All bespoke tailoring is based on precise measurements taken in advance. Only if the tailor knows the individual measurements/dimensions and wishes in advance can his art fully unfold. This applies to the tailoring of plastic compounds just as much as it does to fashion. Instead of twine and yarn, everything revolves around polymers, reinforcing materials and additives as well as compounding (including processing) to make semi-finished plastic products more efficient. At the very beginning, the most precise possible knowledge of the manufacturing process itself is required. After all, it is not just the material itself that makes the semi-finished product more efficient - the process is also decisive. The material "only" has to be optimally suited to the respective process. For the really good compounder, this means in short: first understand, then compound! And this is exactly what we have given free rein to our thoughts on ...
Step 1 to achieve higher-performance semi-finished plastic products with customized plastic compounds? Answering the short list of questions.
Even the longest journey begins with a first step, or rather the first steps. On the way to a tailor-made plastic compound, the first steps on the part of the compound manufacturer are characterized by a series of fundamental questions. Without this information, he simply cannot make an optimal material recommendation "at the end":
- Which manufacturing process/core process is used?
- Extrusion?
- Compression molding or transfer molding?
- Both not necessarily close to the contour
These are all different processes, which in turn place different demands on the material and its solidification kinetics (in terms of crystallization behaviour, shrinkage and warpage) as well as the fillers (in terms of size, quantity and distribution).
Example extrusion:
- Are they large, rather thick-walled profiles? (sheets/tubes)?
- Or are they intricate, complex profiles?
- Or even films in µm thickness?
- What are the wall thicknesses within the die?
- What is the wall thickness ratio?
And don't "worry": the compound manufacturer doesn't have to know the contour in detail; but he should be able to recognize that a) there is a contour and b) he must know - at least approximately - the wall thickness ratio in order to be able to say: "Okay, based on experience, we then have a viscosity x that we have to use".
Step 2 on the way to more efficient semi-finished plastic products: dialog based on partnership.
If one compares the available materials with the production processes used - with all the tricks and gimmicks that have been individually developed over the years/decades - an almost unmanageable matrix emerges in no time at all, from which no ready-made conclusions can be drawn in terms of customized plastic compounds. The possible combinations are too diverse.
No compounder can reach into the "drawer" here and offer a customized material solution (at least not a serious one). Here too, the key lies in communication, or more precisely in dialog. Ideally, semi-finished product and compound manufacturers should continuously exchange information about the process in which the semi-finished product is to be manufactured, how this is structured in detail and whether, for example, there are reference materials that already work well.
Simply to a) find out, for example, what viscosity and stability (melt stability) is required and b) to produce dimensionally stable semi-finished products. Naturally without the "usual" flaws such as surface defects, sink marks or blowholes.
Step 3 on the way to more efficient semi-finished plastic products: Recognizing that Aristotle really was right.
No less than 2350 years ago, the Greek scholar Aristotle laid the foundations for logical understanding/logical methodology. One of his findings: A is not B.
This may be a simple fact nowadays, but it often seems difficult to take into account, as everyday life as a compounder often shows. One example:
Numerous manufacturers of semi-finished plastic products basically do the same. They sell the same semi-finished products to the same markets as their competitors. And as similar as their activities may appear to be on the outside, the formulations of the materials they "swear by" - in some cases for decades - can be very different.
Manufacturer A may tend to have difficulties with strength - because its process is not optimally designed to explicitly produce good strength but offers other qualities. For this reason, he wants his compounder to produce a material with a higher strength without having to accept the problems that usually come with it, such as increased internal stresses or warpage. A specifically adapted length distribution could be a good solution here.
Manufacturer B, on the other hand, has set up its process in such a way that it can also develop a high strength potential from particularly short fibers. However, because he uses narrower filters for safety reasons - such as avoiding specks - the use of filaments above a certain length is "forbidden" here, as these tend to cross in front of the filter ...
Providing these two manufacturers - with their comparable demands for high strength - with the same "tailor-made" compound would not be expedient. Simply because tailoring does not only refer to the desired effect (in this example, strength), but also to the production process. And it is precisely this subtle difference that can only be worked out through a) personal discussions and/or b) by analyzing reference material. The same applies here. First argue/discuss/evaluate/understand - and then tailor the compound!
Conclusion: What is one man's owl is another man's nightingale
Or to use another saying: "To each his own." When it comes to high-performance semi-finished plastic products and customized plastic compounds, this means that practically every manufacturer of semi-finished plastic products ultimately "tailors" their production somewhat differently, has different "tastes", different wishes and requirements, makes different judgments and comes to different conclusions.
We at LEHVOSS know this and focus our material development precisely on this.
We know about weld line strength and layer adhesion. We are familiar with material rheology, filler influences, the synergy/antagonism of fillers to each other and their influence on processing and the viscosity of the finished compound.
To a certain extent, we can adapt the crystallization speed of materials to production processes and analyze material samples optically and thermally.
We can use standard materials for production or - in order to reduce the carbon footprint either proportionately or completely - use secondary materials to reproduce standard market formulations.
We can develop high-grade special materials/special compounds which, for example, ensure a certain electrical conductivity/antistatic properties throughout the entire volume of the part in an almost isotropic manner. And, if required, carbon-free in the high-temperature range.
We at LEHVOSS can do this with special compounds that we have been developing and producing in Germany since 1984. We have been offering this service globally for many years, made possible by our sites in the USA and China.
Or, to use another saying typical of Hamburg: „So mook wi dat!”
In English: "That's how we do it!"
Would you like to find out more about customized plastic compounds? Get in touch with us - our experts will be happy to help you.
