-
BASF Plasticskey to your successSelf-coloring of
Ultraform
-
Self-coloring of Ultraform
Economic aspectsThe major factor underlying a customers decision
to use self colo-red Ultraform is the long-term economic benefit
from lower mate-rial costs (uncolored Ultraform + color batch vs.
bulk-colored POM). These savings must be balanced against the
non-recurring investment costs for metering equipment and,
possibly, a mixing element.
Table 1 presents information gathered on four randomly
selectedcolor batches from two suppliers:
color batch costs, classified according to purchased quantity
(50 / 100 / 250 / 500 kg)
metering as per manufacturers instructions
Fig. 1: Raw materials costs by color batches
Advantages:reduced raw material costs because larger, more
cost-effective amounts of uncolored product can be purchased
clearly simplified material logistics because of smaller
warehou-sing needs, centralized raw material stocks and raw
material transport from bulk containers or silos
increased production flexibility due to shorter color changeover
times, especially with frequent changes of color
Table 1 Costs for color batches
ordered batchvolume [kg] 50 00 50 500
batch batch costs [ / kg]
batch costs [ / kg]
batch costs [ / kg]
batch costs [ / kg]
let down ratio [%]
A (white) A (grey) A (beige) A4 (red)
4.004.5.077.
7.90.05.760.40
9.059.59.66
.5
6.606.757..90
.0.0.0.0
C (red) C (blue) C (light-blue) C4 (yellow)
9.50.05.09.69
.669.56
.507.
.9.05
0.56.9
6.74.569.5
5.9
.5.5.0.0
Customer self-coloring of Ultraform has been used very
successfully for a considerable time now. Even our most exacting
customers value the benefits that self-coloring offers.
colo
r bat
ch c
osts
[/k
g fin
al p
rodu
ct]
0.80
0.70
0.60
0.50
0.40
0.30
0.20
0.10
0.000
yield [t]10 20 30 40 50
A1 (white)
A2 (grey)
A3 (beige)
A4 (red)
C1 (red)
C2 (blue)
C3 (light-blue)
C4 (yellow)
-
In Figure 1 the material costs incurred when color batches are
used to manufacture the end product are plotted as a function of
yield (i.e. the quantity of end product that can be manufactured).
This amount must be set against the price difference of uncolored
Ultraform and bulk-colored POM.
Example:Uncolored Ultraform is to be colored with A1 white
batch. Given that the end product contains 1% of the color batch,
purchasing 100 kg of color batch will be sufficient to color 10,000
kg of the end pro-duct. The material costs for this self-coloring
procedure are 0.18 per kilogram of end product. This amount must be
compared to the difference in the price per kilogram of uncolored
and white bulk-colored POM.
This long-term price advantage must be offset against the
one-off expenditure on metering and mixing equipment. From this one
can calculate the so-called amortization or payback period, i.e.
the time
it takes for the financial advantage due to lower material costs
to compensate for the initial non-recurring investment outlay.
The calculation requires knowledge of the following
parameters:
shot capacity
cycle time
available annual machine utilization period
cost of metering equipment
cost of mixing equipment
the specific savings in material costs.
Example calculations for two cases of practical relevance are
shown in Table 2. Depending upon the actual savings in material
costs that can be realized, the amortization periods vary from a
few weeks to about a year.
Table 2 Economic advantage for customers raw material cost
savingsspecific [ / kg]
raw material cost savingstotal [ /y]
break even time[ weeks]
Example , assumptions shot weight cycle time machine usage
material consumption costs for batch feeding unit costs for mixing
ring
50 g / cycle0 s,000 h / y (= 50 d / y * h / d),000 kg / y,000
,500
0.5
0.50
0.75
.00
.5
,000
6,000
9,000
,000
5,000
6
0
0
5
Example , assumptions shot weight cycle time machine usage
material consumption costs for batch feeding unit costs for mixing
ring
500 g / cycle0 s,000 h / y (= 50 d / y * h / d)0,000 kg / y,500
,000
0.5
0.50
0.75
.00
.5
7,500
5,000
,500
0,000
7,500
6
0
6
-
4 54 5
Table 3 provides an overview of the advantages and disadvantages
of each of these techniques. The use of color batches based on
polyacetal copolymer is recommended, particularly Ultraform (e.g.
W2320 003). In this case, it probably is safe to assume that only
POM compatible colorants will be used.
In many cases, good results can be achieved using a
conventio-nally designed processing machine to which a colorant
metering facility has been added. For very demanding applications,
the use of the BASF Mixing Ring is recommended (see Fig. 2 and list
of suppliers in the appendix). This mixing element is being used
instead of the conventional tip on the injection moulding screw
(Fig. 3).
The following methods and test criteria are available for
assessingthe quality of self colored components:
visual examination of pigment distribution either in impinging
light or, with more demanding applications, under illumination with
transmitted light, limited to thinner parts and lighter colors
comparison of the melt volume-flow rate (MVR) of the colored
molding with that of the uncolored Ultraform granules in
accor-dance with ISO 1133
testing mechanical properties, especially toughness
Technical aspectsThe main self-coloring techniques use:
liquid or paste-like colorant formulations,
powder pigments or colorants,
thermoplastic-based color batches.
Fig. 2: BASF Mixing Ring Fig. 3: Standard screw with
conventional tip
4 5
Table 3 Self-coloring options
liquid color formulations (e.g. paste)
+ easily dispersible - pigments /dyes / matrix compatible with
POM? - pellet feeding problems? - work-place contamination?
pigment / dye powder
- work-place contamination? - pigments /dyes compatible with
POM? - pigment agglomeration /dispersing problems? -
reproducibility / constant color?
batches (Ultraform / POM-C based)
+ pigments /dyes / matrix compatible with POM + easy handling +
clean + reproducible
-
4 54 5
Example 1:Ultraform N2320 003 was mixed with 0.5 % of a blue
POM-based color batch and processed into box lids with a wall
thickness of 2.4 mm on an Engel ES 700 machine (screw diameter 45
mm, clamping force 1750 kN).The following equipment was used:a)
standard screw with conventional tip (Fig. 3)b) standard screw
equipped with BASF Mixing Ring (Fig. 2)The quality of mixing was
assessed using pictures taken under illumination with transmitted
light (Fig. 4).
Evaluation:The use of the BASF Mixing Ring yields significantly
higher mixing performance than a screw with a conventional tip.
Under adequate processing conditions, the BASF Mixing Ring
allows a production process without degrading the material. The
pressure needed to fill the mold with the BASF Mixing Ring
corresponds closely to that of the standard screw with
conven-tional tip.
Fig. 6: Circular disk made of Ultraform N2320 003 and 3.5 % of
batch C1 using a mixing ring
Fig. 5: Circular disk made of Ultraform N2320 003 and 3.5 % of
batch C1 using a standard screw
Fig. 4: Lid made of Ultraform N2320 003 and 0.5 % color batch
(blue)
Example 2:Ultraform N2320 003, mixed with red color batch in
accordance with the manufacturers instruction, was processed on an
Arburg 320 injection molding machine (25 mm screw diameter) to
produce circular disks (diameter: 100 mm, thickness: 1.6 mm, gate
cross-section: 1.6 x 5 mm). The melt temperature was 200 C, the
sur-face temperature of the mold was 90 C.
The test was performed once with a standard screw and onceusing
a mixing ring. When viewed by reflected light, the disks from the
two tests show the same homogeneous distribution of pigment;
significant differences are not apparent. The situation is
different, however, when viewed by transmitted light (Fig. 5 and
6). When the disks are back lit by a powerful light source, one
sees that the use of a mixing ring results in a considerably
improved pigment distri-bution.
4 5
Standard screw BASF Mixing Ring
-
6 76 7
Example 3:Ultraform N2320 003 that had been mixed with color
batch according to manufacturers instructions, was processed on an
Arburg 370 CMD injection molding machine (25 mm screw dia-meter)
without any special mixing element to produce injection-molded
tensile test bars (as per ISO 527 type 1A) and impact strength test
bars (as per ISO 179 /1eU). The color batches used were those
listed in Table 1. The test series and the results of the
mechanical tests are presented in Table 4. The results were, in all
cases, either good or very good, with most values corresponding
closely to those of uncolored Ultraform.
6 7
Table 4 Ultraform N2320 003 trials
tensile modulus
[MPa]ISO 57
tensile stress at yield [MPa]ISO 57
tensile elong. at yield [MPa]ISO 57
nominal elong. at break
[MPa]ISO 57
Charpy unnotched
[kJ / m]ISO 79 / eU
uncolored 65 64 9. 5
with % color batch A (white) with % color batch A (grey) with %
color batch A (beige) with % color batch A4 (red)
supplier A 7677067
65656564
9.9.9.59.7
777
09965
with .5% color batch C (red) with .5% color batch C (blue) with
% color batch C (light-blue) with % color batch C4 (yellow)
supplier C 76070667747
65656465
9.09.9.4.9
6570
7950
Summary:In many cases, self-coloring of Ultraform offers both
eco-nomic and logistic advantages with unchanged high quality of
the end product. The costs of investing in metering and, where
necessary, mixing equipment can often be recovered after only a few
weeks due to the significant, long-term savings in material
costs.
-
6 76 7
BASF Mixing Ring
1) Suppliers
Plasma GmbHSalzuflener Strae 124D-32602 VlothoTel.: +49 5733
96130Fax: +49 5733
[email protected]
ft-fertigungstechnikVoltastrae 2D-68519 ViernheimTel.: +49 6204
6069-0Fax: +49 6204
[email protected]
2) Technical support
BASF AktiengesellschaftErnst-Jrgen GrittmannCarl-Bosch-Strae
38D-67056 LudwigshafenTel.: +49 621 60-41716Fax: +49 621
[email protected]
Suppliers of color batch feeding units
Werner Koch Maschinentechnik GmbHIndustriestrae 3D-75228
PforzheimTel.: +49 7231 9731-0Fax: +49 7231
[email protected]
AZO GmbH & Co. KGRosenberger Str. 28D-74706 OsterburkenTel.:
+49 6291 92-0Fax: +49 6291 [email protected]
Colortronic GmbHOtto-Hahn-Strae 10-14D-61381 FriedrichsdorfTel.:
+49 6175 792-0Fax: +49 6175
[email protected]
Labotek A / SStrbjergvej 29DK-3600 FrederikssundTel.: +45 4821
8411Fax: +45 4821 [email protected]
Filterwerk Mann + Hummel GmbHHindenburgerstrae 45D-71638
LudwigsburgTel.: +49 7141 98-0Fax: +49 7141
[email protected]
6 7
-
Please visit our internet pages:www.plasticsportal.com
(World)www.plasticsportal.eu
(Europe)www.plasticsportal.eu/ultraform (Product pages)
Request of brochures: KS / KC, E 100 Fax: +49 621 60 - 49497
KTE
F 06
01 F
E
Color batch suppliers
BASF Pigment GmbHClevischer Ring 180D-51063 KlnTel.: +49 221
96498-534Fax: +49 221
[email protected]/masterbatch.de
Albis Plastic GmbHMhlenhagen 35D-20539 HamburgTel.: +49 40
78105-0Fax: +49 40 [email protected]
Clariant Masterbatches (Germany)Kornkamp 50D-22926
AhrensburgTel.: +49 4102 487-0Fax: +49 4102
487-169christian.lepper@clariant.comwww.clariant.masterbatches.com
Clariant Benelux SA (Europe)Fond Jean Pques 1B-1348
Louvain-la-NeuveTel.: +32 10 480511Fax: +32 10
[email protected]
Lifocolor Farben GmbHReundorfer Strae 18D-96215 LichtenfelsTel.:
+49 9571 789-0Fax: +49 9571
[email protected]
G.E. Habichs Shne GmbH & Co. KGBurgstrae 3D-34359
ReinhardshagenTel.: +49 5544 791-0Fax: +49 5544
[email protected]
Treffert GmbH & Co. KGIn der Weide 17D-55411 BingenTel.: +49
6721 4030Fax: +49 6721 [email protected]
Tel.: +49 621 60-78780Fax: +49 621 60-78730
E-Mail: [email protected]
Note
The data contained in this publication are based on our current
knowledge and experience. In view of the many factors that may
affect processing and application of our product, these data do not
relieve processor from carrying out own investiga-tions and tests
neither do these data imply any guarantee for certain properties
nor the suitability of the product for a specific purpose. Any
descrip-tions, drawings, photographies, data, proportions, weights
etc. given herein may change without prior information and does not
constitute the agreed contractual quality of the product. It is the
responsibility of the recipient of our products to ensure that any
proprietary rights and existing laws and legislation are observed.
(July 2007)
