Developments In The European Extrusion Industry

This report provides the reader with not only a review of technology developments but also a consideration of end-use market factors.

This report considers the implications of the trends within the industry for the rubber component industry including mergers and associations, expansion of the platform approach and model globalisation.

This report addresses the debate over the ways in which TPU is moving away from the PU family and becoming more closely associated with TPEs. Technology, applications and commercial/market information is provided.

This report reveals the importance of polymer selection and lists those most commonly used with typical applications and major suppliers. It discusses major European markets, mergers and acquisitions, future trends and provides industry profiles.

This review describes the changes in the industry over the last 5 years, concentrating on the screw extrusion process where the extruded product has a constant cross-section. Film and sheet production and pultrusion are not included in this review. Products and applications are reviewed in detail and major advances such as computer control, materials and speed and size issues are also covered. An additional indexed section containing several hundred abstracts from the Rapra Polymer Library database provides useful references for further reading.

Recent changes in Screw extruders for rubber have been driven by demands for accuracy and economy, increased understanding of the underlying principles, and improvements in related technologies such as control systems and computing power. An additional indexed section containing several hundred abstracts from the Rapra Polymer Library database provides useful references for further reading.

Thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) have the elastic behaviour of rubber and the processability of thermoplastics. The Freedonia Group has forecast that demand will expand by 6.4% per year to around 2.15 million tons in 2006. There is potential for these new, exciting materials to expand into the much larger thermoset rubber markets. This review includes comparisons between the two material types. There are three major types of TPE: block copolymers, rubber/plastic blends and dynamically vulcanised rubber/plastic alloys known as thermoplastic vulcanisates. The chemistry of these materials and how.