Products

THRIVE™ Benefits

Improve molding productivity

THRIVE: Break Ahead with a Rule Breaker

As an essentially new class of thermoplastic composites, THRIVE is more than a replacement for your existing material. Instead, it’s writing new rules, setting new performance standards, and giving manufacturers a competitive advantage.

Here are just a few of the rules you can break with THRIVE:
  New THRIVE Rule  Old Rule
1 Has LOW ODOR and is HIGHLY COLORABLE
 Natural fiber-reinforced plastics are DARK and ODOROUS
2 REDUCES CYCLE TIMES, typically from 35 to 60%, and requires LITTLE or NO HEAT from heater bands on the molding press Injection molded parts require a lot of HEAT and LONG CYCLE TIMES
3 BONDS EASILY to other polymers and materials, including polyolefins and SBC-based TPEs with outstanding bond strength exceeding 25 PLI. Plastics DON'T PLAY WELL TOGETHER. It is difficult to achieve superior bond strength with substrates in overmolded parts.
4  Offers excellent thin-section fill to thicknesses down to 0.04 inches, minimizing of ELIMINATING SINKS AND VOIDS on the part surface. Parts with thick ribs and bosses are hard to mold because they show SURFACE SINK MARKS and INTERNAL VOIDS.
5 WARM TO THE TOUCH with a DIFFERENT LOOK versus both plastics and conventional composites. Most plastics are composites FEEL LIKE PLASTIC.
6 STRONGER at LOWER WEIGHTS, typically 5 to 14% component weight reduction. Fiber-reinforced parts can be HEAVY.
 

Tests and Research

In real-world tests, THRIVE exceeds expectations
The benefits of THRIVE composites are lab driven and real-world proven. We’ve worked with variety of manufacturers to conduct molding tests, with game-changing results. Consider the following:

  • In an automotive interior part, THRIVE reduced estimated costs by up to 17 percent
  • For an industrial bracket, THRIVE reduced estimated costs up to 30 percent
  • For an office furniture leg end-cap, THRIVE reduced estimated costs by 30 percent
  • In an industrial pump housing assembly THRIVE lowered weight by 100 grams (26%)
  • In a food industry spatula, THRIVE increased flex modulus by 187,000 psi (102%)

Independent research shows advantages of THRIVE composites
A growing body of independent research supports the benefits of THRIVE. For example, a recent research study from the University of Michigan compared 30 percent glass-fiber reinforced polypropylene with 30 percent cellulose-fiber reinforced polypropylene in a high-performance automobile. There were significant advantages as a result of weight reduction in parts made with cellulose-reinforced THRIVE composites, which reduced energy consumption over the auto’s lifetime by 9.6 percent.

The study’s author’s concluded, “the cellulose-fiber reinforced polypropylene composite has overall advantages in energy and global-warming impacts compared with the glass-fiber reinforced composite.”

real_world_test_results_THRIVE

Customize THRIVE For Your Unique Needs

We offer THRIVE in a variety of grades. But no matter which grade you choose, you get the same great benefits: improved cycle time, less energy to produce, lightweight but strong, design friendly and environmentally responsible. Our technical specialists and scientists will work with you to determine the best option for your needs. Some of your customization choices can be found in the table below:

Customization Choice Description 
Fiber Levels The amount of cellulose fibers in THRIVE composites can range from 10 to 30 percent, depending on the required tensile strength, rigidity and stiffness.
Base Polymers

THRIVE composites may be produced from a range of fossil-fuel and bio-derived base polymers, including:

Commercially Available:

  • Recycled or virgin polypropylene (PP)

In Development:

  • Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS)
  • Low and high-density polyethylene (LDPE and HDPE)
  • Rigid polyvinyl chloride
Fiber Dispersion  The cellulose fibers in THRIVE can be dispersed so they're virtually invisible or their uniqueness showcased.
Recycled Boost your sustainability attributes by using recycled polypropylene as a base polymer.
Color THRIVE composites readily accept dyes and are available in a full range of color choices. Even our recycled polypropylene product has a color option: white or standard black. 

Products At-a-Glance

Product Grade Name Description 
85DX200A4 Masterbatch pellets
Virgin
(click link below for data sheet)
20DXV235SB4N 20% cellulose fiber, 80% virgin-PP*
30DXV235SB4N 30% cellulose fiber, 70% virgin-PP*
20DXV235MB4N 20% cellulose fiber, 80% virgin-PP*, enhanced for impact performance
30DXV235MB4N 30% cellulose fiber, 70% virgin-PP*, enhanced impact performance
Recycled
(click link below for data sheet)
20DXR235SB6W 20% cellulose fiber, 80% white recycled PP*
20DXR235SB6B 20% cellulose fiber, 80% black recycled PP*
20DXR235MB6B 20% cellulose fiber, 80% black recycled PP*, enhanced impact performance
20DXR235MB6W 20% cellulose fiber, 80% white recycled PP*, enhanced impact performance

More about THRIVE

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