3M™ Glass Bubbles iM16K

3M™ Glass Bubbles iM16K will change the way you think about plastic parts. This product has a density of 0.46 g/cc and an excellent isostatic crush strength of 16,000 psi, providing an additive with a superior strength-to-density ratio for use in injection molding extrusion and sheet molding compounds. They can reduce final part weight by 15% or more without compromising the mechanical integrity.

3M™ Glass Bubbles iM16K are 25% lighter than the existing 3M™ Glass Bubbles S60HS which have successfully been incorporated into numerous light weighting applications and are half the density of polypropylene or filled polypropylene. Thus, we expect the use of iM16K glass bubbles in resin systems may afford even further weight reduction possibilities than existing options. In polypropylene-filled systems, customers may realize weight savings benefits of 15% or more in plastic parts. In nylon glass fiber filled systems, they may achieve 18% or more in plastic parts. Because iM16K glass bubbles are hollow (like all 3M glass bubbles), yet strong enough to survive injection molding processes, customers can potentially improve process throughput because there is less mass to cool. The end result is an estimated 15% - 25% cycle time improvement allowing customers to make more parts per minute, per hour, per day, per year.