or organic coatings are completely destroyed and eliminated. With plastics, however, the maximum permissible processing temperature...

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, Biologically Degradable Plastics
...is range of goods based on fossil materials since they are determined by the additives used. There seems to be more hope for the areas of compounds and bio-polymers where some innovations have also been presented. Novamont S.p.a., Novara/Italy, has extended its product range with some new developments. The compounds marketed under the label MaterBi consist of starch and a portion of bio-polymers or synthetic BDM. To the presently known basic MaterBi types materials have been added for production...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Bond Reliably: The Right Adhesive
...this large field, Delo Industrial Adhesives, Landsberg/Germany, has specialised in unusually challenging applications – often in the automotive sector (Fig. 1). Bonding of LCP components is currently a topic of interest. With this in mind, an extensive series of experiments has been started: Using bonded LCP test specimens that were prepared with various surface treatment methods, it has been demonstrated that the one-part epoxy adhesives (grade: Delo-Monopox) produce high-strength bonding even...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Bonding of Plastics
...in thermoplastic polymers and solvent-borne adhesives; these lead to interactions between the surface and adhesive. It is this diffusion behaviour that has made it possible in many cases to bond plastics. Solvent-borne adhesives were therefore used extensively in the past. In the case of thermoplastics, this diffusion behaviour depends on the polarity. Thus PVC and PMMA are easy to bond by diffusion bonding, but PE, PP and thermosets are not. Diffusion behaviour is a material-specific parameter ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Bonding of Plastics
... high brittleness and low stability of these adhesives in water has now been corrected. These few examples serve to underline the point that there has been intensive work done on adhesive modifications and process developments in recent years. The next steps are process integration and cost reduction. Training Gives a Competitive Edge In the past - and to some extent in the present - reasons for the limited acceptance of adhesive bonding technology when it came to choosing a technique for join...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Bonding PEEK
...ermining those process parameters of the treatment methods which would confer maximum bond strength. The studies focused on the following treatment methods: - Mechanically roughening the surface, - Etching the surface with chromic-sulphuric acid mixture, and - Irradiating the surface with an excimer laser. The strengths of the bonds and the influences of the various pre-treatment methods were determined by performing the simple overlapping tensile shear test adapted from DIN 53281. For each surf...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Broad Spectrum
...section of today's thermosetting polymer technology. In 1998 Krauss-Maffei took over Fahr Bucher Service GmbH, Gottmadingen/Germany, with all world-wide rights to all Fahr Bucher patents and development work. "We now offer the by far most extensive product programme in this very exacting market" said Wilhelm Schröder, chairman of the board of Krauss-Maffei Kunststofftechnik GmbH, in connection with the event. Krauss-Maffei produces about 70 to 80 thermosetting polymer machines annu...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Calcium Silicate as a Functional Filler: Wollastonite – a High-performance Filler
...d mainly in the ceramics industry. The more refined wollastonite powders have gained considerably increased importance as reinforcing materials for plastics. Bettina Nolte-Ernsting For a long time now, fillers have ceased to be a simple means of extending plastics compounds to reduce the cost and now play a very key role in adjusting the special property profiles of modern polymer systems. Used as functional fillers, wollastonite powders and fine powders – produced by a sophisticated process an...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Calculation Model: Modelling the Solids Feed Section in Grooved-feed Extruders
Calculation Model: Modelling the Solids Feed Section in Grooved-feed Extruders Used in combination with barrier screws, grooved, forced-conveying feed sections are regaining their importance. With modern metal cutting machine tool machines, helically grooved feed bushings can also be economically produced. Jürgen Miethlinger To design solids feed sections with tapering, rectangular, axial grooves, the equation proposed by Rautenbach and Peiffer [1, 2] is normally used for dimensionless mas...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Campus - The World Standard for Plastics
...lobalisation of Campus, in line with the trend for the plastics markets. In 1993, the decision-making committee for Campus - the Campus Steering Committee - whose membership had so far comprised representatives of the four founding companies, was extended to take in the American companies of DuPont de Nemours and Dow Chemicals. In addition to this, the underlying standards taken as a basis for Campus were switched to international standards (ISO 10350) in their entirety, and a new standard, ISO ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Carbon Nanotubes
...to clearly identify the beginning or the end of any specific tube. The diameter of MWNTs is usually between 2 and 50 nm. They are normally between 0.2 and 2 µm in length. Various kinds of SWNT are shown in Fig. 2; their differences lie in the extent of their helix nature. The structure of nanotubes determines whether they are metallic or semiconducting; roughly two-thirds of SWNT are semiconducting and a third are metallic. As for MWNTs, it is not possible to make this distinction owing to...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Case Study (4): Hot-Runner Solution for a Spectacle Case
...ions with the same hot-runner manifold. Requirements on the Hot-Runner System In contrast to normal production moulds, flexibility and versatility were paramount in the choice of the hot-runner system. The range of materials to be processed extends from ABS, ABS+PC, PA, PA-GF and PC to special laser-markable plastics. In addition, the colour and material changes must be possible quickly and simply. The spectacle case can be gated via a dead-end tunnel gate from the front end. For in-mould decor...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Case Study: Hot-Runner Solution for an Electronics Coil
... stable mould design and high precision of the mould components. The use of high-quality materials for mould making and quality standard components is an absolute necessity here. Because of the thin-walled product and the high viscosity of the polymer to be processed, the process builds up high injection pressures, which the hot-runner system used has to be able to resist permanently and reliably without leaking. It is just as important to achieve a minimum stress during cavity filling by suitab...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Cast Polyamides for Small Series: Goodbye Injection Moulds
...sis and hot oil. As regards its mechanical behaviour, cast polyamide shows high abrasion resistance comparable to that of steel under the influence of abrasive and corrosive agents. “NylonMold is therefore suitable for use under extremely harsh conditions, for example in mining or shipbuilding,” says Gerken. It could also be used in food or medical applications, since the material’s high heat resistance allows its to be sterilised. Chemical, electrical and aerospace engineers are also showing in...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Cause and Remedies: Brittle Fracture in PBT
...nd 280°C [4]. As with PET, it is the ester function that constitutes the weak point. The chain is split through a cyclic transitional state, and a new acid end group develops, along with an unstable butadiene end group. This is split off as the next step, and butadiene is released [5]. Figure 2 shows the thermal degradation of PBT at temperatures of between 240 and 280°C with the release of butadiene. No Influence of Structure and Pigmentation The homogeneity and quantity of the colour batch emp...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Characteristic-value functions: The Mechanical Fingerprint
...gineering, it is essential to have recourse to as comprehensive as possible a property matrix – the mechanical fingerprint of the plastic used. The complex property profile of a polymeric material can only be calculated or simulated to a limited extent, however, and it is thus necessary for a large part of the material data required to be established experimentally. In addition to this, the parameters referred to above have a markedly non-linear influence, which means that working out the proper...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Characteristics and Costs in Equilibrium
...nd Anton Zahn, Würzburg/Germany Using Oscillating Dynamic Differential Thermal Analysis (ODSC) the degree of gelation can be measured anywhere on a window profile. Using the results PVC formulations and their processing as well as the design of extrusion dies can be improved. A lifetime of more than 50 years is expected from a plastic window made of PVC-HI. The mechanically most loaded parts of a window are its welded corners. The weld seams must show a high strength as they unlike the rest ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Coating Carpets
Coating Carpets Lower Energy Consumption and Improved Recyclability compared with Latex Composites Jürgen Miethlinger and Alfred Mayr, Lenzing/Austria The extrusion coating process permits composite carpets to be produced in a single operation. The only brief, unilateral thermal stressing that prevails preserves the pile fibre and ensures good dimensional stability over the entire carpet structure. Final widths of 4 and 5 m can be achieved on an extrusion coating plant thanks to the variab...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Coinjection of Thermoplastics and Elastomers
...coinjection moulding is state of the art. High-precision, modular injection moulding machines and innovative mould technology now allow crosslinking elastomers to be injected in combination with thermoplastics. The economic efficiency of these new polymer/elastomer composites depends critically on the properties of the materials used, precise temperature control in the mould, precise process control and high process reliability. Severe Demands on Mould Technology Hard/flexible composites pro...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Coloured PPVC Films: Colour Makes the Difference
...tralising the free hydrochloric acid, substituting labile chlorine atoms and complexing with allyl chloride groups in the PVC [3]. Photolytic degradation means ageing by the action of light. The resistance of plastics to the action of light is an extremely important factor governing their potential use, since light is the main reason for the degradation of plastics in outdoor use under natural climatic conditions [4]. Ageing not only causes changes in outward appearance but also in numerous phys...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Colourfast Window Profiles
...nd the difficulties of injection moulding PVC are often regarded as a disadvantage. In addition, there are many customers who want the advantages of plastic window frames, but attach importance to alternative materials. Modern materials for profile extrusion must have the well-balanced properties of PVC plus the ability to satisfy higher specifications in use. As alternative plastics for profile extrusion, the two styrene copolymers ASA (acrylic ester styrene acrylonitrile) and ABS (acrylonitril...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Combined Process: Foamed Parts with Excellent Surface Quality
...nate from the pioneering days of injection moulding, and physical blowing agents have also been known for about three decades. There are now modified processes with the potential to produce very uniform and fine-celled foam structures with extremely favourable properties. One of the best known processes is MuCell which was originally developed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is now licensed by Trexel inc. [2]. Reduced Viscosity Means a Decrease in the Required Clamping Force The M...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Compact and Reliable
...and to generate the joining pressure that way. Process Monitoring Process monitoring is an essential aspect of polymer laser welding. In order that feedback may be obtained about the quality of the weld, relevant process parameters have to be extracted either during welding or immediately afterwards. In quasi-simultaneous laser welding, the entire weld contour is melted at once. This means that both parts can be moved towards each other by a suitable clamp. Measurements of the change in force/...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Competing Materials
...iscussions, organized and chaired by leading trade journals, with industry experts debating current technology topics and trends in materials application. Conference visitors with a special interest in plastics will be able to find out the latest polymer news in the sector dealing with thermoplastics, composites, functional polymers and model-building, simulation and plastics design. Further details about the Materials Week agenda and about the trade fair itself can be found on the Internet unde...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Component Design: Creep Resistance - A Characteristic Value for Creep Behaviour
...been available to express this tendency to creep in a simple manner. A characteristic value of this type would be a great help at the design stage in particular, either for compiling specifications for material selection or for interpolating or extrapolating the material stiffness on the basis of known values for the creep modulus. In theoretical terms, it would be logical to derive a characteristic value for the tendency to creep from one of the familiar creep laws of Findley, Marin and Pao, No...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Compostable Material: Thermoformed Packaging Made of PLA
Compostable Material: Thermoformed Packaging Made of PLA Polylactides (PLA) represent a new group of thermoplastics for packaging applications obtained from renewable resources. In extensive tests, the functional and thermoforming properties of PLA were compared with those of other polymers. Luc Bosiers, Sven Engelmann Polylactides (PLA) represent a new group of thermoplastics for packaging applications obtained from renewable resources. PLA’s properties make it suitable for various thermo...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Compounding: Maximising Use of Machine Potential
25 Years of KTP Maximising Use of Machine Potential Compounding. The energy consumption of twin-screw extruders can be determined in advance by simulation calculation. This allows full torque utilisation, so that compounders can maximise use of available machine performance potential. Because of their excellent mixing properties and flexible construction, co-rotating, twin-screw extruders are commercially and technically the most important machine concept for compounding thermoplastics. However,...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Compounding: The Intelligent Alternative
Extrusion The Intelligent Alternative Compounding. Bimodal polyolefins pose a new challenge to compounding lines. The two components, comprising long and short chain molecules, with widely different viscosities, must be homogenised to produce a uniform pellet stock, free of fish eyes. The novel ZSK-NT combination opens up new routes to this difficult compounding task. First melting is carried out in a specially designed twin-screw kneader, and the melt is then transferred to a second twin-screw ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Compounds and Blends Made to Measure
...ermany Luvocom products with tailored material solutions based on modification of high tech plastics from Lehmann & Voss & Co. have been established on the market for 18 years. Thorough know-how in the field of high-performance polymer blends has extended the available range of material parameters. Thus in addition to using classical compounding with additives and fillers the characteristic spectrum of the material can be adjusted through specific optimisation of the polymer matrix. Although...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Compounds and Masterbatches
...acturers and can also be their customers for masterbatches for colouring compounds. Compounders are the customers of the polymer manufacturers. They may find themselves competing with the polymer producers' compounding activities, and are also external partners in business areas for smaller batch sizes, for which the polymer manufacturers' compounding facilities are too big. For example, the polyolefin giant Basell, which together with its joint ventures and a capacity of about 10 millio...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Compounds and Masterbatches: Revival of Research and Development?
...ounds with fillers and reinforcing agents as well as additive systems. Therefore, customer-specific material developments with individual properties can be performed. Presently, the focus for ready-to-use compounds lies in the area of extrusion, specifically for rod, profile, sheet (Fig. 2) and film. Materials available for processing are predominantly polyolefins with a great variety of modifications: reinforced with various fillers, permanent antistatic, elastomer-modified, as blends with othe...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Compounds: Flame Proofing and Light Stabilisation of Polypropylene
...in different ways. But a common feature of all is that, as regards their chemical mechanism, they are very reactive compounds. Some of these compounds, the halogenated products, form large numbers of free radicals, which is the basis of the fire extinguishing effect. Plastics react more or less readily with free radicals, which leads to severe degradation of the polymer structure and impairs the material’s properties. Such free radicals are generated under the thermal stresses during processing,...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Compression Moulding: Highly Precise and Fully Automated
...acher GmbH & Co. KG presented a plant for the so-called LFT-D-ILC process, which compounds continuous strand-reinforced thermoplastics in line by the direct method. First, the polymer is melted and blended with additives in a twin-screw compounding extruder. In a second compounding extruder, the fibres are incorporated, wetted, dispersed and the polymer melt is then homogenised. The advantage of this approach is that the two extruders can be optimised for the sub-tasks. This leads to improved ho...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Concave Structures for the First Time
... IVW has developed a process that both permits the first laminate layer to be applied onto the mold and also allows the finished component to be removed without damage. Tape placement is the automated placement of unidirectionally fiber-reinforced polymer tapes in any required direction and position on flat or curved structures. Tape placement permits the fiber orientation in the component to be optimally tailored to the application stress. A manipulator or multiaxial overhead system (Fig. 1) ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Construction Industry: Panes with Sunscreen
...t and production of the semifinished goods: GE Advanced Materials). Both products are ideal for roofs, transom lights, passageways (title picture), conservatories and other applications, such as train and bus glazing. No other thermally insulating polymer glazing can absorb infrared radiation (IR) effectively and be transparent at the same time. Reflecting Sunlight Modern architecture is characterised by the increasing use of daylight for aesthetic reasons and to save energy in indoor lighting. ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Consumer Protection: Migration Models for the Assessment of Plastic Products
...ars now. The results of this study have made a key contribution towards developing an estimation procedure for the migration and emission rates of substances from plastics. The translation of the results into European law was performed in the context of a project for the quality assurance of commodities in contact with foodstuffs, under the scientific coordination of Fabes and with sponsorship by the EU Commission [1, 2]. A Migration Model The point of departure for a model is the differential...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Consumption Stabilises: Low-density Polyethylene (PE-LD/LLD)
Trend Report: Commodity Plastics Low-density Polyethylene (PE-LD/LLD) Consumption Stabilises. The methods used for the processing of low-density polyethylene have been well-established for many years and can be described as fully developed. Coextrusion processes have continued to gain importance for the manufacture of blown and flat film. This is an ideal way to combine the properties of different PE products. Total Western European PE-LD/LLD consumption grew in the period from 2001 to 2004 by ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Continued Strong Growth: PET in Beverage Packaging
...y plastic. The polycondensation process is still performed in two steps. First of all, polycondensation with an antimony-compound catalyst takes place in the "liquid phase" with terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol. Following this, the next stage of processing is performed after granulation (solid phase) in a "solid-stating" reactor, up to a viscosity of IV=0.75 to 0.85dl g1. New polycondensation processes which produce granules from the molten phase in a single step, or which m...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Continuous Monitoring of Quality Parameters
Continuous Monitoring of Quality Parameters Inline Monitoring in the Extrusion Process Using Ultrasonics Ingo Alig and Dirk Lellinger, Darmstadt/Germany, Richard Lamour and Jürgen Ramthun, Leverkusen/Germany An ultrasonic technique for inline measurement of the velocity and absorption of longitudinal waves during the extrusion process was developed. For PS it was possible to differentiate between the different melt-flow indices. For the PE/glass bead composite a significant dependency of b...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Continuous Production of Polymer Nanofilms
...greater than that of water. - The gas phase of the system must not be saturated with solvent vapour. A Large Number of Polymers Are Suitable At first it seemed that only polymers with polar groups were suitable for film formation. However, after extensive, systematic work, it became possible to produce ultrathin films from non-polar polymers. Films could be produced from polycarbonate (PC), polyether imide (PEI), polysulphone (PSU), polystyrene (PS), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polyhydroxy...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Conveying, Dosing and Mixing
... able to leverage existing cost saving potential. Simply the choice of processes and equipment for the conveying, dosing and mixing can form the basis for successful production. In the choice of systems, the entire process must be considered in context. Only in this way is it possible to obtain the optimum solution for a particular application. Different Conveyor Systems The demands made on a conveyor system for plastic production or compounding differ greatly from the demands made by a plasti...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Cooling Time Reduction by Foam Injection Moulding: It Can Be Done Faster
... need for mould filling, the heat input and metering time are smaller for the same machine setting. Various Approaches to Cycle Time Reduction The biggest saving potential is offered by the cooling phase. The process phase, according to DIN24450, extends from the start of injection until opening of the mould [1]. In this period, the injected melt is cooled, until the moulded part can be stably demoulded. The length of the cooling phase has an influence on the polymer’s crystalline structure an...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Cosmetics Packaging: Optical and Haptic Aesthetics
...high-quality appearance – at a low production cost. Another example of vessels made with Surlyn is the luxury skin and body-care series from Maria Galland, a brand which specialises in skin care. The company opted for Surlyn over glass because the polymer is capable of taking on the appearance of frosted glass while additionally offering superior haptic properties and additional safety benefits: Surlyn is break-resistant, a property which is important during handling, transport and use. Ileos Gm...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Cosmetics Packaging: Trend towards Transparency
...n freedom of the latter. Where only a combination of chemical inertness and break resistance is needed, this polymer can also be used in transparent or pigmented form to powder-coat glass. A new development from DuPont in the area of coextrusion blow moulding is that of thick-wall technology, a patent for which has been applied for. Together with its partner Crown Raku, Rastatt/Germany, DuPont uses Surlyn to cost-efficiently achieve impressive decorative effects on tubs and bottles which are sim...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Cost-effective Modifier for Tailor-made Properties
...ntional autoclave grades. For the same comonomer content, the difference is 10 to 15K. This is a particular advantage for compounders, because a higher melting point reduces or completely eliminates problems such as bridging or caking in the extruder feed zone. In contrast to EVAs, the new copolymers release no acetic acid when they start to overheat. Acetic acid can have a corrosive action on the equipment and jeopardise health. Polarity and Heterogeneity Create Compatibility As a result of t...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Costs and Benefits: Recycling Plastics from Electrical and Electronic Products
...tem, presorting of electrical and electronic equipment, pretreatment of the equipment to remove contaminants, and plastics reprocessing technology. These factors affect parameters such as plastics content (which should be over 90%), melt index and polymer density, which help determine the selling price. The selling price is adversely influenced by the lack of specific information on limits for metals and heavy metals in recyclates and the fact that the maximum content of halogen compounds can si...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Cross-linked Polyethylene: The Right Pipe System
...ed or bolted steel pipes. The problems of these materials are widely known: - water-carrying pipes corrode or become encrusted, - compressed air lines with hemp-sealed screw joints dry out and become leaky, - condensate in compressed-air line is extremely aggressive and leads to corrosion; corrosion particles disrupt the production process, - the transport of abrasive materials (solids) severely damages metal pipes, often within a few weeks, - metal pipes are extremely complicated, and therefor...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Crosslinking Instead of Glassy Transition
... recognize or detect incomplete curing. The equilibrium glass transition temperature plays an important role in complete curing in the production process. Composite components consist of reinforcing fibres and a thermoplastic or chemically curing polymer matrix. In chemically curing systems, epoxy resins, unsaturated polyester resins, acrylic resins and phenolic resins etc. are used. These resins are generally liquid at room temperature and enable the fibres to be thoroughly impregnated. Durin...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Custom-tailored Engineering Materials: Polyphenylene Ether (PPE)
...supports as well as water filters and automotive ignition coils. Corresponding flame-retardant products find application in computers and office equipment, electrical/electronic devices, construction, telecommunications and household appliances. Extrusion and blow moulding grades use the outstanding melt strength of modified PPE. Such applications include automobile spoilers, office and hospital furniture as well as housings for office equipment. When compounded to be flame-retardant, they are s...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Cutting Costs
... thermal properties) from high-quality engineering thermoplastics such as polybutylene terephthalate (PBT; grade: Ultradur, manufacturer: BASF) or polyamide (PA; grade: Ultramid, manufacturer: BASF), the use of regrind is possible only to a limited extent. The reason for this restriction is the degradation of the moulding material during injection moulding and granulation: - In injection moulding, the polymer melt is subject to high thermal and rheological stresses. These result in relatively sl...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Cycloolefin Copolymer (COC): Appearance Counts
...efin copolymer – fulfils stringent requirements for medical applications, food and drugs packaging, optical parts or films, and toner binder. Bernd Sparenberg Compared with the majority of polyolefins, which have only similar monomers lined up next to each other, cycloolefin copolymers incorporate two different polymeric building blocks: ethylene and norbornes. By modifying the norborne content, it is possible to vary the properties of the material over a broad range and align them to the specif...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Cycloolefin-Copolymers (COC)
...hat each grade should be processed in its own processing window (melt temperature and mould temperature) on account of its individual glass transition temperature. The wide range of applications for this new class of polymers is demonstrated by the extrusion of film and sheeting, which can be thermoformed like PVC if necessary, and by processing methods such as extrusion blow moulding or injection blow moulding/injection stretch blow moulding for the production of hollow articles. Applications ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Decorative Surfaces in the Automotive Interior
...ularly meet the automotive industry's requirements for interior trim parts. A wide variety of decorative materials are used in the automotive interior. They include PVC or TPO films and sheets, PVC or polyurethane skins as well as leather or textiles. The automotive industry is setting ever more stringent requirements for physical properties, emissions, odour, optical and tactile properties and, not least, costs. Automotive manufacturers therefore place importance on materials that are aes...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Defect-Free Microstructures
Defect-Free Microstructures Forming of Textured Surfaces - an Application for Servoelectric Injection Moulding Machines Christian Gornik, Harald Bleier and Willibald Warta, Kottingbrunn/Austria The use of surfaces as functional elements, and not only the increasing degree of miniaturisation, is contributing to the growing importance of micromoulding. To produce trouble-free micro moulded parts, a precisely working injection moulding machine and a special process management are important fa...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Demand Continues to Rise: Polystyrene (PS)
...roximately 2.6 million tonnes consumption Europe still lies slightly behind the North American region and clearly behind the Asian region, which at approximately 44% mainly processed polystyrene (Fig.1). According to medium-term estimates in the next ten years European market growth will be on the average about 2% and world-wide market growth will be about 3.5%. If one compares Western and Eastern Europe, then in the East there was a consumption increase of about 10% while consumption in the Wes...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Demanding in Profile
...3 S3; manufacturer: Akro-Plastic GmbH, Niederzissen) has been developed whose products will not even embrittle at - 30°C when freshly moulded. Functionalized polyolefinic modifiers were selected for the purpose of modifying PA 66. A twin-screw extruder (grade: MPC 48/2, manufacturer: Compex, Schalkenbach, now Berstorff, Hanover) with special machine parameters (temperature profile and screw design) was used for compounding. The most important properties of these PA 66 compounds are shown in ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Design of Radial Spiral Dies
...tages over conventional axial designs. The IKV has devised a computational method for designing them reliably that compares well with real life results. Spiral mandrel dies are used almost exclusively for creating tubular melt flow in blown film extrusion. They are also becoming more common in other fields, such as blow moulding and pipe extrusion. Their increasing popularity stems from the processing advantages which they have over other dies: good melt homogeneity, no weld lines and very uni...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Design of Single-screw Extruders
Design of Single-screw Extruders Simulation Is Not Easy Walter Michaeli and Andreas Imhoff, Aachen/Germany Correct dimensioning of the screw is a vital factor for the cost and quality of extruded products. Designing single-screw extruders is only possible if a large number of simplifications and assumptions are made. Most machine manufacturers have specific know-how in certain areas of application when it comes to selecting the screw geometry. This well guarded knowledge is part of a compa...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Desktop Manufacturing and Biofunctional Processing
...ts. Fused deposition modelling (FDM) and 3D printing have been more successful in medical applications. In FDM, which is designed for rapid prototyping with ABS, a thermoplastic filament is fed to a heated nozzle movable in three axes, molten and extruded in order to form strands which are assembled to produce the 3D object. Generally, the processing window, especially the temperature interval, is very narrow. This imposes restrictions on the choice of material. FDM has already been used to proc...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Details of Economic Development: High-density Polyethylene (PE-HD)
... the overall market. The increase in demand for small blow moulding articles was slightly below average. Lower Capacities in Western Europe Western European PE-HD capacities accounted for around 20 % of global capacities in 2004 (Table 2). In the next three years, however, the share will fall significantly to around 16%. Although new plants will continue to go on stream in Western Europe, manufacturers will also be closing down a comparable volume of older PE-HD capacities. Capital expenditures...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Development and Trends: Plastics – a Mature Industry?
... with significantly different properties from the same building blocks. The type of processing is also of crucial importance for the properties, and thus for possible fields of application of the polymer material. Polyamide 6, for example, can be extruded into films with good gas-barrier properties, which are used in food applications. Polyamide injection mouldings reinforced with glass fibres are used as heat-resistant intake manifolds in the engine compartment of autos; and spun fibres, becaus...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Development History of Plastics: Growth through Changing Times
.... Klaus G. Kohlhepp The predecessors of today’s plastics are known in all cultures. Even before the time of Christ, the Chinese used resins obtained from the sap of certain trees to produce lacquers and for waterproof sealing of utensils and textiles. In Arabia, water tanks and water channels were sealed with natural asphalt. Also from Arabia came certain tree resins, which could be shaped under heat and reached Europe as “gum arabic”. In Eastern Europe, people have known how to process amber...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Development Strategy and Environmental Protection: DuPont - Growing with Engineering Plastics
...ormance Materials platform, one of the five organisational platforms of DuPont, recorded sales of 5.4 billion USD in 2003, 9% more than in the previous year," according to Terry Caloghiris, Vice-president and General Manager of the Engineering Polymers (EP) Division, at an advance press conference for K2004. EP achieved about half of its sales with product applications in the automotive industry. The remainder was divided between the electrical and electronics industry, general industry and ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Development Trends: Composites for Aircraft
...nents, the pressure bulkhead and the tail section of the fuselage are manufactured from composites. With production of the pressure bulkhead (over 6m in diameter), a new manufacturing technique was employed for the first time based on special textile fibre products, so-called non crimp fabrics, and a resin impregnation technique. Clear cost savings can be achieved in comparison to the current technique involving the use of preimpregnated material (prepregs). For future developments, e.g., for a ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Die Optimisation: Flexible Die Walls
...me. This situation is in direct contrast to the new demand for linearly elastic deformation. This new demand has been satisfied with metal flow channels that partly consist of several walls. Each individual wall has a very low thickness and is thus extremely flexible. The maximum elongation undergone by the wall remains very low because the surfaces are only a small distance from the “neutral” fibres. The mechanical strength necessary to withstand the internal pressure is now achieved by stackin...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Dimensional Stability and Impact Strength
... plastics with a high glass transition temperature, such as polycarbonate (PC) or polyphenylene ether (PPE) have particularly low CTE values. These two types of plastic are thus used primarily as amorphous components in blends with semi-crystalline polymers, such as polyamide (PA) or polybutylene terephthalate (PBT). Corresponding polymer blends, such as (PC+PBT+MBS) or (PA+PPE+SEBS) (MBS: (methylmethacrylate+ butadiene+styrene) rubber, SEBS: styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene-block copolymer) di...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Direct Compounding: New Directions in Plastics Processing
Special New Directions in Plastics Processing Direct Compounding. Process steps that normally occur separately during compounding at the resin supplier and during processing at the producer of semi-finished or finished goods are combined in direct extrusion and in the injection moulding compounder. The additional effort and expense incurred by the processor are considerable and must be offset by cost savings for the raw materials as well as by the benefits resulting from increased flexibility a...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Do it yourself: The Latest Additives and Masterbatches
...f pigments, additives, polymers, machinery and test instruments. Functional Additives In the 1990s, it was becoming clear that the chance to find new functional mechanisms or new chemical classes of polymer additives are limited or would need an extraordinary high research effort. For this reason and because of the increasing cost pressure, the additive industry concentrated mainly on optimising additive packages by exploiting synergies to provide improved performance at reduced costs. These f...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Drafting Tolerances for Moulded Parts
...ddition, a distinction needs to be drawn between precision injection moulding and standard injection moulding. DIN 16901 classifies all polymers into tolerance groups that are denoted by the series of numbers from 110 to 160. It also stipulates the extent to which production-related dimensions may deviate from shape-determining and non-shape-determining dimensions. Shape-Determining Dimensions Shape-determining dimensions are circumscribed in the same mould half by non-moving elements. Non-sha...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Driving the Automotive Industry: Engineering Elastomers
...companies is the downward pressure on raw material prices increasingly exerted by China and also India. An additional potential difficulty is posed by the explosive development of environmental legislation (1990: 19 laws, 2003: nearly 600). To what extent partnerships, acquisitions or subsidiaries in China and to a lesser extent India will make sense for German companies in terms of the cost mix remains to be seen. Process of Concentration Continues The last IISRP Report [1] showed there are no...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Dynamic Frictional Data
Dynamic Frictional Data New Findings for Describing the Processes in the Extruder Feed Zone Walter Michaeli, Jochen Hennes and Stefan Quadflieg, Aachen/Germany A special test apparatus allows pressure coefficients and coefficients of friction of plastics pellet stock to be measured for the first time in a dynamic state. The results obtained are relevant for practical purposes, since the pellet stock is in motion in the feed zone of extruders. New findings on the frictional properties of bu...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Ecoefficiency: Plastics in Politics and Practice
...oviding better hygiene safety. Use of polyasparatic acid as a corrosion protection agent for heating elements of washing machines or dishwashers (Fig.3) has become well established. The biologically degradable polymer contributes substantially to extending the lifespan of the household appliance. These examples demonstrate that the applications of products offer special beneficial effects [1]. This certain additional use effect is the real driving force to develop biologically degradable plastic...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Ecological Beneficial Composites
...t reduction of up to 30 % compared to glass fibre reinforced components can be realised. Furthermore, low machine wear is a result of the non-abrasive character of the natural fibres, a factor that saves substantial cost particularly in the case of extrusion and injection moulding processes and in addition in the following manual processing. Reservations about the natural fibres because of inevitable quality fluctuations are to a large extent unfounded. Well-controlled raw material production ha...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Economic Compounding: Nanocomposites
...nd3000 (manufacturer: Crompton, Middleburry, CT/USA), a PP modified with 1.2wt-% maleic acid (PP-g-MA). The polar component in this material improves compatibility between the PP matrix and the nanoclays. Compounding was carried out on laboratory extruder ZSK25WLE with two different screw configurations (Fig.3). The addition rates for Cloisite20A and Polybond3000 (where used) were 5% in each case. The intercalation and exfoliation obtained in the trials were determined by x-ray diffraction (XRD)...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Economical in Long Series
...eveloped procedure based on centrifugation technology makes it possible to manufacture continuous fibre-reinforced precision pipes with thermoplastic matrices. The centrifuged pipes are almost free of eccentricity and have outstanding internal and external surfaces. They are therefore particularly suitable as drive shafts, bearings or hydrocylinders. Pipes made of FRP (fibre reinforced plastics) have a number of advantages that mean that they can replace steel or aluminium in structural constr...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Economical Production of Barrier Film
... Production of Barrier Film The Innovative Films Market Calls for Flexible Machine Concepts Jochen Hennes, Worms/Germany, and Tony Rüegg, Lachen/Switzerland The property profiles of high-grade barrier films are becoming increasingly complex. Extrusion lines must be able to process a greater variety of materials than ever before. This makes enormous demands on the machine components. The ability to supply individual films quickly is nowadays more important than ever, which is why, especia...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Economical Production of PU Parts
...d with various reinforcing materials, produces high-quality automotive body parts. The process was developed several years ago and has been in large-scale use for about 15 years. The mixed components 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 v...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Editorial: Cooperation in Russia
Editorial Cooperation in Russia Following intensive research of the Russian trade journal market and after numerous talks and discussions, we have now signed an agreement with the Russian magazine, "Polymer Materials". Since April, this trade journal has included a special editorial section from "Kunststoffe" in Russian, geared to the interests of Russian readers. Published monthly, "Polymer Materials" is one of Russia's leading trade magazines for the plastics in...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Editorial: Light and Versatile
..., the consumption rate for plastics packaging items in terms of weight has been rising steadily, despite the fact that plastics packaging itself has become increasingly lighter. This success is based on the superior and versatile property profile of polymer materials and the resulting substitution potential. Our latest issue of Kunststoffe plast europe provides a comprehensive overview over the plastics packaging segment featuring the importance of plastics packaging for solving the conflict sur...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Editorial: Securing Margins
...ntracts in order to secure their purchase and selling prices. There would, however, still seem to be differences in respect of the timeframe involved. While forward transactions of up to 27 months are possible for metals, those for plastics did not extend beyond November of this year at the time I conducted my research (25 July). Scope for further improvement doubtless still exists here. What advantages are there to having the prices of materials set on an established raw materials exchange? Th...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Efficient Project Development
...eo, Brussels/Belgium, and Thomas Halcour, Kerpen-Sindorf/Germany Light weight, a balanced strength profile, an excellent surface finish and very good slip properties are the most important requirements for cycle brake components. Calculations and extensive laboratory and practical tests confirmed the suitability of polyarylamide (PA MXD6) compounds for these safety components. Close collaboration between Gustav Magenwirth GmbH & Co., Bad Urach, A. Schulman GmbH, Kerpen, and Solvay (OEM, desi...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Elastomers
...ut also partly in Western Europe and the USA is largely complete, and is now also taking place in China. The phase of concentration, and in some cases that of focusing, is currently underway in some regions. It remains to be seen to what extent oligopolies in the broadest sense will become established in the various areas of the rubber industry in this and coming decades. This cannot be ruled out. Capacity Situation among Manufacturers of Synthetic Rubber The latest IISRP report (International...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Elastomers: Flexible and Customised
... 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, a hard TPO replaces the ABS material normally used for the carrier, while a crosslinked polyolefin foam takes the pl...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Electrical Engineering: Plastics Go Electric
...trical appliances such as chargers or power drills, the test marks of IEC, VDE, UL, DIN, GS, CE and other institutions often appear side by side. The approvals that lie behind the individual logos are costly and time-consuming to obtain and involve extensive 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 ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Electrically Conducting Compounds: New Functional Material for the Automotive Sector
... intrinsically conducting plastics and organic anti-static agents has also been reported [3-5]. However, thermoplastics with a high filler content are difficult to process (e.g. on account of a substantial viscosity increase) and additionally cause extensive wear on machines. New Material Concept In collaboration with Siemens AG in Erlangen/Germany, a novel material has been developed that employs an additive (MCP 200) composed of a low-melting metal alloy that has a melting point of approx. 2...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Electronic Components and Displays: Intrinsically Conductive Polymers
...ting antistatic and/or conductive coatings. Since ICPs generally exhibit high glass-transition temperatures and often have no melting point, the usual processing technologies for thermoplastic polymers such as injection moulding and extrusion cannot be employed. Polyacetylene is not used technically, although polyacetylene was the polymer on which the initial and fundamental investigations regarding conductivity and doping were conducted. Doped polyacetylene almost achieves the conductivity of ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Electronic Markets for Plastics
...e, which are also conceivable off-line. However, they are clearly accelerated on-line. With all business models it must be guaranteed that the market users are also solvent. For this reason the markets check the quality of each new user in the context of the registration process usually using an external service supplier. If the quality of a user should be in doubt, the market can exclude him. The markets finance themselves using different commission models. Usually the suppliers pay a certain p...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Engineering Plastics as a Growth Market
... the Group, wherever they occur in the world, are to be accessible at all times at all sites. "Double-digit growth rates for sales and earnings are expected of all DuPont's divisions - and this also includes Engineering Plastics - over the next few years", says Mays, looking at the quantitative corporate goals. "Any investment for additional growth must be financed by the individual divisions themselves." In order to meet these requirements, the divisions aim to concentrate o...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Engineering Plastics: Products for Innovative Processes
...rength 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 (up to 60% long-fibre-reinforced grades) and Technyl XT. Technyl XT is a range of extrusion grades with 20% lower processing temperatures than conventional PA6 grades, resulting in up to 40% higher output rates. For structural components and underhood applications, Lanxess is supplying a new 60% glass...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Escalators Made of Plastics
Escalators Made of Plastics Specially-Tailored Polymer Blend Conquers this Aluminum Domain Eckhard Erlenkämper, Leverkusen/Germany, Horst Beicher, Krefeld/Germany, and Andreas Lange, Bad Salzuflen/Germany Ever since the end of the Sixties, escalator steps have been made of aluminum by pressure die-casting. All attempts to produce the steps in plastic to date have failed on account of the stringent requirements imposed on the dimensional stability of the component and hence on the material ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Even Smaller: Adhesive Layers on a Molecular Level
Surface Finishing Adhesive Layers on a Molecular Level Even Smaller. Adhesion promoting layers for polymer films are already leaving the oft-discussed scale of nanotechnolgy and approaching the next smaller dimension. Molecular monolayers of adhesion promoting amino and amido groups captivate not only because of the minimal amounts of material involved, but even more so because of the minimised costs for the entire process. Peter Palm Panayotis Cocolios Liquid adhesion promoting primers hav...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Evolution, Not Revolution
...ed to more sober analysis. Most 3D printers are used in design offices and often even by OEMs because they offer a fast way of getting a hold of and evaluating a prototype. The strengths of 3D printers in the design phase are particularly evident: extremely fast realisation of complex designs for presentation to internal and external customers alike. 4D Concepts, Groß-Gerau/Germany, is a good example of how this technology continues to evolve. Its Zprints 3D printer can generate design models in...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Exhaust-Air Purification in Laser Technology
...oided. - The treatment process should be as far as possible reversible so that the continuous overheads for disposal of the auxiliary materials remain small. - The process must be tolerant to liberated inorganic fillers. - It should be possible to extend the concept to remove inorganic gases such as hydrogen chloride - The input of external energy for the treatment process should be as small as possible. - The pollutant removal rate should be high enough that the purified air can be returned to ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Exhibition Preview: North American and Canadian Products at K 2004
...fe, and economical for cleaning PET molds. Dry ice reportedly does not damage the mold and evaporates on contact, so there is no runoff, rinsing, or drying. Both Husky and Cold Jet will exhibit at K. Processing Technology Demag has enhanced its Extra series of general-purpose machines with several new features. These include automatic screw identification, an “operator-friendly” ejector function, and an ultrasonic stroke-measuring system on the injection unit. Ejector movement during mold openi...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Expanded Boundaries
Expanded Boundaries Newly Developed PPS Grades for Injection Moulding and Extrusion Benny Mermans, Kallo-Beveren/Belgium The advanced polymer polyphenylene sulphide (PPS) has now succeeded in overcoming critical technological hurdles. New injection moulding alloys and extrusion grades are extending the traditional applications of this previously highly specialized material, and opening up new applications. Polyphenylene sulphide, properly called poly(thio-1,4-phenylene), has a relatively...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Expansion Injection Moulding: Amazingly Thin
...9;s K (see title photo): In one operation, using a standard all-electric machine, four battery housings of PC/ABS blend just 0.17mm thick were produced for a mobile phone. The flow length was 30mm, the process was stable from one shot to the next, and the cycle time was 4.9s. Such thin parts with a flow length/wall thickness ratio of 200:1 had never succeeded before with any injection moulding machine using a high-speed process. Thin-wall Injection Moulding: What Actually Happens? As an example...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Expectations and Performance: The Importance of Numerical Simulation
... simulation and therefore also on modelling. Limits of Simulation To fulfil these requirements, engineers, mathematicians and computer specialists must work together in a team. The work steps that have to be carried out are shown in Fig.1 [2]. The extent to which such a modelling process is successful, however, depends quite crucially on the complexity of the reality it sets out to describe. Generally speaking, experimental studies conducted at the same time or after the modelling process are v...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Export Champion: Changeover Completed
... million USD). Taiwan’s most important export and importing countries and their relative shares are shown in Tables 2 and 3. The injection moulding machine manufacturers take first place (45%) in the rank list according to exports, followed by extruders (8%), blow moulding (6%) and thermoforming plants (4%). The export portion of other machines for the rubber and plastics processing industry amounted to 37%. After Germany, Italy and Japan Taiwan is the fourth largest exporter of rubber and plas...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, FE Method: Design Concept for Stacked-type Spiral Dies
Extrusion Design Concept for Stacked-type Spiral Dies Michael Cretu, Hans-Gerhard Fritz FE Method. A new model-based design concept for stacked-type spiral dies is based on flow simulation, and allows correct design of the distribution system based on optimisation criteria. The design concept has been verified by experimental studies. Flat spiral dies are mainly used in pipe and tubular film extrusion. Because of its many advantages, this die concept has shown strong growth in the field of mult...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Fewer Production Stages, Shorter Cycles
...e. For economical insertion and positioning of the decor material and removal of the finished parts, appropriate handling devices, such as robots, are needed. This process is used nowadays for nearly all vehical pillar trim that is decorated with textiles or similar materials. Melt deposition application (back-compression) utilises a vertical clamping unit and an injection unit that can traverse in three axes ("Decopress machine"). The melt is delivered into the mould through a variable...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Fillers: Improved Properties and Processing
...having achieved a firm position in the African and Near East markets as well as over 40% growth in business with China, the objective is to serve the European, and especially the German, markets for PVC pipe and profiles. The selection is extensive and includes ground, coated and compacted calcium carbonates of good purity. The only handicap is that Jordan Minerals can only supply bagged goods, which is sure to create problems in the European market. It is to be expected that the established pro...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Film Extrusion: For Flexible Packaging
Film Extrusion: For Flexible Packaging “Evolution Following Revolution” was the motto chosen by Windmöller & Hölscher for their last open house. Having presented a fairly spectacular double-deck air ring at K 2001, this time they were exhibiting developments and improvements in extrusion technology. Windmöller & Hölscher, manufacturers of machines for flexible packaging, served up a series of recent developments at their open day in Lengerich near Osnabrück/Germany last May. Around 450 visit...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Film Extrusion: PET Extrusion without Pre-drying?
Extrusion PET Extrusion without Pre-drying? Film Extrusion. The degassing technology represents a realistic alternative to pre-drying or at least a useful addition to it. Studies show that the processing of undried granules is possible on a single-screw extruder with the aid of degassing. Walter Michaeli Torsten Schmitz The market for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) over the last few years has been characterised by rapid growth. Everyone seems to be talking about the material and, not too lo...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Filter Cups Made from Polyamide: Transparency for Water Filters
...chnology. After numerous tests, Carbonit decided to use engineering plastics at various points in the manufacture of the filter systems. In the production of the filter head and ring nut, polyoxymethylene (POM) is used. Another high-performance polymer is employed as a binder for the activated carbon block. The properties of this special thermoplastic ensure that the filter block has a high absorption capacity. For the production of the filter bowls (title picture), Carbonit opted for a polyami...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Flame Retardants
...olymer, but to ensure greater fire safety in the polymer in respect of the fire regulations that need to be met. Fire protection requirements exist in the fields of electrical engineering/electronics, the construction industry, transport systems, textiles and upholstered furniture. More than 40% of flame retardants go to the electrical engineering/electronics sector and cables, especially in the fields of consumer electronics, office electronics, household appliances and industrial applications....

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Flame Retardants: Flame-retardant Epoxy Resins
... flame resistant epoxy resin systems can now be produced with good mechanical properties. There is no let up in the trend towards using high-performance glass, carbon and aramid fibre-based composites for structural and function purposes. The range extends from structural elements in aeronautical and automotive engineering, through interior trim, to circuit boards for the electronics industry. To meet the variety of mechanical, thermal and electrical requirements, epoxy resins (EP), because of t...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Flame Retardants: Growing Demand
...growth in demand for plastics and the increasing use of flame-retardant plastics as a result of the more stringent requirements being placed on fire protection in the construction industry, transport, the electrical/electronic sector and furniture/fixtures worldwide. Halogen-free products are currently in great demand in the electrical/electronics industry on account of two new EU Directives, the WEEE Directive (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) and the RoHS Directive (Restriction of th...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Flame-retardant Curing
...ant to migration, and affect the mechanical properties. To improve the effectiveness of phosphorus-containing flame retardants and at the same time combine good mechanical properties with low toxicity, the flame retardant is chemically bound to the polymer matrix. However, the phosphorus compound must be readily miscible with commercial epoxy resins. This applies to the reactive organophosphorus compound StruktolPolydis PD3710 [6 to 8] (Fig. 1). Studies of such systems in electronics application...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Flexible and Inexpensive
...th and then being fed into a cutter where it is cut into granules (Fig.1). The fibres in the granules are orientated parallel to the direction of pultrusion (Fig.2). The typical granule length is some 12mm for injection moulding and 20 to 25mm for extrusion compression moulding. Good impregnation and good dispersion of the individual filaments in the granule and, consequently, within the moulded article is essential. Advantages of Long Glass Fibre Reinforced Products Contrary to the case for c...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Flexible Quality Assurance
...horn in 1991 as a just-in-time plant to supply so-called sliding/lifting roofs for the VW Golf in nearby Wolfsburg/Germany. Today, the plant makes these roofs for 27 different vehicle types, produced by different manufacturers. The production range extends from complete assemblies, which simply have to be put in place and connected up, through to glass panes for the sunroof, which is supplied to the vehicle manufacturer with just a frame. A further focus is the production of door modules. The co...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Fluid Injection Technique: Manufacture of Multilayer Media Lines
...th skin and with core material. Fluid injection can take place according to the short-shot or the overspill principle (Fig.2). With partial filling skin / complete filling core (PC), the cavity is first partly filled with skin material to the extent that the core material does not break through when the cavity is completely filled. After volumetric filling of the cavity, the holding pressure is applied via the core material. On subsequent fluid injection, only core material is displaced out o...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Fluid Injection Technique: Understanding Residual Wall Thickness
...easured at 230°C in a high-pressure capillary rheometer as well as a rotational rheometer. The comparison of these two measurements presented in Fig. 6 shows that the other material properties are not influenced to any noteworthy extent. Thus, any effects can be attributed to the change in interfacial tension. Addition of the antistat reduces the interfacial tension. It was not possible, however, to quantify the change in interfacial tension between either the water and polymer melt or between ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Fluoropolymer Prevents Flow Instabilities
Fluoropolymer Prevents Flow Instabilities New Measuring Technique Provides Clues about the Mode of Action in the Extruder Martin Schwetz, Armin Merten and Helmut Münstedt, Erlangen/Germany The extrusion of PE-LLD at high throughput frequently results in surface roughness. Through the addition of processing aids based on a fluoropolymer, this undesirable effect can be reduced. A new measuring technique can provide clues as to the mode of action of such additives. Flow instabilities during...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Foaming: Automatic Gasketing in a Five-second Cycle
...or foaming, casting and bonding industrial parts, as well as producing samples in zero or small series. Some stages in the company’s history that originated in the development of gasket materials for the packaging industry, and have now extended their clientele to the electrical industry and automotive suppliers: - The PVC compound Fermapor DD 980 is developed as an automatically applied cover-packing solution that is still the market leader in the European tin-plate industry. - The two-part Fer...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Food Packaging: PET Sheet without Predrying
...terials, such as polyethylene terephthalate are processed into high-quality thermoformed sheet. Færch Plast GmbH of Holstebro/Denmark produces 1billion plastic trays for food packaging a year. Thanks to its latest investment in a flat-sheet extrusion line from Battenfeld Extrusionstechnik GmbH, Bad Oeynhausen/Germany, with a maximum output of 1400kg/h, the processor was able to increase production capacity by almost 30%. Melt Degasification Reduces Energy Consumption The new flat-sheet...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, For All Eventualities
...re (Fig. 1). These two lubricant classes display a considerably lower volatility than the fatty acid derivatives. One frequently-recurring problem, for example, is deposits on cold machine parts. The solution here will depend to a very considerable extent on the plastic that is being processed. Details will thus be given below of the influence that lubricants have on the processing properties of selected engineering thermoplastics. Polyamide Polyamides are a very important group within the fam...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Friction Behaviour of Thermoplastics
...lastics have a tendency to reproduce the surface structures of the cavity parts in an injection mould. Factors such as the surface roughness of these parts and the method and direction of machining employed in mouldmaking play an important role. The polymer melt penetrates into the roughness grooves of the metal surface, which leads to small undercuts and mechanical anchorage [1]. Friction in Injection Moulding Throughout the residence time of the polymer in the mould, interacting effects occu...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, From the Idea to the Product
...ment are outlined in what follows. These examples serve to confirm the very wide range of problems that accompany product development, together with the links that exist between the different problems. Low-melting Glass as a Filler In many cases, polymers by themselves are unable to fulfil the constant endeavours to achieve miniaturisation, coupled with a simultaneous demand for parts that offer a wide range of functions. Glass fibres, glass spheres and mineral fillers are generally added to t...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Fuel Cell for Alternative Propulsion
...resources, we can safely speak of "zero emissions". Saying Goodbye to Fossil Fuels Breaking the way from fossil fuels will become inevitable due to the limited global resources. It is a subject which will, at the very latest, involve the next generation. The industrial nations, although they account for only 17 % of the world's population, consume more than 60 % of its energy. 90 % of this energy is obtained from fossil fuels such as crude oil and natural gas. If this level of cons...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Full House: Innovative Systems Prove an Attraction
...rior to that, piston injection units with pre-plasticisation constituted the state of the art. In the meantime, machine concepts are available that combine the screw and the piston. A continuously operating twin-screw extruder compounds the melt. The mould is then filled by a cyclically-operating piston injection unit. This opens up completely new possibilities in the field of material compounding. The filler, reinforcing materials and additives, etc., can all be introduced into the base polymer...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Functional Compounds
...l, is suitable for injection moulding. The material properties of the pure PP, the compounded PP and the PP compounded with different additive formulations were analysed and compared with each other. When the compounds were produced on a twin-screw extruder (grade: ZE25-CL, manufacturer: Berstorff GmbH, Hanover/Germany), it was established that magnetite can very readily be incorporated in the polypropylene matrix even with high filler contents in excess of 80 %. It disperses easily and uniforml...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Functional Filler: Precipitated Calcium Carbonate in PVC
...application properties of the impact-modified PVC window profiles with lead-based and alternative (Ca/Zn) stabiliser systems. The test program was carried out in cooperation with Vinnolit GmbH & Co. KG. Preparation of the PVC Compounds For the extrusion of the window profiles, calcium carbonate of the type Schaefer Precarb 400, which has been successfully used for many years in the field of rigid PVC compounds, was used. The untreated version of this product and another version, surface-treated ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Functional Plastics: Materials Research as Technical Investment
...Face Difficulties Not even ten years have elapsed since the time that there were clearly ordered relationships in the German chemical industry. For instance, Bayer, BASF and Hoechst were integrated chemical companies with a broad range of products extending from basic chemicals through specialty chemicals to polymers and pharmaceuticals. Each company had a centralised research department whose task was to develop new products through advanced research. These products were then transferred to var...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Functionality is the Key Factor
...in combination with the enormous pressure on costs in the health care sector, is providing the driving force for innovative development. The field of application for plastics in medical technology is highly diverse and is constantly expanding. It extends from mass-produced and disposable articles, through technical apparatus and instruments, to the temporary or even permanent implantation of plastic components in the human body. Both engineering plastics and commodity plastics, tailor-made for...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Gas Phase Fluorination: Reducing Plasticiser Migration
...phase fluorination of plastics hydrogen atoms are replaced by fluorine atoms in the plastic surface. This chemical reaction runs because of the high reactivity of the fluorine already at ambient temperature. The thusly produced modified surface is extraordinarily stable. The effects produced by the fluorination are durable for a long period. Whether the fluorinated surface of PVC actually leads to a decrease of the softener migration should be investigated. The process of the fluorination is div...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Gas-assisted Injection Moulding: Accurate Determination of the Injection Points
...lustrate the effect of melt distribution on the gas bubble profile, and shows a way to determine the optimum injection location. Helmut Potente, Hans-Peter Heim, Helmut Ridder Before a gas-assist process is designed it must be explained to what extent the article in question is geometrically suitable for production by this special injection moulding process. For correct design of parts for the gas-assist process, the options available to users are shaping of the gas-channel geometries [1–5],...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Gas-assisted Injection Moulding: The Cross-section is Crucial
...production problems, at least in thermoplastic processing, are the consequence of part geometry or process control. The effect exerted by process parameters on the development of the gas bubble only differs from one case to another in the extent of its influence. Unfortunately, since it is overlaid with geometrical effects and because of basic problems with gas injection, the relationships cannot be revealed experimentally in pure form. It is all the more important to familiarise oneself with th...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Gas-assisted Injection, Temperature Control, Foaming: Industrial Gases as Aids During Injection Moulding
...loped and refined CO2 cooling for conventional steel. Liquid CO2 flows at high pressure (approx. 60bar) through thin, flexible capillary tubes (outside diameter 1.6mm or less) to the intended location. Upon expansion of the CO2, a snow-gas mixture with a high cooling capacity forms at a temperature of about –79°C. The CO2 pulls heat from the mould steel and exits the mould as a gas through appropriate outlets. This method reduces cooling times enormously, which is reflected in a reduction of cyc...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Good Growth Prospects: Ticona Sets its Stakes on Engineering Plastics
... Medical Engineering Ticona also has a strong market position for another high-performance plastic – ultrahigh molecular GUR. Apart from its use as a high-performance additive in paints, coatings, rubber and seals, GUR is also used to a large extent in medical engineering today. In the light of its many years' experience in medical engineering applications, Ticona has selectively built up its expertise in this field and has now developed five additional speciality polymer grades in addition ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Good is Not Enough: From Initial Idea to Successful Product
...all, who stimulates and controls the process of finding ideas? Our recipe for success is called "Wissensverbund" (knowledge alliance). The heart of this network is in Ludwigshafen/Germany, where three central technology platforms – Polymer Research, Specialty Chemicals Research, and Chemicals Research and Engineering – are based. Some 5500 employees here are involved in research and development, exchanging know-how with the operating units. A further 2000 research and technical staff are...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Grooved Feed Sections
Grooved Feed Sections Design Variants for Single-Screw Extruders Beata Kowalska, Lublin/Poland Extruders with grooved feed sections have greater throughput and more stable conveying characteristics than those with smooth barrels with a comparable screw geometry. A survey of different designs of grooved feed sections is given here. They fall into two basic types: Those with a fixed geometry and those whose groove geometry can be varied during the extrusion process. The design of the feed ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Growing Profitably: BASF: "Offering Customers Clear Advantages"
...001. At the same time, we have invested in new plants and successfully developed our global structures," said Feldmann. The company will continue to follow this "not easy but promising" path to strengthen its position as a leading global polymer producer. BASF plans to pursue three basic lines of strategy: - Collaboration with customers in the development phase of new products is an important part of our aim to make a key contribution to the success of our customers. - Commodity pro...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Growing with the Electronics Market: Liquid-Crystal Polymers (LCP)
...consumption and development of liquid-crystal polymers. As parts get ever smaller but at the same time more complex, increasing demands are made on the material grades used. In many cases, LCPs offer the most efficient solution here thanks to their extraordinary range of properties. Birgit Staub Stefan Greulich Since the end of the eighties when the first liquid crystalline polymers (LCP) came on the market, average percentage growth rates for this class of materials have been in double figures....

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Growth Market for Powder Injection Moulding
... historical development of PIM technology, the first commercial activities with PIM can be found in 1960. It is only in the last 15 years that acceptance and market penetration have steadily grown. For a few years, the technology has matured to the extent that it is available as a functioning, turnkey technology for parts manufacture. The resultant reductions in costs and prices for standard products are opening up new fields of application and contributing significantly to the more widespread u...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Guest Editorial: “Constant Innovation is a Key Requirement”
... The plastics industry also comes out very well. The Future Plastics producers in Germany and Europe experience substantial cyclical fluctuations in price and margin performance. This situation is affected extensively by the high and, what is more, extremely volatile prices of petrochemical raw materials. After several years of unsatisfactory price and margin performance, we have been seeing light at the end of the tunnel for some time now. However, we are still weighed down in Europe by the mo...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, HALS Light Stabiliser: Light Stabilisation and More
...he other stabilisers, a significantly lower sealing temperature is required. This naturally means that the sealing bar needs less time to heat up, so speeding up the packaging machine. As a result, the processing window is also considerably extended, which is very important for packaging lines. The excellent solubility and therefore minimal influence of the oligomeric HALS stabiliser Uvinul 5050 H on surface properties in polyolefins makes this effect possible. Uvinul 5050 H behaves equally wel...