composites | lFTs The concentrate approach helps processors reduce
cost through reduced transportation and inventory costs together with the potential ability to make savings on the pp base resin purchase, says lee. PolyOne, also headquartered in the uS, is also
hoping to capitalise on the growth in lFT consumption in the automotive industry but it sees considerable potential in the electrical and electronics and health- care markets as well. it launched its portfolio of lFT compounds – which include pp and higher performance base resins such as pA6 and ppS – in 2010. “our onForce production line is fully functional in
Above: Freund- Victoria’s latest hand axe design uses BASF’s Ultramid Structure LFT for the handle
less than 0.1 after accelerated ageing at 5000 kJ/m2 measured according to SAE J2527.
Success breeds success lee believes increased confidence in lFT materials and much greater familiarity within the moulding commu- nity are key reasons behind the high demand growth. “lFT materials have been in the market for a relatively short time – it’s been only the past 10 years that they have been used in instrument panels and front ends. it takes a long time to ensure the materials meet the expectations but once they have, well, success breeds success,” he says. “Ten years ago a lot of attention was given to helping
people to mould these materials so the benefits of the long fibres were maintained. Today, the moulding community has mastered the adjustments required and is very capable of handling them, whether they are making a part the size of a coin or a front end. This is the most interesting development – the paradigm that lFTs are best suited to large parts is just not true,” he says. lFTs deliver especially well in terms of weight
Far right:
Faurecia used a novel
combination of Sabic IP’s
Stamax LFT with Trexel’s Mucell foam moulding
process to cut weight and
cycle times on
Ford’s Escape/ Kuga IP carrier
54
reduction potential against steel, but also when compared to short fibre reinforced plastics where, in addition to higher stiffness and impact resistance, lFTs can offer typical 10% weight savings. “in commodity plastics like pp, the boost in performance proffered by long glass fibres is quite significant,” says lee. rTp also offers potential lFT users an alternative to
the lFT-d and lFT-g processing routes in the form of a melt-impregnated lFT concentrate, which combines 60% by weight of very long glass fibre reinforcement with additives that enable it be diluted to between 20 to 40% with a pp base resin. it is pitched at proces- sors with large volume throughputs that are looking for a more economical alternative to lFT-g and are willing to take on blending.
compounding world | January 2012
www.compoundingworld.com
Europe and we are supplying an increasing number of commercial orders,” says Jean-marc Verhaeghe, global marketing director, Specialty Engineered materials at polyone.
Focused on performance polyone sees its “single pellet” products – fully formulated and coloured compounds – together with its focus on higher performance matrix resins as a key advantage in developing new lFT applications. “most suppliers of lFT compounds are focused on materials using polypropylene as a matrix material, whereas our focus is on using higher-performance polymers,” says philip Vandenbrande, polyone’s product manager for structural products. “Applications polyone and its customers pursue
include structural parts as well as those that replace metal or that are based on ppS, high temperature pA, and other high-heat polymers.” germany’s BASF is also looking to target higher
performance lFT applications with the pA-based ultramid Structure lF materials it introduced in 2010. containing long glass fibre reinforcement at between 20 and 60%, the Structure product line includes two pA6 and three pA6,6 grades and is targeted at applications
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