Kraiburg TPE lets learning robot Photon show its feelings

Düsseldorf, Germany — Photon, an educational robot that learns, has been around for the past couple of years, scooping awards for its design and the product itself.

But this year at K, German thermoplastic elastomers compounder Kraiburg TPE unveiled how it helped Bialystok, Poland-based Photon Entertainment Sp. zoo bring the interactive robot to reality.

The compounder is supplying two compounds from its flagship Thermolast K series for several functional components of Photon, for applications in the running surfaces as well as the feelers of the interactive robot.

These compounds include a highly transparent product from Kraiburg's FC/ht series that complies with the DIN EN 71-3 toy standard, CEO Franz Hinterecker explained in an interview.

Photon is steered using a centrally placed castor and moves on two laterally mounted rear wheels, the running surfaces of which are made of a GP/FG Thermolast K compound.

Two transparent feelers at its head serve as antennas and light sensors, respectively.

To provide "emotional feedback," the robot's feelers, made of FC/ht Thermolast K, can change color.

While TPEs are increasingly in demand for consumer applications, Kraiburg TPE's products are widely used for automotive purposes.

At K 2019 in Düsseldorf, the Waldkraiburg, Germany-based company introduced four new Thermolast K compounds, primarily suited for hard-soft composite components, offering high surface quality and permanent weather resistance.

"High insulation with the corresponding temperatures and a potentially harmful share of UV radiation is a particular challenge for plastics. Consumers are expecting perfect surfaces that still look good after many years," Hinterecker said about the materials and automotive exterior parts.

In addition to UV stability, in multicomponent composites, adhesive strength must also be permanently maintained and ensured.

"Our new materials address the increased requirements for exterior vehicle components," Hinterecker added.

With automotive covering almost half of the company's sales, Kraiburg TPE also presented its thermoplastic elastomer hybrids (TEHs), launched last year at Fakuma.

The materials are claimed to "bring the plastics and rubber worlds together," particularly standing out for their resistance to oil and grease.

The "universal super TPE" is claimed to match the properties of elastomers or rubbers, while maintaining features of plastics.

"To close the performance gap between established TPEs and elastomers, particularly in relation to thermal resistance, we are taking an approach that focuses rigorously on applications and customers," Hinterecker added.

The company, for instance, selects the proportions of elastomers and thermoplastics in each compound on the basis of their specific compatibility and suitability for the required application temperature, chemical resistance and mechanical performance.

The result is a "custom-engineered" TEH compound with a completely cross-linked elastomer component that can be processed just as technical thermoplastics.

"The finishing that is usually necessary with most elastomers is not necessary and even sophisticated two-component applications with polypropylene, PBT or PA [nylon] can be implemented without bonding agents," he added.

The new technology platform provides advanced TPE materials with a hardness range of 55-80 Shore A, with significantly improved performance based on different combinations of elastomers and thermoplastics.

With the advent of electromobility and elastomers potentially losing many of their applications, particularly in fuel lines, Hinterecker sees new opportunities.

"They can be used in plugs and in sealings for plastic battery holders. With two-component injection molding becoming more widely used, we see all these as opportunities," he added.