Until recently, plastics processors looking for fully featured enterprise business software may have been aware of only two choices that were tailored specifically for their needs.
For decades, makers of polyethylene wire and cable, shrink tubing, hot and cold water piping, sheet, and foam have used radiation crosslinking to enhance the thermal and mechanical properties of their products.
Whether it was molding thermoplastic and polyurethane foam into one part in one machine, continuously foaming insulation between a metal pipe and thermoplastic skin, or pouring rigid foam behind a thermoplastic skin to replace steel refrigerator doors, there were plenty of novelties in PUR machinery and material among the exhibits at the K 2004 show in Dusseldorf last October.
Higher flow, higher heat, higher barrier, higher clarity, higher stiffness, lower durometer, lower smoke, lower odor—materials exhibits at the recent K 2004 show in Dusseldorf were stretching the bounds of processing and performance properties in all directions.
The first quarter of 2005 will see the first commercial production of a dramatically new family of resins that offer the processing advantages of liquid thermosets plus the properties and recyclability of engineering thermoplastics.