EXTRUSION BREAKTHROUGH
Until now, extruding long-fiber composites (of glass, carbon, aramid or stainless steel) posed apparently insurmountable problems. The material would slump and distort the cross section of extruded shapes. The shear forces and heat necessary to extrude the molten resin also tended to break 11mm fibers into fragments. "Now, the successful extrusion of Celstran long fiber materials into VHME profiles breaks that industry paradigm," said Intek Plastics' VP, Greg Mitsch. Extrusion gives parts made of Celstran long-fiber reinforced composite slightly better impact strength than injection molding. Celstran application Development Manager, Chris Zakashefski explains, "Intek is the only fabricator to extrude long-fiber composites today. Their breakthrough means customers can look to extruded parts for highly loaded structural members instead of pultruded thermosets, aluminum or specialty woods." As an example, when a manufacturer of refrigerated semi-trailers sought an alternative to heavy apitong wood for the trailer sub-floors, Intek proposed an extruded composite I-beam. Another application is: the creep resistance of extruded Celstran long-fiber polypropylene allowed VHME to replace wood in leather tannery drying racks. The leather drying operation puts wet hides through a 250°F oven for 30 minutes. Sustained heat and moisture, typically, caused the 8 ft. long fir racks to sag and rot in two to three months.

For more information, contact Intek Plastics, Inc., Hastings, MN, 888-310-VHME.