Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Plastics News China
  • Rubber & Plastics News
logo-pn-color
Subscribe
  • Login
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • End Markets
    • FYI Charts
    • LSR World
    • Multimedia
    • NPE2021
    • K Show
    • Special Reports
    • Top materials of injection molders
      Recycled PET use by product category
      US PET, flexible packaging desintations
      Global fluropolymers additives market: CAGR
    • NPE exhibitors question handling of deposits for canceled trade show
      Exhibitors back NPE cancellation: ‘We couldn't take that risk'
      NPE2021 canceled as in-person event
      NPE reviews its options as pandemic prompts exhibitor to exit
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • What Keeps You Up At Night
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • Videos
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • CEO Issue
    • Best Places to Work
    • Processor of the Year
    • Rising Stars
    • Women Breaking the Mold
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • Heavy Metal
    • One Good Resin
    • BRICS and Plastics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Getting back on the road
      How long will it take for EVs to replace internal combustion engines?
      Watching, and hoping, for progress in 2021
      COVID-19 stories dominate 2020 headlines
    • Kickstart: More toys for your collection
      Kickstart: Microchips, masks and US manufacturing
      Kickstart: Bringing plastics, sustainability to the construction site
      Kickstart: Making more US beds
    • Heavy Metal: Coronavirus edition, plus the work of working from home
      Don't put off succession planning
      What's a good gift for your cobot? Batteries?
      Here's some big ideas to mull over the holidays
    • Plaskolite wins 3M supplier award
      Green feet: Braskem partners with Dansko on bio-based clogs
      Curbell donates plastic sheet for prosthetics project in Ecuador
      Covestro volunteers build ramp for Ohio veteran
    • There was no choice but canceling NPE still a big deal
      The business case for producer responsibility
      Think divided government stalls plastics legislation? Think again
      ACC, NAM eye economic priorities in Biden presidency
    • Thermoformers: Would you believe a 12 percent gain?
      Just how big is thermoforming in North America?
      Changing names for compounders embracing corporate branding
      Diversity the key to outperforming the market
    • Thermoformers: Would you believe a 12 percent gain?
      The benefits of getting social
      Rising Stars shine bright future on industry
      Getting back on the road
    • Perspective: Plastics manufacturers — a surprising contribution to sustainability
      Plastics industry business owners: Listen to your future workforce
      Perspective: ‘Fake news' of a different sort?
      Perspective: Making products in the USA is good for the planet
    • Mailbag: Additional fees for electric vehicles ‘unfortunate'
      Mailbag: Where's the plastics industry's response to critics?
      Mailbag: Manufacturers struggling to follow COVID-19 safety rules
      Modernizing recycling infrastructure will benefit businesses as well as the environment
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
    • Maintenance can ensure efficient blender operation
      Dosing: Perfect for adding color
      Blending vs dosing: What you need to know
      Going low or high: Comparing volume
    • Colors and custom compounds
      In the laboratory: Compounding solutions
      Recycling content: Resins going ‘green’
      Compounding: Glass and other fillers
    • Dryer maintenance: Don’t err with air
      Dryers: Options for a shop’s process
      Dryer installation: Going central?
      Resins: Hygroscopic or non-hygroscopic
    • Electric injection molding presses: Efficiency is key
      Hydraulic injection molding machines
      Proper maintenance can prevent downtime
      Hybrid injection molding machines
    • Purging Hot runners: Open or closed methods
      Purging extrusion machinery
      Purging extrusion blow molding machines
      Purging: Chemical, abrasive and non-abrasive
    • Controls, special applications boost production, profitability
      Robot maintenance key for smooth operation
      High-speed robots: A rapid way to increase efficiency
      Robots: Every shape and size
    • Maintenance: Key for efficiency
      Shredders: Plastic in pieces
      Safety first for size reduction
      Granulators: The right fit
    • Video: Structural foam molding
      Structural foam molding: Flexibility for processors
    • Mold inventory: How many molds does a shop have?
      Molds: Innovation
      Mold changeover: Saving time and money
      How molds work
    • Labor: Apprenticeships may provide answer
      Internships: Solving the skills gap in-house
      College training, programs
      Lean Six Sigma: Transforming business operation
  • Events
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Ask the Expert
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Reifenhäuser Technologies Livestreams
    • 2020 Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
    • Polymer Points Live - February 2021
      Polymer Points Live - January 2021
      Polymer Points Live - December 2020
      Polymer Points Live - October 2020
    • Plastics in Healthcare 2020
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Plastics in Healthcare
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
  • Resin Prices
    • All Resins
    • Commodity TPs
    • High Temp TPs
    • ETPs
    • Thermosets
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
    • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
    • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Historic Thermosets
    • Historic Recycled Plastics
  • Rankings
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Data Store
  • Directory
  • More+
    • Classifieds
    • Digital Edition
    • Newsletters
    • Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Sponsored By Mitsubishi
      Innovative new technology from Mitsubishi Engineering-Plastics Corporation helps reduce emission footprints
      Canon Virginia, Inc.
      Sponsored Content By Canon Virginia, Inc.
      Canon Virginia Inc. brings collaboration to the table
      Sponsored By CDS MACHINES
      Facing medical equipment shortages during COVID-19 outbreak?
      Sponsored Content By Canon Virginia, Inc.
      Transform your molding capabilities with the Canon Shuttle Mold System
    • KraussMaffei
      Sponsored By KraussMaffei
      KraussMaffei Retools in US with investment from Parent Ownership
    • Sponsored By ENGEL Machinery
      Tailored maintenance for injection molding machines and robots
      Sponsored By ENGEL Machinery
      Improve maintenance efficiency with e-connect.monitor
      Sponsored By ENGEL Machinery
      Maximum precision for lowest shot weights
      Sponsored By ENGEL Machinery
      Even more cost effectiveness for small precision parts
    • Sponsored By Conexiom
      Use Sales Order Automation to free up time for CSRs to focus on customers, not manual entry
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
May 13, 2019 02:00 AM

Conference covers advances in materials, machinery, cold runners

David VinkLSR World
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print
    Ewikon Heisskanaltechnik
    A close-up view of Ewikon's Coolshot cold runner system.

    Würzburg, Germany — Oliver Franssen, global marketing director elastomers and transportation at Momentive Performance Materials in Leverkusen, Germany, presented a paper at the recent SKZ Silicone Elastomers conference about a new material, Silopren LSR 3366/50.

    Franssen's paper, given with support from Momentive lead scientist Oliver Safarowsky noted that the 3 percent oil-content self-lubricating LSR has comparable mechanical properties as the established 2 percent oil-content LSR 3286/50, but it represents the most heat-resistant self-lubricating grade from Momentive.

    The material does not rely on heat stabilizers or abrasive fillers, and customer trials have already resulted in positive feedback, Franssen said.

    Automotive mat or frame seals for multicontact connectors, single wire seals and insulation are important application area for such LSR materials, especially with high temperature extremes in engine compartments.

    "A cable harness can have as many as 200 connectors over a length of 3,000 meters," Franssen said.

    Temperatures rise through downsizing with new vehicle designs, and there are many variants of the "same" connector, Franssen said. Electromobility raises challenges with high-voltage systems and reliability becomes vital with autonomous driving, Franssen observed.

    He illustrated higher heat performance in ISO 815 (Method A) compression set tests (after post-curing for four hours at 200° C), for 22, 144 and 1,000 hours at 175° C. Tests in the past have been usually limited to 24 or 168 hours, seeking compression set below 40 percent.

    LSR 3366/50 showed better compression set values of respectively 6 percent, 12 percent and 24 percent, compared with 10 percent, 23 percent and 62 percent for LSR 3286/50.

    Better values of 15 percent, 29 percent and 38 percent were also obtained with LSR 3360/50 in the Volkswagen PV3307 compression set test over 22, 168 and 504 hours, compared with 31 percent, 54 percent and 58 percent with LSR 3286/50.

    Compared with T5 class of -40 to 175° C under the 2013 Revision 6 of the SAE USCAR-2 standard, Franssen said of LSR 3360/50: "The limit has been shifted up now by more than 25° C, from 175° C to 200° C."

    Franssen said lubrication or friction are not directly measurable. They are better characterized by oil sweating rate weight loss than oil percentage or friction coefficient measurement — and that hardness, type of LSR polymer, degree of cross-linking and the oil used all play important roles in achieving the required ​ degree of lubrication.

    Reducing cure time

    Having talked at earlier conferences about low-temperature cure Silastic LTC 4000 series cutting cure time, Patrick Beyer, R&D scientist at Dow Silicones Deutschland, showed how dosing 1-3 percent of a Dow Silicones reaction acceleration additive via the third stream coloring dosing system reduces cure time even more.

    For example, trials at 90° C showed that although LTC 9400 cures within 425 seconds on its own, 1 percent additive results in around 250 seconds and 3 percent in 125 seconds cure time. This is key to extending the range of temperature-sensitive thermoplastics and components that can be technically and efficiently overmolded with LSR.

    Dow Silicones has shown how PC can be overmolded with LTC, with surface activation of the PC thermoplastic to promote adhesion. But it is clear from the LTC 9400 work that two-component molding solutions can now be extended with the reaction acceleration additive to thermoplastics with even lower heat resistance, such as surface-activated PP and PE.

    Acceleration was less pronounced when curing at 110-150° C. But it reduces curing sensitivity to temperature gradients, Beyer said, so LTC used at higher temperatures compensates for LSR low thermal conductivity. This results in fast deep-section cure in thicker electrical connector seals and gasket moldings in LTC 9402/50, a 2 percent oil content self-lubricating grade.

    Efficient metering, dosing

    A joint presentation by Michael Kleinebrahm, application technology manager at Neuwied, Germany-based injection molding machinery producer Dr. Boy & Co. KG, and Klaus Germeshausen, founder and manager of mixing and dosing equipment producer, EMT Dosiertechnik in Werdohl, Germany, focused on efficient metering and dosing (EMT) equipment for small LSR quantities.

    Germeshausen said using small cartridges instead of drums enables a compact mixing pump design that can be mounted on an injection molding machine close to the plasticizing screw. The mixing chamber and static mixer are integrated within a single block, directly connected to the molding machine. The system works using the molding machine control system.

    Short, small cross-section feeding lines mean less LSR material in the system and there is no need for a shut-off needle valve on the mixing pump, as access to the screw can be hydraulically closed off once each dosing cycle has been completed.

    Germeshausen said these are ideal conditions to ensure high dosing accuracy, also as there are fewer parts in contact with the LSR, which remains held in the dosing/metering system at constant reproducible pressure after each dosing cycle, so that a pressure regulator is no longer needed. It also means easier cleaning.

    EMT displayed the compact basis version of the EMT micro metering/dosing equipment at the conference alongside the larger drum-fed up to 100-gram shot weight servo-pneumatic LSR 100pv system.

    Using additives to improve properties

    As head of innovation management for polymer interfaces and performance, Kathrin Lehmann of Essen, Germany-based Evonik Nutrition & Care GmbH spoke about extending silicone elastomer applications with additives, suggesting 2-6 percent Tegosil Heatban additive in LSR with the aim to increase heat resistance, minimize heat aging and have minimal influence on mechanical properties.

    In work with Dortmund, Germany-headquartered LSR processor M+S Formteile GmbH, seal profiles cut out from plates compression molded in Wacker Elastosil LR 2003 containing 4 percent Heatban 400 and colored with two different red color additives at 2 weight percent addition, were post-cured for four hours at 200° C, then aged for 10 days at 250° C and 300° C. There were significant differences between the two red colorants in mechanical properties, but most impressive was Heatban 400 preventing complete destruction that occurred without its use at 300° C.

    Similarly, good mechanical properties and red color were well maintained in an LSR automotive gasket application at 250° C, with samples at least "surviving" at 300° C, while without Heatban 400, the same parts lost mechanical properties and color at 250° C and were destroyed at 300° C. Despite promising results, Lehmann says potential is greater in Asia than in Europe, as there are only a few European independent LSR compounders.

    New cold runner system

    Stefan Eimeke, CEO at Frankenberg, Germany-based Ewikon Heisskanalsysteme GmbH talked about introduction in June 2018 of Coolshot water-cooled cold runner systems for LSR molding. Eimeke explained how Coolshot benefits from Ewikon hot runner experience by featuring an electric step motor driven valve gate system and flexible spiral tubular cartridges on the optional coil-heated separator plate with temperature control for each cavity, ensuring even mold plate heating for homogeneous LSR cross-linking.

    The valve gate system precisely positions valve pins in 0.01-millimeter steps for balanced cavity filling, without laborious manual valve pin length adjustment. Valve pin positions are permanently monitored and automatically adjusted with encoders. The entire system is controlled via a touch screen panel with remote access.

    A cavity plate mechanism option insulates the separator plate from cold runner nozzles, preventing heat transfer into the nozzle gate area and cold runners when not molding. Eimeke said absence of material hang-ups in manifold dead spots and ease of dismantling and opening for cleaning result in fast color changeovers. Eimeke stressed, "We didn't want Coolshot to be a 'me too' development, but one with its own special features."

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at edito[email protected]

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    logo-pn-color
    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber & Plastics News
    • Urethanes Technology
    • Plastics News China
    • European Rubber Journal
    • Tire Business
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2021. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • What Keeps You Up At Night
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
        • Polymer Points Live
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • FYI Charts
        • Current FYI
      • LSR World
      • Multimedia
        • Videos
        • Galleries
        • Podcasts
      • NPE2021
      • K Show
      • Special Reports
        • CEO Issue
        • Best Places to Work
        • Processor of the Year
        • Rising Stars
        • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • Heavy Metal
      • One Good Resin
      • BRICS and Plastics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Plastics in Healthcare
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
      • Industry Events
      • Livestreams/Webinars
      • Ask the Expert
      • Polymer Points Live
      • Reifenhäuser Technologies Livestreams
      • 2020 Caps & Closures Library
      • Plastics in Healthcare Library
      • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
    • Resin Prices
      • All Resins
      • Commodity TPs
        • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temp TPs
        • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
      • ETPs
        • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Thermosets
        • Historic Thermosets
      • Recycled Plastics
        • Historic Recycled Plastics
    • Rankings
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Data Store
    • Directory
    • More+
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified
      • Digital Edition
      • Newsletters
      • Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Processor of the Year submissions