Plenty of TPEs can bond to standard nylon 6 and 66 nowadays. "But modified nylons are a different story," notes Malar Shetty, applications group leader for GLS Corp. That's why, two years ago, GLS rolled out new SEBS-based elastomers that not only worked with unmodified nylons but also with those that contained high glass loadings and modifiers to improve impact and temperature resistance. "We came up with one type of TPE that addressed the many different types of nylons," says Shetty. Bond strengths between the elastomer and nylon substrates typically ranged from about 18 to 23 pli, which are far higher values than many applications require. And these Versaflex 6100 materials worked both with overmolding and insert molding processes, with the latter posing an extra degree of difficulty since the rigid insert part cools before the elastomer is shot over it. Earlier this year, GLS has commercialized its next-generation nylon bonding TPEs. These Versaflex 6200 materials offer two key improvements over the first generation: One is that the new grades, available in 60 and 75 Shore A versions, address even more modified nylons, particularly lubricated grades. The other is that the materials flow has been optimized to make molding a bit easier. As Shetty points out, the first generation was very high-flowing, so flash could be a problem in tools that weren't immaculately constructed or maintained. "The new materials have just enough flow to make molding easy but now so much that flash becomes a problem." For more information on properties of the 60 Shore A grade, go to http://rbi.ims.ca/4933-536.
Inforbix is leveraging its CAD and product data access technology to power up a free iPad app that lets mobile users search and access engineering data.
Unlike his friends in engineering programs, blogger Jon Titus had little need for calculus except in a few of his college physical-chemistry labs and classes.
In the wake of the Chevy Volt fire investigations, sales are down, and General Motors' (GM) CEO Dan Akerson is blaming the downturn on a spate of bad publicity.
Thanks to embedded electronics, medical devices are getting smaller and smarter than ever. Pacemakers and implantable defibrillators are now able to call physicians. MRIs, CT scanners, and ultrasound machines are gaining mobility. And the venerable Band-Aid may soon be able to detect illnesses ranging from fevers to heart arrhythmias. On February 21, join Design News senior editor Charles Murray for a wide-ranging discussion, "Embedded Angles for Medical Products," which will explore the latest developments in medical electronics. The discussion will examine advances in medical device technology and offer an inside look at the embedded electronics behind it.
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