2013-2014 Exhibitions
The plastic industry’s flagship event, K2013, which is held in Düsseldorf, Germany, from 16-23 October, had a total visitor count of 149,000 over the first five days of the show, down from the 155,000 visitors three years ago. This could be due to the autumn break, coupled with the general economic situation, hence the lower visitor count. But the organiser of the show, Messe Düsseldorf, hopes the final figures will tally with the show held in 2010.
The show has also gathered more than 3,000 exhibitors, many of whom have showcased latest innovations, and launched new products.
At the event, Dave Technical Services (DTS) launched the space-saver Mini Blow moulding machine model DI 100 which. the firm says, provides good quality product, fast production at reasonably low power consumption, reliability and flexibility to produce wide range of products on the same machine.
According to DTS, the compact Mini Blow is user-friendly as it is very simple to operate – even eliminating the need for high-skilled operators to run it. Mini Blow can produce products from 0.5 ml onwards to 200 ml capacity as per model. It is also most suitable for development and production of critical blown products not economical on other machines, such as products from 0.5 ml and with thickness as low as 0.2 mm.
The machine is suitable to process polymers like LDPE, LLDPE, HDPE, PP, PS, HIPS, EVA, etc. The mini model is suitable to produce wide product range on it to cater to various industry requirements by just changing molds as required on same set up. Mini Blow caters to requirement of various Industries like pharma, cosmetics, medical, chemicals, oral care, pesticides, agrochemicals, veterinary products and others.
“The Mini Blow is a preferred choice of many designers and product developers worldwide as it offers efficiency, convenience and profitability with benefit of low initial investment. “ says DTS.
Mini Blow is available in 50, 100 & 200 ml models and also in Screw type models in 250ml, 500ml, 1, 2 and 3 l capacities.
“Mini Blow is well designed for compactness (space saving), fully automatic, pneumatic (no motor in the machine) for considerable power savings. It is adapted to operate on both single as well as on three (3) phases making it convenient to be installed even in rural areas, encouraging self employment. The machine is also best suited for entrepreneurs to start and sustain own industry with low initial investment and recurring working capital providing quality with increased output. These are equally efficient in commercial production houses, “adds DTS.
Gharda Plastics, the first Indian company to manufacture high performance friction & wear polymeric materials, showcased its newest products at the K-2013.
Gharda Plastics, the high performance engineering polymers business of Gharda Chemicals Limited, launched its speciality lubricious solution for industrial and business appliances, incorporating various reinforcements in G-PAEK and GAZOLE grades. This collaborative development with other industrial partners is aimed at applications that require very high wear resistance. The G-PAEK product family is based on Poly Ether Ketone (PEK) and GAZOLE - representing freshly commercialized thermoplastic alloys of PEK and Poly benzimidazole (PBI).
The two featured wear grades, G-PAEK 1230FCT and GAZOLE 6430FCT have easy flow characteristics for injection moulding of intricate multi-cavity parts. Their heat deflection temperature of 350°C - 360°C makes them suitable for demanding high heat resistance applications.
These are far superior in performance to the commercially available engineering alternatives of polyether imides (PEI), Polyimide (PI), poly phenylene sulphide (PPS), poly ether ether ketone (PEEK) - and exhibit exceptional wear, chemical and thermal resistance. Additionally, the G-PAEK & GAZOLE FCT grades display excellent mechanical properties, creep properties and dimensional stability. PTFE does have a low coefficient of friction, however its wear resistance especially at high temperatures is poor. The FCT grades also have low coefficient of friction, and display low wear rates even at high temperatures.
The comparable specific flexural strength of G-PAEK & GAZOLE FCT grades to metals provides a significant cost savings potential to the manufacturer. Gharda's high performance thermoplastics offer weight savings, easy machining and moulding options with greater design flexibility. This allows the customer to produce parts with challenging geometries as required. It eliminates the costly production steps that are necessary for metals.
The high fatigue strength and high wear resistance with temperature make G-PAEK and GAZOLE FCT grades suitable in the automotive/transportation segment for gears, bearings and bushes, says Gharda. Other key applications of FCT grades are in printer parts and textile parts such as thrust pads, roller bearings and dry lubricating bushes that are continuously moving at low to high speeds and at high temperatures.
Also at the K, US-based speciality chemicals firm Cabot launched the VULCAN XCmax family of super conductive specialty carbon blacks for use in plastics applications in which, compounders and end-users require high conductivity at low carbon black loadings.
The products are specifically designed with a unique morphology that builds on Cabot’s proprietary furnace black process technology and provides among the highest range of conductivities achievable with carbon blacks as well as excellent cleanliness and consistency.
In addition, Cabot introduced a new line of conductive concentrates to complement its existing CABELEC conductive compounds products.
Another product Cabot showcased is the new VULCAN XCmax family designed to meet a variety of requirements for use in wire and cable, antistatic flooring and safety systems, automotive fuel tanks and inlets, coatings, and electronics and electrical products. The VULCAN XCmax family complements Cabot’s existing XC conductive carbon blacks to offer the broadest, most complete portfolio of conductive carbon blacks.
“Customers are requesting the lowest possible loading carbon black in order to minimise impact on the underlying mechanical properties of the polymer,” said George Haines, Global Segment Manager for Plastics. “Our new VULCAN XCmax carbon blacks deliver this important attribute and can be utilised in a wide variety of applications.”
Cabot’s VULCAN XCmax products are designed for applications that require plastics to be conductive or dissipative at relatively low loadings. This ensures the mechanical properties of the underlying polymer are not affected, which is key for many electrostatic dissipation applications.
“The Vulcan XCmax family delivers a range of performance beyond conventional specialty carbon blacks providing customers a new, reliable option to current competitive alternatives for conductive applications,” said Sameer Bharadwaj, Vice President, Marketing and Business Strategy for Cabot’s Performance Materials Segment.
Meanwhile, Cabot’s new line of conductive concentrates complements its existing CABELEC conductive compounds products, building on Cabot’s capability to compound high loadings of electrically conductive carbon blacks into polymers. The new products, CABELEC CC6135 polystyrene concentrate and CABELEC CC6277 polyethylene concentrate, enable converters greater control of formulations to reach application-specific resistivity targets. The use of a CABELEC conductive concentrate in place of a finished compound allows formulators to add proprietary polymers and additive packages to tailor a range of compounds to meet specific customer needs. This range of CABELEC conductive concentrates will be expanded to include a wider range of polymer carriers.
Marking 60 years of performance at the show is Solvay Engineering Plastics’s Technyl, with its widely followed mechanical, chemical, thermal and fire-resistance properties that have enabled superior value-added and environmentally conscious innovations in demanding markets such as automotive and transportation, construction and energy, consumer goods and industrial equipment.
“With six state-of-the art manufacturing plants in key geographic regions, four research and development centers and nine technical support centres, Solvay Engineering Plastics leverages a worldwide presence to support its customers globally in fast-moving markets, serving their specific needs with cutting-edge expertise and unique value-added solutions,” said François Hincker, President of Solvay Engineering Plastics.
Brussels-headquartered Solvay highlighted at the K its Technyl Force–a differentiated service and product offering leveraging the company’s polyamide expertise and targeting four key industry material requirements:
Metal Replacement - optimising part design while achieving significant weight reduction
Fire Protection - meeting the most stringent standards for maximum safety performance
Thermal Management - maintaining engine components at optimal operating temperatures
Fluid Barrier - ensuring excellent chemical resistance in highly demanding environments. Solvay Engineering Plastics has officially launched Technyl One, a new patented polymer technology designed especially to help electrical protection product manufacturers address miniaturization challenges. This innovative technology effectively yields high electrical performance while drastically reducing tool corrosion and simplifying processing
Supporting customers’ need to resolve light-weighting challenges, Solvay Engineering Plastics offers its highly successful MMI Technyl Design, an advanced simulation service. This powerful solution allows the accurate prediction of the performance of injection-moulded parts manufactured using Technyl materials, thereby significantly reducing the mass and cost of parts while speeding-up the development cycle.
A pioneering addition to the Technyl family are Sinterline Technyl Powders an innovative range of polyamide 6 powders now glass reinforced and more than ever capable of improving the performance of prototyping and rapid manufacturing. Sinterline Technyl Powders offer significant savings on tooling costs and development time by enabling the 3D-printing of functional prototypes before starting full-scale series production.
(PRA)
