Improve Durability, Toughness and Resistance to Cracking

Plastics can become brittle because of polymer structure, low temperature, ageing, recycling, filler content or repeated processing.

When impact resistance is insufficient, parts may crack, fracture or fail during manufacturing, assembly or use.

Polymatica provides impact modifier and polymer toughening solutions designed to improve the durability and mechanical performance of virgin and recycled plastics.

PA6 | PA66 | Recycled Polyamide | Engineering Plastics | Polymer Compounds

[Find an Impact Modification Solution]

What Causes Brittleness in Plastics?

Low toughness can result from several factors, including:

• Polymer ageing and degradation

• Repeated recycling and thermal processing

• Low-temperature exposure

• High filler or reinforcement content

• Poor compatibility between polymer phases

• Loss of molecular weight

• Inadequate impact modification

• Changes in recycled feedstock quality

These factors can reduce the material's ability to absorb energy before fracture.

Common Signs of Poor Impact Performance

Are you experiencing:

• Brittle fracture?

• Cracking during assembly?

• Parts breaking after impact?

• Reduced elongation?

• Poor low-temperature performance?

• Loss of toughness after recycling?

• Excessive brittleness in filled compounds?

• Mechanical-property variation between batches?

These problems may indicate that your formulation requires an optimized impact modifier or toughening system.

Impact Modifiers for Engineering Plastics

Polymatica ToughPA™

Impact Modifier for PA6, PA66 and Recycled Polyamide

ToughPA™ is designed to improve impact resistance and toughness in polyamide formulations, including virgin and recycled PA6 and PA66.

It can help processors develop materials with a better balance between toughness, stiffness and processability.

Key Benefits

• Helps improve impact resistance

• Reduces brittle failure

• Improves material toughness

• Supports recycled polyamide formulations

• Can improve performance consistency

• Suitable for customized engineering-plastic compounds

• Can be combined with other additive technologies when required

Toughening Recycled Polyamide

Recycled PA6 and PA66 may experience changes in molecular structure and mechanical properties after repeated processing.

As a result, recycled polyamide compounds can show:

• Reduced impact strength

• Increased brittleness

• Changes in viscosity

• Reduced elongation

• Greater batch-to-batch variation

An optimized polyamide impact modifier can help recover part of the toughness needed for demanding applications.

Depending on the condition of the polymer, a complete formulation may also require:

impact modification + chain extension + antioxidant stabilization + compatibilization

rather than a single additive.

Applications

Automotive Plastics

Improve toughness in PA6 and PA66 compounds used in automotive components.

Industrial Components

Increase resistance to cracking and mechanical impact in technical polymer parts.

Recycled Engineering Plastics

Improve the mechanical performance of recycled PA6 and PA66 formulations.

Filled & Reinforced Compounds

Support tougher formulations containing glass fibre, minerals or other reinforcements.

Injection-Moulded Parts

Improve resistance to impact and brittle failure during use.

Impact Strength vs. Stiffness

Improving toughness is not simply a matter of adding more impact modifier.

Increasing impact resistance can influence other properties such as:

• Stiffness

• Tensile strength

• Melt viscosity

• Heat resistance

• Dimensional stability

• Processing behaviour

For this reason, the goal is to find the right balance between impact strength, stiffness and processability for the final application.

Polymatica can help optimize this balance through formulation and material testing.

Impact Modification for Recycled Plastics

Recycled polymers can require a different toughening strategy than virgin materials.

The appropriate solution depends on:

• Polymer type

• Recycled-content percentage

• Number of processing cycles

• Molecular-weight degradation

• Filler content

• Existing additives

• Processing conditions

• Final mechanical requirements

Polymatica can evaluate your formulation and recommend an existing solution or develop a customized impact-modifier masterbatch.

Customized Toughening Solutions

Every Mechanical Failure Has a Cause

If a plastic part is breaking too easily, the problem may involve more than impact strength alone.

Tell us:

1. Which polymer are you processing?

2. Is the material virgin, recycled or a blend?

3. What mechanical failure are you observing?

4. Does failure occur at room or low temperature?

5. Does the formulation contain fillers or reinforcement?

6. What properties need to be maintained?

Based on the application, Polymatica can help develop an appropriate toughening strategy.

Improve Impact Resistance Without Losing Control of the Formulation

If your material is too brittle, cracks during use or has lost toughness after recycling, the formulation may need to be optimized.

Tell us about your polymer, mechanical requirements and application.

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