A weekly look at new products, innovations

Editor's Note: Each week, Rubber & Plastics News will take a look at some of the rubber industry's new products and innovations on www.rubbernews.com. Does your company have a new product or new innovation? To be considered for inclusion in this recurring feature, email [email protected]

APS Elastomers has released its Viprene thermoplastic vulcanizate that can be processed using conventional injection molding and extrusion equipment. Viprene TPV exhibits many properties similar to rubber, such as flexibility over a wide temperature range and resistance to degradation from water, oils and greases, according to the company.

APS said Viprene TPV is available in Shore hardness range of 45A-50D and can be optimized with specific softness needed in industrial, construction and appliance applications.

Lower processing costs, as well as adhesion to a broad range of substrates, makes Viprene TPV a substitute for more costly material needed in soft touch parts, such as overmolded grips for power tools, appliance and utensil handles.

In addition to its rubber-like properties, APS said Viprene TPVs are fatigue resistant, dimensionally stable and offer very low compression set, heat aging stability, low temperature flexibility and excellent U.V. and ozone stability.

For more information, go to http://www.apstpe.com/home.

Dow Corning Corp. has introduced Dow Corning 121 Structural Glazing Sealant, a structural silicone sealant as a high-performance solution to some of the glazing challenges currently faced by façade contractors and manufacturers.

Easy-to-use, fast-curing Dow Corning 121 Structural Glazing Sealant potentially can simplify installation and reduce repair time, the company said. The glazing sealant is supplied in a two-part cartridge with a static mixer and is a neutral-cure RTV silicone sealant with a unique 1-to-1 ("121") mix ratio.

Features include: easy mixing; simplified dispensing; and a fast, 24-hour cure. This new structural glazing option can eliminate the need for specialized mixing equipment, Dow Corning said, and it minimizes quality assurance issues, offering excellent adhesion and structural strength on many substrates without using a primer.

Dow Corning 121 Structural Glazing Sealant is suitable for on-site structural glazing—including storefront systems or attachment of panel stiffeners—as it is for in-shop structural glazing, Dow Corning said.

Compared with typical one-part sealants, Dow Corning said the glazing sealant offers increased installation efficiency and productivity as well as performance improvements. Repairs that previously took 14 to 21 days can be completed in 24 hours, and swing stage rentals can be reduced from up to a month to just a couple of days. This sealant leverages silicone benefits for better performance than organic weatherseals and structural tapes, offering durable, UV-resistant, long-life performance and excellent movement capability.

More details about Dow Corning 121 Structural Glazing Sealant can be found here.

SiVance L.L.C., a subsidiary of Milliken & Co., has unveiled SiVance C1008 Curative, a silicone curative that improves the durable flexibility of epoxy polysiloxane protective topcoats in marine and infrastructure applications, without sacrificing weatherability.

SiVance said the development of this curative technology solves a major challenge common to epoxy polysiloxanes: brittleness and cracking that can develop over time as the coating cures.

In addition to demanding marine topcoat applications where resistance to sea water, ultraviolet light and chemicals is critical, and SiVance said its C1008 Curative technology is designed for coatings for piping, bridges, wind turbines, offshore platforms, tank exteriors, structural steel and heavy equipment.

It utilizes a proprietary molecular structure that provides enhanced compatibility in epoxy systems. The product is miscible with hydrogenated bisphenol-A epoxy resins. Compatibilization of C1008 Curative in other epoxy resins is possible with the use of solvents (methyl ethyl ketone, xylenes, etc.) or reactive diluents, SiVance said.

C1008 Curative is available globally in commercial quantities and is registered under the Toxic Substances Control Act and the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation, with other global approvals in progress, the company said.

For more information, visit http://millikenchemical.com/sivance.