Invista (Wichita, KS) introduced Torzen Marathon PA66 resin to the plastics market at the recent NPE International Plastics Showcase in Orlando. The new engineering polymers resin grade responds to the market's demand for a resin with higher continuous use temperature resistance while allowing for enhanced processing for applications in the automotive and electrical and electronic segments.

"As a result of the automotive sector's efforts to improve fuel efficiency through light weighting, we are seeing increasing use of applications such as turbo-charged engines, which require greater temperature resistance," says Kurt Burmeister, executive vice president of Invista Engineering Polymers. Conventional PA66 resins are positioned for applications needing continuous use heat up to about 180 degrees Celsius. Given the limitations of conventional PA66, other polymers-such as higher temperature polyamides (PPA) and polyphenylene sulfides (PPS)-are generally used. "Torzen Marathon resin, a new PA66 resin with improved heat aging properties, can be positioned in applications that are challenging the limits of conventional nylon 66," says Burmeister. "Our new resin expands the application space for PA66 to a continuous use heat of 210°C, while maintaining a peak temperature of 240 to 250°C."

Invista's tests show that Torzen Marathon resin retains more than 90 percent tensile strength after 1,000 hours at 210°C, a 70 to 80 percent improvement versus conventional PA6 and PA66 resins, which show about 50 percent retention. They also show that the resin retains more than 90 percent tensile strength after 1,000 hours at 210°C, a 70 to 80 percent improvement versus conventional PA6 and PA66 resins, which show about 50 percent retention.

"In addition to developing a resin with improved heat resistance, we also set out to respond to our customers' need for easy processing," says Burmeister. "To that end, with Torzen Marathon resins, our customers further benefit as this new technology enables them to use tools that are already cut for PA66 and offers a 40 to 50 percent improvement in flow versus conventional PA66 resins."-[email protected]