BASF Corporation - Polyurethanes

MATERIALS: Higher Prices for PBT, TPU, Nylon, Thermosets & More

BASF Corp., Wyandotte, Mich., introduced what it calls “the world’s softest TPU.” Elastollan Soft has 38A Shore hardness.

WEB EXCLUSIVE: The first volume application of a new 50% glass-reinforced grade of nylon 6/6T copolymer is in replacing brass for the main valve of European fire extinguishers.

WEB EXCLUSIVE: What are said to be the four largest nylon oil pans ever made are also the first off-highway oil pans injection molded of nylon 66.

WEB EXCLUSIVE: May will see a number of price hikes in nylons, styrenic block copolymers, and thermoset (unsaturated) polyesters:BASF hiked nylon 6 by 5¢/lb on May 3, while DSM raised nylon 6 extrusion and compounding grades 10¢ on May 1.

WEB EXCLUSIVE: Compared with all previous grades of Ultrason polyethersulfone (PESU) from BASF Corp., Engineering Plastics, Wyandotte, Mich., new Ultrason KR 4113 has dramatically reduced friction and wear.

In December, about a dozen representatives of European chemical companies gathered in Aachen, Germany, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of a quiet revolution in plastics.

This first of two articles on directions in TPE development focuses on styrenic, copolyester, polyamide, and TP urethane elastomers. The following article covers olefinics—TPOs, TPVs, and POEs.

From PPs for frozen-food packaging to nylons and alloys that withstand the heat of circuit-board soldering or automotive paint ovens, NPE 2006 was rich in news of commodity and engineering resins and TPEs.

Fewer thermoplastic materials suppliers will make the trip to Chicago this year.

BASF Corp., Florham Park, N.J., is licensing several patents from the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, that cover the use of ionic liquids to dissolve and process cellulose from plants.

A new proprietary technology reportedly can produce TPU resins having a very low coefficient of friction (COF) without any lubricants, waxes, or fillers that cause blooming or reduce transparency.

BASF Corp., Wyandotte, Mich., has launched a new range of thermoplastic poly urethanes that push the performance envelope in several directions.

3D molded interconnect devices were supposed to be the 1980s' breakthrough for plastics in electronics—but they flopped. New processes that make market entry faster, simpler, and less costly have recharged MIDs' prospects.

Plastic-metal hybrids are replacing all-steel structures in automotive front-end modules at an accelerated rate.