Consistency improved for glass fibres

A Sabic Innovative Plastics product story

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Jun 29, 2007

LNP Verton Xtreme compound grades enable customers to achieve the excellent mechanical properties of long-glass-fibre re-inforcement while boosting quality and consistency.

GE Plastics has introduced a new product platform that helps solve the drawbacks of dry-blending colourants, flame retardants, additives, and other effects in long-glass-fibre compounds.

GE's LNP Verton Xtreme compound portfolio has broken new ground with one-pellet solutions for enhanced colour, flame retardance (FR), and weatherability.

This technology improves batch-to-batch consistency and within individual parts by eliminating the need to blend two pellet types, which can lead to separation, settling, and other quality issues.

LNP Verton Xtreme compound grades - XC for extreme colour, FR for extreme flame retardance, and XW for extreme weatherability - enable customers to achieve the excellent mechanical properties of long-glass-fibre re-inforcement while boosting quality and consistency that can reduce overall system costs.

Jamie Tebay, structural Product Manager for GE Plastics, LNP, said, "GE Plastics has invested millions of dollars - including new extruders, equipment, and specific strand designs - to develop and commercialise the new LNP Verton Xtreme compound platform".

"This significant commitment demonstrates our dedication to the industry".

"GE Plastics' value-added services, expertise, and next-generation products, allow us to meet the most stringent customer requirements for improved quality and consistency, exceptional performance, and system efficiencies".

To help customers develop applications using LNP Verton Xtreme compounds, GE Plastics' Center of Excellence for Verton Compound Technology in Columbus, Indiana provides a staff of product technologists, engineers, and other experts, as well as a wide array of processing equipment.

The 560m2 centre features two development lines and a 170-ton moulding machine.

GE Plastics plans to manufacture the new materials in the Pacific and Latin America, as well as in Columbus where they are currently produced.

GE Plastics' customers are already achieving the benefits of enhanced effects and consistency with the new product line.

For example, Steelcase is evaluating injection-moulded LNP Verton XC compound to produce the seat back frame of its award-winning Leap office chair.

By replacing a two-pellet solution with LNP Verton Xtreme compound, Steelcase has seen an improvement in surface finish and colour consistency.

With the rich and consistent colour of GE's LNP Verton XC compound, Steelcase expects to improve overall aesthetics while reducing system costs.

GE's LNP Verton XC compound is currently available in nylon base resins, while LNP Verton FR compound is available in polycarbonate/acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (PC/ABS) resins.

The third grade, LNP Verton XW compound, is based on GE's Geloy resin, an advanced amorphous terpolymer of acrylic-styrene-acrylonitrile (ASA) resin.

It will be available in Q3 2007.

This product delivers exceptional resistance to UV light and weathering, and is an excellent candidate material for truck and agricultural equipment components.

All three new LNP Verton Xtreme compounds combine rigidity with outstanding strength and resistance to impact failure in a wide array of applications.

The new products also deliver an excellent balance between cost and performance in structural applications.

These compounds can be processed using standard and gas-assist injection moulding, structural foam moulding, and injection-compression moulding, and can be extruded into profiles.

Future plans for the platform include one-pellet solutions that offer enhanced lubrication for parts such as gears and washers, and enhanced conductivity for powder-coated parts.