Home / News / Clariant makes anti-static glass-reinforced nylon

Clariant makes anti-static glass-reinforced nylon

13 Jul '15

2 min read

Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, has developed a glass-reinforced polyamide (nylon) with anti-static properties, low-temperature impact strength, dimensional stability and excellent surface-finish.

The material was custom compounded by the Clariant Corporation BU Masterbatches Specialty Compounding business in Albion, Mich. It was created to help Advanced Design Concepts, Inc., (ADC), a custom moulder in Pewaukee, to meet a customer’s need for housing for electronic equipment that must operate safely in potentially explosive environments.

ADC had been moulding housings for non-hazardous applications previously and these were made of a glass-reinforced nylon 66 and Clariant immediately came forward with a similar compounded material that incorporated the company’s permanent antistatic additive to meet the required surface resistivity specifications. The resins’ shrink rate was similar enough to the original material that ADC did not need to modify the moulds, Clariant informs in a press release.

After trying several other formulations, Clariant recommended a material originally developed for use in snowshoes. It is a glass-filled nylon 6 material with the permanent antistatic additive.

The new ATEX- and IECEx-compliant housings are produced with orange instead of blue. Clariant sells ADC its custom compound in black and natural, and the plan was to colour the natural resin using an orange masterbatch.

Clariant specialty compounding experts draw on decades of experience with resins, colorants, and additives to deliver an ideal solution. Their knowledge extends from material selection to compounding to processing and Clariant’s non-material-biased approach to problem solving allows them the autonomy to choose from a full range of ingredients for any application. Technical competence, along with stringent quality assurance programs, advanced manufacturing capabilities, all add up to make Clariant Masterbatches specialty compounding unit an excellent source for high-performance resin solutions. (GK)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk - India