Airilite SMC has a nominal density of 1.18 specific gravity (sp.gr.), 38% lower than the 1.9 sp.gr. density of industry standard SMC formulations, Core Molding Technologies claims.
| Our Featherlite system advanced the industry with the lowest density SMC available without the use of glass microspheres. ... We now have two industry-leading, low-density SMC formulations to offer our customers as they design new products. |
| Terry O’Donovan, Vice President, Marketing and Sales, Core Molding Technologies |
Airilite is also 17% lower in density than Core’s Featherlite™ SMC, which has a nominal density of 1.43 sp.gr. and was introduced in 2011.
The new Airilite formulation is said to offer outstanding toughness and is intended for high-impact applications and applications that demand high surface quality.
Core says it has also developed proprietary technology that improves the resin-to-glass bonding strength on a microstructural level by about 50% over Featherlite, overcoming a performance tradeoff that can be associated with reduced-density SMC formulations.
Airilite SMC is expected to find applications in the transportation and industrial markets. The material is in advanced qualification for one application, and other opportunities are in development.
Core Molding Technologies Inc (NYSE: CMT), headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, USA, is a manufacturer of sheet molding compound (SMC) and moulder of glass reinforced plastic products for the truck, marine, automotive, agriculture, construction and other markets.
