Carbon
On the opening day of Formnext 2022, Carbon has announced two new damping elastomers, EPU 43 and EPU 45.
The elastomers join Carbon’s portfolio of materials that are part of its idea-to-production platform. Carbon says the new materials will offer new opportunities for breakthrough products in impact protection such as padding, gloves and helmets.
EPU 43 is an energy-damping elastomer that is soft, while also offering durability under high-cycle flexing, which according to the company makes it suitable for applications such as comfort padding for helmet liners and safety gloves. The company states that the new EPU 45 achieves the highest level of damping performance and printability within the Carbon portfolio, also saying it is suitable for high-performance applications including sports padding and seating.
“EPU 43 and EPU 45 are the future of impact protection, providing the benefits of performance, comfort, and durability that come with Carbon’s elastomers,” said Jason Rolland, SVP of Materials at Carbon. “EPU 43 and 45 further exemplify our commitment to providing a robust and complete idea-to-production platform.”
Carbon’s new dual core, damping elastomers are said to offer new opportunities and solutions for various impact protection needs. According to Carbon, this includes:
- Damping performance: EPU 45 is a strain-rate-sensitive material that stiffens to absorb energy at higher impact rates, enabling the design of highly breathable lattice geometries tuned for comfort at low-impact speeds and energy absorption at high-impact speeds. EPU 43 offers moderate stiffness, good damping, and excellent durability through flexing cycles in a variety of temperature and humidity environments.
- Durability and comfort: EPU 45 has the toughness and recovery needed to survive repeated, high-energy impacts in a variety of environments. EPU 43 has moderate stiffness that enables softer and more conforming lattice structures.
- Production Throughput: EPU 45 has the highest green strength of Carbon's elastomers, allowing the widest range of part shapes and lattice geometries to be printed with a high yield. EPU 43 prints with moderate green strength, allowing for a broad set of production shapes with high yield.
- Proven-in-production: Products utilising EPU 45 will be on the market soon and EPU 43 has been proven with well-known products like Hard Head Veterans and the CCM Hockey helmet.
Both elastomers are currently available in North America, Europe and China. Beginning at 19L package sizes with high-volume production workflows, Carbon says that EPU 45 will also be available in 5L samples to support mid-volume production workflows.
Carbon has also announced the expansion of its strategic relationship with Henkel, which will see several new resins offered. These new resins are expected to be available on the Carbon idea-to-production platform in 2023. This follows the successful 2020 launch of LOCTITE IND405 Clear, a tough, clear resin that is used in production applications such as enclosures and housings.
Loctite IND147, fully validated for shipping as of Formnext 2022, is a photopolymer resin with high stiffness and high-temperature resistance. It was created for product designers and engineers who need a quick and easy way to print molds, fixtures, and manufacturing tools with smooth surfaces and accurate dimensions used under high-heat applications in industrial, consumer, and automotive markets. Additional resins from the expanding partnership are also expected to become available in 2023.
Carbon also recently announced that its developmental bioabsorbable elastomer platform has demonstrated biocompatibility in vivo (in a living organism).
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