Materials Selection & Custom Compounding

CTC can help you select the best and most cost effective materials for your product.
How can we do this?

• Since we mold both thermoplastic and thermoset resins, (virgin and recycled),
  we are “materials neutral”, meaning that we will recommend the material that is best for your product, not what is best for us, based on what we can offer.
• Because we are one of the largest molders and purchasers of recycled polypropylene (PP) in the world, we have favored pricing status on materials.
• We are one of the few companies who compression-mold virgin and recycled
  materials, such as high-molecular-weight polyethylene (HMWPE) and polyethylene (HDPE & LDPE).
• We have extensive experience with recycled polymers
• We compound our own materials from our long-glass-fiber-reinforced thermoplastic (LFT or LFRT) process
• We are experts at combining materials to achieve the optimum balance of properties and costs, thereby providing our customers with better products at a lower price.

Structural Reinforcement

Most of the materials we work with are structurally reinforced with fiberglass (glass), minerals, natural fiber, carbon fiber, or some combination of these fillers. The use of reinforcements boost:

• Structural stiffness
• Flexural strength
• Tensile strength
• Impact strength
• Durability

and allow for:

• Thinner wall sections
• Lighter weight parts
• Reduced costs

When properly designed, reinforced plastics can replace:

• Wood
• Metal
• Glass
• Gypsum wallboard
• Many other traditional materials of construction

without the typical drawbacks experienced with older technologies such as:

• Corrosion
• Rot
• Splintering
• Insect problems
• Breakage
• Higher mass
• Water problems

Reinforced plastics can also:

• Reduce weight and costs
• Allow for geometry that is more complex
• Provide better opportunities for parts consolidation
• Easy assembly

Furthermore, parts made from recycled polymers can often be recycled again!

By combining plastic composites and other material such as plastic/steel or plastic/wood, hybrid designs can be developed which provide the ideal balance of structure and beauty for many applications.

Processing Options for Resin Filler Combinations

We offer many processing options for the same resin/filler combination. For example, we compression mold both glass-mat-thermoplastic (GMT) composite blanks, and billets of glass/resin compounds produced in our own patented long-glass-fiber-reinforced thermoplastic (LFT or LFFT) process--both with polypropylene matrices.

Additionally, we compression-mold sheet-molding compounds (SMC--sometimes called "fiberglass") with a thermoset polyester matrix and woven glass mat.

We also mold flexible materials such as:

• Synthetic rubber (ethylene-propylene-diene monomer (EPDM)
• Many other highly filled Polypropylene and Polyethlene Thermoplastic polyolefins (TPOs)

Our materials versatility is another way we help customers find the best options to achieve the property/price profile for their application.