MATERIALS | LFTs
Right: Conven- tus Polymers has developed special long fibre reinforced grades for production of gun parts such as this stock
benefits and greater design freedom. Conventus says it recently worked with a firearms manufacturer to customise a long carbon fibre reinforced PA6,6 resin that offers high modulus and good creep resistance and strength without compromising impact resistance. This was achieved using a combination of long carbon fibres and an impact modification package (standard long glass reinforced resins did not offer sufficient strength). The company has also developed a new line of long fibre technology in custom MIL-SPEC colours and soft-touch polymers in custom colours. These have been used in magazines and helmet components.
Short alternatives Piper Plastics says its KyronMAX series of struc- tural thermoplastic compounds meet customer demands for a short fibre thermoplastic material that outperforms the mechanical strength of long fibre thermoplastic (LFT) materials. “Our customers wanted the strongest mouldable polymers avail- able without all the process and design limitations associated with LFT polymers,” says David Wilkin- son, Polymer Technology Manager at Piper Plastics. “KyronMAX materials consistently outperform LFT polymers, especially when measuring the perfor- mance of the moulded part, which is the true test. They overcome all the limitations associated with LFT compounds while yielding stronger moulded parts that are also lighter in weight,” he says. Piper Plastics says that competitive structural compounds such as LFTs use high fibre loadings and long fibre lengths to achieve the required mechanical performance, but the performance of these materials often does not translate into the moulded parts due to weld line strength loss and fibre length reduction during processing. In contrast, it says that its KyronMAX materials use short fibre technology and much lower filler loadings to enable parts to be moulded with good mechanical performance and consistency and with
wall thicknesses down to 0.038 cm (0.015 inches). “The lower filler content results in a tough,
structural plastic that can be utilised in extremely aggressive applications, yet is still processing friendly and does not require specialised moulding equipment,” says Wilkinson. “We are consistently replacing LFT polymers with KyronMAX polymers that are 20% lighter and 20-50% stronger. Exhibit- ing tensile strengths above 51,000 psi (352 MPa) and flexural modulus above 6,500,000 psi (44,816 MPa), the KyronMAX technology platform is currently formulated in various thermoplastics including PA, PPA, PPSA, PEI, PEEK, with more in current development.” Piper Plastics says it uses a modified compound-
ing process to produce its KyronMAX products. “Manufacturing of KyronMAX is a multi-step process, which utilises customised processing equipment developed by Piper,” says Wilkinson. “The procedure starts with raw materials that are processed and modified in-house to ensure that the highest standards and consistency are achieved. The raw materials are then processed into compounds using custom-built equipment to achieve the required levels of mechanical perfor- mance. The constituents and formulations are
Akro-Plast prepared for LFT start-up
KD Feddersen group company Akro-Plastic will put its first LFT production line into operation at its plant at Niederzissen in Germany in Q3 of this year. The line has been built and designed in partnership with fellow Feddersen group company Feddem around its ICX twin screw compound- ing technology and is said to be
38 COMPOUNDING WORLD | June 2018
designed for cost effective and flexible production of quality LFTs. The new line uses pultrusion technology and features an optimised impregnation die, tensioner and haul-off. Akro-Plastic Innovation and Sales Director Thilo Stier says product quality also benefits from Feddem’s kneading block-free screw design. Stier says use of LFT compounds
can realise weight savings of up to 15% over conventional short fibre reinforced polymers with no loss in mechanical performance. However, he emphasised that LFTS should not be considered as an easy drop-in alternative – the component must be designed for long glass fibres to get optimal results. �
www.akro-plastic.com
www.compoundingworld.com
PHOTO: CONVENTUS POLYMERS
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