General Zipp is a company specializing in the world of zippers for the clothing industry, also intended for technical applications. So these systems are designed to meet the performance and safety requirements of the different application sectors.
The company’s wide product range includes fire-resistant zippers intended, for example, for the clothing of operators working in the presence of open flames, such as, for example, firefighters. In addition to the flame-retardant requirements, a zipper intended for such a critical use should be mechanically reliable even after exposure to high temperatures, contact with chemical substances, and ill-treatment.
For the manufacture of these zippers, General Zipp has chosen self-extinguishing thermoplastic materials, in which LATI is a leading player. In particular, LATAMID 66 H2 G/25-V0CT1 was chosen for the teeth and sliders, while LATAMID 68 H2-V0 was preferred for accessories.
The two compounds, respectively based on PA66 and PA6.66, offer not only outstanding flame resistance certified by UL94 approvals, but also the strength and toughness required for the safe use of the cloth.
The polyamide base resin ensures the intrinsic self-lubrication, which allows the slider to easily move on the teeth, thus supporting the effectiveness of firefighters at work. Finally, considering the size of the elements composing the zipper, in order to fill the cavities that constitute the teeth, the fluidity of the compound in the molten state is critical.
This is not a trivial peculiarity, since the formulation of LATAMID 66 H2 G/25-V0CT1 includes 25% by weight of glass fiber reinforcement and a considerable amount of self-extinguishing agent. The safety zippers have undergone the necessary type tests in accordance with EN ISO 14166, EN ISO 11612, EN ISO 11611 and EN 469; the latter expressly reserved to fireproof clothing for firefighters.
Certifications are completed by the compliance with the ministerial specifications. Once again, LATI compounds for special purposes prove themselves in an application sector with special technical requirements.
In particular, it is interesting to note that the compounds chosen by General Zipp ensure high performance even in other fields than those for which they were designed, typically the electrical and electronic field, where the high flame resistance is required by the safety standards for live equipment. LATI’s and General Zipp’s engineers are at their customers’ disposal to design the most reliable solutions for their respective industrial sectors.