additives feature | Reinforcing fibres
Properties of RTP’s Ultra Performance carbon-fibre- reinforced PEEK, PEI, PPA and PPS compounds
Jason Carling, global director of product development at Toho Tenax America. “As always, we see continuous “cost down” strategies. Companies start with higher cost materials (metal or polymer) to achieve the performance they need. They generally over-engineer the product or select a material that is known to meet the specification. “After this happens and the product becomes
Most carbon fibre reinforced thermoplastic compos-
ites are high-performance continuous fibre-reinforced types that use low-tow aerospace-grade fibres (3-12 k) that are relatively costly, says Andreas Erber, head of SGL’s thermoplastic program. He says that by using larger industrial-grade carbon fibres, with a 50-k tow, both the fibre and the manufacturing processes for the thermoplastic component can be optimised in terms of total material costs. “Consequently such material systems can be the enabler for high-volume applica- tions in, for example, the automotive and consumer goods industries.” SGL Group currently estimates that global annual
demand for carbon fibres will increase to approximately 100,000 tonnes/year by 2020, with the industrial segment having a share of 75%. It should be pointed out though that a large part of this will still be in continuous fibre tape and textile-reinforced composites. Toho Tenax is another major supplier of carbon
fibres, producing grades specifically made for many different resin system to optimize their physical, mechanical and electrical performance. “We continue to see exciting growth in the compounding market,” says
commercially viable, then they can spend some time to reduce costs by down-grading the material selection or improving the design. This situation continues to give companies [along the value chain] opportunities to develop new materials for high performance applica- tions. Most of the simple polymer systems have already been invented and are being produced. In order to get higher levels of performance out of these polymers we must include different additives and reinforcements in them. This is an important area for carbon fibre.”
Compounding with carbon Many compounders around the world already produce carbon fibre-reinforced materials of course, but a significant number are raising their game. Notable names such as Lehmann & Voss, PlastiComp and RTP have announced important developments in recent months. RTP has added to its range of high temperature
structural products with what it terms “ultra perfor- mance” compounds based on carbon-fibre-reinforced PEEK, PPA, PPS and PEI resin systems. Products are available with fibre loadings from 20 to 40%. RTP says that they “provide performance options that meet a broad range of requirements for demanding applications in energy, industrial, aerospace, automo- tive, and medical markets that previously required aluminium, zinc, and magnesium” Lehmann & Voss says that its latest carbon fibre-
reinforced polyamide 66 compounds, Luvocom 1-8181 and 1-8520, come in response to “significant” increases in recent years in the requirements that industry places on plastics gear wheels. It says that the new materials
Sizing up the food contact marketplace
Food contact applications are in the sights of sizing producer Michelman. Earlier this year, it introduced new fibre sizings that comply with the European Commission Regulation 10/2011 on plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with food. It says that the new solutions “are ideal for sizing fibre that will be used in composites
34 COMPOUNDING WORLD | October 2014
destined for applications including coffee machines, food processors and other appliances and kitchen items where food contact compliance is required.” Hydrosize U8-02 has been designed
for general purpose applications and Hydrosize U5-02 is for applications requiring higher thermal and hydrolytic stability. Both are water-based polyure-
thanes and polypropylene dispersions that are free of APE and HAP (alkyl phenol ethoxylate and hazardous air pollutants). The new sizings can be used on glass
or carbon fibres reinforcing engineering resins such as polyamide, polyester (PBT, PET) and polyphenylene sulphide. ❙
www.michelman.com
www.compoundingworld.com
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