This will be a cheaper option than direct inline compounding technology

This will be a cheaper option than direct inline compounding technology

US compounding technology company PlastiComp has begun production of thermoplastic pellets reinforced with long fibres.

The company, based in Winona, Minnesota, says that only higher volume moulders can justify investment in its Pushtrusion direct inline long fibre reinforced thermoplastic (D-LFT) compounding equipment and know-how that combines fibres and molten polymer as parts are formed.

Long fibre-reinforced pellets are likely to be “more economical for lower volume applications”, claims PlasticComp’s president and CEO Steve Bowen. PlastiComp says it can make the new long fibre pellets in most thermoplastic polymers, using not just glass, but also aramid, carbon and other continuous fibres. The company plans additional capacity in 2005.