23 Oct 2004
Cyclics Announces First Commercial CBT® Resin Products
New Products Offer benefits in Rotational Moulding, Nanocomposites, Compounding, Injection Moulding
Düsseldorf, Germany - October 23, 2004 – The Cyclics Corporation announced its first commercial product grades, which will be available early in 2005 from their plant in Schwarzheide Germany. CBT® 100 resin and CBT® 200 resin both melt to a water-like viscosity when heated then polymerize into the engineering thermoplastic polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) when catalyzed. CBT 100 resin has a processing temperature between 190-240C and will be available in both one and two-part systems. This resin is formulated for compounding, injection moulding, nanocomposites, rotational moulding and as a carrier resin for color and filler concentrates. For applications requiring a lower processing temperature, CBT 200 resin has a processing range between 170-240C and also is available in both one- and two-part systems. CBT 200 resin is formulated for various casting, low pressure moulding, coatings and composite applications where the lower melt temperature allows for longer working time than CBT 100 resin before polymerizing into the engineering thermoplastic PBT.
Several additional grades from these two products are under development, including flame retardant, food & medical contact, and high modulus grades. Flame retardant grades are targeted towards the electronics market and fuel tank applications. Medical & food grade developments center on pigment concentrates and nano-composites for medical devices and food contact applications. High modulus grades are designed to have greater stiffness and dimensional stability over a wider range of temperatures as needed in more demanding applications.
“These new products will enable our customers to seize opportunities in markets that were unobtainable before the introduction of CBT resin,” said John Ciovacco, Head of Global Marketing for Cyclics Corporation. “Our ongoing efforts to broaden our product line through additives technology, reinforcing materials and copolymers will further expand our reach.”
Reader enquiries
Cyclics Corporation
2135 Technology Drive
Schenectady, NY 12308
U.S.A.
Notes for editors
Cyclics Introduces New CBT® Resin Products
Cyclics Corporation, headquartered in Schenectady, New York, U.S.A. and its wholly owned subsidiary, Cyclics Europe GmbH based in Schwarzheide, Germany, manufacture innovative plastics that offer breakthroughs in processing, making new products possible and changing the economics of existing ones. The water-like processing viscosities of Cyclics’ engineering thermoplastic products offer improvements in performance and productivity for structural composites, compounding, casting, nanocomposites, coatings and rotational moulding. Cyclics has alliances with Dow Automotive, BASF, Alcan Composites, The P-Group and Davy Process Technology.
® CBT is a Registered Trademark of Cyclics Corporation.
Related images
.
Cyclics Introduces New CBT® Resin Products
New CBT® resins melt to a water-like viscosity when heated, and then polymerize into the tough engineering thermoplastic, polybutylene terephthalate (PBT). This makes CBT resins ideal for rotational-molding processes, heretofore dominated by the commodity resin, polyethylene (PE), and small amounts of specialty nylons. CBT resins offer benefits that traditional rotomoulded plastics cannot provide. For instance, unlike PE, as-molded, CBT resins provide a natural high-gloss surface, which makes integral color stand out vividly (photo above). Parts molded from CBT resins can be easily painted for the high-gloss, Class-A surface required in exterior automotive applications (photo below). Of course, CBT resins also offer much higher thermal and mechanical performance than polyethylene, so higher stiffness parts can be molded in thinner wall sections at lower weight. In contrast to specialty nylon, CBT resins are not hygroscopic, so dimensional tolerances are maintained, even in high-humidity environments. Finally, CBT resins provide far greater barrier properties to aromatic hydrocarbons like gasoline, making them attractive for fuel-tank applications.
The first commercial grades of CBT resin were announced this week and will be manufactured at Cyclics Corporation’s new plant in Schwarzheide, Germany starting early in 2005.
.
The Cyclics Corporation announced its first commercial products this week, which will be available for shipment globally starting early in 2005 from their new plant in Schwarzheide Germany. CBT® 100 resin has been formulated for compounding, injection moulding, nanocomposites, rotational moulding, and as a carrier resin for color and filler concentrates. CBT 200 resin – available in both 1- and 2-part systems – has been formulated for various casting, low-pressure moulding, coatings, and composite applications, where a lower melt temperature allows for longer working time before polymerization. Both families melt to a water-like viscosity when heated, then polymerize into the engineering thermoplastic polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) when catalyzed. CBT resins are sold in pellet form or can be ground to a powder.(See photo above.)
The number of processes it can be used in already demonstrates the versatility of CBT chemistry. It has been successfully cast (neat, and with a variety of reinforcements), insert-molded, rotomoulded, injection molded, extruded, and pultruded with carbon-fiber reinforcement. It has been copolymerized to make a thermoplastic elastomer. It can be painted, integrally colored in a wide range of hues, and it is easy to machine. (See photo below.)
.
Even in its early commercial stages of development, CBT® resin is already greatly extending the range of applications in which thermoplastic polyester chemistry can be used. One example is that CBT resin – in its powder form factor – can be used to powder-coat steel and other metals, then polymerized to provide a protective barrier against corrosion.(See photo above.) Unlike paint, the powder-coated resin has no VOC emissions. Testing shows it sticks well even to oily steel. And this same form factor can be used to create a very tenacious hot-melt adhesive.
In another interesting application, composite tapes made from continuous-strand carbon fiber impregnated with CBT resin are replacing thermoset epoxy/carbon fiber tapes as a reinforcing wrap for deteriorating bridges, buildings, parking decks, and other concrete structures. (See photo below.) With the earlier epoxy technology, the tape had to be cut and pieced around corners, which caused it to lose some of its mechanical integrity. However, the CBT tape, being thermoplastic, can easily be heated on site and thermoformed or bent around non-flat features. This not only makes repair work go faster while generating less scrap, but it maintains the tape’s mechanical strength at corners and joints.
Editorial enquiries
Meg MacClarence
Cyclics Corporation
Alan Flower
EMG