Together with AF-COLOR, also a branch of AKRO-PLASTIC GmbH, the company works on color and additive concentrates for numerous problem solutions in the field of recycling management. The products resulting from the cooperation make a significant contribution here.
The soot-free masterbatches of the AF-Color® IR product range contribute to improved NIR detection of different kinds of plastics in the field of waste sorting.
Likewise, the in-house research and development department of AF-COLOR and BIO-FED products is working on an odour absorber on the basis of biobased, biodegradable and environmentally compatible additives for example. These special additive masterbatches will be available as AF-Eco® after certification within EN 13432, or otherwise distributed as part of the AF-Complex® portfolio.
Furthermore, within the AF-Color®-HP product range for high-temperature polymers, AF-COLOR offers you new color shades for the coloring of polyamide, such as a bright orange for e-mobility applications.
A newly developed PA-compatible blowing agent product range enables a variety of different applications in the field of lightweight construction.
Sustainability is a high priority at AKRO-PLASTIC. CO2-neutral electricity and gas have already been used for production and the administration buildings since 2019. At Fakuma 2021, the new sustainable product ranges AKROMID® NEXT and PRECITE® NEXT will be presented for the first time.
One representative of the future-oriented AKROMID® NEXT portfolio is the partially bio-based AKROMID® NEXT G based on PA 6.9. As a density-reduced “LITE” compound, with a proportion of bio-circular PP and processed carbon fibres, sustainability is raised to a new level. By combining it with chemical or physical foaming processes, the idea of lightweight construction can be taken even further. The combination of sustainability, low density and hydrolysis resistance predestines the material for the cooling water circuits of future electric vehicles, for example.
In addition, AKRO-PLASTIC and its subsidiaries BIO-FED and AF-COLOR will have various sustainable products certified according to the leading sustainability certification systems ISCC PLUS or REDcert2. “We would like to exchange views with visitors on these certification systems at the trade fair,” says Thilo Stier, Head of Sales and Innovation at AKRO-PLASTIC.
With the boom in additive manufacturing (3D printing), another highly interesting field of application for polyamides is currently developing. Here, the compounder offers material solutions with its high carbon fibre-reinforced compounds that provide both outstanding mechanical properties and a high production speed with the highest batch consistency at the same time. “3D printing with pellets has already been tested in series production. The speed in product development and scalability of additive manufacturing has been impressively implemented by Faurecia and Yizumi Germany for the carpooling company MOIA. Using AKROMID® B3 ICF 30 AM (7451), which is optimised for additive manufacturing, hygiene shields were produced within a very short time, making operations safer in times of corona. Of course, the application meets the demanding requirements of the automotive industry,” says Thilo Stier.
The Aachen-based engineering company M.TEC ENGINEERING GmbH, which is also part of the company group, is expanding the AI-based development method for warpage optimisation of plastic components into a group of simulation-based development tools. This allows topics such as sustainability, economic efficiency and innovation to be integrated into the engineering of products and processes. How exactly this works will be explained to the interested trade fair audience on site.
