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].

Master Bond Inc. has unveiled MasterSil 972TC-LO, a thermally conductive, electrically insulative two-part silicone that meets NASA low outgassing specifications per ASTM E595 specifications.

It is well suited for use in vacuum environments, Master Bond said, as well as applications in the aerospace, electronic, opto-electronic and specialty OEM industries. The MasterSil 972TC-LO offers convenient handling for bonding, sealing, coating and potting. It bonds well to a wide variety of substrates, Master Bond added, including metals, composites, glass, ceramics and rubbers, as well as many types of plastics.

Highly flexible, MasterSil 972TC-LO has an elongation of 40-80 percent, withstands aggressive thermal cycling and resists mechanical shock, the company claimed. This heat dissipative silicone system has a service temperature range of -120°F to +400°F.

This addition cured system does not require air for cross-linking, Master Bond said, and features low shrinkage upon curing even in thick or wide cross sections. MasterSil 972TC-LO has a moderate viscosity of 30,000-40,000 cps with good flow properties and has a one-to-one mix ratio by weight, the company said. It has a long working life of 6-10 hours at room temperature, according to Master Bond, and the compound is 100 percent solid and has a white color. Mastersil 972TC-LO is available in 50 gram syringe kits with additional sizes upon request.

For more information go here.

PolymaxTPE, a manufacturer of premier quality thermoplastic elastomers, has developed a new grade, D6940, that the company claims is ideally suited for weather seal application that requires low deformation stress, rubberlike seal recovery, UV resistance and paint stain resistance.

PolymaxTPE said the D6940 is a low hardness TPE elastomer that exhibits better performance than that of thermoplastic vulcanizate, widely used in weather seals, by providing higher tear strength, lower compression set and cost benefits.

With hardness reduced to 40 shore A, PolymaxTPE explained D6940 TPE exhibits 12 percent higher tear strength than a weather seal grade TPV with 60 shore A while providing low compression set of 14 percent at 23°C and 36 percent at 70°C, respectively.

The D6940 is the latest addition to the PolymaxTPE weather seal product line that includes materials with hardness range from Shore A 40 to 90 and covers a broad spectrum of physical properties.

PolymaxTPE can produce weather seal TPEs grades at its new manufacturing locations in Chicago and also in Nantong, China. For specific product information or to inquire about sales, contact Tom Castile at 262-565-8659 or visit http://polymaxtpe.com/products/d-series/.

LSP Products Group Inc. develops polymer products for the plumbing industry. With the targeted development of two new innovative small-size plumbing products that were to be produced in ultrasonic and spin welding operations, LSP said it was looking for solutions to replace its manual assembly line processes and ineffective conveyor options.

The company contacted Weiss North America Inc., a specialist for rotary tables and automation, to discuss an optimal index table engineering solutions for LSP's ultrasonic and spin welding machine designs.

Originally, LSP said it was planning on building and implementing automation internally on its own chassis; however, Weiss provided the company with a 3D CAD model of a Weiss chassis along with a unique configuration proposal based on its TC (150/220) Series tables. This proposed Weiss chassis allowed LSP to readily implement its own automation for two machine designs.

According to LSP Products, the series features standard stationary post, center standard through hole, high-load bearing and large cam followers with needle roller bearings for the following LSP polymer plumbing part product applications:

• TC150-6 station/LSP profile: LSP introduced an in-line hammer arrester made out of polymers vs. traditional copper. The patented, first of its kind in-line polymer hammer arrester can be integrated into water connectors such as washing machines, ice makers, dishwashers or directly into the plumbing systems piping to smooth out the pressure fluctuations associated with modern appliances.

• TC220-8 station/LSP profile: In production of its new, engineered polymer push-to-connect valve to be used in plumbing industry applications such as toilets, faucets, etc.−LSP leveraged the Weiss eight station chassis system.

Weiss completed and shipped the smaller TC150-6 station unit in April 2015, and the larger TC220-8 station unit in October 2015. Both units are nearing completion of advanced production of the innovative LSP polymer plumbing parts. Notably, LSP said the inclusion of the anvil back-up support will ensure advanced longevity for the system's core index table and tool plate against repeated welding production force pressures.