DUESSELDORF, Germany—Teknor Apex Co. is promoting a compound that helps performance in pipes during its presence at the K Show.
The Pawtucket-R.I.-headquartered company is showcasing a new thermoplastic vulcanizate elastomer for pipe seals that it said exhibits the same processing and performance advantages over thermoset rubber as a well-established TPV while providing enhanced lubricity for faster insertion of seals and more error-free assembly.
The compound, Sarlink 9156-02, is for use in seals for non-pressure water and drain pipe, and provides physical properties nearly identical to those of Sarlink 9156B, one of Teknor Apex's workhorse compounds for pipe seals. The company said that as a lubricated compound, it exhibits a coefficient of friction that is only 16 percent as high.
“The substantially greater lubricity of new Sarlink 9156-02 is a big advantage for inserting the seals into the fittings—a mechanical process in which lubrication increases speed and helps to prevent rejects,” Stef Hordijk, general sales manager for the Thermoplastic Elastomer Division of Teknor Apex, said in a statement. “Fittings with lubricated seals also facilitate pipe insertion, which is done by hand at the construction site. By reducing the forces needed for inserting the pipe into the fitting, lubrication helps prevent improper assembly and damage to the seal.”
Like Sarlink 9156B, Teknor-Apex said the new lubricated compound exhibits greater retention of sealing force over a period of years than rubber, prolonging the working lives of pipe seals, which must prevent leakage from within the pipe and seepage from outside.
Sealing force is measured by the degree of stress relaxation. Compared with rubber, both TPVs exhibit lower levels of stress relaxation over a period of years, particularly at elevated temperatures, the company claimed.
Both TPVs make possible substantially greater productivity than rubber by eliminating the crosslinking step, Teknor-Apex said, by being processable on standard thermoplastic equipment with much less scrap, and by providing the capability of two-component molding.
“The ability to be two-component molded is a key advantage of Sarlink compounds for pipe seals,” Chris Smith, senior market manager, said in a statement. “This has made it possible to create seals as single, integral parts that combine the sealing performance of elastomers with the rigidity of materials like polypropylene or higher-durometer TPVs.
“The two-component seals differ in design from rubber seals, providing easier and more effective ways to position the seal in the fitting. By contrast, rubber seals have typically been single-component items that are made thicker to provide sufficient rigidity to hold the seal in place.”
Both Sarlink 9156-02 and Sarlink 9156B compounds are available worldwide.
Teknor Apex, a privately held firm founded in 1924, is a custom compounders of plastics and produces flexible and rigid vinyl, thermoplastic elastomers, nylons, color masterbatches, specialty chemicals, and hoses. It operates 13 manufacturing facilities worldwide in the U.S., Belgium, Germany, China and Singapore.
The Thermoplastic Elastomer Division compounds TPEs at eight locations in the U.S., Europe and Asia under the brands Elexar (electrical and electronics applications), Medalist (medical devices), Monprene (consumer and industrial products), and Sarlink (transportation).