Ticona develops thermoformable Vectra LCP

Ticona Engineering Polymers has added a new member to its series of flame-resistant liquid crystal polymers. The company said the material is the first LCP tailored for thermoforming.


“With high melt viscosity and melt strength, this new LCP is ideally suited for extrusion and thermoforming processes,” said Edward Hallahan, marketing manager, high-performance polymers. “Initially, Ticona is offering a 40 percent mineral filled grade, Vectra Trex 541, which provides impact and notched impact strengths significantly higher than those of other mineral-filled grades.”

Vectra Trex 541 provides the following performance attributes, according to Ticona:

* High heat deflection temperature of 245°C;
* 20 percent improvement in impact performance versus standard 40 percent mineral-filled LCP;
* Higher melt viscosity – up to three times greater than standard 40 percent mineral-filled LCP.

Ticona developed Vectra Trex 541 for use by customers who extrude sheets and films that can be thermoformed to finished components. Suggested applications include:

* Medical – for use in sterilizable trays and equipment;
* Aerospace – meeting flame, smoke and toxicity requirements for use in aircraft interior applications;
* Semiconductor – providing high stiffness and a low coefficient of thermal expansion for use in chip carriers.

Vectra Trex 541 extends application possibilities for LCPs in the kitchenware and food industries, says Ticona. It can be vacuum-formed into large-format sheets or cooking pans capable of heating up and cooling down rapidly.

 According to the company, cookware made of LCP is an excellent alternative to baking pans and casseroles made of metal, “which are harder to clean, noisy and heavy.”

Ticona is a unit of Dallas-based Celanese Corp.