Ube Engineering Plastics, a specialist producer of PA6 and CoPA6/6.6, makes Nylon FD grades, which are polyamides modified to improve productivity. Ube says that the use of these grades in packaging is increasing because of their high mechanical strength; higher “flex-crack” resistance; barrier properties, including resistance to oxygen permeation, thermal resistance, thermoforming capacity and good surface quality, among other characteristics.
The progression of packaging materials, technology and solutions has taken the food industry from canning and bottling to rigid plastics, such as bottles, trays and pots, and is moving further to the wider use of flexible polymer materials. Flexible thermoforming packaging offers the potential for material savings, through good package volume/surface ratio, and conversion convenience – food producers need to buy only the film rolls and can produce their own packages. Ube says that its Terpalex co-polymer, a TerPA 6/6.6/12, has lower crystallinity and can therefore offer improved flexibility, mechanical and optical properties.
www.ube.es
UBE claims that the higher thermoforming capacity of Terpalex allows the design of deeper packages with more complex shapes, while maintaining its integrity and minimising defects and breakages. It further asserts that, when it is used with an existing design and mould depth, it enables down-gauging (thinner film), which helps to reduce raw material costs and cut waste. (photo: Ube)
