Materials (September 01, 2004)
Canadian Plastics
Blue and green concentrates eliminate warpage...
Blue and green concentrates eliminate warpage
Warpage problems when using phthalocyanine (phthalo) pigments has led Colortech Inc. to develop a range of non-warping phthalo blue and green color concentrates. Dimensional instability in HDPE and polypropylene can occur during injection or blow molding when using phthalo pigments, requiring the processor to change concentration and therefore color. The new pigments developed by Colortech eliminate the problem by providing a unique color space that cannot be matched with alternative phthalo pigments.
Colortech has also developed a unique formulation for wood-composite products that significantly reduce color fading. Colortech can custom formulate to any wood type or color, and the color concentrate composition can include various rheological processing additives, such as UV, antioxidant and anti-fungal packages commonly used in the industry.
Colortech Inc. 905-792-0333
Brown shade can replace iron oxide
Shepherd Color has a new addition to its Arctic infrared reflecting pigment line, Brown 10P857, a clean red-brown shade that can be used in a wide variety of plastics applications where highly chromatic and durable color is key.
Trends in the construction and automotive industries demand colors that simulate wood finishes, as well as darker, earthier tones. Brown 10P857 offers a highly robust yet economic way to incorporate color into applications where iron oxides, typically used to match such colors, cannot be used. Brown 10P857 has excellent weathering performance and high heat stability, making it highly suitable for any exterior application.
Shepherd Color 513-874-0714
Elastomers ideal for soft, bright-color applications
Solvay’s new line of fully vulcanized thermoplastic materials, the NexPrene 9000 family, is designed to compliment and enhance the company’s line of general purpose elastomers, the NexPrene 1000 family. The new 9000 series uses a proprietary cure technology for dynamically cross-linking the elastomer-phase component dispersed in a continuous thermoplastic polyolefin matrix. The technology results in materials that offer processing and performance advantages to designers and producers of products that require soft-touch surfaces in bright colors.
The 9000-series materials do not require drying and can be run on conventional equipment. There are currently nine materials in the series, ranging in hardness from 40 Shore A to 50 Shore D.
Solvay Engineered Polymers, Inc.
978-425-8940
New materials suited to automotive applications
With the consolidation of its chlorochemicals, intermediates and performance products under the business entity provisionally called CIP, Atofina will introduce a number of new products for the automotive market at the K Show. Rilsan M-AESN Black P 212 CTL is a patented polyamide 12 with outstanding cost/performance ratio. The material is particularly well-suited to the manufacture of mono- and multi-layer fuel transfer tubes. Additionally the company has introduced the first Rilsan grade dedicated to cooling circuits: Rilsan M-AESN Black P 110 TL. For car interiors, Atofina has developed an innovative decorative technique. This easy-to-use process allows a color design to be added at the surface of a molded part, e.g. dashboard, during its manufacture by the slush molding process.
Atofina Canada Inc. 800-567-5726