The GRAFE Group of Blankenhain will be presenting two new product developments at Fakuma 2015.
Fire
Alongside other products, the company will be introducing an electrically conductive and halogen-free, flame-retardant PP compound at the international plastics trade fair.
Martin Günther, Development Engineer, explained: "It was our goal to develop a material with good mechanical features and flow properties in addition to being conductive and flame-retardant. And we have succeeded."
The specific volume resistivity or surface resistivity of the new product is adjustable to suit the customers’ applications. Settings below 100 Ohm will also be possible.
"This PP compound meets the requirements of flammability rating UL94 V-0 for wall thicknesses of up to 1.6 mm," Günther explained.
"This opens up the door to numerous applications where fire and explosion protection play an important role and where, in the past, it was necessary to use brominated flame retardants."
Some examples of use include containers for the transportation of highly inflammable process media as well as conveyor belts and storage containers in explosion and fire protection areas.
The second new development of the GRAFE Group involves halogen-free flame-retardant polypropylene compounds, which are available for customers in any desired colour.
"This is about endowing a material with effective flame-retardant properties to meet the requirements of flammability rating UL94 V-0 even for very thin walls – here we are talking about 0.8mm," Günther added. "With this development, we were also able to minimise any loss of mechanical properties that flame retardants might cause. It is especially important that we could avoid an embrittlement of the plastic. The material also displays good flow properties and is thus suitable for the manufacture of thin-walled parts."
Hall B5 | Stand 5306.
