Covestro launches a new production line for Desmodur® 15 prepolymers

Covestro launches the production of Desmodur® 15 prepolymers at its Spanish site of Barcelona. With this new production line, the company addresses the growing demand for its high-performance elastomers and can serve an ever wider range of very demanding applications.

“With this strategic investment, Covestro aims to further enlarge the capacity and improve the reliability of its global supply of Desmodur® 15 based products,” says Philip Bahke, Head of Operations at Covestro Elastomers.

“On top of addressing our customers’ demand, Covestro’s Barcelona site has been operating entirely on renewable energy since the beginning of 2022,” says Sucheta Govil, Chief Commercial Officer at Covestro. “This approach is part of our ambition to reduce our environmental impact while offering our customers greater access to our solutions and specialties products.”

“We are opening the new production unit for our Desmodur® 15 prepolymers in Barcelona in parallel to the ongoing expansion of our NDI capacities in the Asia-Pacific region with the Map Ta Phut plant in Thailand,” explains Thomas Braig, Head of Covestro Elastomers. “This new production unit will help us to support our customers’ growth in the cast polyurethanes high-end applications segment.” The abbreviation NDI stands for naphthylene diisocyanate.

“Thanks to this new production line, our Vulkollan® licensees, as Desmodur® 15 prepolymers processors, will be able to further develop their business,” explains Abdel Arhzaf, Head of NDI-Vulkollan®. “Through these investments, we intend to support the demand for ultra-high-performance elastomers used for superior applications as e.g. in the material handling industry and also for a growing number of engineering applications.”

Combining the highest mechanical characteristics with dynamic load-bearing capacity, elastomers based on Desmodur® 15 prepolymers are not only one of the most powerful cast polyurethanes in the market, they are also as easy to process as conventional prepolymers.

New DOMO injection moulding simulation database ensures faster development times for customers

• DOMO is launching a unique new service for polyamide customers, covering the global portfolio of products designed for injection moulding.
• By providing direct access to DOMO Engineered Materials latest injection moulding simulation database, DOMO is ensuring customers have access to the most up to date, extensive and validated TECHNYL® injection moulding data.
• This new service, enabling faster project development times for customers, goes live on 12 May 2022.

Until now, customers needed to update their simulation software to obtain the latest injection moulding databases from providers, with a significant lag between new material availabilities and public database updates – sometimes more than a year. They also needed to reach out to multiple contacts on a regular basis to check for the latest resource availabilities from material providers.

DOMO is changing this paradigm by providing a valuable new service to customers, comprising frequent updates of its injection moulding simulation database for Autodesk Moldflow. Comparable injection material cards for other software (Moldex3D, CADmould, etc.) will also be made available upon request or through your sales and technical manager.

“We are at the cutting edge in our approach to provide high quality data for injection moulding and integrative structural – MMI simulation in the fastest and most direct way to our customers,” says Alexandre Chatelain, Simulation Models Database Manager at DOMO.”

“This project is part of a broader scope aimed at improving our overall digitalization capability and is an instrumental contribution to our commercial digitalization strategy” Chatelain added.

By enabling customers to always have the latest injection moulding simulation data from DOMO Engineered Materials, this will save them time and effort in getting the appropriate data for their projects. These fitted and validated measurements for more precise simulation will enable shorter development time for customers, and faster time to market.

Moreover, these direct updates will include new offerings from DOMO’s development pipeline as well as newly validated data beyond the standard injection moulding process characterization, such as fiber orientation prediction optimization.

“At DOMO, we provide unique data – like fiber orientation model parameters calibration and validation – to optimize polyamide part performance,” adds Chatelain. “We understand that it is a burden for our customers if they have to update their simulation software to obtain the latest injection moulding data from providers whenever there is a new release. That’s why we now provide injection moulding database updates independently from software releases to ensure our customers are always up to date.”

For more information, contact us through the dedicated DOMO website form or get in touch with your DOMO customer manager.

Since February 2022, the entire TECHNYL® portfolio is exclusively produced and commercialized by DOMO worldwide.

GE Additive today announced that industrial technology leader Kennametal Inc. is the latest member of its Beta Partner Program. As part of the GE Additive Program, Kennametal will further advance its Binder Jet printing capabilities in cemented tungsten carbide as it continues to scale its end-to-end metal additive manufacturing solutions, from metal powders through to the production of 3D-printed parts and tooling.

Kennametal’s metal 3D-printed parts have already gained wide customer adoption across a variety of industries, such as oil & gas, energy, industrial processing and transportation. Kennametal will work with GE Additive to identify, design and scale specific applications for serial production on GE’s Binder Jet system, leveraging Kennametal’s proprietary cemented tungsten carbide additive materials.

Kennametal is a global leader in tungsten carbide and Stellite™ (cobalt chrome alloy) alloys recognized for their superior wear, heat and corrosion performance. Kennametal is focused on optimizing these high-performance, wear- and corrosion-resistant material families to additive platforms to produce fully finished components with complex designs, shorter lead times and improved performance not possible through traditional manufacturing. When combined with additive manufacturing, these proprietary material systems can offer a step change in wear and corrosion solutions for some of the most challenging applications.

“Customers are increasingly seeking our 3D-printed tungsten carbide and Stellite solutions to help them maximize their productivity in challenging applications when wear and corrosion resistance are critical,” said Jay Verellen, general manager, Kennametal Additive Manufacturing. “Our work with GE Additive on Binder Jet solutions will enable further scaling of our operations to meet strong customer demand—and extend our leadership in proprietary material solutions for additive.”

Customer-Centric Innovation

GE Additive continues to develop its Binder Jet solution to make additive manufacturing a reality for serial production, targeting millions of parts per year and beyond. Key to that development is ongoing, hands-on input from members of GE Additive’s Binder Jet Beta Partner Program.

“By hands-on, we don’t mean tinkering or experimenting. We work closely with our beta customers as they develop their own, real-world business cases, applications and parts. To them, it is important that our solution is not only mature and scalable but is capable, complete and aligns to their product innovation strategies and meets production volume needs,” said Brian Birkmeyer, product line leader for Binder Jet at GE Additive.

“We are honored that Kennametal, an industry leader in 3D-printed tungsten carbide, is working closely with us on the development of our Binder Jet platform. Ensuring we align with Kennametal’s production expectations and requirements is a top priority. Their longstanding expertise in materials science mirrors our own, and our team is excited to work together to deliver new and innovative solutions,” added Birkmeyer.

BERGEN OP ZOOM, THE NETHERLANDS, May 16, 2022 – SABIC, a global leader in the chemical industry, today introduced LNP^™ ELCRIN^™ WF0061BiQ resin, a novel material that uses ocean-bound polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles as a feed stream for chemical upcycling into polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) resin. Ocean-bound plastic is mismanaged waste that originates within 30 miles (50 km) of the coast and is likely to end up in the ocean. The new grade is the latest addition to SABIC’s extensive portfolio of chemically upcycled LNP ELCRIN iQ materials, which help support circularity while serving as potential drop-in replacements for virgin PBT resins. LNP ELCRIN WF0061BiQ resin is a candidate for consumer electronics applications such as fan housings in computers and automotive seating, as well as electrical connectors and enclosures.

“We’re continually expanding our LNP ELCRIN iQ portfolio – and the PET waste streams used to produce these materials – to help divert more plastic from the oceans while helping our customers incorporate recycled materials in their products, achieve their carbon neutrality goals and meet consumer demands for greater sustainability,” said Sanjay Mishra, GM Technology & Footprint, Specialties, SABIC. “Within the next decade, we anticipate upcycling 10 billion plastic bottles into higher-performing, durable materials that deliver enhanced value to customers. SABIC is committed to working with the plastics supply chain to find new solutions to address urgent environmental issues such as reducing ocean-bound plastic waste and achieving net zero carbon emissions.”

Circularity Without Compromising Performance

The new LNP ELCRIN WF0061BiQ grade, a glass fiber-reinforced PBT material, features non-brominated, non-chlorinated flame retardancy meeting the UL94 V0 standard at 0.8mm and F1 rating. It also delivers excellent heat resistance, toughness and stiffness, and high flow well-suited for molding thin-wall applications for outdoor environments such as electrical equipment enclosures.

All LNP ELCRIN iQ materials can serve as possible drop-in replacements for conventional PBT to help manufacturers increase the sustainability of end products. SABIC’s proprietary upcycling technology, which involves the repolymerization of ocean-bound PET into PBT, delivers virgin-like performance properties. This process surpasses mechanical recycling in quality and consistency.

“According to an internal life cycle analysis conducted in accordance with ISO 14040/14044 protocols, LNP ELCRIN WF0061BiQ compound can offer potential reductions of up to 14% in carbon footprint and up to 25% in cumulative energy demand, when compared to the virgin PBT compound reinforced with glass fiber,” said Darpan Parikh, Americas Customer Fulfillment Leader, Specialties, SABIC. “By replacing virgin material with our resins, customers can help reduce environmental impacts by reusing plastic waste and eliminating halogenated additives.”

In addition to SABIC’s new LNP ELCRIN WF0061BiQ resin, based on ocean-bound PET bottles, the company has introduced many different and innovative grades to the LNP ELCRIN iQ portfolio, including glass- and mineral-reinforced products and flame-retardant formulations. For example, SABIC’s new LNP ELCRIN WF006XXPiQ and LNP ELCRIN WF0061XPiQ compounds incorporate pre-consumer recycled glass fiber diverted from the waste stream of industrial processes. The use of recycled glass fiber further enhances the circularity of these upcycled PBT materials. The diversity of these formulations enables LNP ELCRIN iQ resins to be considered for applications beyond electrical and electronics components, such as automotive exterior parts, healthcare applications and personal care products.

SABIC is not only creating sustainable materials but also regularly formulating new resins and compounds using environmentally responsible and safer chemistries, such as non-brominated/non-chlorinated flame retardants. According to the GreenScreen for Safe Chemicals benchmark rating, which was created by the non-profit organization Clean Production Action (CPA), these SABIC materials, and others in development, are, or will be, recognized with a score of 3 or higher, out of 4. Benchmark 3 is a relatively better result compared to that of average products and indicates only a slight concern.

BEAMIT Group (BEAMIT), partly owned by SANDVIK, has invested in a GE Additive Concept Laser M Line system to meet growing demand from its aerospace and defense customers for both large format metal 3D-printed components and assistance in industrializing additive production.

This investment comes six months after Avio Aero, BEAMIT and GE Additive signed a letter of intent regarding a strategic technology collaboration. BEAMIT is a longstanding customer of GE Additive and operates a fleet of Concept Laser and Arcam EBM machines, including the Mlab, M2 and X Line platforms, as well as two Q10plus machines across its three manufacturing plants and its subsidiary PRES-X.

Demand for Larger Additive Parts

“As part of our ‘one-stop-shop’ strategy, we have continued to invest in our value chain over the past seven years and have also achieved rigorous ISO 9001, AS 9100 quality certifications and NADCAP accreditation needed to service the aerospace sector. That investment has not gone unnoticed and we continue to attract new aerospace, space and defense customers, while supporting existing customers who have already commenced their additive journey,” said Mauro Antolotti, President of BEAMIT Group.

“Today, we are seeing an increasing demand from customers for much larger, more complex parts, and in higher volumes— this is why we have invested in our first M Line system. Based on our strong and well-recognized expertise in discovering new applications for additive manufacturing, we see in the new platform M Line, combined with our full cutting edge end-to-end value chain, the key for a technological leap towards significantly increased production volumes in the near future. The BEAMIT team is ready to explore the potential of the M Line and continuously improve the industrialization process by digitally connecting the system with all the subsequent post-processing phases. We will work closely with GE Additive’s AddWorks consultants to make this development even faster,” said Andrea Scanavini, Chief Commercial Officer of BEAMIT Group.

The rise in demand for larger parts that BEAMIT is experiencing is replicated across the commercial aerospace, space and defense sectors, globally. Additive users across the aerospace supply chain continue to invest in innovation and in doing so continue to set the bar high for the deployment of increasingly mature metal additive applications. The progression in terms of complexity and volume is a reflection of the evolving sophistication of in-house additive teams, one-stop shop companies like BEAMIT with an end-to-end approach, and the wider aerospace additive ecosystem.

Enabling Industrialization Faster

This latest phase of industrialization builds on widespread success in deploying metal additive across the aerospace industry, where users are able to demonstrate tangible return-on-investment, in terms of productivity and cost-part reduction, and are now able to make a tangible business case for scaling their additive operations.

“Being closely aligned through our own activities across GE Aviation, including Avio Aero, and many other customers in aerospace, we anticipated this next wave of industrialization. For some time our common objective with BEAMIT has been to work closely together to enable their customers to make the shift to industrialization as seamless as possible, we feel now quite proud that this becomes a reality,” said Rob Dean, GE Additive’s AddWorks senior leader in Europe.

Once installed at its facility in Italy, the BEAMIT team will push the utilization of M Line to its full potential in terms of quality, productivity and driving cost out for additive production, also with the support of GE Additive’s AddWorks consultants.

The M Line has been developed for high-quality, high throughput scenarios and lends itself well to highly-regulated industries such as the aerospace and medical sectors. While it is intuitive and easy to operate, the M Line is a highly-advanced, industrialized production system that is well-suited to customers who have experienced metal additive users for many years and have already started to scale production volumes.

“Customers, like BEAMIT, recognize that GE Additive’s experience and products can help them move to serial production quicker. It’s great to see BEAMIT invest in the M Line and build on our strategic technology collaboration that will not only benefit the aerospace industry, but also the wider industrial additive community here in Europe and around the world,” said Wolfgang Lauer, product line manager – M Line, GE Additive.

Henkel through its well-known LOCTITE® brand is partnering with Porsche in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, the only all-electric and most sustainable motorsport series. With a strong legacy of performance, innovation, reliability and sustainability, LOCTITE has become the official Adhesives Partner for the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team, offering premium professional products and extensive technical expertise on the Porsche 99X Electric – the company’s first all-electric racing car.

The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship actively promotes electric mobility and innovative mobility solutions that contribute to reducing air pollution and fighting climate change around the globe. Both Henkel and Porsche have set themselves the goal to drive progress towards a sustainable future.

Porsche Motorsport is constantly improving the Porsche 99X Electric in regards of efficiency and reliability to compete in the most competitive racing series in the world – the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. Henkel supplies adhesive solutions for many applications, both in the Porsche development workshops and at the racetracks.

As part of the partnership the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team uses a wide range of LOCTITE products, including a number of high-performance epoxy adhesives, retaining compounds, gap-filling adhesives, threadlockers (medium and high strength), structural adhesives, thread sealants and instant adhesives. The deployment of these products ensures complete mechanical reliability for a host of key applications, which extend from suspension bearings, gearbox housing parts and powertrain bolts, through to steering wheel components, O-rings and cables. Porsche test rigs for engines and gearboxes also benefit from the high-performance LOCTITE solutions.

“We are proud to partner with the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship,” says Joerg von Ameln, Corporate Vice President General Manufacturing & Maintenance at Henkel Adhesives Technologies. “Together we aim to pave the way to what is clearly going to be the future of motorsport. And this is an obvious match because, just like us, Porsche enters competitions to win!”

“The partnership perfectly illustrates our shared brand values,” adds Eric Saunders, Vice President Marketing for General Manufacturing and Maintenance at Henkel Adhesive Technologies. “This is an ideal platform on which we can emphasize the LOCTITE commitment to developing pioneering products based on real-world expertise whose safety and sustainability credentials are second to none.”

“In order to be successful in such a highly competitive racing series as the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, we need strong partners who share our commitment and vision for the future of motorsports. We are delighted to welcome Henkel as our reliable strong partner. The LOCTITE core philosophy and products stand for innovation and sustainability which therefore makes it the perfect match for Porsche,” explains Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President Porsche Motorsport.

This partnership between Henkel, one of the global leading suppliers of adhesives, sealants and functional coatings, and Porsche, one of the most iconic leaders in motorsport, both with histories stretching back to the 1950s, is the continuation of a long, trusted collaboration.

The very first highlight of the partnership was already celebrated at the Mexico-City E-Prix on February 12^th: Starting from pole position on the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit in the No. 94 Porsche 99X Electric, Pascal Wehrlein (GER) clinched the first victory for Porsche in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. His teammate André Lotterer (GER) finished second in the No. 36 car, making the perfect triumph for the Stuttgart sports car manufacturer at round three of this season’s Formula E. By clinching the top two podium positions in Mexico, the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team progresses up the team rankings to third place. In the drivers’ standings, Pascal Wehrlein sits third, tied for points with André Lotterer in fourth.

Full race details and news from the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, a showcase for the globe’s most advanced e-mobility technologies, are available at: newsroom.porsche.com/formulae and media.porsche.com/formulae.

LOCTITE is a registered trademark of Henkel and/or its affiliates in Germany and elsewhere.