SPE Awards 2018
At this year’s SPE awards, which were presented in Neuss on 6 July, 2018, for the 18th time, three new categories were added: Chassis Unit, Structural Components and Enabler Technology. In the Enabler Technology category, AKRO-PLASTIC, a specialist in innovative plastic compounds, took second place for its “shear test specimen” demonstrator component, which represents significant developments in metal/plastic composite technology and the creation of adhesion-optimised compounds.
Impressed with Plasma-SealTight®
The purpose of the “Enabler Technology” category is to introduce and explain new production techniques and automated manufacturing processes. The jury was very impressed with the PST process technology (Plasma-SealTight®) developed by AKRO-PLASTIC in collaboration with Plasmatreat to produce reliable and excellent metal/plastic bond strengths. A special feature of this technique is the implementation of an inline process for the first time. In the first step, the surface of the metal insert is cleaned with Openair plasma.
In step two, a second plasma nozzle applies a chemical bonding agent which polymerises on the metal surface. This technology produces tensile shear strengths between the plastic and metal of more than 50 MPa. In current tests investigating the bond strength between aluminium and AKROMID® B3 GF 30 7 PST (adhesion-optimised polyamide 6 GF 30), the development team succeeded in preventing the break failure in the interface between the plastic and the metal.
"The metal/plastic bond strength reaches strengths of more than 20 MPa even at 120 °C and is therefore suitable for load-bearing components as well as for media-impermeable overmoulding of metal inserts." Cyprian Golebiewski, Head of Application Engineering at AKRO-PLASTIC
Cyprian Golebiewski Head of Application Engineering at AKRO-PLASTIC
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Tensile shear test specimen to DIN EN 1465; AKROMID® B3 GF 30 7 PST with aluminium 6061; break in the aluminium, compression shear test to ISO 19095-3
The layer that is applied with the innovative PST process bonds with the metal surface (copper, aluminium, steel or stainless steel) and, at the same time, generates organic compounds that allow bonding with the AKROMID® B3 GF 30 7 PST material. In order to activate this bonding, the metal insert is heated to a temperature above the melting point of the polymer when the polymer is applied. The metal/plastic bond of the test specimen demonstrates a strength of 35 MPa before the aluminium, and not the adhesive bond, fails due to the extreme loading.
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