Solvay Advanced Polymers (Alpharetta, Georgia / USA; www.solvayadvancedpolymers.com) has introduced a new grade of PEEK designed for wire and cable applications, monofilaments, ultra-thin tubing and films. The company said that “KetaSpire” KT-851 NT is its first PEEK resin for these types of applications.

The new grade is a medium-viscosity resin designed for use in melt extrusion-based wire and cable insulation layers and for the production of monofilaments and high denier multi-filament fibres. In use, it provides a high level of cleanliness thanks to Solvay’s proprietary filtration process and allows the production of articles that are extremely low in gel content and other particulate contamination. It can be used for melt extrusion of thin films down to thicknesses as low as six microns, supporting applications such as capacitors, loudspeaker membranes and aerospace thermal-acoustic insulation blankets and bagging materials, the company said.

Other potential applications are in the medical industry for components such as thin-walled medical capillaries and tubing.