Plastic Fillers and Thinners

Fillers are added to a polymer formulation to reduce the costs and improve the properties. Fillers can be either solid, liquid or gas. They occupy space and replace the expensive resin with less expensive compounds without modifying other characteristics.

The properties a filler offers are largely determined by its own physical and chemical characteristics. Several types of fillers used in plastics are alumina trihydrate, kaolin clay, calcium carbonate, talc etc. Carbon black and silica (precipitated, highly dispersed) are mainly used as fillers in elastomers.