Today’s News
Smithers adds tire dynamic ozone aging and cold temperature durability capabilities to Suzhou lab
Smithers announced the addition of ozone resistance and low temperature durability testing capabilities for tires. The new machine is installed at the Smithers Tire and Wheel Testing Laboratory in Suzhou, China, and will serve tire testing customers throughout the Asia Pacific region and around the world.
Enviro’s recovered oil and carbon black receive ISCC sustainability certification
The oil and carbon black that Scandinavian Enviro Systems recovers from end-of-life vehicle tires in its plant in Åsensbruk have been accredited under the International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC) scheme. In doing so, Enviro has become the first company in the world to receive ISCC certification for recovered carbon black, and the certification is also confirmation of the previously communicated higher commercial values of both carbon black and oil.
NGC launches Acti-Tech grade approved for food contact applications
NGC thereby enlarges its portfolio of Acti-Tech compatibilizer with Acti-Tech compatibilizer 16MA11F, which is compliant with EU food regulation 10/2011. This functional polymer can be added to both PE or PP based formulations and tailored to the process equipment due its optimized melt flow.
Quentin Le Piouff, market development manager for NGC, says: “With this latest addition, we are offering processers and recyclers an easy-to-add and universal compatibilizer for polymer blends used in diverse applications.” “It is also an ideal solution to upcycle mixed polymer feeds from PIR or PCR, enabling the use of these recycled plastics into existing products without lowering end properties,” continues Kevin Barthomeuf, chief technology officer for NGC. Such a food contact compliant compatibilizer is suitable for many industries besides food packaging and recycling. As Quentin points out: “We are still exploring the fit in new applications for our product range.”
Cabot Corporation board of directors member Christine Yan recognized as recipient of 2021 Outstanding 50 Asia Americans in Business
Cabot Corporation announced that board member Christine Yan was selected as a recipient of the 2021 Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business Award. Established in 2001 by the Asian American Business Development Center (AABDC), the Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business Award annually highlights the achievements of Asian American entrepreneurs, professionals and corporate executives across a wide range of business interests that have a role in driving the U.S. economy.
EnvisionTEC and Covestro collaborate on material and printer solutions for DLP 3D printing
EnvisionTEC and Covestro announced their collaboration on material plus printer solutions to accelerate adoption of industrial 3D printing. Together, the two companies aim to lower the entry barriers for companies looking to adopt 3D printing for producing molds for low volumes or parts with detailed features faster and more economically.
All-terrain vehicle tires market forecast to decrease in value through 2025
According to Technavio, the all-terrain vehicle (ATV) tires market size will decrease by $7.11 million during 2021-2025, and the market’s growth momentum will accelerate at a CAGR of (0.99) percent.
Tire Industry Association elects three new members and re-elects a fourth to its board of directors.
The new board members are Chris Rhoades of BKT Tires, Copley, OH; Gary Schroeder of Cooper Tire/Goodyear, Findlay OH; and Leigh-Ann Stewart of Kal Tire, Vernon, British Columbia, Canada. In addition, Don Vanderheyden of Hennessy Industries, LaVergne, TN, was reelected to a second term on the board.
Featured Articles
Targeting sustainable additives through derivatization of soybean oil
The use of soybean oil as a plasticizing agent in rubber compounds versus traditional petroleum based oils is examined.
Mixing
Keltan 2470E EPDM Grade for Excellent Electrical Performance in Wire and Cable
Ethylene propylene diene polymers (EPDM) are the most widely used rubbers in the range of available synthetic rubbers for non-tire applications. Due to the unsaturated backbone, EPDM can be employed in various applications in which characteristics such as resistance to ozone, heat and moisture, flexibility at low temperatures, a wide range of tensile strength and hardness levels, and excellent electrical insulating properties are important
Extrusion
Medical rubber tubing process and die optimization: Die redesign and fine tuning
Part 1 of this contribution, published in the May 2021 edition of Rubber World, investigated a real manufacturer’s process that was set to produce medical tubing. It was found (through trials at the extruder, then through simulations) that the equipment available to the manufacturer was too large for the relatively low output that was required for this project, and consequently the polymer was degrading on the screw surface. It was ultimately determined through simulation that a smaller extruder, with a screw optimized for the low rate, would work better.
Silicone
EMI silicone now part of U.S. Department of Defense qualified products list
Specialty Silicone Products (SSP) announced that SSP-2569-65, an EMI silicone filled with silver-copper particles, is now part of the Qualified Product List (QPL) for MIL-DTL-83528, Type A. In a July 22 letter, the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) informed SSP that SSP-2569-65, a 65 durometer conductive elastomer for shielding and sealing, passed qualification testing and has been added to QPL MIL-DTL-83528 for specific drawings and material types.
Oil, Gas & Energy
Seals for hydrogen production via electrolysis
By providing seals for electrolyzers, Freudenberg Sealing Technologies is contributing to sustainable hydrogen production based on solar and wind power. The seals are designed for automated production, enabling a rapid buildup of high manufacturing capacities.
Testing & Instruments
Endurica tames road loads with new software release
Endurica LLC announces a new feature in its Endurica CL fatigue solver: automatic block cycle generation. The feature enables users to extract a simplified durability testing schedule (known as a block cycle test) from multi-channel road loads recorded at the testing track. The simplified testing schedule preserves the most essential features of the original road load history, while maintaining the original failure mode and discarding non-critical load history. The capability enables rubber part suppliers to design fatigue tests that execute quickly and that develop realistic damage. It enables car makers to ensure durability under actual driving conditions.
Molding
SmartFlow analysis optimizes silicone and rubber tooling design
Mold design processes today benefit from sophisticated
design software that creates 3D models easily exported to
manufacturing, CAM programming and metal cutting
Thermoplastic Elastomers & Urethanes
HeatBoss EPDM: High heat resistant EPDM promising for SAE J200 applications
In modern cars, the space for the engine compartment is continuously shrinking for both functional and aesthetic reasons. Increasing vehicle compactness by reducing the space available for design engineers results in hotter engine components which restrict the rubber materials that can be used. This has boosted a fast growing demand in the rubber industry for elastomer parts with durability and increased resistance to temperature extremes. Among elastomers, silicone elastomers and fluoroelastomers show very effective heat resistance resulting from the strong Si-O and C-F bonds present in their chemical structure. However, the main drawbacks are their high price and high processing cost that make compounding, molding and final production very expensive
Latex and Natural Rubber
Staying relevant in a changing industry
In previous Rubber World columns, I have discussed the reintroduction of the manufacture of latex gloves back into the U.S. after a 25 year absence. During those years, in Southeast Asia, there have been significant, evolutionary improvements to the equipment, processing, formulations, and the latex itself. The challenge we face is to develop a competitive, sustainable manufacturing capability in the U.S., utilizing some of the personnel who were involved in glove manufacturing years ago, and merging their experience with new ways of thinking and problem solving.
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