RoHS
NORRES products bearing this mark comply with
the EU Directive 2002/95/EC banning the use of certain
substances in the manufacture or processing of electrical
and electronic equipment and components. The objective
of NORRES is to exclude the use of particularly problematic
material components in the products in question. Amongst
other things, this entails lead-free soldering of electronic
components, withdraw of toxic fl ame retardants in the
manufacture of cables and cable protection devices and the
introduction of suitable substitute products.
The following substances are not contained in the abovementioned
NORRES equipment according to the directive:
- Lead
- Mercury
- Cadmium
- Sexavalent chromium
- Polybrominated biphenyls (PBB)
- Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE)
The revised Appendix to the Directive specifi es maximum
concentrations for the materials contained in a product. The
permitted concentrations are 0.01% by weight for cadmium
and 0.1% by weight for the other fi ve substances. Brass and
copper alloys must not contain more than 4% lead by weight.
The acronym RoHS means “Restriction of the use of certain
hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment”.
A transitional period for manufacturers and industries
affected by this Directive was effective until July 1, 2006.
UL
NORRES products with UL test marks and certifications
support access to the world’s major sales markets. Such
marked NORRES products guarantees maximum quality
and integrity, and throughout North America the UL Mark is
recognized as the number one quality mark for safety. As well
in South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-
Pacific region and Australia this mark is very widespread.
UR
NORRES products with the “Recognized Component
Mark” have been tested by UL. We use this mark for
component parts that are part of a larger product or system.
This test mark is probably the most widely accepted form of
certification amongst consumers, regulatory authorities and
insurance companies in the USA and Canada.
CSA
NORRES products bearing the CSA Certification Mark
have been tested and certified to meet applicable standards
for safety or performance. These standards include those of
UL (Underwriters Laboratories), ANSI (American National
Standards Institute) and NSF (National Sanitation Foundation).
The CSA Certification Mark appears on more than a billion
products worldwide. This mark on electronic and electrical
products is recognised throughout the USA and Canada.
VDE
The VDE Mark issued by the VDE Testing and Certification Institute indicates a product?s conformity with the
VDE standards or European or internationally harmonised
standards and confirms its compliance with the protective
requirements of the applicable EC Directives. Regular factory
inspections and product surveillance are an integral part of
granting and holding the relevant VDE Mark, which guarantees
a uniform and constant product quality. The international
recognition of the VDE Mark opens and ensures easy
entry to many national and global markets.
Pre-PUR®
Not all Polyurethanes are the same! NORRES uses special ester-polyurethane and
ether-polyurethane mixtures that are differentiated with the name
Pre-PUR
® for several of its hoses. Compared to many other plastics, rubber formulations and
“simple” polyurethanes, these block copolymers – which consist
of hard and soft Pre-PUR
® segments – have superior properties.
The use of Pre-PUR® raw materials sets our hoses apart from the majority of commercially available products:
-
Higher mechanical stability
-
Less abrasion
-
Improved chemical and hydrolytic stability
-
Higher softening points
→ Greater residual strength at high temperatures
→ Higher compression strength
→ Increased safety due to material stability
-
Better hot air aging properties
-
Better flexibility at low temperatures
→ Lower “bending force” at low temperatures
→ lower risk of bending fracture at low temperatures
Our high-quality Pre-PUR
® raw materials with special
stabilizers demonstrate considerably better stability and
significantly longer service life than can be obtained with
many other products.
An appropriate measure of this is hydrolysis testing in water
at 80 °C, since the mechanism of chemical degradation
of polyester-polyurethane is frequently hydrolysis of the
polyester chains. Our ester Pre-PUR® is shown in Figure 1,
compared with another typical commercial ester TPU.
According to standard tests, the
abrasion resistance
of our Pre-PUR
® polyurethanes is about two and a half to five times
higher than for many rubber raw materials and about three to four
times higher than for many soft PVC´s
(measured at 20°C). In applications, the differences are
frequently even greater, because the excellent
damping and impact resilience of Pre-PUR
® polyurethanes does not come
into play with the standard test method.
Abrasion-resistant
The particularly high quality mixtures of PUR materials, as well as
the optimized, reinforced hose designs from NORRES, result in
substantially less wear in pumping and transport processes than with
many other hoses. These NORRES hoses are
specially developed for long service life for the delivery of highly
abrasive media. Compared with similar grades of hose, they are
distinguished by a number of special characteristics, including:
-
Selective reinforcement of the wall geometry at the
primary points of wear. We consistently achieve surprisingly high
service life for our hoses through continual optimization of their
design geometries.
-
In applications, greatly increased temperatures can arise due to
friction from the pumping medium. Thermoplastic synthetic materials
soften at higher temperatures, leading to a loss of strength and
increased abrasion.
In vacuum operation this leads to an pronounced
axial contraction, an increase in the rippling of the interior wall
and thus a further increase in abrasion.
NORRES uses
material
mixtures with high dimensional stability at high temperatures
for polyurethane hoses intended for these applications.
-
The profile geometries of NORRES PUR hoses are optimized to give the
products outstanding axial stiffness while maintaining
excellent flexibility. Less interior
rippling in vacuum applications means longer service life.
-
These hoses are made from raw materials with particularly high mechanical
strength and special additives, resulting in
• Very high abrasion resistance
→ less wear
→ long service life
• very high tensile strength
→ less change in the axial length of the hose during the application
→ less interior rippling of the hose due to change in length
→ long service life
• Additional reductions in wear due to the special additives
Ether-PUR
NORRES uses a special, high quality
ether-polyurethane for many hoses instead of the ester-polyurethane frequently employed
for commercial applications. This type of hose offers the following
advantages:
-
Resistant to microbes
(This is critical for prolonged contact with soil or
similar substances as well as for severe contamination under conditions
favourable to microbes. The chemical structure of
ether-polyurethanes renders these materials permanently
resistant to microbial attack. We believe this is a clearly superior
solution to ester-polyurethanes, which are often stabilized for this purpose with additives that can
represent a health hazard. There is a risk that the additive
will leach out these ester-polyurethanes, causing the level to fall below that required
for protection, as the additive migrates to
the surface of the hose and comes into contact with the user and the
material transported.)
-
Resistant to hydrolysis
(This is critical for wet applications at higher
temperatures and for use in tropical climates.)
-
Better chemical stability than comparable ester-polyurethanes
-
Better flexibility at low temperatures than comparable ester-polyurethanes
Approvals for use with foodstuffs
NORRES hoses with this symbol have one or more national and/or international
approvals and certifications of conformity that allow them to be used
in food applications. Please refer to the relevant product
description for more details.
EU Food approval
Polyurethane hoses of the NORRES
PUR MHF series, which are made from special, particularly
high-quality raw materials, are perfectly suited for many
applications in the food sector. Furthermore, there is an
official approval for the
entire hose in
each case by an
independent testing laboratory in
accordance with the
new EU Directive 2002/72/EC, incl. the latest
amendment 2007/19/EC. We
therefore have the right to
label these hose types with the official food logo of the EU,
the “glass/fork” symbol. These hoses can be recognized by
the symbol on the data sheets.
Flame retardant
NORRES hoses with this designation have one or more
national and/or international approvals classifying them as having
low flammability or as self-extinguishing and/or fall below specified
rates of burning.
Silicone free
Silicone can have a particularly adverse effect
on paint compatibility. In car body shops, for example, even
the slightest contamination can lead to serious defects on the
paintwork surface.
The raw material formulations used to make the materials for
NORRES products bearing this mark contain no silicone. In
addition, no substances containing silicone are used in the
NORRES production process.
Halogen free
The halogens are a series of chemical compounds
including chlorine, bromine and iodine. Halogens
are contained in certain plastics and above all in many flame
retardants.
These substances are particularly undesirable
in combustion processes, where they represent a potential
health hazard. The raw material formulations used to make
the materials for NORRES products bearing this mark contain
no halogens.
PVC-free
Hoses containing PVC that cannot be easily and
immediately be recognised (such as polyurethane hoses with
PVC-coated wires) are also
offered in the market.
PVC is increasingly rejected as undesirable for the following reasons:
-
Disposal problems (PVC is classified as hazardous waste in many cases)
-
High clean-up costs after a fire
-
Many customers have impose a general ban on the use of PVC
-
Import duties are levied on PVC products in certain countries
-
Certain plasticizers are classified as possible health hazards
NORRES hoses with this symbol are 100% PVC-free.
Cadmium free
Cadmium compounds used to be contained
in many plastics as light-fast pigments or stabilisers. However,
since cadmium is also a highly toxic heavy metal that
can pollute the environment as a result of migration or refuse
incineration, its use is often limited today.
The raw material formulations used to make the materials for
NORRES products bearing this mark contain no cadmium.
EMC
NORRES products bearing this mark incorporate a
particularly high degree of shielding.
EMC is the globally accepted acronym for “Electromagnetic
Compatibility”.
We would be pleased to provide you with
detailed information or personal consulting about the various
products marked in this way.
Antistatic or electrically conductive hoses
According to the new ATEX Directive and the German BGR 132, electrically
conductive hoses should be used in areas where a danger of
explosion exists. Products of this type are distinguished by a
special symbol.
Please refer to the relevant product description and the
Technical Appendix for more details.
