TECHNOLOGY | WIRE & CABLE
Right: Thermodan compounds meet the demanding performance requirements for fibre optic and copper media cables
also additional criteria characterising smoke production, occurrence of flaming droplets/ particles and acidity of combustion and thermal decomposition products. The CPR is adding to the testing and certification burden on cable companies, and this new burden grows with the level of performance declared. Most cable formula- tions of Class D and above have required a full redesign to warrant conformity to the CPR, says Rob Lammertink, Director Polymers & Coatings at LKAB Minerals in the Netherlands. “Leading companies are increasingly choosing
UltraCarb to enhance cable compound perfor- mances for CE marked cables. LKAB Minerals continually develops its UltraCarb range of natural flame-retardant fillers,” Lammertink says. The latest addition to the company’s range, Ultra-
Carb LH3, was specifically designed to be used in highly filled thermoplastic compounds. “Since full production started in 2016, UltraCarb LH3 has seen strong year-on-year growth. The product has found a high level of acceptance from the technically and commercially challenging market for halogen-free cable sheathing compounds,” he says.
Below: SACO AEI Com- pounds has launched two novel low smoke halogen free compound families for the cable industry
Significant challenges Allan Marconi, Marketing Manager at compound producer SACO AEI Polymers, also says the new regulation has presented the industry with some headaches. “The CPR has provided significant challenges for cable makers in meeting the appropriate level of the requirement as dictated by the installed environment,” he says. The company has just announced what it describes as some breakthrough low smoke halogen-free compounds for wire and cable that
use proprietary patented technologies.
“We have two new tech- nologies that can give the
cable maker a solid opportunity to reach B2 on certain cable construc-
tions,” Marconi says. Thermodan HF TP343 thermoplastic low
smoke zero halogen jacket compound has shown very good performance in meeting B2 and C levels in both fibre optic and copper media cables. Thermodan Global Product Manager Dean Jenne says it has been developed in response to the need for a more cost-effective solution for this market. “In copper media cables, the 22-mil [0.56-mm] thin wall jacket reduces the cable diameter by up to 7%, saving space, up to 30% reduction in weight and significant volume cost savings over conventional LSHF jacket solutions,” he says. Pexidan HF S/C-UV, a moisture-curing low-
smoke zero-halogen XLPE thermoset jacket compound, also has the capability to fit into the higher-level performance classifications of CPR. Jenne says it meets the need for a more cost-effec- tive solution for the fast-growing low smoke zero halogen application sector in North America. However, Jenne explains that the results any wire and cable maker will get in classes of CPR are also dependent on factors beyond the actual compound itself. “No compound manufacturer can guarantee the cable maker to meet a specific level of CPR, only that their experience is that the compound has the capability to meet CPR. B2 and C are the classifica- tions most commonly required,” he says.
HFFR introductions Unsurprisingly, the CPR cropped up in numerous discussions about materials on view at the Wire 2018 exhibition in Düsseldorf, Germany, in April. Italian compounder Padanaplast introduced a range of new Cogegum AFR and Cogegum GFR wire and cable compounds incorporating an advanced halogen-free flame-retardant (HFFR) technology at the show. The new materials meet requirements of CPR and also ISO 6722 for automotive cables. “The zero-halogen FR technology of our new compounds virtually eliminates the health hazards, disorientation and corrosivity associated with halogenated materials in fires,” says Antonello Casale, R&I & Tech Service Manager at the com- pany. “And importantly for processors, this superior self-extinguishing, low-smoke and low-toxicity behaviour doesn’t compromise the excellent
18 COMPOUNDING WORLD | May 2018
www.compoundingworld.com
PHOTO: SACO AEI COMPOUNDS
PHOTO: SACO AEI COMPOUNDS
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