COMPOSITES | LFTs


Right: Using a 40% glass reinforced bio-based Akrolen Next PP LFT cut the carbon


footprint for this fan for Ziehl Abegg by two thirds


range of specialty LFTs. “PP/glass dominates the LFTs market at present. Our main market today is on nylon, PPA, and blend systems.” Akro-Plastic showed examples of this flexibilty at


the K show in Germany late last year. A bracket to hold a 2kg EV power unit was on display. Moulded in an Akromid Lite PA6/PP LFT with 40% glass reinforcement, the part provided a 40% weight saving over the former aluminium component and an 8% reduction over a PA6-based LFT grade. In the sustainability area, it showed a seat base


for the KTM FE 350 Rockstar Edition 2022 motorcy- cle, which was produced in the company’s Akrolen Next PP LFT. This is 10% glass reinforced grade produced using a circular PP based on waste cooling oil and is said to provide a carbon footprint slightly under 0kg CO2


equivalent. An axial fan developed for Ziehl Abegg using a circular PP LFT


with 40 % glass reinforcement resulted in a CO2 equivalent of 0.5kg, one third that of the petro- chemical-based variant.


Below: Feddem says it places automation as a top priority in its turnkey LFT production lines


Turnkey production In addition to supplying LFT production technology to its Feddersen Group sister company Akro-Plas- tic, compounding machinery maker Feddem also offers lines to other compounders. According to Business Development Manager Klaus Hojer, the company is currently seeing interest from both existing LFT manufacturers looking to supplement or update their equipment and from potential new players considering diversifying in to the secor. Hojer says LFTs go a long way to meeting the


needs of two of today’s key requirements – light- weighting and circularity. “Due to their elevated strength, LFT compounds allow for lower wall thicknesses in injection moulded parts, or for lighter parts by reducing the fibre content in a compound without sacrificing strength compared


to short fibre materials,” he says. “With a circular economy in mind, LFT offers the


option of making use of the materials after the useful life of a part has ended. This is a big incen- tive for various industries to move from thermoset- based composite materials to LFT,” he adds. Using engineering plastics and alternative fibre


reinforcements allows the strength and tempera- ture resistance of LFTs to be enhanced to extend metal replacement opportunities, Hojer says, while the ability to injection mould parts provides much greater part design freedom and eliminates the need for machining and finishing. In terms of production systems, Hojer says


Feddem’s key aim is to increase the level of automation to allow reliable manufacturing of high quality LFT materials at high throughput rates and with industry-leading fibre content and impregna- tion control. Particular emphasis is placed on simplifying operator interventions to shorten the learning curve for newcomers to the field of LFT compounding, he says. He explains that the company’s decision to position the extruder parallel to the roving treat- ment allows the overall footprint of its lines to be reduced. “An LFT line for producing about 1,000 kg/h of compound requires a width of only 2.6 m, which puts it into the space requirements of a standard compounding line for short-fibre rein- forced compounds,” Hoyer claims. The most recent company to offer turnkey LFT


IMAGE: FEDDEM 32 COMPOUNDING WORLD | March 2023


production technology is Germany’s IPS Intelli- gent Pelletizing Solutions. Managing Director Simon Weis says interest in LFT is growing due to the increasingly demanding requirements placed on final applications. “Long fibre reinforced polymers expand the range of possible metal substitutes into new demanding areas of applica- tion,” he says. “Compared to their short fibre


www.compoundingworld.com


IMAGE: AKRO-PLASTIC


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