During the Technical Sales Presentation programme in the Agora Area (X 18) tomorrow, Dr Timothy Pepper, director of technology, Ashland Performance Materials, will review the latest regulations.
“As global regulations of chemicals become more cohesive, the manner in which many chemicals are handled is being scrutinised to scope the potential to harmonise these processes on a global level,” says Pepper. “In this frame, the European Chemical Agency, as part of the REACH regulation, is reviewing, among others, the handling of cobalt carboxylates."
"Cobalt is commonly used in low concentrations to catalyse a room-temperature cure in unsaturated polyester resins. Based on the testing of inorganic cobalt +2 salts, cobalt is under review and may change classifications, which would require more stringent labelling. It’s paramount that customers, and the industry in general, understand the potential implications and alternatives for the future.”
Structural adhesive
In a presentation on Wednesday, Michael J. Barker, research fellow, Ashland Performance Materials, will introduce a new Pliogrip adhesive for use in the manufacture of lightweight vehicles.
“Bond joints that include mixtures of sheet molding compounds, carbon fibre reinforced plastics, thermoplastics or aluminium often have differential thermal expansion between the bonded substrates,” explains Barker.
“These mixed-material bond joints require adhesives with higher elongation and lower modulus that stay flexible in all temperatures that a vehicle can experience on the road in order to properly manage relative motion in the joint.”
Ashland’s Pliogrip adhesives have been used for composite bonding in automotive and heavy truck applications for more than 40 years. Pliogrip adhesives enable original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to use composite materials in their high performance vehicles to reduce weight.