Teknor Apex Debuts New Engineering Resins Div. with Novel Nylon Family

Following its acquisition of German custom compounder Plastic-Technologie-Service (PTS) in March, Teknor Apex Co., Pawtucket, R.I., has recast its former Nylon Div. as the new Engineering Thermoplastics (ETP) Div. That unit will globalize a wide range of engineering thermoplastics technologies developed in Europe but not widely available before now in the Americas or Asia. Founded in 1986, PTS has a portfolio of more than 700 commercial ETP products based on nine major technological platforms and resins such as nylons of various types, PBT, PC, PC/ABS, other blends, TPEs, and TPVs.

The first new ETP products will be Creamid ultra-high-performance, glass-reinforced, aromatic nylons, which will be produced in the U.S. as well as in Europe. These are said to be unique materials based on different polymer chemistry than widely used nylons like Teknor’s Chemlon products. Creamid reportedly delivers processing and physical properties “dramatically better” than typical nylon 66 
compounds. Creamid boasts excellent dimensional stability, low water absorption, improved chemical resistance, and better surface aesthetics. For example, a 40%-glass Creamid compound shows 68% longer spiral flow than a standard 43%-glass nylon and requires 41% lower peak injection pressure and 43% less clamp force. The accompanying graphs show much higher notched Izod impact strength and tensile strength than typical glass-filled nylon 6 and 66. These show tensile strengths up to 260 MPa (37,700 psi), comparable to die-cast metals. Grades can be formulated with flexural modulus up to 21 GPa (3.05 million psi) for metal replacement.

The first three new Creamid A3H7 grades contain 40%, 50%, and 60% glass fiber. These compounds are used in Europe for automotive air vents, spoilers, fan blades, spring adapters, and key fobs. Future introductions will include PTS-developed Duramid aromatic nylons, said to offer similary distinct improvements over Creamid, as well as various blends, specialized formulations with crosslinking properties, and materials for electroplating, TPE overmolding, and PEEK replacement.