Apr 26 2007
Two standard types in BASF’s ABS product line Terluran® GP-35 and Terluran® GP-22, can be galvanized without any problems. This has been certified by the Luedenscheid Plastics Institute, Germany, following galvanization tests in their own technical laboratory and after laboratory studies. Terluran is BASF’s brand name for the plastic ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer).
Quality put to the acid test
The following tests have been performed: cross-cut test according to DIN ISO 2409, cross-cut test according to TL 529, storage under heat according to TL 528, alternating-climate storage according to PV 1200 and determination of peel strength according to DIN 53494. Both materials, i.e. Terluran GP-22 and GP-35, can be galvanized without any problems by means of methods commonly used in industry. In the pickling tests, both types of plastic offer a sufficiently wide processing window for galvanization in large-scale installations. The samples have the typical ABS gloss and no surface flaws were detected. “We especially recommend Terluran GP-35 for this kind of metallization since it cannot only be easily pickled and readily galvanized but it also exhibits very good flow properties,” explains Klaus Wendel, a BASF specialist in the galvanization of ABS.
The Luedenscheid Plastics Institute
The laboratory of the Luedenscheid Plastics Institute, Germany, has high-quality testing equipment and analysis instruments, for instance, reflected-light and transmitted-light microscopes, FT-IR microscopes, DSC, GPC, REM, 3D-topographic measuring instruments and mechanical test devices. The institute has been accredited according to DIN EN ISO/IEC 17025 by the German Technical Inspectorate (TÜV) and it conducts material testing and damage analysis as well as testing according to automotive standards and interlaboratory studies.