Paintless and light

The Technical Moulded Parts unit of the Dutch company HSV has recently turned to Luran® S (ASA, acrylonitrile-styrene-acrylate copolymer) to produce large cover frames for ventilation grids. This BASF specialty plastic is replacing the impact-resistant polystyrene HIPS (high-impact polystyrene), which had been used until now. The new material entails a process change in which coating is no longer necessary. At the same time, the wall thickness of the cover frame can be markedly reduced. In spite of the higher price of this specialty plastic, the overall costs have been cut by one-third.

“In this particular application, the specialty plastic Luran S is considerably more economical than standard plastic.” says Luc Gysels, Market Developer Specialty Plastics at BASF. Up to now, the impact-resistant polystyrene had been foamed by means of the so-called thermoplastic foam molding (TSG) so that the requisite wall thickness could be attained. The TSG process imparts the polystyrene with a surface that calls for a subsequent coating. Luran S, in contrast, is injection-molded compactly and consequently already has a homogeneous and slightly structured surface, without a need for coating.


Ronald Kersten, who works at HSV in research & development in the realm of plastic technology, explains, “We conducted mold-flow analyses within the scope of the service that BASF offers for its PlasticsPlus™ brands and then we injection-molded a cover frame compactly.” The results showed that the number of feed points is reduced from four to two and that the surface quality turns out better. The wall thickness of the cover frame is cut by more than half, to 2 or 3 mm. So, Luran S saves not only time but also material. HSV manufactures the cover frames for GEA Happel Klimatechnik.

The specialty plastic Luran S from the PlasticsPlus™ product line also stands out for its low warpage, high dimensional stability and scratch-resistance. Luran S is highly resistant to chemicals and heat, it is very UV-stable and thus aging-resistant. This is particularly noticeable with the lighter colors.

HSV is a leading Dutch company in the field of development and production of injection-molded packaging, insulating materials and technical molded parts. Moreover, HSV develops and manufactures injection-molded products out of thermoplastic materials employing the low-pressure injection-molding method.
www.hsv.nl
GEA Happel Klimatechnik: www.gea-happel.de

Information about Luran® S can be found at www.luran-s.com
For questions pertaining to Luran® S: styrenics.infopoint@basf.com
Phone no.: [+49] (0) 621 60 41446
Information about the PlasticsPlus™ product line: www.plasticsplus.de

Note to the editorial offices: press photographs related to this text can be found at www.basf.de/pressphotos. In the near future, the text and the photo will be available in the press release archive of BASF Plastics at www.basf.de/plastics/pressreleases