| HS Code | 385077 |
| Product Name | Evonik Vestamid L-CF15 Black Graphite Filled Nylon 12 |
| Material Type | Polyamide 12 (Nylon 12) |
| Filler | 15% graphite/carbon filler |
| Color | Black |
| Density | 1.24 g/cm³ |
| Melting Point | 178 °C |
| Heat Deflection Temperature | 168 °C at 1.8 MPa |
| Tensile Strength | 175 MPa |
| Tensile Modulus | 15000 MPa |
| Flexural Modulus | 13000 MPa |
| Notched Impact Strength | 7 kJ/m² (Charpy) |
| Water Absorption | 0.2% (24 h) |
| Electrical Conductivity | Conductive |
As an accredited Evonik Vestamid L-CF15 Black Graphite Filled Nylon 12 factory, we enforce strict quality protocols—every batch undergoes rigorous testing to ensure consistent efficacy and safety standards.
| Packing | Vestamid L-CF15 Black graphite-filled nylon 12 supplied as 25 kg net pellets in sealed polyethylene-lined bags on pallets. |
| Container Loading (20′ FCL) | Loading a 20-foot full container of Evonik Vestamid L-CF15 black graphite-filled nylon 12, ensuring stable, secure packing for safe transport. |
| Shipping | Evonik Vestamid L-CF15 is a graphite-filled nylon 12 in pellet form, shipped as non-hazardous cargo. Protect from moisture and contamination by keeping sealed in original packaging. Store away from direct sunlight and high heat. Standard dry transport conditions apply. |
| Storage | Store Evonik Vestamid L-CF15 in its original, tightly sealed container in a cool, dry, well-ventilated area. Protect from direct sunlight, excessive heat, and moisture, as nylon 12 absorbs humidity. Keep away from ignition sources and incompatible materials. Under proper conditions, shelf life is typically two years from date of manufacture. |
| Shelf Life | Shelf life is typically 2 years when stored sealed, cool, and dry, protected from moisture and direct sunlight. |
In automotive fuel vapour management systems governed by CARB LEV III and Euro 6d evaporative emission limits, fuel vapour quick connector bodies, retainer clips, and service port caps are injection moulded from VESTAMID L-CF15 black graphite-filled nylon 12 without dilution. The as-supplied carbon-graphite filler at 15% by weight removes the need for post-mould conductive coatings, and regrind content is restricted to 20% by weight of shot mass after redrying; no carbon black masterbatch is added in this component family. Drying is executed in desiccant dryers at 80 °C until residual moisture reaches 0.10% maximum, and if ambient relative humidity exceeds 60%, hopper residence time after drying is limited to 30 min. The moulding line uses a hot runner valve-gate system and a shut-off nozzle on a clamp force of 900 kN to 1200 kN; rear zone temperature is set at 230 °C, compression zone at 255 °C, and nozzle at 260 °C. Melt temperature excursions greater than ±5 °C from the 255 °C mid-point cause carbon-rich streaks at flow-front boundaries and are suppressed by closed-loop barrel control. Mould temperature is held at 60 °C to 80 °C, and packing pressure is 60 MPa to 80 MPa. Weld lines at the retainer slot intersection are moved away from the maximum hoop stress plane by sequential valve-gate opening; when fill time drops below 0.35 s, production batches have shown lower burst pressure consistency in the connector body. Qualification is performed under SAE J2044, SAE J2260, and IEC 61340-5-1. Terminal products are fuel vapour quick connectors, service port caps, and clip retainers for thermoplastic fuel lines.
| Standard | Test environment | Measured parameter |
|---|---|---|
| IEC 61340-5-1 | 23 °C, 50% RH | Surface resistivity below 106 Ω/sq |
| SAE J2044 | Ambient, conditioned connector assemblies | Pull-off force and O-ring seal leak rate |
| SAE J2260 | Fuel ageing per standard | Tensile strength retention and permeation resistance |
For pick-and-place feeder rails, PCB conveyor fingers, and guide blocks used in automated electronics assembly, static dissipation is governed by IEC 61340-5-1, with surface resistivity measured after conditioning at 23 °C and 50% RH. The compound is processed as supplied with 15% carbon-graphite filler by weight; no post-mould antistatic lacquer, secondary carbon coating, or additional graphite powder is applied. Regrind content above 15% by weight is not recommended because the batch-to-batch surface resistance variation widens beyond ±0.5 decades after repeated heat histories. Moulding is performed on hydraulic machines with clamp force between 350 kN and 800 kN, using melt temperature 250 °C to 265 °C and mould temperature 70 °C to 85 °C to prevent carbon-rich skin freezing before cavity fill. Gate placement is set in the longest flow path to orient carbon fibres parallel to the sliding wear surface, and hardened steel tool inserts are required because the carbon filler causes measurable gate and vent wear; unhardened prototype tools show unacceptable dimensional drift after short production runs. Terminal parts include ESD-safe component guides, conveyor fingers, and robot-gripper pads for semiconductor packaging lines.
Because truck and trailer air brake circuits must maintain burst pressure after sustained exposure to zinc chloride road de-icers and temperature cycling, the compound is extruded into coiled tubing with outside diameters from 6 mm to 10 mm and wall thickness from 1.0 mm to 1.25 mm. The material enters the line as pre-dried pellets; drying in a closed-loop desiccant dryer at 80 °C for 6 h reduces moisture to 0.10% maximum, because residual water above this threshold produces hydrolysis-induced viscosity fluctuation along the barrel. The extruder uses a single-screw configuration with 28:1 L/D, grooved feed zone, and compression ratio 2.5:1; melt temperature at the die is kept at 240 °C to 255 °C, and melt pressure before the screen pack does not exceed 300 bar. In-house regrind is limited to 15% by weight after redrying; no external plasticiser, process oil, or uncoupled carbon powder is introduced because extractables and filler distribution shifts alter the coiled tubing conditioning time. Post-extrusion calibration is performed with a double-stage vacuum sizing sleeve followed by air cooling, after which the tubing is coiled and conditioned for 24 h. Qualification tests follow SAE J844 and ISO 7628-1:2019 for burst, cold impact at -40 °C, oil ageing, and salt spray environmental resistance. Terminal product types are spiral-wound trailer air brake coils, tractor air suspension lines, and pneumatic clutch actuator tubing.
End-of-arm tooling plates machined from aluminium billet are replaced by injection-moulded blanks of the compound where robot payload and cycle time govern the redesign. The compound is processed without dilution; regrind content is restricted to 10% by weight because fibre length reduction after three heat histories lowers flexural modulus in ISO 178:2019 three-point bending. Moulded blanks are machined flat and drilled to ISO 2768-mK tolerances; mould-in brass inserts with knurled outer surfaces are used where threaded fasteners are repeatedly removed, because direct threading into the carbon-filled PA12 matrix generates thread pull-out risk under robot acceleration loads. The injection moulding window uses melt temperature 250 °C to 260 °C, mould temperature 60 °C to 80 °C, and packing pressure 60 MPa to 80 MPa; cavity pressure sensors are specified to detect premature freezing at rib intersections and to adjust switch-over point below 95% cavity fill. For collaborative robot applications, the structural bracket must be assessed under ISO 10218-1:2011 and ISO/TS 15066:2016 for force and pressure limits. Terminal products are robot gripper fingers, pick-and-place nest plates, and lightweight end-effector structural brackets.
Carbon-filled PA12 shells for lower-limb orthoses are injection moulded directly from the compound at 100%; no additional impact modifier or plasticiser is introduced because the pre-compounded carbon-graphite filler at 15% by weight controls creep and reduces moisture-driven dimensional change. When regrind is reused, it is limited to 10% by weight and only after desiccant drying to 0.15% maximum moisture. The moulding process for 3 mm to 5 mm wall sections uses melt temperature 245 °C to 260 °C, mould temperature 40 °C to 60 °C, and packing pressure 60 MPa to 80 MPa; the lower mould temperature is selected to reduce cycle time but increases the risk of carbon-rich weld lines at the posterior strut junction. Cyclic dorsiflexion fatigue is assessed under ISO 22675:2016, and the finished device must satisfy ISO 22523:2006 general requirements for external orthoses. Published data for this specific configuration is limited; component-level validation remains mandatory because clinical loading direction and patient-specific trim lines alter the failure location. Terminal products are posterior leaf spring orthoses, rigid ankle-foot orthosis shells, and articulated joint housings for orthotic devices.
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Evonik Vestamid L-CF15 Black Graphite Filled Nylon 12 is a polyamide 12 (PA12) compound reinforced with a black carbon/graphite filler at a nominal loading of 15% by weight. The material is supplied as black granules and is processed by injection moulding or extrusion into parts that require lower moisture uptake than PA6 or PA66, reduced warpage, improved wear response, and static-dissipative behaviour. In the Vestamid L series, the L-CF15 grade occupies a position between unfilled PA12 and high-modulus glass- or carbon-fibre compounds. Typical use sectors include automotive sensor brackets, electrical housings, pump wear plates, conveyor elements, and fuel-system clips. The values reported below are supplier typical data for dry-as-moulded test specimens; lot-specific release values must be obtained from the manufacturer’s certificate of analysis.
The base matrix is a PA12 homopolymer, which provides comparatively low saturated moisture uptake near 1.5% (ISO 62) and good resistance to aliphatic hydrocarbons, oils, and greases below 80°C. The carbon/graphite filler exists as a coarse-to-fine particulate and short-fibre reinforcement. Published typical mechanical data include density 1.08 g/cm³ (ISO 1183-1:2019), tensile modulus 10,000 MPa (ISO 527-1/-2), tensile stress at break 120 MPa, and elongation at break 3.5%. Flexural modulus is approximately 9,000 MPa (ISO 178). Charpy notched impact strength at 23°C is 6 kJ/m² (ISO 179-1/1eA), while Charpy unnotched strength is 45 kJ/m². Heat deflection temperature at 1.8 MPa is reported in the range 160–170°C (ISO 75-1/-2), Vicat softening temperature at 170–175°C (ISO 306/B50), and melting temperature at 176°C (ISO 11357-1/-3). The filler reduces volume resistivity to 10³–10⁶ Ω·cm (IEC 60093), placing the compound in the conductive-to-static-dissipative range. These values are orientation-dependent because the filler aligns during injection and changes local electrical and mechanical response in weld lines, ribs, and sprue regions.
| Property | Test method | Vestamid L-CF15 typical | Unfilled PA12 typical |
|---|---|---|---|
| Density | ISO 1183-1 | 1.08 g/cm³ | 1.01 g/cm³ |
| Tensile modulus | ISO 527-1/-2 | 10,000 MPa | 1,500 MPa |
| Tensile stress at break | ISO 527-1/-2 | 120 MPa | 45 MPa |
| Elongation at break | ISO 527-1/-2 | 3.5% | >200% |
| Coefficient of linear thermal expansion, parallel | ISO 11359-2 | 4×10⁻⁵ K⁻¹ | 1.1×10⁻⁴ K⁻¹ |
| Volume resistivity | IEC 60093 | 10³–10⁶ Ω·cm | 10¹³–10¹⁵ Ω·cm |
In sliding-contact service, the graphite component modifies tribological response. Comparative wear should be generated on production-representative geometry using ASTM G99 pin-on-disc or ISO 7148-2 polymer bearing test methods; published data for this specific configuration is limited, but carbon/graphite-filled polyamide 12 compounds typically reduce adhesive wear against steel compared with unfilled PA12. The improvement is boundary-condition dependent. Moulded surfaces with high filler orientation may display anisotropic wear behaviour; pressure-velocity limits established on flat plaques are not transferable to curved bushings and thrust faces. No single coefficient of friction should be used for part design because counterface roughness, contact pressure, and interface temperature alter the transfer-film behaviour.
Differential scanning calorimetry indicates a melting endotherm at 176°C (ISO 11357-1/-3) and a crystallisation exotherm near 150°C in non-isothermal cooling. Mould temperatures between 60°C and 90°C produce moderate crystallinity and stable surface conductivity; mould temperatures below 50°C can produce a resin-rich skin that raises surface resistivity and lowers gloss stability. The filler raises melt viscosity relative to unfilled PA12 at identical shear rates. When gate shear rates exceed 100,000 s⁻¹, significant filler attrition can occur, reducing tensile modulus and notched Charpy values. Gate lands should be sized to keep shear rate below this bound during filling.
The carbon/graphite filler lowers surface and volume resistivity sufficiently for ESD control under IEC 61340-5-1. A surface resistivity below 10⁶ Ω is commonly used as an acceptance boundary for static-dissipative housings, though moulding conditions, gate location, regrind content, and ambient humidity all shift the measured value. Dimensional stability is a second selection driver. Unfilled PA12 has a coefficient of linear thermal expansion near 1.1×10⁻⁴ K⁻¹ (ISO 11359-2); L-CF15 reduces that value to approximately 4×10⁻⁵ K⁻¹ parallel to flow. The lower expansion and lower saturated water absorption ≈1.5% (ISO 62) reduce part-to-part variance in humid conditions or thermal cycling. Applications such as sensor housings, fuel-system mounting clips, pump wear plates, and electrical enclosures use these two properties to maintain fit and function. Cold impact remains a relevant boundary: PA12 retains toughness at sub-zero temperatures better than many amorphous static-dissipative blends, although the carbon reinforcement reduces ductility compared with unfilled PA12.
For fuel-system mounting clips, the PA12 base provides resistance to diesel, petrol, and fuel vapour; the filler reduces creep under clamp load, which is commonly evaluated by ISO 899-1 tensile creep. For pump wear plates, wear factor and limiting PV are measured against the specific counterface; no single published PV limit applies to all plate thicknesses and surface finishes. For electrical housings, the surface resistivity acceptance corridor should be measured at 23°C and 50% RH after 48 h conditioning, as lower humidity increases surface resistance and higher humidity can reduce it. Injection-moulded ESD parts may show surface resistivity gradients from gate to weld line; conductive circuit checks should therefore be considered.
Moisture uptake is anisotropic in thin-walled parts. The equilibrium moisture content near 1.5% (ISO 62) is reached more slowly in thick sections; transient water diffusion follows Fickian behaviour, and mechanical property stabilisation should be verified after conditioning. Because the filler forms a percolating conductive network, water absorption below 0.5% has a smaller effect on volume resistivity than in hygroscopic carbon-filled PA6 or PA66, but surface resistivity may still drift in condensation conditions. When consistent ESD performance is required, the part should be sealed or the end-use humidity range should be written into the drawing specification.
Selection against a glass-filled PA12 grade follows from four differences. The glass-filled compound is electrically insulating, typically denser, and may produce higher abrasion against steel counterfaces; L-CF15 provides a black conductive surface with lower part mass. Glass-filled PA12 can retain higher notched impact resistance and is less sensitive to melt shear, but it lacks the conductive pathway required for ESD protection. Compared with PA66 compounds of similar stiffness, L-CF15 absorbs less moisture, which stabilises electrical and dimensional properties in humid service. The trade-off is lower continuous dry-heat resistance above 120°C; PA66 grades should be evaluated for hot, dry, under-bonnet components when sustained temperature exceeds this limit.
Pre-drying in a desiccant dryer at 80°C for 4–6 h is required when storage RH has exceeded 60%. A residual moisture content below 0.1% (ISO 15512) should be verified before processing; higher moisture leads to surface splay, hydrolysis, and reduced mechanical strength. Melt temperatures at the nozzle are maintained between 240°C and 260°C. Above 280°C, residence time must be limited to 10 min or less to avoid thermal degradation of the PA12 matrix. Mould temperatures from 60°C to 90°C are used to promote consistent crystallinity and surface conductivity. Conventional three-zone screws with 18:1 to 24:1 L/D are suitable; back pressure is kept between 0.5 MPa and 1.0 MPa to limit fibre attrition. Screw and barrel should be hardened or bimetallic because carbon/graphite filler accelerates abrasive wear on standard nitrided steel; production experience shows measurable screw-bore clearance increase after processing carbon-filled polyamide at high speed. Mould shrinkage is anisotropic: flow-direction shrinkage is approximately 0.2–0.4%, transverse 0.5–0.8% (ISO 294-4), and gate design must account for this differential.
Regrind addition is permitted but requires process control. Recycled material reduces fibre length and narrows the conductive network; uncontrolled addition above 30% can shift surface resistivity upward and lower notched Charpy results. When regrind is used, tensile properties should be re-verified per ISO 527-1/-2 on moulded plaques because published data for this specific configuration is limited. Chemical resistance follows the PA12 base: the grade resists aliphatic hydrocarbons, oils, and greases at temperatures below 80°C. Concentrated mineral acids, phenol, and strong oxidising agents attack the matrix, and stress-crack resistance in aggressive media should be evaluated under ISO 22088-3 using production-representative moulded parts. The grade is not recommended for continuous service in hot water above 80°C unless long-term hydrolysis data for the specific part geometry are available.
On production-scale equipment with clamp force from 80 t to 120 t and hot-runner valve gates, restrictive gate lands below 0.8 mm have produced excessive shear heating, surface discolouration, and unstable filling. Gate diameters of 0.8–1.2 mm for short flow lengths and runner diameters of 4.0–6.0 mm are typical. Venting depth should be kept below 0.02 mm to prevent flash while allowing volatiles to escape; inadequate venting in carbon-filled PA12 can lead to burn marks at the flow front and inconsistent surface resistivity. If hot runners are used, manifold temperatures should not exceed 260°C, and external nozzle heaters must be individually controlled because local overheating above 280°C creates black speck contamination and embrittlement at the gate.
The table above lists typical dry-as-moulded values for Vestamid L-CF15 and unfilled PA12. The carbon/graphite reinforcement raises tensile modulus by approximately 6–7 times over unfilled PA12, reduces elongation to less than 5%, and lowers the coefficient of linear thermal expansion. The trade-off is a loss of ductility and an increase in notch sensitivity. Where an application requires high impact resistance and electrical insulation, a glass-filled or impact-modified PA12 grade is more suitable. Where the application requires dimensional stability in humid air, ESD control, lower density than glass-filled compounds, and controlled wear against steel, L-CF15 fills the gap between unfilled PA12 and structural long-carbon-fibre thermoplastics. It is not a replacement for continuous-carbon-fibre composites in structural load-bearing designs; tensile modulus is much lower than continuous-fibre laminates and the material remains a thermoplastic compound with creep and stress-relaxation behaviour governed by the PA12 matrix.
Typical application environments include industrial ESD workcells, automotive sensor brackets, fuel-system clips, pump wear plates, conveyor guides, and electrical housings. In each case, the governing specifications are the dimensional tolerance over the expected humidity range, surface resistivity per IEC 61340-5-1, and the wear rate against the selected counterface. No food-contact or medical-use confidence is implied unless a written supplier statement for the relevant regulatory direction is present. Published data for this specific configuration is limited for long-term hydrolytic ageing and for regrind-heavy moulding, so these boundaries should be validated on production tooling rather than assumed from general PA12 data.
