Hello and welcome to this guest interview. Today I present
to you Mr. Max Funck from specialty compounder
PlastFormance. We have the chance to
learn about their highly filled compounds to enhance high conductivity
(thermal, electrical) and radiation shielding.
Enjoy the interview!
1. Tell us
about yourself, your current role, and about PlastFormance.
Hello Herwig, first of all thank you for featuring us on
your blog – we have been following along for quite some time and really
appreciate your content. My name is Max Funck and I’m in charge of the
operations and business development at PlastFormance. Our startup was founded
in 2018, based on a patented technology for innovative plastic compounds. The
technology allows us to combine extremely high filler contents (up to 80% vol.)
with superior processability in injection-molding.
2. What is the
production technology you developed, what are the challenges and how does your
solution look like?
Compared to current compounds on the market we also mix
additives, filler particles and polymers – just with significantly higher
amounts of filler particles! With an increasing amount of metal or ceramic
fillers, the compound inherits the relevant physical properties. For example,
our TC compound shows a high thermal conductivity while maintaining
electrically insulation. PlastFormance has found ways to address the two
limitations in the field: processability and cost. We use a special set of
additives which allow a chemical pre-bonding between the particles. In
addition, our chemist has developed a system to increase the flowability of the
mold significantly. Under injection molding pressure, the melt increases volume
and fills smoothly the mold cavity. Since we can reach higher filler contents
than the competition, we can also use less expensive filler particles. For
example, our thermally conductive compounds fully forego the use of boron
nitride.
3. What are
the performance advantages compared to incumbent compounds?
Over 10 years of experience in selection of filler
particles allow us to come close to the maximum possible filler content. Since
the filler particles are of spherical shape, the relevant physical attribute
(e.g. thermal conductivity) is present in all directions of space. Whereas
incumbent compounds usually only achieve a higher thermal conductivity
in-plane, our materials show an isotropic behavior. The achieved integral
conductivity allows for heat dissipation in all directions of the technical
component (e.g. heat sinks).
4. Tell us
about the compounds you produce, in particular the TC series, EC series, and RS
series? What are the performance attributes?
The PlastFormance technology is broadly applicable and
allows for a wide variety of filler-polymer combinations. The TC (thermally
conductive) series is primarily used for heat-dissipation tasks – it combines
high thermal conductivities of 3-15 W/mK integral with electrical insulation.
Based on a special set of graphite types, the EC (electrically conductive)
materials offer high thermal conductivities and electrical conductivities. In a
recent comparison, the electrical conductivity of our compound even
outperformed pressed graphite plates! To me the most fascinating material comes
out of our RS series (radiation shielding). We use the heavy metal tungsten as
filler to create injection-moldable parts with densities up to 15 g/ccm! Next to
its shielding properties of gamma radiation it is simply mind-blowing to see
such a heavy material popping out of the injection-molding machine.
5. What are
some application examples and markets you can use such compounds?
Many trending technologies such as electric mobility, fuel
cells and microelectronics require innovative and smart material solutions. A
sensor housing does not only need to provide moisture protection. It also acts
as heat sink, electric insulator and EMI shield. PlastFormance can provide
multifunctional solutions while maintaining the design freedom and cost
efficiency coming along with injection-molding. In many housing or heat sink
applications we offer a smart alternative to die-cast zinc. When it comes to
radiation shielding, our materials replace toxic lead in containers used for
dismantling nuclear power plants. The radiation shielding products are
designed, molded and assembled directly next door in our sister company.
6. How is the
processing of such highly filled compounds? Which processing methods can be
used? What are some benefits?
The company roots go back to injection-molding. Our CTO
Helmut Aicher is an experienced injection molder and makes sure that every
material we create is easy to use with a sufficient processing window on
standard injection-molding machines. We have put lots of effort into reducing
the abrasiveness to a minimum and we recommend to use equipment for
glass-filled plastics. As we are growing, other processing methods have gained
more attention. At the moment a team of university students is running trials
with additive manufacturing.
7. What are
some of your success factors?
Obviously, we are highly focused on technology at the heart
of the company. A close collaboration with our sister company allows us to
cover the whole value chain from product idea, to CAD models and simulations,
tool-making and injection-molding of final parts. Our customers appreciate the
high paste, which we operate in daily. Besides the rather technical features it
is really the diversity in our team that drives success.
8. Where can the readers find out more about you and the
compounds of PlastFormance?
Feel free to surf our website or reach out directly to us!
That was the guest
interview with Max from PlastFormance – thank you Max for the interesting
insights into the specialty compounding world!
Greetings and
#findoutaboutplastics
Herwig
Interested to talk with me about your plastic selection, sustainability, and part design needs - here you can contact me
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