Product Digest - Materials
Glass Microspheres Improve Resin Properties and Reduce Manufacturing Costs
By acting as miniature ball bearings to increase flow, SPHERIGLASS solid glass microspheres lower the viscosity of most thermoplastic and thermosetting resin systems during extrusion and injection molding. The sperical shape also provides better stress distribution, reducing the risk of premature failure of parts made from the material. The spheres provide increased strength, dimensional stability, flexural modulus, abrasion resistance, surface hardness, and compressive strength, as well as excellent chemical resistance. They are available in two compositions — A-glass (soda-lime glass) and E-glass (borosilicate glass) — and their cost is less than half that of glass fibers.
Appeared In Issue: March 2006
Potters Industries Inc.
www.pottersbeads.com
Conductive Polymers Provide Electrostatic Dissipation
Based on copolymer polyacetal (POM), the PRE-ELEC 12-000 compounds offer the excellent chemical resistance, toughness and low coefficient of friction of polyacetal while providing electrostatic dissipation (ESD) protection. The compounds can be colored for color-coding, and are available with or without fiberglass reinforcement.
Appeared In Issue: March 2006
Premix Thermoplastics, Inc.
www.premix.fi
Incidental-Food-Contact Lubricants Ease Assembly Operations
P-80 Emulsion IFC and P-80 THIX IFC temporary rubber lubricants comply with FDA standards for use in incidental food-contact applications. A thin film of P-80 IFC reduces the force needed to install a tight-fitting rubber part; once it dries, the normal non-slip condition of the rubber returns. Both lubricants are easily applied by manual or automatic methods. The P-80 products do not contain petroleum distillates, so they will not dry out or harden rubber. They have low volatile organic compound (VOC) content, are non-toxic, non-flammable, and have a near-neutral pH.
Appeared In Issue: March 2006
International Products Corp.
www.ipcol.com
Elastomers Provide Enhanced Chemical Resistance
Dubbed Viton GF and Viton ETP, these new fluoroelastomers have been developed with advanced polymer architecture (APA) technology that provides much better chemical resistance than Viton A, which has been the backbone of the Viton line until now. Laboratory tests have shown that APA provides improved resistance to steam and some cleaning fluids used in food and pharmaceutical processes compared to older diamine- or bisphenol-cured dipolymer fluoroelastomers. The new materials are being used in gaskets, O-rings and custom-molded parts for critical sealing applications.
Appeared In Issue: March 2006
Newman Sanitary Gasket Co.
www.newmangasket.com
DuPont Dow Elastomers
www.dupont-dow.com
Biodegradable Plastic is Made of Renewable Raw Materials
Ecovio LBX 8145 is the first of a family of materials to be made with Ecoflex (a completely biodegradable plastic based on petrochemicals) and renewable raw materials. It contains 45% by weight polylactic acid (PLA), which is made from corn. Its first application will be flexible films that can be used to make plastic shopping bags.The Ecovio plastics will be usable directly without further modification to extrude biodegradable films. The basic component Ecovio L can be mixed with Ecoflex or PLA to obtain softer or harder formulations; the material can also be modified to injection molding or deep-drawing applications.
Appeared In Issue: March 2006
BASF
www.basf.de/plastics
Polyoxyalkylene Diamine — A Quick Cure for Epoxies
XTJ-590 is an epoxy hardener that provides fast curing at low temperatures while imparting good mechanical properties to the system. It is a reactive polyether diamine of low molecular weight, and can be used in epoxy adhesives, hot melt adhesives, construction chemicals, composites, coatings, polyamide elastomers and epoxy curatives. Its cure speed is approximately four times faster than the firm’s popular JEFFAMINE D-230 product.
Appeared In Issue: March 2006
Huntsman Corp., Performance Products Div.
www.huntsman.com/performance_products
Coating Guards Against Chemical Attack
A 100%-solids epoxy novolac coating, ARL 6000 provides excellent protection against severe chemical attack. Easily applied by brush, roller or squeegee, its low-viscosity formulation helps ensure complete surface contact and excellent adhesion to metal and concrete surfaces. It can be used to protect floors under chemical or acid storage tanks or pumps, to line concrete or metal secondary containment areas, to line tanks handling concentrated acids and other chemicals, and to protect various other substrates that are prone to chemical attack. It is also used as the topcoat of a proprietary multilayer system that bridges cracks up to 125 mils (1/8 in.) in concrete surfaces.
Appeared In Issue: March 2006
ITW Devcon Futura Coatings
www.devcon.com