Polyamides are tough, have high tensile strength and elasticity and extremely good abrasion resistance. Polyamide (PA) compounds cover a wide range of industrial applications and are used extensively in almost all key industries from automotive and consumer goods to electronics and medical/healthcare.
The market for PA compounds has grown significantly in recent years. The cost efficiency and lower weight of PA compounds are key growth drivers. These compounds are used in rapidly expanding industries that require lighter materials with the same or better properties than metals, without sacrificing quality.
As a reliable and renowned supplier of polymer solutions, ROMIRA has recently developed new lightweight and high-strength PA compounds based on recycled carbon fibers (rp-CF). The rp-CF is produced from offcuts or remnants supplied by leading carbon fiber manufacturers. As the fibers are virgin fibers with homogeneous properties, there are no variations in properties due to mixed fiber types. This environmentally friendly and sustainable reprocessing at premium level results in up to 90% lowerCO2 footprint compared to the production of primary fiber products.
The PA compounds produced with rp-CF also have excellent mechanical properties: The table shows typical properties of PA6 rp-CF20 (20% carbon fiber) compared to a commercially available PA6 CF20 and illustrates that the measured mechanical properties are well comparable. As already mentioned, lightweight construction is one of the main areas of interest in connection with PA compounds. Glass fiber reinforced PAs are widely used in the automotive industry due to their low cost and favorable mechanical properties, especially in terms of impact strength. The table demonstrates that the new PA6 rp-CF20 also offers a standard level of properties while achieving a greater weight reduction than PA6 GF20.
