| Stanyl®, a high-heat polyamide 4,6 (PA46) resin from DSM Engineering Plastics, is adding a new market segment, fibre and film, to its existing broad portfolio of injection moulded, high-tech and high-heat engineered applications. As with injection moulded designs, Stanyl-based fibre and film benefit from the material’s unusually high crystallinity and resulting extraordinary mechanical properties, as well as its high melting point. In fibre and film, Stanyl adds a new side: it can be soft and supple.
Processing of Stanyl into filament or sheet can be accomplished with standard equipment running at temperatures slightly higher than conventional materials. Because Stanyl does not cross-link under heat, the material presents processing advantages as well. It does not gel or build up in equipment internals, even when subjected to long dwell times in mixers, injection screws and extrusion dies. In fact, the viscosity of Stanyl becomes lower with heat ageing, making it in effect self-cleaning, avoiding the periodic line stoppage and tear-down required to clean out gels formed by other PA types.
Fibre applications include staple for felted products – its affinity to water makes it ideal for papermaking blankets – as well as industrial yarns for airbag seam thread, abrasion-resistant garments and protective composite fabrications. Filament uses include such diverse applications as professional hairbrushes, and as rubber reinforcement for v-belts, automotive hose and tire tread and carcass uses. It has shown excellent performance as automotive air-bag thread, a highly demanding application. During inflation of the airbag, seams are severely stressed by the explosion. The stitch holes in the seam open, and the hot inflation gasses flow out, causing intensive short-term heating of the sewing thread.
|
