CUSTOMER SUPPORT AT EVERY STAGE IN THE DEVELOPMENT CHAIN
24 April 2006 - Bayer MaterialScience AG

The application potential of Makrolon, developed in 1953 by Dr. Hermann Schnell and his team, is far from exhausted. This is due to the special properties of this polycarbonate from Bayer MaterialScience AG, which can be custom-tailored to meet individually specified requirements within certain limits. If Makrolon is mixed with other polymers, blends result. Bayblend, for example, is the name for the combination of polycarbonate and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene, and Makroblend is a mixture of PC and polybutadiene terephthalate or polyethylene terephthalate. In the blends, the properties of the polymers used are extended to produce a customized material giving the user new options for innovative products. However, perfectly functioning plastic parts and assemblies are only obtained when certain design principles are observed. It is also important to take into account the complex interrelationships during the production process, whether during injection molding, extrusion, blow molding or thermoforming.

This is where the all-round service and support offered by Bayer MaterialScience provides effective assistance. The plastics engineers and material scientists in the Polycarbonates Business Unit assist and support customers from the initial idea for a polycarbonate molding through its design to the start of production. Building on these ideas, designs are developed, visualized, the details are elaborated and the whole thing is transformed into a plastic component. In addition to commercial CAE software for the mechanical and rheological design of parts, special software tools developed by Bayer MaterialScience on the basis of neuronal networks provide an important basis for an efficient and practical choice of material. Stress-strain curves, material shrinkage, flow behavior and many other properties of Makrolon and its blends can be displayed as a function of processing and load parameters. A Bayer MaterialScience project team also draws on many years of experience with Makrolon and its blends in the area of tool design. This creates the basis for the production of plastic moldings with the correct dimensions and properties. After completion of the design stage, processing experts then support the production of plastic components. In addition to the company’s processing expertise, customers can also make use of process optimization systems and thermal analysis. Silo concepts for the transportation of materials, the design of dryers and specialist know-how about injection molding machines, including handling and quality control, are also covered by the consultancy service. If molded part surfaces have to be treated after injection molding, e.g. coated or electroplated, there are also contacts available at Bayer MaterialScience who work exclusively in this area.

Olaf Zöllner from the Polycarbonates Business Unit: “In addition to direct project support, we develop new applications and new processing technologies with our customers and try to improve existing processes. In our laboratory, where injection molding operations are carried out in conditions similar to those during production, we can also conduct trials and run in customers’ molds.”

The accredited Thermoplastics Testing Center can be contacted for queries on technical testing across all business units. In addition to around 200 different tests on plastics, it also offers to produce test specimens.

In the Color Competence Centers run by Bayer MaterialScience in all key economic areas, customers are provided with color matches and colored granule samples, even in small quantities, for initial coloring trials. Under the descriptive name of Fantasia, Bayer MaterialScience offers a comprehensive range of colors and special effects combining five basic technologies for the coloring of plastics and shaping of plastic surfaces.

http://www.bayermaterialscience.com

More News:
  • For April 2006
  • From Bayer MaterialScience AG
  • For Engineering Plastics