Materials
Why Long-Glass Molders Are Compounding In-Line
Compounding raw fiberglass directly into thermoplastic molded parts is growing rapidly in Europe, and now it鈥檚 coming here. D-LFT, as it鈥檚 called, promises to make large parts cheaper and stronger鈥攂ut with new technological risks and higher up-front investment costs.
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SBCs Are Back With More Capacity & New Grades
Two years ago, a supply crisis struck the SBC market. Some customers were forced to switch to other materials. Today, SBC producers hope to lure back processors with a surge of new resin capacity, new domestic suppliers, and new grades and applications.
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Metallocene VLDPE Is a Tough New Contender for Flexible Packaging
A new metallocene catalyzed, very-low-density polyethlyene (mVLDPE) from ExxonMobil Chemical Co., Houston, reportedly offers the excellent toughness associated with mLLDPE plus lower heat-seal temperatures and other advantages over conventional Ziegler-Natta VLDPEs or ULDPEs for flexible packaging.
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Blow Molding Gets Green Light in Detroit
Technical blow molding is changing the contours of automotive interior trim, load-bearing floors, seat-back systems, and under-hood ducting. Favorable economics, process refinements, and the emergence of tailored materials and equipment are taking the brakes off blow molding's earlier limits, and pointing a way to cost cutting.
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Nanocomposites Broaden Roles in Automotive, Barrier Packaging
Nanocomposites are gradually gaining acceptance in the mainstream of global plastics processing. These polymer compounds, containing relatively low loadings (under 6% by weight) of nanometer-sized mineral particles, are beginning to show up in polypropylene and TPO-based automotive exterior claddings, barrier beer bottles, nylon packaging films, polyethylene pipe and wire/cable coatings, and more.
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In-Line Compounding of Long-Glass/PP Gains Strength in Automotive Molding
Another approach to long-fiber thermoplastic (LFT) molding is gaining credibility for producing a range of structural and semi-structural automotive parts. It is called direct LFT processing, and is already widely practiced in Europe.
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Materials (K 2001 Preview)
New materials at K 2001 are weighted heavily toward the engineering variety, especially nylons, acetals, and TP polyesters. A large handful of polypropylenes round out the major news.
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See-Through Plastic Cans Enliven Paint Packaging
Improved technologies for molding see-through plastic paint cans—both clear stretch-blow molded PET and translucent injection molded PP—are adding dash to paint marketing in the U.K. These trends present a lively example to the U.S., where gray steel cans still dominate the shelves in retail paint packaging.
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Polymers as Additives
A pinch of one resin can teach another one new tricks. Take a look at the promising results with four novel property enhancers for thermoplastics and thermosets.
Read MoreNow They Want Plastics To Be Heavy?
Plastics weigh in with added design freedom and environmental friendliness—especially when the alternative is lead.
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