New resin grades, new software

At this year?s K show BASF is rolling out three new grades of its Ultramid PA material, along with a high-flow Ultradur PBT product and a software package developed in-house for designing with fiber-reinforced polymers.

The new flame-retardant PA grades include Ultramid B3U HF, an unreinforced, halogen-free PA 6 with high flow intended for electrical/electronic applications. B3UM4, a halogen-free, flame-retardant PA 6 reinforced with a low-cost mineral filler, addresses contact-breaker applications. Ultramid A3UG5, a UL 94 V0-rated PA 66 grade, offers colorability due to the pale color of its flame-retardant additive.

The high-flow, rheology-modified PBT has melt-flow properties that beat all other PBT materials, according to BASF sources. Named Ultradur High Speed, the resin flows twice as fast as a conventional Ultradur for higher output. Initial customer trials have resulted in cycle times being cut by 20%.

BASF also announced that it will be using an engineering analysis software module developed by its own technologists, called Fiber, to design fiber-reinforced parts more efficiently. The program uses information about the part?s anisotropy (directional properties caused by orientation of the reinforcing fibers) to help predict the part?s structural behavior more accurately.?MM

BASF
Mount Olive, NJ
(973) 426-2600
www.basf.com