GE’s New LNP* Lubricomp* PCAL Specialty Compounds Feature Internal Lubrication for Better Wear Resistance & Less Noise

BERGEN OP ZOOM, THE NETHERLANDS — May 18, 2005 — Repetitive movement of a plastic part – say, the battery or lens cover on your mobile phone – can wear down the material and lead to a malfunction. Even worse, it can cause an annoying squeaking noise. To help address the twin issues of premature wear and noise from friction, while providing enhanced performance characteristics, GE Advanced Materials has introduced a new series of internally lubricated polycarbonate/acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (PC/ABS) compounds. LNP* Lubricomp* PCAL 4010 and PCAL 4020S compounds deliver improved wear resistance and reduced noise levels during part operation vs. unmodified PC/ABS blends. In addition, they provide good processability, excellent impact performance, and colourability, including GE’s Visualfx* special effects colours.

In applications such as mobile phone, PDA, business machine, and ATM parts, lubrication of the plastic material can make the difference between smooth, quiet operation and impaired, noisy performance. By incorporating internally lubricated PC/ABS compounds, the new LNP Lubricomp grades surpass standard PC/ABS blends in wear resistance and sound reduction. As a result, products moulded with these new compounds can provide longer service life and higher performance for a competitive advantage and fewer customer complaints.

GE’s new LNP Lubricomp PCAL 4010 compound provides medium wear resistance, and new LNP Lubricomp PCAL 4020S compound provides high wear resistance. Both grades offer high dimensional stability, high ductility even at sub-zero temperatures, and easy processing that allows thin-wall moulding.

Another major advantage of these new compounds is their excellent colourability through the use of moulded-in colour or GE’is Visualfx resin colours with special effects such as metallic and sparkle. They can also be painted thanks to their excellent paint adhesion.

“The new LNP Lubricomp PCAL compounds are one of the first of their kind on the market,” said William Hamersma, European product manager, LNP Specialty Compounds, GE Advanced Materials. “They are based on the same resin technology that has been used successfully for years in mobile phone shells, and now have the added enhancements of excellent wear and friction performance. GE’s unique internal lubrication technology offers our customers a fresh approach to the challenges of ensuring long life and quiet, reliable operation for wear parts. There are a wide range of applications that can benefit from the reduced friction and noise that these compounds deliver.”

GE’s family of LNP Lubricomp wear-resistant compounds can help eliminate the need for external lubricants in demanding wear applications through the addition of internal silicone, graphite, PTFE, aramid, or molybdenum disulfide lubricants to the thermoplastic base resins.

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