MATERIALS

News

Mould release leaves no residue

Axel Plastics Research release agents, which are tra-
Laboratories says its latest ditionally used in BMC/SMC
internal mould release for poly-mouldings. According to
ester bulk and sheet moulding Axel, INT-4082 performs at
compound (BMC/SMC) leaves least as well as zinc stearate
no surface residue. but will not leave a residue
MoldWiz® INT-4082 is after moulding, which is
designed for use in place of often the case with zinc
zinc stearate internal mould stearate.
Supplied as a
powder, the
release agent is
loaded at lower
levels than zinc
stearate. Axel
says it expects
the product to
be of particular
use to automo-
tive applica-
MoldWiz INT-1292VP is designed specifically tions requiring
for low-VOC gel-coats. a non-fogging
internal mould release that
will not interfere with second-
ary processing.
The company has also recent-
ly introduced an internal
mould release designed specif-
ically for use with low volatile
organic compound (VOC)
gel-coats.
MoldWiz INT-1292VP is
claimed to overcome the pro-
cessing problems normally
associated with low-VOC
products. “Low VOC gel-
coats can pose a number of
processing difficulties,” says
Nancy Teufel, Axel's technical
support manager. “These low
styrene resins typically don't
flow, or wet the surface as
nicely as regular gel-coats.
Less styrene can also mean
that these resins are slower to
gel. Semi-permanent releases
can generally tolerate the
increased chemical exposure
of longer gel times, but these
release systems are customarily
quite slick, further aggravating
the poor wetting properties of
the low VOC gel-coat. This is
where a product like INT-
1292VP can be a real asset.
Incorporation of this mould
release in a low VOC gel-coat
can significantly improve the
ability of the gel-coat to wet
out on moulds.”
Contact:
Axel Plastics Research Laboratory
Tel: +1 718 672 8300
E-mail: info@axelplast.com
Website: www.axelplast.com

Ciba launches colour Agents give permanent

match software
Ciba Specialty Chemicals has
introduced a new colour
matching system for plastics,
inks and paints.
The software package combines
the Ciba® COLIBRI™
QuickMatch 1.1 recipe formu-
lation system, Ciba Colibri QC
1.0 quality control software
and Ciba Colibri Library
Services.
According to Ciba, the system
provides easy, efficient recipe
formulation of opaque,
translucent and transparent
colours. It is tailored for a
number of applications
including plastics, coatings,
inks and spun fibres.
Integrated colour catalogues
and libraries are said to ensure
a fast start-up and the
software has an integrated
expert system. QuickMatch
1.1 can be used to support a
large number of spectropho-
tometers and is available in
seven languages.
Users can edit the parameters
of the expert system and prese-
lect pigments as required.
The QC 1.0 quality control
system provides classical full
shade, white reduction and
transparency measurements
with the option of quality test-
ing. Library Services enables
users to extend the built-in
libraries and/or to build new
ones for their own systems.
Contact:
Ciba Specialty Chemicals
website: www.cibasc.com/colibri
static dissipation
Pelestat additives from Tomen
America are now available for
applications requiring perma-
nent static dissipation through-
out the lifetime of a polymer
matrix.
Pelestat works by forming a
conductive polymer matrix
within the host thermoplastic.
Unlike chemical anti-static
agents that migrate or bloom
to the surface of a part,
Pelestat cannot wear or wash
off, says the company. The
agents are supplied in various
thermoplastic systems includ-
ing acrylonitrile butadiene
styrene (ABS), polycarbonate
(PC)/ABS alloy, polystyrene
(PS), polyoxymethylene
(POM), polyamide (PA),
polybutylene terephthalate
(PBT) and polyolefins. In
addition, agents can be tai-
lored to suit specific resin
grades.
Static dissipation is said to be
achieved at no expense to the
polymer’s mechanical proper-
ties. It even has no effect on
brightly coloured resin, says the
company.
The agents are non-corroding
with minimal off-gassing.
According to Tomen, they
have the lowest chloride con-
tent of any commercially
available anti-static agent.
Contact:
Tomen America Inc
Tel: +1 212 397 5483
E-mail: pelestat@nyctomen.com
Website: www.pelestat.com

Plastics Additives & Compounding November/December 2003

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