LFTs | TECHNOLOGY
LFTs: ready to break out?
Despite their performance benefits, long fibre thermoplastics have struggled to break out of their
niche.Peter Mapleston asks whether the latest innovations could change that
Production of long fibre reinforced thermoplastics, LFTs, is and is likely to remain a niche area, at least for the near future. That is not because LFTs are difficult to make (although it is not a simple process either), but rather that the market for the materials remains stubbornly small. There is no doubt that LFTs enable production of injection moulded parts with excellent mechanical properties but extracting the full potential from the materials can be chal- lenging – part design is critical, as is a good understanding of the injection moulding process. LFTs are also competing in a dynamic market-
place. New thermoplastics processing technolo- gies using continuous fibre reinforcement are emerging to rival LFTs in some areas, while some suppliers of short-fibre compounds claim their products can often offer a better performing all-round package than LFTs. All that said, however, LFT production technology and materials makers are not standing still. There is a fair amount of technological movement in the market, both in
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terms of improvements to fibre and additive systems and also in the equipment available to make LFTs. We take a look at some of these developments here and also highlight a number of case studies that provide proof that, when done right, designing and processing with LFTs can produce outstanding results. One area of development is odour reduction. Automotive OEMs have, in recent years, been increasing pressure on suppliers to reduce odour and emissions of VOCs (Volatile Organic Com- pounds) from parts. Work is going on at many material suppliers, including producers of additives and glass reinforcement, to further reduce emissions from their materials. Glass fibre maker Owens Corning’s latest development, which was launched in China last year, is a low odour single-end roving (SE4818 Low Odor) designed for LFT and continuous fibre reinforced thermoplastic (CFRT) automotive applications. SE4818 meets low odour require-
Main image: LFTs provide very effective solutions for a wide variety of demanding applications but they have stubbornly remained a niche product. New material and production developments may go some way to change that
March 2020 | COMPOUNDING WORLD 27
IMAGE: PROTEC POLYMER PROCESSING
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