Performance Additives iM30K can provide significant weight reduction in Aircraft

Citation

(2007), "Performance Additives iM30K can provide significant weight reduction in Aircraft", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 79 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.2007.12779dad.020

Performance Additives iM30K can provide significant weight reduction in Aircraft

Performance Additives iM30K can provide significant weight reduction in Aircraft

With high fuel costs taking their toll on the aerospace industry, the demand to reduce weight is not optional, it is essential. Customer applications are reported to have demonstrated that using 3M's Performance Additives iM30K in injection moulded parts can reduce weight – a factor that can benefit aircraft parts made from engineered thermoplastics.

3M has generated strong interest from aerospace companies in a product that can replace conventional fillers in various injection moulded interior parts, including passenger service units, tray tables, arm rests, air vents, toilet seats, galley surfaces and containers and electrical connectors. Their use can reportedly create a marked reduction in weight and improve the dimensional stability of many parts. 3M Performance Additives iM30K can also reduce weight in extruded plastic materials such as carpet backing, composite structures, potting compounds, caulks, adhesives and sealants.

3M Performance Additives iM30K are an alternative to conventional additives/fillers such as glass fibre, calcium carbonate and talc in many applications. In addition to weight savings and greater dimensional stability, 3M Performance Additives iM30K can replace combustible materials with a non-halogenated inert material to decrease heat release rates in many applications, providing a fire resistance benefit.

Other potential benefits claimed of using 3M Performance Additives iM30K include sound and vibration dampening and thermal insulation, if used in conjunction with a thermoplastic or thermosetting resin in galley container boxes.

3M Performance Additives iM30K are believed to be the world's first hollow glass microspheres capable of withstanding injection moulding and extrusion pressures of 30,000psi. At 18m median size, iM30K are the smallest hollow glass microspheres available today that can stand up to that kind of pressure.

To accommodate the increasing demand for 3M Performance Additives iM30K, 3M is expanding its laboratory to include a new plastics extrusion lab at their headquarters in St Paul, Minnesota. The lab will allow researchers to develop optimised product formulations, develop data packages and introduce iM30K in new applications.

Further, research and testing is planned with aerospace industry participants.

Details available from: 3M UK, Tel: +44 (0) 870 8503170, E-mail: rchapple@mmm.com