WEB EXCLUSIVE: At October’s Fakuma 2011 show in Germany, BASF and Arburg teamed up in a demonstration of energy-efficient injection molding. An Arburg all-electric Allrounder 370 E molded test parts of a standard nylon 6 and a special BASF grade developed for high flow. The part was a thin, flat disk of 10 cm diam. filled with a single center gate. BASF’s Ultramid B3WG6 High Speed is a nylon 6 with 30% glass, introduced last year, which boasts at least 50% higher flow than conventional grades. Easier flow allows filling of complex and thin-wall parts with long flow lengths at reduced melt temperatures and injection pressures. Lower filling pressures can allow parts to be molded on smaller machines. Tests by BASF (U.S. office in Wyandotte, Mich.) show that cycle times with the new grade can be reduced by up to 30%, thanks to around 40° C/72° F colder melt, helping to cut energy consumption even further. The trials indicate that overall savings of 30% can be achieved for molding a given number of parts.
Price relief is expected to continue through the fourth quarter for nine major commodity and engineering resins, driven by widespread supply/demand imbalances.
