We developed our innovative EG-AX system in response to the increasing use of expandable graphite due to other flame retardants being phased out. - April 23, 2024
April 23, 2024
Cannon Afros, a company of Cannon Group, which specializes in mixing equipment and dosing systems for polyurethanes (PU) and other reactive resins, has extended the range of its EG-AX multi-component mixing head system to include viscoelastic foams, continuous sandwich panels and poly-iso boards. With the range extension Cannon can now offer the EG-AX system to process expandable graphite in any kind of product, including insulation panels, flexible foams for furniture, molded foams for mass transit as well as integral skin and flexible molded foams for automotive applications.
Expandable graphite is a fragile and ‘tricky’ flame retardant. If broken, the expandable graphite particles release sulfuric acid, which damages the catalyst blended in polyol. The EG-AX system allows to process high-quantity of expandable graphite drastically reducing the release of sulfuric acid. EG-AX consists of a Cannon AX mixing head with 4 streams – one for slurry made of polyol and expandable graphite, two for isocyanate, fed by a single pump and split into two by a flow divider. A fourth stream is available as an optional input to process additives or blowing agent, depending on the application.
The EG-AX system can also be used for processing other solid flame retardants, such as ammonium polyphosphate (APP). Even though APP is not as fragile as expandable graphite, the base concept of EG-AX of using 2 iso streams and 1 slurry stream allows for very efficient mixing, even with high percentages of filler.
For sandwich and board panels requiring a continuous process, a generous proportion of the polyol is drawn from the slurry and injected via the fourth stream, thus allowing much lower injection pressures for the slurry.
At present Cannon EG-AX is already in use with several manufacturers of seats for mass transit, automotive engine covers, sound deadening parts for white goods, insulated piping and sandwich panels. Moreover, those customers who could see and try EG-AX system, selected it for their manufacturing due to easy and economic processing of expandable graphite fire retardant filler.
Cannon Group is exhibiting at UTECH Europe 2024 in Maastricht, The Netherlands, (April 23-25), Booth F14.
