Glass spheres reduce manufacturing costs

Potters Industries is pushing the benefits of using engineered glass microsphere particles.

Potters Industries is pushing the benefits of using engineered glass microsphere particles.

William Shaker, Market Development Manager of Polymer Additives at Potters Industries, said: "One of the major benefits of adding solid glass spheres to resin formulations is reduced manufacturing costs".

"With resin prices soaring, processors are looking to additives as a way to contain rising costs".

"By using Spheriglass solid glass microspheres as resin extenders, they can realise substantial cost savings while gaining enhanced physical properties".

The glass spheres are performance modifiers engineered to increase the strength of plastics.

High loadings of glass spheres add significantly to the dimensional stability of the finished product by reducing shrinkage and improving part flatness.

Shaker said that "data shows that shrinkage of unfilled or glass fibre filled nylon 66 can be cut by 70 to 80% when 30% glass spheres are used".

"And warpage is reduced by 95 to 97% in the same tests".

High loadings can also increase flexural modulus, abrasion resistance and surface hardness.

Benefits include chemical resistance, increased compound flow and improved compressive strength.

Used in thermoplastic and thermosetting resin systems, the glass microspheres increase the flow during extrusion and injection moulding.

Microspheres lower the viscosity of most compounded resin systems, acting as miniature ball bearings to improve flow.

Because flow is improved, very large and thin walled parts can be moulded to dimensions.

The spherical shape also yields better stress distribution.

This is important since localised stress within a moulded part often leads to premature failure as well as warpage in the finished part.

"In contrast to other additives such as fibre glass which have inherent properties that limit their use in certain applications, Spheriglass non-fibrous glass spheres help engineers confront the problems of maintaining dimensional stability, easing plastic flow and lowering moulding pressures," said Shaker.

"The cost of glass spheres is less than half that of glass fibres, making them one of the most economical glass products available".

The solid glass spheres have a density of 2.5g/cm3.

Crush strength is over 200MPa.

Moh's hardness is 6.0 to 6.5.

Glass spheres have oil absorption of about 18g oil/100g spheres.

Because the spheres are nonporous, they do not absorb resin in a polymer system.

They are available in two glass compositions - A-glass (soda-lime glass) and E-glass (borosilicate glass).

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