The process works with Nylon 66, polycarbonate, acrylic and a variety of other general-purpose resins.
To shape plastic parts, the resin material is melted and then injected into a metal mold. Toray's additive is a kind of polymer processed into nanoparticles that disperse evenly through the resin.
When the resin is heated to the melting point for molding, the motions of these nanoparticles untangle the long resin molecules so the resin flows more smoothly. Because of the higher fluidity, the resin does not need to be heated as high and the molding process can be completed faster. This reduces energy consumption, cuts carbon dioxide emissions by around 20% and lowers the overall manufacturing costs, even with the extra expense for the additive.
Toray is working on a way to mass-produce these polymer nanoparticles and hopes to have a commercial product ready within two years.
(Nikkei)

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