Plastics
Swerea IVF conducts research and development in the field of plastics. Activities are characterised by diverse skills within polymer technology which are focused on industries and products where plastics and rubber are key materials.
We offer services in product development, materials development, design, material selection, failure analysis/problem solving, etc. We also offer our customers mechanical, chemical, rheological and thermal testing and analysis, where access to modern analytical and testing equipment, testing laboratories and knowledge of product requirements is critical. These services are based on general and in-depth expertise regarding the properties and processing of plastic materials in connection with product requirements based on areas of application, specifications, etc.
Applied research is conducted in a number of areas:
•injection moulding (surface properties, surface defects)
•renewable materials (biobased thermoplastic composites)
•recycling of cable insulation and other plastics
•polymer based nanocomposites (barrier properties, flame retardance, electrical conductivity)
•polyurethane chemistry and foaming
In-depth knowledge regarding technical issues in processing (injection moulding, extrusion, compounding) is central to all areas and represents an important core competence. Of particular importance in this context is the availability of modern processing equipment (injection moulding, multiwall co-extrusion of films/foils, compounding equipment, etc.).