Hyperform® hyper nucleating agent increases productivity during manufacture of garden furniture

Hartman Groep, a leading European manufacturer of garden furniture, increased its output of structural foam table tops with a substantial number over an eight-week period during the summer as a result of incorporating Milliken’s Hyperform® HPN-68L hyper nucleating agent into its polypropylene compound formulation. The capacity increase was a mayor rise in productivity.

The Hartman range of garden furniture is known for the quality of its design, comfort and durability. It employs Corell Resin Technology® for the moulding of its high quality table tops. Corell Resin Technology is a patented injection moulding technology developed by Hartman.Corell Technology enables Hartman to produce fully flat tabletops with a high thickness of 20 millimeters and more. This higher wall thickness compared with competitive products requires long cycle times. Capacity planning is, therefore, a key requirement in order to optimise production.

Ronald Geurtsen, head of production at Hartman, read an article on the internet on the capabilities of Hyerform HPN-68L nucleating agent. He contacted Milliken and received a sample to use in production trials within a matter of days. Extensive tests demonstrated that promising cycle time reductions were achievable on all the moulds evaluated.

Hyperform HPN-68L is the first example of a hyper nucleating agent that allows for the fastest processing speed in moulding and extrusion processes. By increasing the polymer’s crystallisation temperature (Tc) to the highest possible Tc, Hyperform HPN-68L offers extremely fast crystallisation of the polymer melt, leading to the largest improvements of productivity. The additive also enhances product quality through improved dimensional stability and physical property balance.

Incorporation of Hyperform HPN-68L into Hartman’s table top PP compound reduced the moulding cycle time by 10% Hyperform HPN-68L made the cellular foam structure of the core of the mouldings more consistent by narrowing cell size distribution and eliminating voids. The reject rate reduced from 3% to 2%.

“Hyperform does exactly what it promises to do and does not require any changes to the compound formulation, “ explains Ronald Geurtsen. “Whenever we need to increase the capacity of a machine we now know what to add and how much of it.”

Hartman is now considering the incorporation of Hyperform nucleating agents into other products as research has shown that cycle times can be reduced by 7-10%. “However, we must be careful,” warns Geurtsen, “as in some instances the reduced cycle time might make life too difficult for the operator, jeopardising quality control and downstream assembly.”

“Milliken welcomes new application trials,” says Mrs. Inge Van Der Meulen for the Hyperform product line. “We will provide technical support and assistance with application development, including new product design.”

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