Appliance Design - August 2008 - (Page 18)

PLASTICS on available materials and how they can be used most effectively. It links color and additive options from multiple sources including DuPont, Engelhard, and the sites’ parent company, CIBA. Morgans says that the designer only needs to know the application parameters to use the system. By entering information such as whether the product needs to be flame retardant, UV protected, EMI shielded, or FDA approved, the number of resin and colorant choices can be whittled down to a more reasonable number. Whether using matchmycolor.com or some other method of color matching, product designers need to think about color at the front end of the project and discuss their wants and needs with the material supplier, says Stephen Duckworth, global head of the consumer goods market segment for Switzerland-based Clariant Masterbatches. Clariant Masterbatches sells masterbatches that can be formulated for specific and demanding applications. For instance, Pensonic Holdings, a Malaysian manufacturer of consumer electronics, developed a new kitchen blender that featured ABS for the main housing, nylon for the control knob, and polypropylene for the lid. Colors needed to be produced and matched despite being made from different material types. Working on a tight deadline, Clariant needed to resolve the issues surrounding the coloring of the three polymers, and, in less than two weeks, deliver masterbatches to a molding facility in Malaysia for production trials. In another case, a European maker of electrical components was launching a new product line in a range of colors and materials. Products incorporated multiple polymers including high-impact polystyrene, ABS, polypropylene and nylon, which were sourced and processed in different parts of the world. In addition to color matching multiple polymers, the product’s needed to meet UL and IEC specifications for flame retardance and provide protection against heat and UV light regardless of where the product was manufactured. Clariant’s solution was a series of “combibatches.” These are custom masterbatches that contain color and as many as five additives, all formulated to function when combined with different natural resins wherever they Clariant Masterbatches is using clarifying additives from Milliken Chemical to produce clear colors and sparkling reflectivity. happen to be processed. In some applications, functional properties are not as important. In others, color isn’t even that important. Clariant Masterbatches is using a clarifying agent produced by Milliken Chemical, Spartanburg, S.C., on some of its special effects products to produce what the company calls sparkling clear colors and dazzling reflectivity on polypropylene. Clear and colored transparent plastic for household appliances have been a longterm trend, but designers sometimes had to weigh clarity against cost and durability issues. A new clarifying agent from Milliken, Spartanburg, S.C., supposedly will solve that dilemma. In at least one application, it allowed a manufacturer to replace a higher-cost plastic with lower cost polypropylene for use on its clothes washing machines, says Brian Burkhart, Global Market Manager, Polypropylene Clarifiers. The material, Milliken’s Millad® NX8000, is added to a polypropylene resin stream prior to molding, to make the plastic transparent. In addition, the polypropylene can be custom tinted for a more upscale, sophisticated look, says Lee Rieth, Global Market Manager, PE Nucleation & Light Absorbing Additives. He adds that The Suggar washing machine features a transparent plastic lid made of polypropylene clarified with additives from Milliken Chemical. 18 applianceDESIGN August 2008 www.applianceDESIGN.com http://matchmycolor.com http://www.appliancedesign.com

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Appliance Design - August 2008 Contents Editorial Shipments/Forecasts News Watch Plastics Switches Noise & Vibration Control Joining New Products Design Marts Association Report: CEA Advertiser’s Index

Appliance Design - August 2008

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