MATERIALS | HIGH TEMPERATURE PLASTICS
SABIC invests in PEI capacity
Above: Electrosurgical pencil
high humidity conditions is achieved through Vectra’s improved isotropic behaviour,” says Celanese. Vectra MT LCP has superior flow and gas/moisture barrier properties, is an FDA grade and is compliant with USP Class 6/ISO-10993.
PEEK at the peak PEEK is generally regarded to sit right at the top of the pyramid that groups thermoplastics in terms of overall performance. It may be difficult to believe that PEEK is over 40 years old, but in fact it was invented at ICI – now Victrex – in November 1978. Victrex says it will present new polymers at K2019, together with advanced forms and parts in focus markets where the thermoplastics deliver a strong advantage. The inert properties of PEEK and other PAEK polymers are a further reason for their success, says Victrex. “The polymers are ideally suited to extreme and demanding environments. Whilst alternative materials can meet specific needs, PEEKs can support multiple requirements.” This August, Victrex said it had achieved a new milestone for its automotive offerings. Its gear design and manufacturing facility in Grantsburg, USA, has received the IATF 16949 certification, “proving that the necessary systems and capabili- ties in line with Tier1/OEM needs are in place”. Victrex PEEK has been used in auto gears for
decades, but since 2015 the company has been extending its material expertise to the design, development and manufacture of gears, to offer a fully integrated approach to thermoplastic PEEK gear solutions. It supports the development and testing of high-precision Victrex HPG-based gears, as well as manufacturing these gears as a component for integration into larger systems, for example within the engine, transmission, pump, actuator and chassis. Andy Walton, Director Automotive at Victrex, says: “A major European car manufacturer has already
48 INJECTION WORLD | September 2019
Polyetherimide (PEI) is another popular HTP, but the only polymer supplier, SABIC, has been hard put to meet demand in recent times. The good news is that it recently announced that it is making significant investments in expanding the capacity of its Ultem PEI (Injection World September 2018), as well as Extem thermoplas- tic polyimide. The new production plant, in Singapore, is due to come online in the first half of 2021. The company has also been debottle- necking plant in the US. Ultem, which is an amorphous polymer (as is
Extem), has long-term heat resistance up to 180°C; very high strength and stiffness up to 200°C; dimensional stability over a wide temperature range; strength retention and inherent flame resistance without additives. Extem can meet even higher heat requirements than Ultem, with enhanced creep and strength performance at elevated temperatures. Rudy Miller, Director, High Heat Business, says SABIC is expanding Ultem production capacity by more than 50%. Debottlenecking at current production assets allowed it to start reducing lead times for make-to-order products by two weeks in 2018, and this year it has further reduced lead times by another five weeks. “Our ambition is to bring manufacturing lead times down to four weeks globally by or before the Singapore start-up,” he says. “There is a growing demand for high heat polymers, driven by stringent requirements in an increasing number of applications that are exposed to challenging or tough environments. Markets and product life cycles are moving faster than ever before. More than half of our High Heat Thermoplastics organisation is closely working with customers on new applications, and there are plenty in the pipeline.” SABIC does not say exactly how much capacity it has for Ultem, only that it sees CAGR in the range of 4-6%, approximately twice global GDP. “Supply has been tight, as with any other major specialty resin supplier,” the company said in response to questions from Injection World. “We have all suffered from tightness in the industry and our capacity ahead of demand strategy will de-risk suffering from this in the future.” SABIC estimates that over 80% of its Ultem resin is processed via injection moulding.
www.injectionworld.com
PHOTO: CELANESE
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