Extrusion International 5-2023

26 Extrusion International 5/2023 INDUSTRY NEWS A New Class of Engineering Polymer Borealis is launching Stelora, a new class of sustainable engineering polymer offering increased strength, dura - bility and a step change in heat-resistance capability. Stelora was developed in collaboration with TOPAS Ad- vanced Polymers, the world’s leading producer of cyclic olefin copolymer (COC). It is created using a unique pro - cess that combines COCs, which are a relatively new class of clear, high-purity polymer, with polypropylene (PP). The result is a state-of-the-art material called ethylene-propyl- ene-norbornene (EPN) that is suitable for a wide range of technically advanced applications, primarily used in e- mobility and renewable energy generation. This solution offers a sustainable alternative to replace conventional engineering polymers, which meet the high temperature requirements required for the new generation of energy- saving power semiconductors for invertors. The first commercially available application of Stelora is within a high-heat-resistant capacitor film. This dielec - tric capacitor filmmadewith Stelora offers all of the ben - efits of the equivalent made using PP resin as a dielec - tric, but with significant performance enhancements including exceptional heat resistance, superior electrical properties at high temperatures, and increased efficien - cy. Stelora-based film is also fully compatible with exist - ing converting lines, so it can be processed by customers without the need for investment in new equipment, in - frastructure or assets. The cost and energy efficiency benefits are based on several complementary mechanisms: • High-heat-resistant capacitors degrade more slowly, so they need to be replaced less frequently. This makes themmore suitable for use in offshore wind installations, where repairing and replacing parts is challenging. • As the capacitors can tolerate higher temperatures, less space is required for cooling, reducing the size and construction cost of inverters. • The same size-reducing mechanism enables the production of smaller and more energy-efficient final products that use transmitted energy, including electric vehicles. Stelora’s sustainability benefits go beyond energy ef - ficiency. Like many products in Borealis’ portfolio, it is produced using renewable feedstock, allowing custom - ers to achieve their sustainability targets, and support - ing the transition to a circular economy, fully in line with Borealis’ mindset EverMinds(TM). Borealis Group www.borealisgroup.com New 800 Series Hybrid Extrusion Tooling Announced Guill announced the introduc- tion of a new version of its popular 800 series, known as 800 Series Hy - brid. In some extrusion applications that utilize crossheads and inlines, layers of the exact same material are applied multiple times, using a single die. This method is used to reduce the propensity for errors caused by gels breaking through a thin wall, weld lines, inconsistent wall thick - ness, plus material and process variations. Additional errors include difficult-to-process materials and de - manding applications where there is zero fault tolerance. Seeking to design the next gen- eration multi-layer die to overcome these challenges, the engineers at Guill looked for a way to incorpo- rate this technology into an updated version of the 800 Series. This led to the creation of the 800 Series Hy- brid. The inherent benefits of the 800 Series are retained, including compact design, low residence time and a common deflector bore that eliminates tolerance stack up. The challenge was to create a hybrid de- sign that incorporates the benefits of layer overlapping, while reducing unnecessary complexity and making the technologymore cost-affordable for customers. This was achieved by overlapping layers in each semi- deflector, using a single cone. The highly efficient design of the 800 Se - ries Hybrid reduces cost and size, as opposed to other methods of over- lapping layers. Essential benefits of the 800 Se - ries Hybrid include eliminating weld lines in materials through patented overlapping technology, producing a more consistent fin - ished product; reduced sensitiv- ity to changes in viscosity; reduced sensitivity to changes in line speed; myriad material and multi-layer ap- plication possibilities; works in all tubing and jacketing applications with a wide range of materials; low residence time; compact design and a low tolerance stack-up er- ror factor, all resulting in improved concentricity. The 800 Series Hybrid extrusion tool greatly reduces stagnation, because overlapping layers are more inherently balanced than single layers and also because each semi-deflector is “tuned to flush.” Conventional deflectors must si - multaneously achieve a balance between flushing, balancing and eliminating the weld line. There is less difference between the slow- est moving material and the fastest moving material in the deflector channels, thus making the viscosity more consistent in the deflector. Guill Tool & Engineering www.guill.com