Color Concentrates Increase Mar-Resistance of Polycarbonate

New color concentrates that incorporate special additives for withstanding surface marring enable molders of polycarbonate (PC) to manufacture products with built-in mar resistance, it was announced today by the Color Division of Teknor Apex Company.

While PC provides excellent strength, it can exhibit unsightly surface blemishes caused by abrasion or rough handling. New MarTek™ concentrates increase the resistance of PC to such marring while imparting color comparable in quality to that available with standard Teknor Color concentrates. All of the company’s standard colors are also available in MarTek formulations.

In optical surface profilometry tests carried out by an independent laboratory, parts molded with both standard and MarTek concentrates were examined for depth of abrasion caused by weights applied at varying forces. At forces of 3, 5, and 10 Newtons, marring was virtually eliminated in parts molded with MarTek concentrates. At 15 and 20 Newtons, abrasion depth was reduced by up to 70%.

Increased mar-resistance is particularly valuable in parts for end-use products subject to extensive handling, such as CD/DVD disks, lenses, consumer electronics, medical diagnostic instruments, and hand-held devices like bar-code readers, noted Edwin Tam, Manager, marketing and business development.

“MarTek products are the latest in a series of functionalized color concentrates that we are developing in order to enable processors to modify product properties without having to use a separate additive in addition to colorants,” said John Wood, technical manager. “Recent similar offerings from Teknor Color include color concentrates that also boost impact strength and others that impart counterfeit detection capability.”

For more information, please visit www.teknorapex.com