The use of syntactic foam materials as plug assist tooling replacing conventional materials such as aluminium, wood or felt has become increasingly popular in the thermoforming industry. Syntactics, the combination of hollow glass microspheres in a polymer matrix, have many unique properties which make them ideal candidates for these applications, for example:
- Low thermal conductivity and specific heat
This translates to low heat transfer reducing warm-up time and virtually eliminating material sticking to the plug - Excellent temperature resistance
NEWTAC 104 is specially formulated with epoxy resin which maintains a high modulus at elevated temperatures - Easily machined
NEWTAC 104 can be easily machined to any size or shape using conventional equipment - Dimensionally stable
The low coefficient of thermal expansion means the plug maintains its shape over a wide temperature range - Lightweight
This increases the life of capital equipment due to reduced wear and tear on moving parts - Variety of shapes and sizes
The material is provided in standard size rods or sheets but may be custom moulded to meet your specific requirements
NEWTAC 104 may be used in a wide variety of applications on sheet-fed or in-line machines. It may also be used with most commonly thermoformed materials as well as some of the more exotic materials available today. NEWTAC 104 may be used as a direct replacement for the other epoxy syntactic materials.
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Typical properties
| Product Property | Value | Test Method |
|---|---|---|
| Colour | White | |
| Density (kg/m3) | 670 | |
| Thermal conductivity (W/m.K) | 0.12 | |
| Specific heat | 2.09 kJ/kgºC | |
| Coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) | 31 x 10(-6) m/m/ºC | |
| Compressive strength (MPa) | 45 | |
| Compressive modulus (GPa) | 2.33 | |
| Temperature (ºC) | 180 |