Contract Manufacturing Services
Urethane Components have customizable ESD properties.
Press Release Summary:
Designed for media-transfer equipment that generates tribocharge through roller or belt friction, Durethane(TM) has conductive properties that are homogeneously modified at molecular level via RoHS-compliant additives at levels from 0.1-1% by weight of total material. Durethane ESD properties are customizable in solid materials from E5 to E10 ohm-cm at hardness of 5 Shore A-70 Shore D and in open- or closed-cell foams from E7 to E10 ohm-cm at hardness of 1A-90A.
Original Press Release:
MPC Announces Customizable Electrostatic Dissipation Properties for Durethane(TM)
New material controls electrostatic dissipation for a wide range of media-transfer equipment
Cranston, R.I., January 31, 2006-MPC (Mearthane Products Corporation) now provides customizable electrostatic dissipation (ESD) properties for its Durethane(TM) rollers, drums, and belts.
Durethane parts are ideal for a wide range of product applications that generate tribocharge through roller or belt friction. Such equipment includes high-speed printers and copiers, postage meters, label-handling equipment, materials handling for the semiconductor industry, and other media-transfer equipment. Manufacturers that employ the new Durethane material will be able to increase part quality and ESD control, reduce maintenance, and meet increasingly stringent equipment standards and regulations.
"The newest generation of media-transfer equipment is pushing the limits of technology," says John Roderick, President and CEO of MPC. "Companies are searching for parts that will have longer lives at higher speeds, will handle additional types of media besides paper, such as silicone, plastic film, or rice paper, and will meet new design standards and environmental specifications. Our Durethane materials customized for electrostatic dissipation meet these demands."
Designers of equipment that generates tribocharge traditionally have eliminated costly metal grounding assemblies by selecting thermoplastic rollers, drums, and belts that include added conductive materials. These additives, usually carbon fibers or metal powder and fiber, can amount to as much as 20 to 50 percent by weight of the final material, degrading the physical characteristics of urethane parts. Also, because the additives are heavier than plastics, gravity can pull the additives to one end or the other of the part during manufacture, thereby distributing the conductive properties unevenly. In addition, the additives complicate compliance with the upcoming Restriction of Hazardous Substance (RoHS) standards for products sold in Europe. RoHS standards take effect in July 2006.
Customized Durethane from MPC avoids these problems. When MPC customizes the ESD properties of Durethane, chemists modify the conductive properties of the urethane homogeneously at the molecular level. This proprietary process involves very small amounts of additives-between 0.1 and 1 percent by weight of the total material. As a result, Durethane parts retain the durability, constant coefficient of friction, and other properties of urethane materials. Also, the type of conductive additives, and the small quantity added, meet compliance with RoHS standards.
Durethane ESD properties are customizable in solid materials from E5 to E10 ohm-cm at a hardness of 5 Shore A-70 Shore D and in open- or closed-cell foams from E7 to E10 ohm-cm at a hardness of 1A-90A.
About MPC
MPC was founded in 1965 as Mearthane Products Corporation. The company specializes in creating customized castable thermoset polyurethane products with variable mechanical and environmental properties to suit a wide range of applications. MPC's customers include companies in military, medical, business machine, and various industrial and recreational markets. For further information, contact MPC, 16 Western Industrial Drive, Cranston, RI 02921-3403. Tel: 401-946-4400 Fax: 401-943-8210 email: sales@mearthane.com. Web site: www.mearthane.com.
