J-Bond - TPE - Newport Elastomers

Kunststoffe international, 3D Printing with Pellet Extruded Plastics on Metal
Additive manufacturing processes count as future-oriented manufacturing techniques. Numerous studies and award-winning demonstrators underline the interest of the industry. Nevertheless, up to now there are only a few plastic-based applications with significant quantities. Today, screw-based additive manufacturing is a ‧solution for the economic and technical challenges and has the potential for series production. The debate surrounding the conditions for cost-effective and scalable additive man...

Kunststoffe international, Alternatives to Gluing and Mechanical Joining
The joining of dissimilar materials is a special challenge for joining technology. Thermal direct joining together with suitable surface treatments enables stable joints between very dissimilar materials combinations, thus ‧offering an alternative to classic procedures for joining hybrid parts. Plastic/metal hybrid parts are being used increasingly in numerous branches, such as the automotive, aerospace, or electronics industries. The joining of dissimilar materials continues to present a specia...

Kunststoffe international, Foam Beads in Gliding Flight
The particle foam crowd cannot complain about a lack of interest by potential users. At least as far as demand for products with high-quality functional and optical surfaces is concerned. However, development has stagnated since the joint research project SamPa sponsored by the German Federal Ministry of Education and ‧Research reached its conclusion. There is an urgent need for action. One year after the status report “Schaumperlen im Aufwind” (Kunst‧stoffe 2/2019, pp. 21–28, only available in ...

Kunststoffe international, From the Roll to the Third Dimension
The company Leonhard Kurz is a specialist in the development and production of decorative and functional coatings for plastics applications, which are applied by means of carrier foils during injection molding. Essential objectives of the company are technology and process development as well as the optimization of the 3D foil forming around corners and the contours of the plastic parts. For this purpose, Kurz operates an extensive injection molding technology center. New in the machinery: two p...

Kunststoffe international, Killing Problem Microbes
An American manufacturer and an invention team from Canada have developed and patented a formulation that can permanently protect plastic surfaces and metals from microbes. The technical active destroys the cell membrane of the germs without allowing them to adapt. It is applied in an online process after extrusion or thermoforming and then cured thermally or using UV light. ViaClean Technologies LLC has developed proprietary thermal, UV and hybrid cure antimicrobial treatment formulations, eith...

Kunststoffe international, Protective Coat for Electronics and Body
Cordless, mobile, networked devices promise comprehensive in vitro diagnostics. However, for applications in biological surroundings, the toxic electronic components must be carefully encapsulated. Therefore, cost-effective coating materials were examined regarding their interaction with biological systems. In medical technology, an Internet of Medical Things is used, in which medical products are networked by means of new communication structures and systems. The integration of cost-effective e...

Kunststoffe international, Turning Old into New
Due to their good feed characteristics and self-cleaning properties, twin-screw extruders enable even contaminated post-consumer polystyrene to be depolymerized continuously and efficiently. This opens up a promising recycling route in terms of industrial implementation via renewed polymer synthesis to produce plastic granules with a quality approaching that of virgin material. Polystyrene is used to produce a wide variety of food packaging and also for thermal insulation in construction. Especi...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Adhesives: What Do Adhesives Accomplish in Practical Processes?
Composite Materials What Do Adhesives Accomplish in Practical Processes? Adhesives. Thermoplastic natural fibre-reinforced composites are gaining increasing market share. A frequently discussed problem is the adhesion between the natural fibres and the polyolefin matrix. A great deal of study has been carried out on the basic principles, but what an adhesive is actually able to do in practice in the various composite processes is barely known. Natural fibres in composites are nothing new. The a...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Antireflection with Moth-Eye Structures
Antireflection with Moth-Eye Structures Injection Moulding of Functional Microstructured Surfaces Benedikt Bläsi, Freiburg/Germany, Kai Aufderheide, Hiddenhausen/ Germany, and Steven Abbott, Wantage/UK Special injection moulding processes allow the production of two-side structured plastic parts. The replication of functional submicron structures involves cyclic temperature control, stampers and in-mould film lamination. Microstructured surfaces can perform a wide range of optical or mec...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Back to Nature
Back to Nature Trends in Development and Markets of Biodegradable Materials Harald Käb, Berlin/Germany Products made from biodegradable materials (BMs) are slowly but surely gaining a foothold in the market. While packaging made from BMs can already be found on the shelves of major supermarket chains in England, the Netherlands, Italy and Switzerland, in Germany they are still awaiting the results of a pilot project on biodegradable packaging. These new polymers are also establishing thems...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Bond Reliably: The Right Adhesive
Joining Technology The Right Adhesive Bond Reliably. The property profile of polymeric materials also affects the bonding or joining method employed. Classical methods such as welding are often not suitable, so that bonding technology is gaining in importance. In order to achieve a successful bonding, however, certain basic prerequisites must be met. Gudrun Weigel With about 15 wt.-% in new car models, plastics represent the second largest materials group in the automotive sector and show a...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Bonding of Plastics
Bonding of Plastics An Overview Werner Gruber, Korschenbroich/Germany Bonding technology is growing particularly in importance for lightweight designs. The use of two-pack adhesives will continue to increase in the future. Elastic PU adhesives and PU hotmelts are forecast to grow at the fastest rates. To date, the use and growth of plastics has been and still is linked to the demands on the part of the processors to be able to join these materials during processing by suitable techniques...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Bonding PEEK
Bonding PEEK Pre-Treating the Surface Increases Bond Strength Carsten Weiß and Helmut Münstedt, Erlangen/Germany, Horst Sandner, Hofheim a.T./Germany Bonding of polyether ether ketone (PEEK) remains unsatisfactory because of the poor adhesive properties between it and the polymer material. However, the bond strength can be greatly increased by various types of pre-treatment. Heat-resistant thermoplastics are difficult to bond if their surfaces have not been treated beforehand. The reason...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Calcium Silicate as a Functional Filler: Wollastonite – a High-performance Filler
Additives Wollastonite – a High-performance Filler Calcium Silicate as a Functional Filler. It is only in the last 30 years that the plastics industry has discovered the mineral, wollastonite, which was previously used mainly in the ceramics industry. The more refined wollastonite powders have gained considerably increased importance as reinforcing materials for plastics. Bettina Nolte-Ernsting For a long time now, fillers have ceased to be a simple means of extending plastics compounds to redu...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Cast Polyamides for Small Series: Goodbye Injection Moulds
Rapid Prototyping Goodbye Injection Moulds Cast Polyamides for Small Series. From a technical standpoint, prototypes of cast polyamide are fully comparable to mass-produced PA parts and can be produced in sufficient quantities rapidly. For even small lots, the “NylonMold” production process developed by rpm GmbH offers convincing evidence through favourable competitive factors such as low costs, short production cycles and high product quality. The rpm (rapid product manufacturing) GmbH combine...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Coating Carpets
Coating Carpets Lower Energy Consumption and Improved Recyclability compared with Latex Composites Jürgen Miethlinger and Alfred Mayr, Lenzing/Austria The extrusion coating process permits composite carpets to be produced in a single operation. The only brief, unilateral thermal stressing that prevails preserves the pile fibre and ensures good dimensional stability over the entire carpet structure. Final widths of 4 and 5 m can be achieved on an extrusion coating plant thanks to the variab...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Competing Processes: Is Plastic Laser Welding Economical?
Joining Technology Is Plastic Laser Welding Economical? Competing Processes. The increasing use of laser welding is due in no small part to the many technical advantages it offers. With regard to the economic advantages, prejudices still exist on account of higher investment costs and the, in some circumstances, higher costs for suitable materials. Any comparison with other processes must consider all aspects. Jürgen Klein Andreas Kraus The automotive supplier industry is particularly chara...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Concrete Building: Plastics Replace Plywood
Concrete Building: Plastics Replace Plywood Formwork made of plywood has many drawbacks. A new sandwich system in plastic offers improved surface properties, greater durability and lower repair costs. Ernst Schmachtenberg, Thomas Seul, Carsten Tüchert More than 10000m² of formwork for walls and ceilings were used on the big building sites for the Reichstag in Berlin alone (title photo). The mechanical stressing that acts on this formwork is enormous. Soffit formwork not only has to wit...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Convertible Roofs: Targeting the Fresh-air Fanatics
Convertibles Targeting the Fresh-air Fanatics Convertible Roofs. Auto manufacturers across the world regard maximum customisation of their vehicles as a magic wand for generating new incentives to buy in a largely saturated market. The convertible segment offers a particularly wide scope in this respect. Stefan Schlott Of the many thousands of individual parts found in a convertible, the top performs a rather ambivalent function. As a rule, when driving with the top down, it is expected to “res...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Cooling in Miniature
Cooling in Miniature Effective Cooling of Particularly Small Areas Improves Production Conditions in the Injection Moulding Tool Siegfried Stitz, Klaus Schink, Manfred Popp, Würzburg/Germany As part of a research project at the Süddeutsches Kunststoff-Zentrum (SKZ), various possibilities were examined for effectively cooling particularly small areas of the mould where the wall thickness or diameter is less than 6 mm. This article describes the second part of the results. The cooling effe...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Driving the Automotive Industry: Engineering Elastomers
Trend Report Crosslinking Plastics Engineering Elastomers Driving the Automotive Industry. Within the elastomer-manufacturing industry, there is increasing concentration and focus on product groups. Regardless of this, the trend towards relocating production of standard products within the expanded European Union continues to advance. In the future, China and India will also increasingly emerge both as markets and production locations for engineering elastomer products. Werner P. Lauhus The Eu...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Easy-opening Concepts: Easy-opening Sterile Packaging
Easy-opening Concepts: Easy-opening Sterile Packaging Packaging for medical devices, operating-theatre apparel, wound dressings and sterile sheets for medical applications needs to be easy and quick to open. No particles or fibres are allowed to become detached from the torn surface, however. Traditional peel concepts already satisfy this requirement, but a new innovative material combination with a spunflash nonwoven is able to offer further benefits. Heiko E. Schenck, Malik Zeniti In Nor...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Ecological Beneficial Composites
Ecological Beneficial Composites Reinforcing PMMA Thermosetting Resins with Flax Fibres Gunter Hieber, Schorndorf, Robert Kohler and Rainer Alex, Reutlingen/Germany Especially high quality materials can be produced using domestic natural fibres. Therefore existing procedures and formulations are being adapted to the requirements of natural fibres. It has thereby been possible to achieve the characteristics profile of glass fibre reinforced plastics and sometimes to even exceed it. Especi...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Editorial: Concentration
Concentration This issue marks the first time that Kunststoffe AUTOMOTIVE is no longer appearing as a journal in its own right but as an important part of Kunststoffe. Some of those working in the automotive sector may have difficulty in comprehending this decision on the part of Hanser publishers, but it was taken after a reader survey by Emnid, the independent market research institute. These showed that by far the majority of Kunststoffe readers favour topics from the automotive and associat...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Elastomer Composites: Complex Mould Technology for Sealing Membranes
Tooling Complex Mould Technology for Sealing Membranes Elastomer Composites. Disposable bottles for shampoo, ketchup or condensed milk include a sealing membrane to prevent dripping. As with many other applications, in this unassuming mass product the details are important. An LSR component moulded onto a PA ring requires a certain degree of mould design expertise. Gerhard Kornfelder The production line described below, in which an LSR component is overmoulded onto a PA ring makes subsequent a...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Even Smaller: Adhesive Layers on a Molecular Level
Surface Finishing Adhesive Layers on a Molecular Level Even Smaller. Adhesion promoting layers for polymer films are already leaving the oft-discussed scale of nanotechnolgy and approaching the next smaller dimension. Molecular monolayers of adhesion promoting amino and amido groups captivate not only because of the minimal amounts of material involved, but even more so because of the minimised costs for the entire process. Peter Palm Panayotis Cocolios Liquid adhesion promoting primers hav...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Exhibition Preview: North American and Canadian Products at K 2004
USA-Special North American and Canadian Products at K 2004 Exhibition Preview. In Düsseldorf, more than 140 U.S. American and Canadian Companies will present their innovations for the first time to an European specialist audience. The editors of the magazine Plastics Technology have assembled a selection of the most important developments. With this thematically structured preliminary report you can effectively prepare your visit at the K show. Injection Moulding News from includes all-electr...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Fewer Production Stages, Shorter Cycles
Fewer Production Stages, Shorter Cycles Decorated Large Moulded Parts Made by the One-Shot Process Carsten Brockmann, Bötzingen/Germany Jochen Mitzler, Munich/Germany The one-shot process is the latest buzz phrase in decorative plastics processing. Its goal is to produce decorated moulded parts in a genuine one-shot process on horizontal injection moulding machines - without the laborious processing stages that have previously been needed by the laminating adhesive method. The steadily g...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Fibre Composites: Bonding Automotive Bodies
Fibre Composites: Bonding Automotive Bodies In small to medium-sized series vehicle, fibre composites are increasingly used materials for exterior body panels. Adhesive bonding is raising in importance as it often is the only suitable joining technology. Jochem Sauer Plastics currently make up 13 to 18% of a motor car. This is predicted to grow at an annual rate of 4.7% in the West European automotive industry. Plastics applications are distributed between the car interior – by far the gre...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Fluid Injection Technique: Production of Media-conveying Ducts
Automotive - Injection Moulding Production of Media-conveying Ducts Fluid Injection Technique. Media ducts that are both curved and partially integrated in other functional parts are to be found in cars, household appliances, medical technology and virtually all other sectors of industry. This wide variety of applications and requirements calls for different production techniques. Conventional processes such as extrusion, blow moulding and 3D blow moulding frequently entail a number of differ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, From the Idea to the Product
From the Idea to the Product Examples of a Consistent Development Process Ernst Schmachtenberg, Rainer Dahlmann, Oliver Pfannschmidt, Markus Glissmann, Sven Prollius and Jochen Töpker, Aachen/Germany In the course of part development, complex and interlinked problems are frequently encountered which have to be worked through on a step-by-step basis. The huge variety of problems that arise and the links that exist between them are set out on the basis of specific examples taken from differe...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Full House: Innovative Systems Prove an Attraction
Market Innovative Systems Prove an Attraction Full House. A high-powered programme, an attractive setting and a clear upwards trend in the number of participants – the VDI’s annual Injection Moulding conference is on the way to achieving its aim of becoming an institution. Wolfgang Kircher The number of participants at the annual injection moulders' conference in Baden-Baden each Spring is generally a good barometer of the economic climate. If a large number of injection moulding experts m...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, GIT, Sandwich and Two-component Moulding in Practice and Research: Correct Application of Multicomponent Processes
25 Years of KTP Correct Application of Multicomponent Processes GIT, Sandwich and Two-component Moulding in Practice and Research. The article gives a brief survey of gas-assisted injection moulding, multi-component composite injection moulding and sandwich injection moulding. It highlights application problems in practice and potential solutions from research at the KTP. Despite the fact that the term "multicomponent process" is only used in the literature in the context of the injectio...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Headlamp Bonding: Warm Reactive Bonding
Headlamp Bonding: Warm Reactive Bonding Individual parts of an automobile headlamp, which consists of different plastics, can be bonded economically with a reactive warm melt or warm fusion adhesive and a specially developed technology. The adhesive hardens quickly with environmental moisture and bonds well to plasma pre-treated plastics. Jürgen Horstmann, Peter W. Merz Automobile headlamps made by the system supplier Hella KG Hueck & Co., Lippstadt/Germany, consist in principle of two par...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Heat Management
Heat Management PU Rigid Foam for Building Insulation Stefan Albus, Herne/Germany One of the most prominent applications of polyurethane in building construction is as rigid foam for thermal insulation - such as in sandwich panels for industrial construction or as slabstock for roof insulation. This article describes the economic and ecological importance of this high-performance insulation material and explains its constructional and physical strengths by means of its applications in roof...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, High-Grade Insulation
High-Grade Insulation TPU for High-Performance Cables Alfons Bertels, Lemförde/Germany The automotive engineering sector, in particular, calls for cables that are wear-resistant, flexible at low temperatures and insensitive to chemicals. Apart from this, the materials employed are required to be halogen-free and recyclable. Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) fulfils these requirements in an ideal manner. Thermoplastic polyurethane belongs to the product class of thermoplastic elastomers (T...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, High-performance Elastomers: From Abrasion Resistant to Self-healing
High-performance Elastomers: From Abrasion Resistant to Self-healing Polyamide 12 elastomers stand out from competing thermoplastic moulding compounds thanks to a wide range of high-quality elastic properties. They are therefore used both for demanding precision injection-moulding parts and for select extrusion applications in the sports equipment and automotive sectors. Michael Beyer, Ursula Keil Higher, faster, more beautiful, better – not even materials development is immune to the hunt...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Hybrid Profiles in EPDM and TPV
Hybrid Profiles in EPDM and TPV Production with Single-Step Technology Ger Vroomen, Heerlen/Netherlands and Lothar Köster, Hamburg/Germany Multi-component applications in EPDM and thermoplastic vulcanisates (TPV) can be economically produced by a newly developed and patented hybrid coextrusion technique. The main advantages of the process are the high freedom of design of components produced in this way and the reduced number of production stages. Rubber, with its flexible, elastic and e...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Impact Modification Of Thermosets
Impact Modification Of Thermosets Addition Of Hygrothermally Decomposed Crosslinked Polyurethane Jürgen Gremmels and József Karger-Kocsis, Kaiserslautern/Germany The impact modification of brittle thermosets with liquid rubber is relatively expensive. An inexpensive alternative is to use hygrothermally decomposed polyurethane as the modifier. The process was tested with the aid of two epoxy resin grades and compared with the conventional method. Thermosets are highly crosslinked, ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Influence of Processing on the Degradation of PA and PP
Influence of Processing on the Degradation of PA and PP Sonja Pongratz, F. Duriau-Montagne, Gottfried Ehrenstein, Erlangen/Germany Temperature and atmosphere can exert a major influence on the thermal resistance of plastics during processing. An inert processing atmosphere can reduce preliminary damage to the polymer but other processing parameters such as screw speed are of crucial importance and can cause extensive degradation. The term ageing refers to the totality of all irreversible c...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Interview: The Benefits of Joining Ranks
Interview The Benefits of Joining Ranks The management of Hennecke on the company's situation following the restructuring of the Bayer Group and on its assessment of the markets in the polyurethane sector. The restructuring of the Bayer Group has repeatedly prompted discussions in the polyurethane market as to the future of Hennecke GmbH, a Bayer Group company engaged in the field of polyurethane technology. Kunststoffe plast europe spoke with Rudolf Brumund, Managing Director at Henneck...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, IP Support: Lightweight Automotive Instrument Panel Carriers
IP Support: Lightweight Automotive Instrument Panel Carriers They are lightweight and cost-efficient and yet meet the high requirements of the automotive industry. With the development of a new generation of glass-fibre-reinforced PC+ABS blends, the manufacturer has succeeded in adding good PU foam adhesion to the typical properties of these blends, such as good toughness, rigidity and flowability. Uwe Koch-Reuss, Tom Schenkels, Dagmar van Heur Increasingly high demands are being made on t...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Joining Technologies: Lightweight Hybrid Structures
Transportation Lightweight Hybrid Structures Joining Technologies. The development of loadbearing hybrid structures has a key role to play in the competitive use of continuous-filament- and textile-reinforced plastics for high-performance products made by lightweight construction. The joining technologies required for this must be optimally matched to the material structure of the joint components to ensure transfer of high load forces. Werner Hufenbach Lothar Kroll Olaf Helms In modern lightw...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Joining, Texturing, Modifying: Selecting the Right Laser
Special Selecting the Right Laser Joining, Texturing, Modifying. While the use of laser technology was often limited to expensive products in the past, inexpensive diode lasers and more compact Nd:YAG lasers are finding an ever-wider field of application in the plastics industry. For every specific application, the question always arises as to what is the right laser beam. Arnold Gillner Applications within the field of plastics range from products for packaging, electronics, household appli...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Joint Technology
Special Joint Technology Joining Techniques. Although the processing technology available for plastics permits a high degree of integration, thus reducing the need for joining processes, it is nevertheless often necessary to combine plastic parts in assemblies with other materials or with other plastic parts. This article provides an overview of purely additive joining techniques for previously produced individual parts. Gottfried W. Ehrenstein The difficulties and questions that arise when...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Laminating PVC Window Profiles without Solvents
Laminating PVC Window Profiles without Solvents High-quality Bonding by Precleaning and Flame Treatment Jörg Gehrke and Horst Kleinert, Dresden/Germany, Horst Hoffmann, Bopfingen/Germany A completely new, solventless method has been developed for the production of film-laminated PVC window profiles, which is based on the combined use of a biodegradable alkaline cleaning agent and flame treatment. In Germany, around 1 million tonnes of unplasticised PVC are processed every year. Some 20 %...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Large Investment Plans: Polyurethanes (PU)
Special: World Market Polyurethanes (PU) Large Investment Plans. The global polyurethanes market is characterised by steady growth, which is currently averaging some 5% per annum. This growth is being driven not only by increasing demand for materials for established applications but also, especially, by innovations and new application possibilities. Polyurethanes – discovered by Otto Bayer nearly 70 years ago – are extremely versatile materials that have been continually developed over the yea...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Laser Transmission Welding: The Third Dimension
Joining Technology The Third Dimension Jie-Wei Chen Laser Transmission Welding. A new welding process based on contour welding can be used to weld complex parts with three-dimensional seams. An air-cushioned, rotating glass globe transfers the necessary contact pressure to the joint. This leads to completely new applications in automotive engineering and the technical textiles industry. Laser welding is used in many different industrial applications. Where conventional technologies reach their l...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Laser Welding Transparent Parts
Laser Welding Transparent Parts Wide Area of Application. Up until now, laser-welding of clear-transparent components was not possible, because these materials did not absorp the laser beam. A new method involving the application of a special dispersion yields almost invisible welding seams. Gareth McGrath In plastics processing there are a variety of methods for joining plastics, including mechanical and chemical joining methods and welding. Each method has its own advantages and disadvan...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Laser Welding: A Wider Choice in Colours
Laser Welding: A Wider Choice in Colours While laser beam welding of thermoplastic components is becoming increasingly widespread, the method has one major disadvantage: there is only a limited range of component colours to choose from. A new processing method may remedy this detriment, since it allows a free choice of colour for the visible outer plastic piece to be joined, which determines the optical appearance. Frank Krause, Edmund Haberstroh, Reiner Lützeler Laser welding is very popul...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Locally Reinforced Parts: Tailor-made Light
Locally Reinforced Parts: Tailor-made Light Thanks to a further development in process engineering, materials tailored from a combination of long and continuous fibre reinforced thermoplastics in combination with flow-optimised polymer melt geometries constitute a serious alternative to metal-plastic hybrid structures. The term tailored LFT refers to parts made of long fibre reinforced thermoplastics (LFT) with integrated local part reinforcements in the form of fabric, profiles or parts-spe...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Market and Trends: Nanomaterials: Opportunities and Risks
Nanotechnology Nanomaterials: Opportunities and Risks Market and Trends. Nanotechnology represents an attractive link between bioscience and materials science and is a driving force for material innovations in the future. It also presents numerous opportunities for developments in plastics. However, the new nanocomponents must become more affordable and readily available to industry. This trend report points out potential approaches and opportunities. Rolf Mülhaupt Nanotechnology is the key to...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Material Recycling of Thermoplastic FPC
Material Recycling of Thermoplastic FPC Technically Feasible - But Is It Economical? Viktor Mattus, Ludwigshafen/Germany, Guido Beresheim and Manfred Neitzel, Kaiserslautern/Germany Sustainable growth in the FPC industry presupposes successful recycling. Cost comparison analysis enables processors of thermoplastic fibre-plastic concepts to derive economic benefit from material recycling. Processes described in the literature [1-4] show that continuous-strand-reinforced thermoplastics can...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Material Supply: More Efficient Drying
Material Supply: More Efficient Drying Infrared and vacuum drying are additional technologies now finding application in plastics processing to reduce residence times and/or energy consumption. However, great efforts have also been made in recent years to improve the efficiency of conventional dehumidified-air drying. Johannes Wortberg, Thorsten Schroer For many processors, drying the material is a necessary evil, which is particularly required in processing engineering plastics in order t...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Microsystems Technology: In-mould Assembly via Microinjection Moulding
Special In-mould Assembly via Microinjection Moulding – An Alternative Joining Process Microsystems Technology. Everyday life is increasingly influenced by microsystems technology of all kinds. Expanding use of polymeric materials in this area presents interesting alternatives not only for manufacturing, but also for joining and connecting of microsystems. Walter Michaeli Dirk Opfermann In addition to the continual advances in miniaturisation, the Nexus study identifies the increasing use of ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Microsystems: MID Housing for a Flow Sensor System
Microsystems: MID Housing for a Flow Sensor System The MID technology allows the integration of electrical and fluidic functions in housings for micro-system components. At the Hahn-Schickard-Gesellschaft, a flow sensor system has been developed with a thermal flow sensor and an MID housing. Flow sensor systems are used whenever volume flows of gases or liquids have to be accurately determined, metered or controlled. Possible fields of application for such systems include laboratory apparatu...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Multi-component Injection Moulding: New Properties through Rigid/Flexible Combinations
Multi-component Injection Moulding: New Properties through Rigid/Flexible Combinations Being a parts supplier to all major international mobile phone manufacturers, Balda AG also manufactures various components for outdoor phone models. Constant new designs, increasingly complex mould technology and ever shorter marketing cycles have led to the development of new practices and procedures within the company that effectively exploit synergies between design and production. Reinhard Mettenbrink...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Multi-component Processing: Plasma Makes for a Strong Bond
Multi-component Processing: Plasma Makes for a Strong Bond In-line activation of polymer surfaces by plasma treatment directly in the injection mould enables positive-joint composites to be made from polymer combinations that were hitherto unable to adhere to each other, markedly improves adhesion of compatible combinations and can be easily integrated into a process chain. Simon Amesöder, Agnieszka Kopczynska, Gottfried W. Ehrenstein Major growth is still being forecast for multi-componen...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Multi-component Technique: Safeguarding the Future through Process Integration
Special Safeguarding the Future through Process Integration Multi-component Technique. Multi-component injection moulding has gained enormous importance over the last fifteen years. This is due both to the development of sophisticated products and to the efforts being made generally to economise. The combination of well-known processes, such as sandwich moulding with injection-compression moulding or the fluid injection technique, offers fresh possibilities for lowering costs and creating inn...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Multi-Material Mould with Rotary Mechanism
Multi-Material Mould with Rotary Mechanism 16+16-cavity Injection Mould for the 2-Materialbase of the Housing for a Powder Inhalation System Hansjörg Keusgen, Bahlingen/Germany In order to assure reliable production and high yields, moulds used for mass production of high-quality multi-material plastic products must meet very high standards. High-precision multi-material moulds and a well-engineered rotary mechanism guarantee short cycle times. Function and design play an increasingly im...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Multiprocess Technology: Production Solution for Complex Air Intake Systems
Multiprocess Technology: Production Solution for Complex Air Intake Systems The air intake systems for the V-8 engines on the Porsche Cayenne take up a relatively small space in view of their complexity and high air flow rate. Only the combination and optimisation of different production processes and sequential assembly in several processing steps make this compact design possible. Pointing the way to the future, like the entire design of the Porsche Cayenne, this air intake system supplies...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Natural Fibres in Plastic: Compression Moulding of Natural-fibre-reinforced Thermoset Prepregs
Automotive – Compression Moulding Compression Moulding of Natural-fibre-reinforced Thermoset Prepregs Natural Fibres in Plastic. The use of natural-fibre-reinforced plastics continues to increase, particularly in the automotive industry. Natural-fibre-reinforced thermoset prepregs can be compression moulded with fast cycles to produce components with low density and good acoustic properties. Natural-fibre-reinforced composite materials have become established in the automotive industry because ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Opportunity and Challenge
Opportunity and Challenge 3D-MID: Technologies and Trends Karl Kuhmann, Münster/Germany Roland Dörfler and Gottfried W. Ehrenstein, Erlangen/Germany As an alternative to conventional interconnect technology on the basis of planar thermoset circuit boards, MID technology represents a novel design and manufacturing concept that provides a high degree of functional integration. Well-considered use of MID technology can offer a number of benefits with regard to increased design flexibility, co...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Part Development: Sandwich Structure for Sports Sticks
Composite Materials Sandwich Structure for Sports Sticks Part Development. A sports stick was developed in a combination of glass-mat reinforced thermoplastic (GMT) and expanded polypropylene (EPP). It can be manufactured on a reproducible basis and is fully recyclable. The AVK-TV awarded this development its 2003 Innovation Prize for the “Best Environmental Development of the Year”. Marcel M. Sommer Michael Päßler Ralf Schledjewski Hurling is a type of hockey which has its origins in Ireland...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Partners in the Market
Partners in the Market The Role of Compounders in the Plastics Industry Hans-Jürgen Ott, Gaggenau/Germany There are unlikely to be many fundamentally new polymer classes in the foreseeable future, and compounders therefore have the job of adapting existing polymers to ever more complex applications and requirements. They therefore act as links between polymer manufacturers and plastics processors. A compound is a thermoplastic polymer whose properties have been tailored by the addition o...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Peel Testing of Multi-component Mouldings
Peel Testing of Multi-component Mouldings Quantitative Determination of the Bond Strength of Hard/Soft Combinations Werner Aumüller, Tauberzell/Germany Until recently, there has been no practical method for quantitatively measuring the bond strength of hard/soft combinations of thermoplastic elastomers and engineering thermoplastics. Now, with newly developed test specimen geometry and the use of a test method that can determine peel strength, it is possible to measure and compare bond str...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Plastic Bodies
Plastic Bodies Current Status and Trends Klaus-Erik Schmid, Sindelfingen/Germany Plastics are the materials of the future. This is particularly true for car bodies. This fact has been demonstrated by studies conducted by the major automotive manufacturers. The greater freedom of design, and the easier integration of antennas compared with steel and aluminium, and the potential for lightweight structures are increasingly important arguments for the use of plastics in these applications. T...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Plastic Welding: Turning Power into Productivity
Turning Power into Productivity Plastic Welding. The higher powers of the new generation of diode lasers are reducing processing times for plastic welding and consequently increasing productivity. The technical prerequisites for this are higher-powered flexible radiation sources, which also offer scalable welding rates. Andre Eltze As an alternative to traditional plastic joining processes, such as ultrasonic welding, vibration welding or heated-tool welding, plastic welding with diode lasers ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Plastic, the All-purpose Material: Function in Form
Plastic, the All-purpose Material: Function in Form The correct plastic for a particular requirement and function can now be found in almost all sport and leisure applications. With its almost unlimited mouldability and colouring, this multitalented material is often used as a substitute for metal, glass or wood products. Gudrun Klein Sport and leisure applications are particularly influential in plastic’s popularity. This is partly due to the commitment shown by the plastics industry as r...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Plastic/Plastic Hybrids: It Doesn’t Always Have to be Steel
Composites It Doesn’t Always Have to be Steel Plastic/Plastic Hybrids. Plastics are conquering new ground which used to be primarily the preserve of metals. Hybrid structures comprising inserts made up of either fabric-reinforced or glass mat-reinforced thermoplastics or thermosets, with injected-on plastic ribbing, have the same load-bearing capacity as comparable structures in steel. Sonja Pongratz Hans Laich If an individual material comes up against its limits, new horizons can be opened u...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Polymer Characterisation by Means of Microwaves
Polymer Characterisation by Means of Microwaves Industrial Systems for Non-destructive Testing Christoph Sklarczyk, Saarbrücken/Germany Low-energy microwaves allow the non-destructive remote characterisation of polymers. They are therefore suitable for quality assurance and online monitoring of the production process. Economical, highly integrated microwave components for industrial measurement and testing systems are increasingly becoming available. Microwave technology was first used o...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Polyphenylene Sulphide (PPS)
Polyphenylene Sulphide (PPS) Benny Mermans, Kallo-Beveren/Belgium With the majority of its applications in the fields of automotive and electrical/electronics, polyphenylene sulphide (PPS) has since become established as a popular high-performance material. Although the market for PPS declined last year by around 15% in global terms due to the weakness of the economy, it nevertheless managed to stabilise in Europe. In view of the ever-advancing miniaturisation, the mounting demands being mad...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Preparation for Painting and Bonding: Inline Surface Modification During Injection Moulding
Injection Moulding Inline Surface Modification During Injection Moulding Preparation for Painting and Bonding. With conventional methods of surface treatment, the surface of the moulded part is ”activated” through use of additional energy after the moulding process. The inline surface modification procedure described here activates the surface during the moulding process by employing the thermal energy of the melt. René Brunotte Harald Kolz Jürgen Nagel When plastics are to be painted or adhes...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Pressure Vessels: A Question of Curvature
Automotive A Question of Curvature Pressure Vessels. Compressed air reservoirs for trucks should be light, tight and reliable. Inwardly curved bases are the secret of a new vessel design method that can now possibly help fibre reinforced component technology make a break-through in the truck range as well. The AVK TV Innovation Prize 2003 was given for the development work for the "best university work in the year 2003". Markus Schulz Helmut Schürmann Reservoirs, more or less in the for...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Pressure-Sensitive Adhesives ...
Pressure-Sensitive Adhesives ... ... the Underestimated Daily Helps Ralf Fink, Ludwigshafen/Germany Imagine you are in the shower early in the morning. Your eyes haven’t got used to the glaring bathroom light yet and you fumble around for the towel on the wall. Instead of the hook and your towel, there is only a little, sticky spot on the wall and the towel is lying on the ground. Most people have experienced situations like this before, suffering the inconvenience because a so-called pres...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Process Integration: Fibre-reinforced Sandwich and Profile Structures in One Step
Compression Moulding Fibre-reinforced Sandwich and Profile Structures in One Step Process Integration. An interval hot pressing process has been developed for in-situ production of fibre-reinforced sandwich and profile structures in one step. With this process, it is possible to produce sandwich structures of any length. In addition, production of the cover layer as a separate manufacturing step is eliminated. Stefan Giehl Peter Mitschang Continuous fibre-reinforced thermoplastic composites h...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Processing Technologies: Processing Fibre-reinforced Plastics
Processing Technologies: Processing Fibre-reinforced Plastics The industrial use of fibre-reinforced plastics essentially depends on the degree of automation in the relevant machine technology. This review sets out to show the advances currently being made in the various processes. Peter Mitschang, Ralf Schledjewski An important obstacle to the use of continuously reinforced plastics, besides the high cost prices of the raw materials (matrices and fibres), is the fact that the machine tech...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Project Engineering of a Manufacturing Cell: Planning with Farsightedness
Automotive Planning with Farsightedness Project Engineering of a Manufacturing Cell. Decorated screens for use in motor vehicle instrument panels and door interior modules put high requirements on surface cleanliness, optics and quality appearance. In a short time through early co-operation with an injection moulding machine manufacturer as a system supplier a German plastics processing plant succeeded in furnishing a fully automatic manufacturing cell including a pure air module and in taking ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Quality Assurance for Class A
Quality Assurance for Class A Process Control in the SMC Process Karlheinz Hörsting and Klaus Recktenwald, Bretten/Germany The article describes the production of an exterior automotive component and the use and benefits of a measuring system that logs press parameters during the press moulding operation. Future possibilities for using process data logging as standard in the SMC compression moulding process are discussed. Exterior automotive components made from fibre-reinforced plastics...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Quality Assurance: New Scope for Process Control in Ultrasonic Weldin
Joining Technology New Scope for Process Control in Ultrasonic Welding Quality Assurance. For some time now, manufacturers of welding equipment have been offering servo actuator units and digital power supplies in addition to conventional pneumatic presses and analogue power supplies. These offer users of ultrasonic welding technology new scope in process control and monitoring. Edmund Haberstroh Kai Kuhlmann Ultrasonic welding has become an indispensable part of industrial series produc...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Radiation-induced Crosslinking: Crosslinked PA6 for Circuit Carriers
Electronics Crosslinked PA6 for Circuit Carriers Radiation-induced Crosslinking. By post-crosslinking with an electron beam, it is possible to prevent engineering thermoplastics such as polyamide 6 from softening or melting. A definite improvement in the stability during soldering is the result. The crosslinking of plastics provides a very effective method for modifying the properties of engineering thermoplastics, particularly with regard to the current lead problem for the production of circui...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Reinforced Plastics: Caught Up Again
PE103126 Caught Up Again Reinforced Plastics. Reinforced plastics are managing to assert themselves to a much greater extent on the market once again. The sectors of winding technology and compression moulding technology are two of the application sectors experiencing sustainable positive development. A clear focus on thermoplastic systems was evident. After many years of relatively low growth rates, the reinforced plastics sector has done a good job of catching up with the development of the...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Requirements and Markets: Polymeric Flame Retardants
Additives Polymeric Flame Retardants Requirements and Markets. Reactive and polymeric brominated flame retardants offer many advantages over conventional systems, as they themselves are polymers or become part of the polymer. They do not bleed, provide highly effective fire retardancy, are heat-resistant and easy to process. They are gaining increasing market shares in polyurethane foams and engineering plastics. Rudi Borms Pierre Georlette The market for brominated flame retardants has suffer...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Self-contained Chemical Factory
Self-contained Chemical Factory Easy Bonding of PE and PP without Surface Treatment Lothar Müllenberg, Neuss/Germany Polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) are major performers on the plastics stage but they often remain soloists when it comes to bonding with each other or with other materials. Although both polymers are versatile commodity plastics, it has not so far been possible to bond them successfully with adhesives to produce load-bearing joints without costly pre-treatment. The...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Silicone Bonds
Silicone Bonds New Injection Moulding Concepts Herbert Kraibühler, Lossburg/Germany Over the past few years, a steady increase has come about in the use of injection-moulded silicone parts for technical applications. New injection moulding concepts are opening up additional fields of application. The increased use of silicone parts is essentially due to the latest developments in materials and peripheral equipment. This will serve to open up new fields of application in the future too: -...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Silicone Composites
Silicone Composites Self-Adhesive Liquid Silicones for Inexpensive Rigid/Flexible Composites Klaus Pohmer, Burghausen/Germany The development of innovative self-adhesive liquid silicones has made it possible, for the very first time, to produce rigid/flexible composites in thermoplastics and silicones using hardened steel moulds without any coating. Liquid silicone rubber (LR) has become widely established over just a short period of time. Since it was first brought onto the market at th...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Solder-resistant PBT
Solder-resistant PBT Radiation-crosslinking PBT for the SMD and 3D-MID Technology Uwe Kannengießer and Siegbert Stober, Marl/Germany The big advantage of crosslinkable polybutadiene terephthalate moulding compounds when it comes to new production techniques in electrical engineering is that they can withstand high temperatures over the short term. They are an inexpensive alternative to highly heat-resistant thermoplastics and can also be processed on the same tools as standard moulding com...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Special Injection Moulding Applications
Special Injection Moulding Applications Production Solutions on Standard Machines with Vertical Clamping Units Michael Kleinebrahm, Neustadt-Fernthal/Germany In order to meet cost and quality requirements, even complex functional components are now produced almost exclusively on an automatic basis. This article summarises a number of intelligent solutions for joining plastic to non-plastic parts and for producing composite parts on vertical machines. The need to produce cheaply and in a ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, STC Complements GMT
STC Complements GMT Innovative Technology for Long Fibre Reinforced Thermoplastics Gregor Chszaniecki, Hanover/Germany and Karl-Ludwig Brentrup, Lenzburg/Switzerland A collaboration project between the machine manufacturer Berstorff GmbH, Hanover/Germany, and Quadrant Plastic Composites AG (QPC), Lenzburg/Switzerland led to the development of a new manufacturing process for long glass fibre reinforced thermoplastics and its implementation as an economic production system. The automotive ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Styrene-butadiene Block Copolymers: Combining Haptics and Design
Special Combining Haptics and Design Styrene-butadiene Block Copolymers. In a large number of sectors, transparent plastics are used as a means of product differentiation. Employing a styrene-butadiene block copolymer, for instance, it will even be possible to achieve transparent rigid/flexible composites in the future. Robert Huber The reasons why transparent plastics are used in packaging, housings and a large number of household, sanitary and cosmetics applications, as well as in electrical ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Surface Technology: In-Line Plasma Processes
Surface Finishing In-Line Plasma Processes Surface Technology. The Openair plasma process has, for some years now, been creating a variety of new applications, especially for the cleaning, activation and coating of moulded parts and film. Now, a modular system has been developed for the in-line pretreatment of PP film that works with flexible widths and allows a high level of activation. Christian Buske Alexander Knospe Plasma – the "fourth state of matter" – describes a materia...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, The Hot-And-Cold Solution
The Hot-And-Cold Solution Double Shot Mould for Parts Made of Thermoplastic Polymer and LSR Hansjörg Keusgen, Bahlingen/Germany Composites of thermoplastic polymer and liquid silicone rubber (LSR) are fascinating because of the wide variety of applications in which they can be used. Trouble-free processing of these totally disparate materials in one mould requires that the cavities of the semi-finished part be thermally insulated from those of the finished moulded part. Composites of har...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, The Machine Manufacturer as Service Provider
The Machine Manufacturer as Service Provider From the Injection Machine Manufacturer to the Value-Added Partner Gerd Liebig, Schwaig/Germany In the injection moulding machine business, service still ranks much lower than in other industries. With new service concepts and availability guarantees for a production system, the machine manufacturer is now taking on at least some of the responsibility for the part to be produced. The injection moulding machine is an investment that needs some ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Thermoplastic Elastomers (TPE)
Thermoplastic Elastomers (TPE) Thomas Werner, Geneva/Switzerland, and Michael Fehlings, Bad Homburg/Germany Thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs ) have similar performance properties to elastomers but can be processed in the same way as thermoplastics. It is precisely this ease of processing that is prompting an increasing number of users to successfully replace crosslinked elastomers and flexible PVC with TPE. The TPE market is thus set to grow further over the years to come. Thermoplastic elas...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Tools: A Better Grip
Tools: A Better Grip The importance of the feel of a manual tool, power tool or gardening tool and the fact that it offers a firm grip should not be underestimated when it comes to product assessment. If a handle is uncomfortable and cannot be held securely in the hand, then this will affect the ease of operation and the efficiency of the tool. Designers and manufacturers must therefore pay attention to a whole range of factors – but above all to comfort, a secure grip and safety. Claude Mau...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Trends in Laminating Adhesives
Trends in Laminating Adhesives Günter Henke, Düsseldorf/Germany Solvent-based laminating adhesives are still being used in very large quantities even though they have considerable disadvantages. The results that have come from the development of solvent-free laminating adhesives show that converters have plenty of possibilities to seek out the most suitable system from both an economic and ecological point of view, and at the same time to harmonize growth with Sustainable Development. The ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Triple Combination
Triple Combination Multi-component Injection Moulding of Thermoplastics, Elastomers and Thermosets Richard Herbst, Eching/Germany, and Friedrich Johannaber, Lohmar/Germany Special conditions will have to be met, if different plastics are to be combined by injection moulding. The latest processing technology employs stack moulds and handling units, for increasing profitability through high output rates from relatively small machines. Gripping and handling systems, combined with magazining f...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Two-component Injection Moulding: New Hard-soft Combinations of POM and TPU
New Hard-soft Combinations of POM and TPU Two-component Injection Moulding. New hard-soft combinations of POM and TPU (TPE) are being produced by injection moulding. For this application, POM (Hostaform) copolymer grades with different impact modification and TPU (Elastollan) grades with varying degrees of hardness are being combined. The bond strengths of the different hard-soft combinations, as determined in a standardised tensile test, are evaluated and discussed. The results are compared wi...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Two-component Micro Powder Injection Moulding: Three Special Processes in One
Injection Moulding Three Special Processes in One Two-component Micro Powder Injection Moulding. To produce multifunctional ceramic micro-parts, multicomponent, powder and micro injection moulding were combined in one process. This article describes the injection moulding of high-performance heating elements with adjustable electrical resistance. Powder injection moulding allows economic mass production of complex parts of metal and ceramic. Multicomponent injection moulding offers multifunctio...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Unobtrusive, Invisible, Universal
Unobtrusive, Invisible, Universal Plastics are Increasingly Replacing Traditional Materials Thomas Siegel, Loßburg/Germany In many segments, almost unnoticed, plastics are substituting conventional materials. Yet it is not just plastics in their narrower sense that are being used as injection moulding materials. This article looks at new trends with the aid of various practical examples. In more and more areas of everyday life, particularly in the field of high-tech applications, traditi...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Wear Protection: Use of PVD Coatings in Plasticising Units
Injection Moulding Use of PVD Coatings in Plasticising Units Wear Protection. PVD coatings are already used to a large extent in mouldmaking. Depending on the type of coating, they can provide improved protection against wear, better part release characteristics or lower friction in ejector guide bushings. In a new systematic approach, PVD coatings have been investigated with regard to their suitability for use in plasticising units. Christian Gornik The abbreviation PVD (physical vapour depo...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Welding and Overmoulding of Thermoplastic Sheet Laminates
Welding and Overmoulding of Thermoplastic Sheet Laminates Thermoplastic Matrix Opens Up New Possibilities Marco Wacker and Gottfried W. Ehrenstein, Erlangen/Germany, Christian Obermann, Brilon/Germany A significantly greater freedom of design, and therefore greater processing scope, for thermoplastic sheet laminates can be achieved by exploiting the thermoplastic matrix’s ability to melt. Extensive investigations into the welding, back-injection moulding and overmoulding of such fibre comp...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Welding Crosslinked Polyethylene
Welding Crosslinked Polyethylene Christian Bonten and Ernst Schmachtenberg, Essen/Germany It is widely known that crosslinked, i. e. unmeltable polyethylene (PE-X), can be welded with electrical welding sleeves; it is even possible to butt weld PE-X to PE-HD or to PE-X. At the IKM in Essen, it has now been systematically investigated which welding parameters in butt welding lead to high weld quality. Crosslinked polyethylene (PE-X) cannot be melted by heating. Depending on the degree of cr...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Wood Plastic Composites on the Right Track?
Composite Material Wood Plastic Composites on the Right Track? Wood Plastic Composites. The European market for wood plastic composites (WPC) is developing very dynamically in its own direction with high aesthetic requirements being specified for the finished products. Through systematic optimisation of formulations and processes, manufacturers are trying to find suitable approaches that will lead to the right solutions. Martin Bastian Itana Radovanovic Kersten Kurda The relatively new class of ...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, Wood-plastic Composites: Influence of Coupling Agents
Composite Material Influence of Coupling Agents Wood-plastic Composites. As binders between the wood fibres and polymer matrix, coupling agents improve the flexural strength, dimensional stability, impact strength and flow properties of wood-plastic composites quite considerably. They also significantly reduce the water absorption of the material. Martin Bastian Itana Radovanovic Kersten Kurda To obtain a good bond between wood fibres and polyolefins, the fibres are either chemically modified or...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-21, “Nano Molding”: Permanent Bond between Aluminium and Polymer
Injection Moulding Permanent Bond between Aluminium and Polymer “Nano Molding”. Chemical pre-treatment of aluminum alloy causes nano-order hyperfine etching on the surface of the alloy. The injection of PBT or PPS onto the pre-treated aluminium part creates a firm bond between the polymer material and the aluminum alloy. The new technology called Nano Molding has a high application potential. Naoki Andoh Kagoro Osumi When aluminum alloy is immersed in a certain amine compound aqueous solutio...

Kunststoffe international, 2005-11-30, Fluoro Polymers: Safe Construction of Chemical Apparatus and Plant
Elastomers Safe Construction of Chemical Apparatus and Plant Fluoro Polymers. Constantly rising demands on chemical apparatus, pipelines and plant increasingly necessitate the use of high-performance materials. Fluoro polymers are finding growing application in self-supporting constructions, e.g. containers and feed devices, and in linings for protecting containers, towers and pipelines against corrosion. Klaus Hackel The – in the classical sense – thermoplastic fluoro polymers PVDF (polyvin...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-01-09, Continuous Fibres: Local Reinforcement of Injection Moulded Components
Composite Material Local Reinforcement of Injection Moulded Components Continuous Fibres. A new method based on using continuous fibres makes it possible to reinforce injection moulded components locally at the most highly stressed points. This method, in conjunction with suitable design measures, enables components to be produced that are economically competitive with metal-reinforced parts. Thorsten Koch Helmut Schürmann Injection moulding is one of the most economic and versatile production m...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-01-09, PTFE-polyamide Materials: Service Life Trebled
Composite Material Service Life Trebled PTFE-polyamide Materials. Chemically coupled PTFE-polyamide compounds (PTFE-PA) are a new group of materials with advantageous properties for tribological applications. Because of the strong bond between the two polymers and the resulting high wear resistance, components produced from these materials have a longer service life than components produced from conventional compounds with a similar structure. Dieter Lehmann The development of chemically couple...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-01-31, LFT Parts: Local Continuous-fibre Reinforcement
Composite Materials Local Continuous-fibre Reinforcement LFT Parts. Long glass fibre-reinforced thermoplastic parts (LFT) are characterised by their high impact resistance and strength compared with short fibre-reinforced thermoplastics. At the same time they offer an outstanding price/performance ratio. Embedding local continuous fibre reinforcement permits a significant improvement in part properties with only slight weight increase. Wenzel Krause Oliver Geiger Frank Henning Long glass fibre-...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-01-31, Multiple Stopcocks: Permanently Lipid-resistant
Special Permanently Lipid-resistant Multiple Stopcocks. In comparison with amorphous polyamides, a specialty microcrystalline polyamide for medical technology has almost unrivalled properties. Its advantages lie in its very good stress cracking resistance and transparency in contact with various aggressive chemical media, and it is permanently lipid-resistant. Dirk Heinrich Multiple stopcocks (Title picture) and catheter connectors are indispensable components of complex infusion equipment and...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-02-22, Cockpit Surfaces: Workplace and Living Room on Wheels
Interieur Workplace and Living Room on Wheels Cockpit Surfaces. The interior of today’s and tomorrow’s cars holds a great deal of potential for new surface materials and technologies. Depending on the comfort level, the spectrum extends from simple injection moulded applications to high-quality film techniques. Development of the required materials and processes must take into consideration function, aesthetics, safety, ecology and economics simultaneously. Bernhard Klein The interior of today...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-02-22, New Applications: Joining with Light
Joining. Joining with Light. New Applications. The use of lasers in production engineering for plastics parts is now an inherent feature of innovative production solutions. Thanks to constant further developments on both the hardware side and the process/materials side, laser technology is gaining an ever-broader range of applications. Matthias Poggel. Arnold Gillner. Ulrich Russek. The underlying basis for machining or processing materials with laser light depends on the way in which the ...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-04-24, Melamine Resin Foam: Lightweight, Versatile All-rounder
Foams Lightweight, Versatile All-rounder Melamine Resin Foam. A special melamine resin foam is continually finding new uses. With applications ranging from cleaning sponges to seat cushions and acoustic insulation components, this material has by no means exhausted its innovative potential. Horst Baumgartl Melamine resin foams are a relatively young material class in comparison with polyurethane and polystyrene foams but offer an exceptional property profile. They are flame-retardant, halogen-...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-04-25, Adhesion and Ageing: Copper Coatings on High-temperature Thermoplastics
High Performance Plastics Copper Coatings on High-temperature Thermoplastics Adhesion and Ageing. It is known that the adhesive strength of coatings on plastics can be increased by surface activation. However, the mechanisms involved in this increase and in ageing of the adhesive bond are frequently unclear. These mechanisms are examined with reference to copper coatings on high-temperature thermoplastics. Christian Seidel Jörn Friedrich Helmut Münstedt The context in which the mechanisms descr...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-04-25, TPU Processing Aids: Polyethylene Extrusion without Melt Fracture
Additives Polyethylene Extrusion without Melt Fracture TPU Processing Aids. During polyethylene extrusion, melt instabilities can lead to surface defects or melt fracture. Additives based on thermoplastic polyurethane elastomers postpone melt fracture until higher shear rates. At the same time they improve melt release from metal moulds and dies. Polyethylenes are the world’s top-selling polymer group and demand for these materials is continually rising. One good reason for this is the cost-b...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-05-22, Manufacturing Integration: Laser Welding Equipment for Production Lines
Joining Technology. Laser Welding Equipment for Production Lines: Manufacturing Integration. Laser welding of plastics is increasingly finding its way into industrial manufacturing. This joining technology opens up new opportunities and degrees of freedom not only in product design and styling, but also in manufacturing. Holger Aldebert, Frank Brunnecker. Laser welding of plastics is being used to a greater extent in a wide range of industrial manufacturing, in particular thanks to its advan...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-05-23, Transparent Nanocomposites and Hybrid Materials: Invisible Helpers
Special. Invisible Helpers. Transparent Nanocomposites and Hybrid Materials. There would seem to be no limit to the variety of functional fillers. Inorganic nanoparticles can suitably be used for functionalising transparent plastics, since their small dimensions mean they are not visible to the human eye, yet they still bring completely new functions with them. Stefan Kaskel. Inorganic fillers have traditionally played a decisive role in adjusting the mechanical properties of polymers, suc...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-05-24, Process Development: Versatile Ultrasound
Injection Moulding. Versatile Ultrasound. Process Development. Plastic melts absorb ultrasonic energy, and this increases their temperature and flowability. This effect is exploited to improve on the filling of constricted cavities and the reproduction of fine structures as well as to increase the strength of the bond seam in two-component injection moulding. Ultrasonic vibration is used to eject small parts without them suffering any damage. Peter Bloss et al. Ultrasound (US) is a versatile...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-06-29, Hard-soft Combinations: Perfectly Matched
Elastomers Perfectly Matched Hard-soft Combinations. By combining thermoplastics that are dimensionally stable at high temperature, such as polyamide and PBT, with a crosslinking rubber component, multifunctional parts can be produced economically. Multicomponent injection moulding and the similar fast cycle times of both materials are key factors in this success. Dirk Achten Maik Schulte Hard-soft combinations of a thermoplastic with a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) produced by multicompone...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-06-30, Composite Materials: Wood Filling Improves Bonding Properties
Composite Materials. Wood Filling Improves Bonding Properties. Pero Raos, Mladen Šercer, Mirjana Lucić. Composite Materials. Bonding of low surface energy materials, such as polyolefines (PE and PP), silicone, polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE), etc. is one of the most difficult tasks to be performed. This study investigates the influence of a wood filler on the bonding properties of polypropylene. A hardened two-component (2K)-epoxy adhesive and a 2K-acylic adhesive specially designed for l...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-07-04, Automotive Engineering: High Soft-touch Quality in One Single Process
Injection Moulding. High Soft-touch Quality in One Single Process. Automotive Engineering. Four well-known companies have jointly reduced the multi-stage process for the production of soft-touch car interior components to a combined single-stage process (“Dolphin”) utilising injection moulding and foam moulding. One of the future-oriented projects to be presented at the Engel Symposium in the middle of May was undertaken jointly by four companies: - the raw material manufacturers BASF, Ludwigs...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-07-04, Integration of Functions: New Connection Processes for Air Pipes
Joining Technology. New Connection Processes for Air Pipes. Marco Barbolini. Integration of Functions. Clips, lugs or cable grommets are usually welded onto under-the-hood air pipes. Two new processes dispense with welding and thereby reduce costs. Resistance to rising temperatures and high pressure, minimal pressure losses, dimensional stability, and weight optimisation are some of the standard requirements of under-the-hood air pipes. Above all, however, ease of assembly and functional int...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-07-04, Plasma Nitriding: Ejector Reduces Wear in Mould-making
Tooling Ejector Reduces Wear in Mould-making Plasma Nitriding. Ejectors are the parts that undergo most movement in the injection mould, and therefore the determining factors in the lifetimes and maintenance frequency. The lifetime of the ejector pins depends on the structure and quality of the nitriding layer. Recent long-term studies call into question nitriding processes that are still used even though they are no longer state of the art. Pius Eichinger Michaela Wassenberg The lifetimes of...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-08-06, Stabilisers (Part 1): Alternative Stabiliser Systems for PVC
Additives Alternative Stabiliser Systems for PVC Stabilisers (Part 1). The voluntary, but in effect compulsory, replacement of lead stabilisers in PVC applications raises a number of questions. Some answers are given in the first part of this two-part article, which compares currently used stabilisers for PVC in relation to mechanical properties, stability and colour, with special reference to pipes. Michael Schiller Dominic De Souza Henk Huisman Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) has a wide performanc...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-09-08, Natural-fibre-reinforced Plastics: Considerable Potential for Improvement
Additives Natural-fibre-reinforced Plastics. At the Global Wood and Natural Fibre Composites Symposium held by the Institut für Werkstofftechnik at the University of Kassel, experts took stock of the present state of development of natural-fibre-reinforced plastics. In their favour, these reinforcing materials offer eco-friendliness, low cost and light weight. There are problems to solve in terms of their characteristic odour and property and design limitations. Considerable Potential for Impr...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-09-26, Textile Welding: Sewing without Thread
Joining Technology. Sewing without Thread. Tanja Vatterodt, Dirk Hänsch. Textile Welding. New opportunities for joining technical textiles are offered by the laser sewing machine. This technique promises a number of technical benefits and makes it possible to create completely new products through 3-D processing. For certain applications, laser welding can even replace traditional sewing as a way of joining textiles. Use of a laser beam as a heat source to bond technical textiles offers man...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-09-27, EU Legislation: The REACH Syndrome: Incurable, But Not Fatal
Market and Management. The REACH Syndrome: Incurable, But Not Fatal. Wolf J. Köhler. EU Legislation. The European Chemicals Act – REACH – will be entering into force in 2007. It will have an impact on the entire industry, including plastics producers and plastics converters. Although the high macroeconomic effort caused by the Act is not offset by any perceivable benefit over the short term, it is not possible to prevent the Act in political terms. It is thus high time for companies to implemen...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-09-28, Laser Welding: Expanding the Laser Welding Spectrum
Joining Technology Expanding the Laser Welding Spectrum Laser Welding. Incompatible thermoplastics can now be joined by laser transmission welding using the interlayer film method. This method makes it possible for the first time to weld PA12 components to components produced from PBT, PP and PE. Edmund Haberstroh et al. Generally speaking, with just a few exceptions, welding methods can only be used to weld similar materials. Apart from this, possible weldable combinations are almost exclusi...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-09-28, Lightweight Construction: Advances in the Processing of Fibre-reinforced Plastics
Fibre-reinforced Plastics. Advances in the Processing of Fibre-reinforced Plastics. Ralf Schledjewski. Lightweight Construction. When their very good specific properties are considered the question arises as to why fibre-reinforced plastics are not much more commonly used. The reasons for this are complex. Apart from the costs of materials and production, there is the further challenge of enabling the good properties to be expressed in the structural part itself. The processing methods must b...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-10-27, Reliable Design: Multi-layer Tubing for Fuel Lines
Engine Compartment Multi-layer Tubing for Fuel Lines Reliable Design. In order to meet the complex requirements regarding mechanical and chemical performance, permeability and efficient, cost-effective manufacturing, multi-layer, coextruded tubes with a PA12 outer layer are used in the automobile industry. A new generation of fuel lines is based on PA12 compounds and a specific adhesion promoter that guarantees compatibility with the EVOH barrier layer under the required test and operating condi...

Kunststoffe international, 2006-11-24, Additive Systems: Composition Decides
Compounds. Composition Decides. Eric Richter. Additive Systems. In fibrous wood-plastic composites (WPC), interaction between the individual components wood, plastic and additive is optimal. A variety of wishes posed even by “wood lovers” to such a material can thus be complied with. There is a potential for application in exterior house panelling, terrace and veranda floors, fence systems and handrails as well as window systems. Wood is one of the major renewable resources and, still today, is...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-01-22, Corona Treatment For Any Material Thickness
Corona Treatment For Any Material Thickness Linear Plasma A new type of surface technology offers the advantages of corona treatment for materials of any thickness for the first time. The atmospheric pressure plasma process modifies the surface of plastic solid and multi-wall sheets, polymer foams and composite materials in the sub-nanometre range to provide reliable adhesion of printing inks, adhesives, paints/lacquers and other coatings. Peter Palm The generally very low adhesive power of ...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-01-22, Preserving our Cultural Heritage
Preserving our Cultural Heritage Plastics Restoration Polymer materials from past decades, like "traditional" materials such as wood or steel, do not last for ever. This poses a constant challenge to designers and restorers whose task is to preserve our cultural heritage. Expert knowledge of modern plastics technology – from modern polymers to colour plastics design – can be of considerable benefit in this. Richard Adler, Christian Bonten Modern polymers such as SAN (styrene/acryloni...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-02-13, Multicomponent Technology in the Cleanroom
Multicomponent Technology in the Cleanroom Functional Integration Multicomponent technology under cleanroom conditions offers ideal conditions for developing innovative medical and pharmaceutical products. Besides economic advantages, the main aim of using multicomponent technology is to achieve improved functionality. Thomas Jakob Innovative multicomponent technology in injection moulding and extrusion expands the freedom of design and styling by combining several polymeric materials. F...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-04-17, Ceramics Dressed as Plastics
Ceramics Dressed as Plastics Hybrid Parts Overmoulding of powder injection-moulded ceramic inserts opens up interesting possibilities for manufacturing plastics/ceramics hybrids on a large scale. This process was closely examined in a joint research project by the Süddeutsches Kunststoff-Zentrum (SKZ) and the Institute for Materials Research III at the Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe. Volker Piotter et al. The development of novel composites, in which the properties of different materials are ...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-04-17, Develop New Markets with Hybrid Components and Surface Treatments
Develop New Markets with Hybrid Components and Surface Treatments 2007 VDI Injection Moulding Conference For two days, February 14 and 15, Baden-Baden/Germany was once again the centre of the injection moulding industry. Because Germany’s domestic injection moulders are finding it increasingly difficult to compete costwise with the rest of the world in global competition, challenging hybrid components were included in the programme this time. The parallel session dealt with surface treatments ...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-04-17, Forming and Assembly in One Process
Forming and Assembly in One Process Assembly Injection Moulding Through choice of the combination of materials, the geometry of the part to be made and the injection moulding parameters the properties of the joints produced in assembly injection moulding can be selectively set: integral, form-fitting or frictional or mobile and flexible. Current research work shows the relationship between the boundary conditions of the process and the properties of the joint. Ernst Schmachtenberg, Marcus Sch...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-04-17, Higher Performance, Lower Weight
Higher Performance, Lower Weight Reinforcing Fibres Reinforcing fibres are known to influence material properties of fibre composites in different ways, depending on the fibre composition and its surface coating, which in turn affect the performance potential and the costs, as well as the intended field of application. An overview of the different reinforcing fibres applied in polymer composites presents advantages and drawbacks, together with the market for key fibre materials. Gerhard Zieg...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-04-17, Tailor-made Matrix Systems for FRPs
Tailor-made Matrix Systems for FRPs Styrene Polymers The thermo-mechanical properties of high-temperature polymers can also be achieved with inexpensive thermoplastics if these are selectively modified. Using a fibre reinforced styrene copolymer functionalised with maleic acid anhydride, it is possible to extend the application potential of this particularly inexpensive polymer group to cover highly stressed parts. Martin Fleischhauer, Helmut Schürmann Alongside polyolefins, styrene copolyme...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-06-18, Metal Injection Moulding at Micro Scale
Metal Injection Moulding at Micro Scale Huge Application Potential With the widespread trend in industry towards greater miniaturisation, precision metal microparts are gaining in importance. A production method for such parts that is still relatively young is metal injection moulding. Applications extend from gear wheels in microgears and motors, through medical implants to components in electronics and micro-reaction technology. Philipp Imgrund, Astrid Rota, Lutz Kramer, Steffen Krämer M...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-06-18, Plastification by an Intermediate Layer
Plastification by an Intermediate Layer Welding Technology The intermediate film method enables the user to join any types of transparent plastic components desired by laser transmission welding. The film’s thickness and carbon black content significantly determine the weld strength. Edmund Haberstroh Wolf-Martin Hoffmann Industry today frequently uses laser transmission welding, thanks to certain favourable features in terms of process technology. Among these is the option of non-contact ...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-07-18, Innovations for Medical Technology
Innovations for Medical Technology Technology Transfer The automotive and telecommunications industries are regarded as engines of innovation for the economy. Many of the developments from these industries, such as the injection molding of permanent magnets, or in-mold assembly, are increasingly also of interest for medical technology. Arno Rogalla, Dietmar Drummer, Manfred Riehl Inventions, technical advances or developments that are economically successful in a specific industry are called...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-07-18, Joint Solution
Joint Solution Laser Welding A bio-sensor’s top is bonded to the box by means of laser transmission welding. Cycle times are short here and possibilities for on-line supervision good. Moreover, the weld seam can be designed as highly resistant and no additional material is needed. All of these features are favorable aspects, making the technique an attractive option for the application considered. Frank Brunnecker Last year, pes diagnosesysteme GmbH in Markkleeberg, Germany, introduced an in...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-07-18, Solving Adhesion Problems
Solving Adhesion Problems Gas-phase Fluorination Since many plastics are difficult to print, paint or bond because of their non-polar surface, they must be pretreated. By increasing interfacial energy through gas-phase fluorination, it is possible to achieve not only good wettability but also enhanced adhesion and improved aging behavior. Thomas Zeiler, Frédéric Achereiner For very many applications in industry and everyday life, polymer materials, especially low-priced commodity plastics a...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-09-19, Face Lifts for Molded Parts
Face Lifts for Molded Parts Attractive Surfaces (Trade-fair-pre-report K 2007) A very large number of processes and types of equipment are needed to manufacture the current wide variety of polymer products, amongst which those for follow on and corrective processing have a very important place. In many cases the surface has to be post-processed and embellished or the polymer parts brought into the correct shape. A tour through the exhibition program. Even though the machinery sector is pro...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-09-19, Two-Station Mold for Injection Molding and Foaming
Two-Station Mold for Injection Molding and Foaming Dolphin Process A single-stage combined injection molding and foaming process permits economical production of soft-touch interior automotive components. Hereby, the two-component rotary mold plays a decisive role for reliable manufacturing. One particular feature is a spring-loaded shoulder that can move several millimeters. It ensures that the cavity remains sealed during the opening movement required for the foaming operation. Georg Kau...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-09-19, Versatile Material with Unlimited Potential?
Versatile Material with Unlimited Potential? Polyurethanes (Trade-fair-pre-report K 2007) The global market for polyurethanes has been growing steadily for years. It is driven by the desire for comfort, as in the furniture and automotive sectors, and for robust or tactile surfaces. At the K 2007 international plastics exhibition, manufacturers and processors will be providing information on new developments in these sectors. Virtually no other material combines an attractive appearance wit...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-10-21, Flexible Where It Matters
Flexible Where It Matters Fluid Lines Fluid-assisted injection technology is a cost-effective way of manufacturing highly integrated hollow articles. The combination of this technology with multicomponent injection molding allows fluid pipes to be manufactured with mechanical, optical, electrical, chemical or thermal properties that differ from one segment to the next. This allows the functional range of parts to be significantly extended. Walter Michaeli Andreas Neuss Fluid-carrying hollo...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-10-21, Plastics to Join Metals
Plastics to Join Metals Joining Flimsy metal elements are taking over from plastics half-shells today. This new design also affects the joining technique, since the metal bushings no longer fit into the shells in the way they used to. The new process developed integrates joining into the production process. Christian Walther Michael Stumpf A special kind of material changeover in cellphones and handheld computers is on the horizon: More and more casings of cellphones and handhelds are made...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-10-21, Securing Data through Back Injection Molding
Securing Data through Back Injection Molding Identification RFID labels which are integrated into injection molded items are more durable and protect data better than ones attached only to the exterior surface. They also simplify logistical processes. In-mold technology allows the transponder to be integrated directly into the plastic article during the production process. The use of these labels is particularly cost effective for multi-trip pool systems. Jörg Schmidt Holger Häffner Every ...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-10-21, Surfaces for Luxury Automobiles
Surfaces for Luxury Automobiles In-Mold Labeling Real wood or metal: either one applied to plastic produces a high-class surface for automobile interiors – and each has its idiosyncrasies during processing. Two new IML techniques provide increased flexibility and process reliability when manufacturing such components. Sabine Kob What would a sports car be without that cool look in the interior? For plastics processors, surfaces in automobile interiors have a special role. The car buyer per...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-11-21, Lightweight Structures Made of Metal and Fiber-Reinforced Polymers
Lightweight Structures Made of Metal and Fiber-Reinforced Polymers Process Comparison In the production of hybrid compounds made up of metal and a fiber-reinforced polymer, the pre-treatment of the surface has a decisive influence on the quality of the bond. A comparison of induction welding and adhesive bonding shows the bond strength that can be achieved today and permits an assessment for potential fields of application, such as in automotive engineering. Rudi Velthuis, Mark Pascal Kötte...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-11-21, Outer Body Skin with an Integrated Antenna
Outer Body Skin with an Integrated Antenna Functional Integration The technological advances achieved in high-frequency technology are making radar units increasingly attractive as driver assistant systems. Using plastic film, it would be possible to position an antenna at any desired point of the vehicle body. Michael Fuchs, Andreas Kilian, Zaneta Brocka, Ernst Schmachtenberg, Lorenz-Peter Schmidt Mobility and individuality are some of society’s most important needs today, and functional...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-11-21, Pipe Systems in the Engine Compartment
Pipe Systems in the Engine Compartment High-temperature Polyamides Polyamide 6 and 66 have become established under the hood as materials for air ducts and media pipes. However, these materials are continually faced with new challenges. For example, the trend towards turbocharged engines creates higher thermal stresses. Detlev Joachimi Ralf Zimnol Ludger Meinerding The main processes used to produce pipe systems from polyamide 6 and 66 (PA6 and 66) for application in the engine compartm...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-12-17, New Laser Sources Expand Field of Application
New Laser Sources Expand Field of Application Laser Welding The development of new laser sources opens up new perspectives while at the same time presents significant challenges for laser welding. Using these laser sources, it has been possible to develop innovative processes such as Twist and welding of transparent plastics without additional absorbers. Andrei L. Boglea Matthias Poggel Alexander Olowinsky Laser welding has become an accepted joining technique for cases where alternative...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-12-17, Short Process for Hybrid Structures
Short Process for Hybrid Structures In-mold Forming is a special integrated injection molding process that is used for producing hybrid structural parts from different materials. One such example is plastic/fiber-composite plastic hybrid structures for automotive applications. Shortening the process chain increases the efficiency and robustness of the process and improves the quality of the products. Ahmad Al-Sheyyab, Thomas Müller, Ines Kühnert, Ernst Schmachtenberg Hybrid structures are ...

Kunststoffe international, 2007-12-17, Unlimited Versatility and Design
Unlimited Versatility and Design Polyurethanes As a tailor-made material, polyurethane showed everything it had to offer at K 2007. The innovations on display extended from PU with biologically-degradable raw material components – which ultimately reduce the CO2 potential and are thus sparing on resources – right through to exceptional designs. And the designers and developers are still far from having realized all their dreams. Bernhard Klein The joint focus of all the plastics producers ...

Kunststoffe international, 2008-01-15, Make-up for Plastics Surfaces
Make-up for Plastics Surfaces Printing and Decorating (Trade Fair Report K 2007) Whether for purposes of decoration or in order to apply information – the surface refinement processes for plastics and plastic webs are many and varied. Pad printing is a mature process and one which has become correspondingly established. The situation regarding processes for decorating tubes, bottles and beakers, however, is quite different, with development potential still available to be tapped here. And the...

Kunststoffe international, 2008-04-14, From the Pressure to Innovate to a State of Exhaustion
From the Pressure to Innovate to a State of Exhaustion VDI Injection Molding Conference 2008 The calendar had its way: the annual conference of injection molders in Baden-Baden, Germany, took place already at the end of January this year. The theme of this year’s event was "Innovation and Productivity", and the organizers focused on current developments in processing technology. Practical assistance was offered to those who have to withstand the everyday pressures associated with succe...

Kunststoffe international, 2008-05-10, Heat-Conducting Functional Parts Made from Plastic Wires
Heat-Conducting Functional Parts Made from Plastic Wires Fused Deposition Modeling Research work is underway to compound new, heat-conducting thermoplastic polymers for fused deposition modeling to semifinished products and to transform them from the wire form into functional parts. Bettina Wendel Robert Feulner Ernst Schmachtenberg The importance of additive processing has increased greatly in recent years. The reason for this lies primarily in the time factor required for product develop...

Kunststoffe international, 2008-06-16, Between Pretreatment and Painting
Between Pretreatment and Painting Surface Activation How efficiently pretreatment works depends primarily on the activation method chosen and plastics used. However, a new study shows that the time lapse between pretreatment and further processing also plays a key role. Andreas Pfuch Sandra Schiemann Arnd Schimanski In high value-added sectors, particularly, it is common practice to provide the plastics used with new surface properties by coating or painting. The use of adhesive bonding tech...

Kunststoffe international, 2008-06-16, The Versatility of Films
The Versatility of Films Duisburg Extrusion Conference Jointly organized by the Institut für Produkt Engineering (IPE) and Hanser Publishers on March 12–13 in Duisburg, Germany, and with well over 100 participants, the conference was a great success. The participants enjoyed highly topical subjects, top-class speakers, and lively discussions hosted by Professor Johannes Wortberg. Torsten Schmitz This year's Extrusion Conference was focused on films for the packaging industry. Of particul...

Kunststoffe international, 2008-07-15, Like a Single Piece
To an increasing extent, laser welding of plastics is being used in the production of automotive headlights and rear lights, whereby this innovative joining technique not only offers new possibilities and freedom when designing the products, but also for manufacturing. The process generates high-strength welded seams that lie between two mating parts and therefore meet high optical requirements. Nowadays, the radiation method is used almost exclusively for laser plastic welding. The main feature...

Kunststoffe international, 2008-07-15, Unlimited Combination
Only producers who operate economically will be able to remain competitive in high-wage countries. That not only includes ongoing development of their own products and familiar production techniques, but also adopting innovative manufacturing concepts and further training of employees. Recently, there has been an increase in the number of complex applications that require a selective combination of different functionalities in one part. Standard processes are hardly able to meet these requiremen...

Kunststoffe international, 2008-08-14, Planting without Shards
Terracotta? Certainly not. That’s precisely what we are setting out to disassociate ourselves from. We’re offering precisely what terracotta hasn’t got, namely color and stability.“ This is how Robert Benker, Technical Manager at Geobra Brandstätter GmbH & Co. KG, in Zirndorf, Germany, replies to the heretical question as to why the company doesn’t supply the plastic planters that it brought onto the market a few years ago in the classical look of ceramic planters. And, with a wink, he adds: ”We...

Kunststoffe international, 2008-10-17, Polyarylsulfones (PSU, PESU, PPSU)
The permanent service temperature of polyarylsulfones can exceed 200°C. This class of materials thus acts as the amorphous counterpart to semicrystalline high-temperature plastics, such as LCP, PPS and PEEK. Added to which, the materials possess very good dimensional stability, which is accompanied by low creep and can be further increased by fiber reinforcement. The properties of PSU, along with PESU, which offers comparable chemical and hydrolytic resistance and is more heat resistant, and the...

Kunststoffe international, 2008-11-20, Development Continues
Auxiliary water pumps are used in auxiliary heating units. They are used to distribute the hot water for heating of an automobile’s passenger compartment as well as for controlling the engine temperature during downtime. They find even more extensive use directly in the cooling circuit of internal combustion engines. The requirements that these units must satisfy, especially regarding absence of leaks in various temperature ranges, are extremely demanding. A short time ago, this turned out to be...

Kunststoffe international, 2008-11-20, Material for Efficiency Boost
Dr. John Feldmann (BASF, Ludwigshafen, Germany) proclaimed polymer materials as “efficiency materials”, thanks to which about 2.37 million metric tons of fuel and the associated 9.2 million metric tons of CO2 are saved by weight reductions (Fig. 1). Presently, a very high percentage of gas and petroleum is simply burned. In view of dwindling resources, this inefficient and simultaneously final use is prohibitive. A sustainable approach is the versatile use of the raw material bas...

Kunststoffe international, 2008-11-20, Problems with the Mold are no Longer the Responsibility of the Buyers
In the 1980s, a large number of manufacturing companies took the risk of having their injection molds built in so-called low-wage countries. Up to the present, there have been a number of phases in which different regions (including Portugal, Italy, Eastern Europe and Asia – and, more specifically, China) have been, or still are, in vogue. Although this trend has become increasingly established over the years, there are now clear signs of a change in tack. Despite the drawback of high wa...

Kunststoffe international, 2009-02-17, Optimized Silicones for Medical Applications
Thanks to their unique combination of properties, silicones have conquered a wide range of applications in market segments ranging from automotive engineering and electronics to facade construction [1, 2]. This is partially due to the fact that, unlike ordinary rubbers, silicones are “semi-organic” materials. Their silicon/oxygen skeleton resembles that of quartz. Silicon/oxygen bonds are very stable and as a result silicones are extremely hard-wearing. They are resistant to high and low tempera...

Kunststoffe international, 2009-07-16, Adhesive Fixing of Rovings Increases Load Bearing
Fiber composites, particularly carbon fiber-reinforced polymers, have a proven track record for extremely lightweight engineering [1, 2]. In preform technology, manufacture of fiber-reinforced components is subdivided into the processes of fiber lay-up and resin impregnation, and pressing, including curing. Depending on the method chosen, lay-up and impregnation take place in different sequences: Direct fiber lay-up with simultaneous resin impregnation in the mold (e.g. by winding and hand lamin...

Kunststoffe international, 2010-01-27, Better Metal Bonding
There are essentially two reasons to metallize plastics: where metal objects need to be replaced by plastics and where there is a need for printed circuit boards and conductive strips in electrical engineering/electronics. In the first case, the idea would be to combine the low density and the inexpensive processing of plastics with the properties of metals. Since metals generally bond poorly to polymers, the plastic surface has to be treated. In this regard, the highly versatile ABS (acrylonitr...

Kunststoffe international, 2010-01-27, Greater Processing Freedom for Composites
In many areas, the requirement for weight savings while retaining design freedom and ensuring that mechanical requirements are satisfied is becoming increasingly important. At the same time, recycling of products is growing in importance. Because of their outstanding mechanical properties and good recyclability, fiber-reinforced thermoplastic resins (TP-FRP) have become essential for many lightweight applications [1–4]. Cycle Times under Two Minutes The double-diaphragm forming (DDF) process tha...

Kunststoffe international, 2010-01-27, Process-Integrated Surface Modification During Injection Molding
Advances in polymer-based materials (plastics) and the processing methods for them have led to a wide range of applications for such materials today. Increasingly, end-users are setting higher standards for the surface properties of plastic parts in order to achieve more cost-effective bonding, printing or painting with less environmental impact. Since plastics are generally hydrophobic, the growing requirement to use water-based adhesives and paints has created a challenging situation. As a res...

Kunststoffe international, 2010-03-17, A Permanent Bond
Adeep awareness of the need for environmentally friendly actions and legal regulations on emission limits require the automobile sector to use lightweight concepts that further reduce vehicle weight. Therefore the use of hybrid components in structural areas as well as non-structural items is increasing. The primary objective here is the replacement of steel components with plastic in order to reduce the weight whilst at the same time optimizing mechanical properties. DX56D hot-dipped galvanized...

Kunststoffe international, 2010-03-17, Lighter than Steel
Hybrid technology combines the strengths of plastic and metals such as steel and aluminum. The metals contribute a high elastic modulus, high strength and ductile behavior. The main plastics used are polyamide 6 grades (PA 6) because they are dynamically very strong and have good impact resistance at high and low temperatures. A hybrid component is produced in one operation. First of all, as a rule, several thin-walled, deep-drawn metal profiles are placed overlapping in the injection mold and t...

Kunststoffe international, 2010-04-20, Future Technologies for Mechatronic Products
The demands placed on electronic modules regarding functionality, integration depth, reliability, and costs have grown in accordance with the different application areas. This has increased the need for mechatronic solution concepts. Due to their high degree of design freedom, molded interconnect devices (MID) in particular permit the implementation of highly integrated systems, and have an enormous rationalization potential for optimizing the manufacturing process. Spatial electronic modules ar...

Kunststoffe international, 2010-04-20, On the Threshold of Industrial Application
Because of their bridging position in the electromagnetic spectrum, terahertz (THz) waves combine the penetration depth of microwaves with the lateral submillimeter resolution of the higher frequency infrared range. This niche existence gives them enormous potential for non-destructive process and quality control. Typical applications for the plastics industry were presented in 2007 [1]. These results were obtained in the optical lab with a free-space spectrometer that requires complicated adjus...

Kunststoffe international, 2010-04-20, Saving Time and Costs
Nothing travels faster than light. Both the internet and telephones rely on light waves. Fiber-optic cables transmit light pulses around the globe at incredible speeds. But the last ten years have seen not only a proliferation of data transfer, new visualization possibilities have become established. Information is universally available on cell phone displays, and books are becoming e-books. These technologies are exceptionally efficient thanks to energy-saving backlighting by light emitting dio...

Kunststoffe international, 2010-04-20, Sealing Foam with Protective Skin
The 2-component FermaSkin sealing foam is more versatile than formedin-place foam gaskets manufactured by the conventional FIPFG technique. Sealing specialist Sonderhoff Chemicals GmbH of Cologne, Germany, has recently developed a new sealing system. Its soft foam core is surrounded by an elastomeric skin that is strong, tear-resistant and flexible. Integrating the Benefits of both Seals FermaSkin, in terms of costs and quality, combines all benefits of the classical type of elastomer gasket to ...

Kunststoffe international, 2010-07-22, Handrail with Modular Design
The successful implementation of a novel handrail would have been impossible without the fundamental findings of prior investigations into the mechanical behavior of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), its composite partners, and the models derived therefrom. The resulting findings show that TPU should not be used as a simple substitution for rubber, but that its extraordinary properties are suitable as the basis for completely new product ideas and manufacturing methods. As opposed to conventiona...

Kunststoffe international, 2010-09-24, Flexible Sealing Element – Not only for Tobacco Friends
Smoking is and remains a costly habit. In order keep this pleasure (or addiction) affordable in future, an increasing number of smokers are using cigarette tamping machines. Via various suppliers to the cigarette industry, the owner-run company Hömberg GmbH Kunststofftechnik/Formenbau in Lüdenscheid, Germany, has offered a range of tamping and rolling machines (Fig. 1) to the international market for many years. However, all the machines have a weak spot: Until now, the tobacco tamper was made o...

Kunststoffe international, 2010-09-24, Material of the Future
Injection molding is an established mass production process, and at the same time a continuous challenge for process strategies if you want to meet the part designers’ wish list. The following overview of the focuses of injection molding technology is certainly not complete, since some exhibitors still have surprises up their sleeve. But it shows that, besides proven combinations of thermoplastic materials, non-thermoplastics are also being integrated. Polyurethane and organic sheet appear to be...

Kunststoffe international, 2010-11-25, A Strong Connection of Unequal Partners
The hybridization of parts allows the material-specific benefits of different materials to be combined, resulting in both lightweight and rigid components. Furthermore, the integration of different functions into one component by cutting out assembly steps and a shorter production chain can result in an improved production process. These composite materials are of interest among other things as supporting lightweight structures for applications in the automotive and aerospace industries. Particu...

Kunststoffe international, 2010-11-25, Irradiation Opens up Third Film Dimension
Polyimide (PI), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) are typical substrate materials used today for integrated flexible circuits in electronic applications. Hereby, PI film is practically the only material that can be processed in lead-free reflow soldering installations [1], as its excellent thermal properties fulfill one of the most important requirements: it is solder resistant. On the other hand, PI is also a relatively expensive base material for flexible f...

Kunststoffe international, 2010-11-25, Lightweight and Highly Resilient
When glass-fiber-reinforced thermoplastics are injection molded, the alignment of the glass fibers depends on the direction of flow, the wall thickness and the processing parameters. Thus, some important material properties, such as stiffness, strength and thermal expansion are anisotropic. This anisotropic behavior eludes modeling by standard finite element (FE) methods, a fact which often leads to inaccuracies when it comes to simulating the corresponding parts. This is where integrative simul...

Kunststoffe international, 2010-11-25, Three Films, One Part – and a Quartered Mold
What can be done, if a project comes up that is actually a little bit too large for one’s own machine park? When Foliotec GmbH received an inquiry in April 2008 for the control fascia panel in Ford’s new C-Max model, it soon became clear that with a size of some 380 250 50 mm, the panel was well beyond the dimensions of any other plastic part the company had previously refined with a film coating. Up to that time, Foliotec, a subsidiary of Kunststoff Helmbrechts AG (KH), Helmbrechts, Germany, ha...

Kunststoffe international, 2011-01-25, Clearly Transparent
We encounter transparent plastics everywhere in the course of everyday life. However, when high scratch and heat resistance are required, these materials quickly exhibit limitations. Then, use of glass is often the only recourse. Glass, however, also has two major drawbacks: It is heavy and very brittle. Time and again, attempts have been made to combine these materials by using the benefits of each to compensate for the respective drawbacks. The best-known examples are multilayer glass (PBT fil...

Kunststoffe international, 2011-02-21, Biocompatible Thanks to the Process
It is undeniable that the differences between materials serve as the driving force behind product development – especially in the field of medical devices. Here, the requirement profile is particularly complex: in almost no other sector do the safety of the materials used, the manufacturing process employed and the efficacy of the final products have such an important role. According to information from the Association of German Engineers (Verein Deutscher Ingenieure; VDI) more than half of all ...

Kunststoffe international, 2011-02-21, Nanocomposites as Biomaterials
For a long time, metals and metal alloys, such as stainless steel and titanium, have been the state-of-the-art materials for implants. But in recent years, the new, higher-performance plastics that are progressively being developed have gained an increasing market share in the medical technology sector. Plastics have some properties that make them superior to metals in certain respects. For example, their high x-ray transparency and low magnetic susceptibility make it possible to observe the...

Kunststoffe international, 2011-04-25, Mobile Messages
In today’s world, advertising is an important marketing tool for winning customers. Besides television & radio and the print media, stationary advertising (e.g. placards) is also widespread. A product made by Cyclop Advertising, Klagenfurt, Austria, now also allows advertisements to be advantageously placed on bicycle wheels. The messages are mounted on the front wheel and, even when the wheel is turning at full speed, remain still and are always readable. The Cyclop Disk system is used by m...

Kunststoffe international, 2011-04-25, Pencils from the Extruder
It all began in the mid-sixteenth century, in the mountains of Cumberland, Northern England, with the accidental discovery of a charcoal-black mineral that was ideal for marking and writing. Because of its appearance and consistency, it was thought to be a lead ore and became known as “blacklead.” This misnomer continues to this day with the term “pencil lead”. In fact, this mineral’s high graphite content was not clearly demonstrated until 1789 by the Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele. Based...

Kunststoffe international, 2011-05-12, Predictive Forming and Backmolding
Metal surfaces are currently fashionable and are considered “cool” in the truest sense of the word. Parts with a metal surface, besides having a high-quality appearance, also have the feeling of a quality product thanks to their cool tactile effect, which pure plastic parts usually cannot achieve. Customers are increasingly demanding genuine materials, since what looks like metal ought to feel like metal [1]. Current examples of this come from the fields of car interior trim, household appliance...

Kunststoffe international, 2011-05-12, Surfaces that Help Healing
Driven by the demographic change and the dynamic growth of the world population, the demand for medical products such as wound dressings, catheters, stents and implants is rising. These should burden the body as little as possible and support the recovery of the patient in a wide variety of ways. Of particular importance here are the contact surfaces between the medical device and the body. That is where Bayer MaterialScience, Leverkusen, Germany, comes in with innovative materials. Under the tr...

Kunststoffe international, 2011-06-20, Economic Multilayers
The advantage of multilayers as compared with single-sided or doublesided circuit boards is obvious. The distribution of copper conductor tracks over different planes of the multilayer allows much higher packing density in electronic components and therefore miniaturization of the board. A prepreg layer based on epoxy resin-impregnated woven glass fabric is arranged between the copper layers of the individual layers (planes) as an insulating dielectric. For high-frequency applications, the indiv...

Kunststoffe international, 2011-08-24, Making Use of Natural Resources
Bioplastics are divided into four categories. A distinction is made according to the raw material used, i. e. whether they are produced on the basis of biomass or fossil raw materials (petrochemical basis). Another criterion is biodegradability (Fig. 1). Biopolyamide: Favorable CO2 Balance Akromid S, the polyamide (PA610) compound from Akro-Plastic GmbH, Niederzissen, Germany, fulfills the current definition of a bioplastic. It has a biogenic carbon content of up to 70 %. or oil, obtained from t...

Kunststoffe international, 2011-09-23, Efficiency as Far as the Eye Can See
The energy debate that has now gone mainstream has long been occupying the plastics industry. As a first consequence in recent years, all injection molding machine manufacturers have developed and built energy-efficient drives for all-electric, hydraulic and hybrid machines. The question of resource and energy efficiency must be comprehended more broadly and not restricted purely to drive technology. The object is, by means of tailored strategies, to trim the production system to the respective ...

Kunststoffe international, 2011-09-23, Light in Weight, High in Performance
Anew compound with the trade name Tecacomp LW (low weight) comprises the thermoplastic polyetheretherketone (PEEK) or polyamide 6 (PA6) and up to 40 wt.-% hollow glass microspheres. It has a density of less than 1.0 g/cm3. In comparison with previously used, glass-fiber-reinforced grades, the new material offers weight savings of up to 40 % and price advantages. Further development of this lightweight construction material requires demonstrating its processability on injection molding machines. ...

Kunststoffe international, 2011-09-23, Resource Efficient Lightweight Design for Mass Production
The price of raw material is increasing, the demand for lightweight components is constantly on the rise, and the pressure on costs from competitors from the Far East is growing. This calls for novel types of lightweight design, in order to provide for economic large-scale production in integrated processes. To show just one example of the potential of hybrid lightweight design, this article will present an application of local reinforcement by continuous fibers, and will also provide informatio...