| HS Code | 766185 |
| Polymer Type | Polylactic Acid (PLA) |
| Density | 1.24 g/cm³ |
| Melt Flow Rate 210 C 2 16 Kg | 70 g/10 min |
| Glass Transition Temperature | 55-60 °C |
| Crystalline Melt Temperature | 165-175 °C |
| Crystallization Temperature | 100-120 °C |
| Tensile Strength | 48-53 MPa |
| Tensile Modulus | 3500 MPa |
| Elongation At Break | 3-5 % |
| Flexural Modulus | 3500 MPa |
| Notched Izod Impact | 2.5 kJ/m² |
| Heat Deflection Temperature At 0 45 Mpa | 55 °C |
| Vicat Softening Point | 55 °C |
| Moisture Content | <0.05 % |
As an accredited Ingeo Polylactic Acid (PLA) 6400D factory, we enforce strict quality protocols—every batch undergoes rigorous testing to ensure consistent efficacy and safety standards.
| Packing | Ingeo Polylactic Acid (PLA) 6400D is packaged in 25 kg moisture-barrier-lined bags, palletized and stretch-wrapped for shipment. |
| Container Loading (20′ FCL) | 20′ FCL dry container: palletized Ingeo PLA 6400D bags, shrink-wrapped, evenly distributed, secured, and kept dry during transport. |
| Shipping | Ingeo Polylactic Acid (PLA) 6400D is shipped as non-hazardous thermoplastic pellets in moisture-barrier bags, boxes, or octabins. It is not regulated for transport by DOT, IATA, or IMDG. Store dry, cool, and protected from moisture, heat, and direct sunlight. Use original packaging and follow supplier SDS/local regulations. |
| Storage | Store Ingeo PLA 6400D in a cool, dry, well-ventilated area, protected from moisture, heat, and direct sunlight. Keep original containers tightly sealed and off the floor. Recommended storage temperature is below 50°C (122°F). Avoid high humidity and dust accumulation. Reseal opened packages promptly. Rotate stock and use oldest material first to maintain polymer quality. Do not expose to ignition sources. |
| Shelf Life | Ingeo PLA 6400D has a 24-month shelf life when stored sealed in original packaging, cool, dry, and protected from moisture. |
In non-food cosmetic jar and cap production, Ingeo 6400D is processed as an unfilled, transparent injection-molding grade with a melt flow rate of 10 g/10 min under 2.16 kg at 210 °C per ISO 1133-1:2022 and ASTM D1238; this viscosity profile is suitable for filling wall sections between 2.5 mm and 5.0 mm on hydraulic or servo-hydraulic machines with 80–120 t clamp force. Pre-drying in a desiccant dryer at 80 °C for 4 h is mandatory because absorbed moisture above 250 ppm hydrolyzes the polyester backbone during plastication, lowering molecular weight and producing surface splay and gate blush on visible surfaces. Dryer dew point is maintained at −40 °C or lower, and hopper residence time for dried pellets is limited to 30 min unless a closed conveying loop is used. Melt temperature is set between 195 °C and 230 °C; the lower bound is controlled by screw torque and flow length to wall thickness ratio, while the upper bound is limited by lactide reformation and yellowing after 8–10 min cumulative barrel residence time. A low-shear, general-purpose screw with 20:1 to 24:1 L/D and a compression ratio of 2.0:1 to 2.6:1 is used to avoid excessive viscous heat under shear thinning; barrel zone temperatures are maintained between 195 °C and 220 °C from rear zone to nozzle. Mold temperature is controlled between 25 °C and 40 °C using thermolators or chilled water, because a quenched amorphous skin preserves transparency but a too-cold cavity raises injection pressure and increases birefringence in thick sections.
For pigmented cosmetic packages, a PLA-compatible color masterbatch is let down at 1–3 wt%; PET- or styrene-based carriers are excluded because they create visual haze and phase separation at the gate. Mold shrinkage is allowed at 0.3–0.5 % depending on gate-to-part thickness ratio and cavity pressure decay, with tooling dimensions validated by ISO 294-4 plaque trials before production. Cushion position is held at 2–4 mm and hold time is set to achieve gate seal, typically 1.5–2.5 s per millimeter of nominal wall. Ejection uses draft angles of 0.5–1° per side and two-stage ejector movement to avoid stress whitening. The finished articles—cosmetic jars, overcaps, compact cases and internal frames—remain outside the scope of FDA 21 CFR 177.1520 because the resin producer does not designate Ingeo 6400D as a food-contact grade. Compliance for these non-ingested personal-care formats is limited to REACH Annex XVII and RoHS 2011/65/EU.
Injection molding of writing instrument barrels, caps and clips from Ingeo 6400D centers on thin-wall cylindrical cavity fill at wall sections of 0.8–1.5 mm. Core pin deflection is the primary failure mode on multi-cavity cold runner tools with needle shut-off tips; observed short shots and wall-thickness eccentricity result from melt pressure imbalance around the core before the flow front reaches the opposite side. Tooling is typically a 4–16 cavity hot sprue or cold runner stack with a dedicated core cooling circuit using water at 10–15 °C and a core diameter tolerance of ±0.02 mm. Injection velocity is profiled between 50 mm/s and 120 mm/s during the first 0.2 s of fill and reduced to 20–40 mm/s at the end of fill to avoid jetting and silver streaks; peak injection pressure rarely exceeds 1200 bar if the material is dried to 250 ppm moisture. Mold temperature is held at 30–45 °C, with the upper bound preferred for light-blocking barrel colors because post-mold shrinkage anisotropy is reduced. Barrel ellipticity is checked with a dial indicator at 20 mm from the gate; parts beyond 0.1 mm radial runout are rejected and the tool is corrected rather than compensated by process pressure, because hold pressure above 800 bar often aggravates gate vestige and stress cracking at the clip retention groove. Formulation remains essentially neat Ingeo 6400D with 1–2 wt% PLA-carried color concentrate; silicone-based mold releases are excluded because they reduce ink adhesion on printed barrels. Compliance for adult writing instruments is limited to REACH Annex XVII and RoHS 2011/65/EU; if the article is marketed to children, EN 71-3:2019+A1:2021 migration of elements and REACH SVHC screening apply, and heavy-metal-free pigments are mandatory. Finished products include marker barrels, twist-action pen bodies, pocket clips and drafting tool handles; mechanical assembly uses press fits with interference of 0.05–0.10 mm, but barbed snap features are not recommended because the unfilled resin has limited elongation after filling.
Design for a non-patient-contact diagnostic housing molded in Ingeo 6400D begins with the snap-fit strain limit rather than tensile strength, because the material exhibits a notched Izod impact value near 16 J/m per ASTM D256 and low elongation at break in tensile testing; cantilever snap beams are therefore limited to 0.6–0.8 mm thickness and a deflection-to-length ratio that keeps outer-fibre strain at or below 2.0 %. The tool is a single-cavity or two-cavity mold with a conformal cooling insert around the snap-fit root to prevent differential crystallization; mold temperature is raised to 45–50 °C during filling and then reduced to 25 °C before ejection to quench the surface and maintain transparency. Melt temperature is held at 210–220 °C and injection speed is profiled from 30–60 mm/s through the snap-fit core to prevent hesitation lines.
After molding, parts are annealed at 80 °C for 30 min in a forced-air oven to partially relieve molded-in stress; the annealed housing is checked for flatness over a 50 mm gauge length with a dial indicator, and values above 0.15 mm are rejected. The process trade-off is that annealing increases crystallinity and may reduce optical clarity; if a transparent readout window is required, a separate unannealed transparent lens is preferred over annealing the entire housing. Chemical resistance limitations are significant: wiping with isopropanol above 70 % or with ketone-based disinfectants can initiate stress crazing in snap-fit areas under bending stress, and published data for repeated wipe cycles on 6400D in this specific configuration is limited; compatibility testing is therefore required before field use. Formulation is unfilled Ingeo 6400D; the addition of impact modifiers above 5 wt% increases impact resistance but lowers tensile modulus and transparent appearance, and no medical-grade or body-contact claim is supported by the resin producer. The final application is limited to non-sterile housings, readers, covers and battery door assemblies for diagnostic or laboratory instruments, evaluated under IEC 61010-1:2010+A1:2019 as laboratory electrical equipment enclosures rather than ISO 10993; the housing must not contact patient tissue or fluids.
Point-of-purchase display sign holders and shelf-edge rails are produced with Ingeo 6400D in short production runs using single-cavity or family molds on 60–100 t machines; melt temperature is 200 °C and mold temperature is 30 °C, with no filler or impact modifier added to preserve the transparent face. The only meaningful process constraint is gate vestige on the display face, which is moved to the rear by a tunnel gate or a three-plate tool; this avoids visible flow lines in display lenses. Such parts are not subjected to continuous mechanical load or elevated temperature and therefore represent a shallow technical zone for this grade.
Ingeo 6400D is used in horticultural injection-molded pots and plant identification tags where industrial compostability at end of life is required under EN 13432:2000; the resin may be compostable, but the final article and any masterbatch must be certified as a complete formulation. The melt is processed at 195–220 °C in molds with wall thicknesses from 1.0 mm for tags to 2.5 mm for pot rims; mold temperature is intentionally set at 20–35 °C to retain a high level of amorphous content, because uncontrolled crystallinity slows disintegration in industrial compost. However, a cold mold causes more warpage in flat tags after ejection; warpage is controlled by post-mold cooling fixtures at 10–15 °C for 2 min rather than by raising mold temperature, which would compromise compostability. The processing window is narrower for tags with a length-to-thickness ratio above 150:1; short shots in the engraved lettering region are mitigated by sequential valve gate opening with a 0.2 s delay. Formulation often includes 2–5 wt% of a PLA-compatible masterbatch containing compostable pigments; talc, calcium carbonate or other mineral fillers above 5 wt% are avoided because they raise density and may inhibit microbial disintegration. The products—thin plant tags, propagation pot strips and tray inserts—are non-food-contact articles and are not evaluated under food-contact regulations. If the horticultural product includes a metal clip or wire, the metal component must be removable before composting, because metal is outside the organic recycling stream. Compliance is verified with EN 13432:2000 or the relevant national compostability scheme; claims remain limited to industrial facilities and must be accompanied by final article certification.
Representative process conditions for the five downstream sectors are aggregated in Table 1; these values are applied only after the specified pre-drying regime and are not transferable to filled or toughened compounds without revalidation.
| Application geometry | Drying condition | Melt temperature | Mold temperature | Wall thickness | Specific equipment constraint |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-food cosmetic jar wall | 80 °C, 4 h, dew point −40 °C, moisture <250 ppm | 195–230 °C | 25–40 °C | 2.5–5.0 mm | 80–120 t hydraulic, 20:1–24:1 L/D low-shear screw |
| Writing instrument barrel | 80 °C, 4 h, moisture <250 ppm | 195–220 °C | 30–45 °C | 0.8–1.5 mm | 4–16 cavity cold runner, water-cooled core 10–15 °C |
| Diagnostic housing snap fit | 80 °C, 4 h, moisture <250 ppm | 210–220 °C | 45–50 °C fill, 25 °C ejection | Snap beam 0.6–0.8 mm; housing wall 2.0 mm | Conformal cooling insert at snap-fit root |
| Horticultural pot or plant tag | 80 °C, 4 h | 195–220 °C | 20–35 °C | 1.0–2.5 mm | Sequential valve gate delay 0.2 s, cooling fixture 10–15 °C |
| Point-of-purchase display sign holder | 80 °C, 4 h | 200 °C | 30 °C | 1.5–2.5 mm | Tunnel gate moved to rear face |
Compliance boundaries for the five downstream sectors are summarized in Table 2. Certification is product-specific; resin-level data alone does not replace final article testing.
| Sector | Regulatory boundary | Primary standard or clause | Validation condition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-food cosmetic packaging | Non-ingested personal-care article | REACH Annex XVII, RoHS 2011/65/EU | No FDA 21 CFR 177.1520 food-contact claim |
| Adult writing instruments | Adult stationery; children’s version under toy safety | EN 71-3:2019+A1:2021, REACH SVHC screening | Migration of elements; heavy-metal-free pigments |
| Diagnostic non-patient-contact housing | Laboratory electrical equipment enclosure | IEC 61010-1:2010+A1:2019 | Not ISO 10993; no tissue or fluid contact |
| Horticultural pots and plant tags | Industrial compostable article | EN 13432:2000 | Final article certification required |
| Point-of-purchase display sign holder | General electrical/electronic accessory | RoHS 2011/65/EU, REACH Annex XVII | No load-bearing safety function |
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Ingeo PLA 6400D is a polylactic acid resin supplied by NatureWorks LLC and intended specifically for biaxially oriented film manufacture from the melt. The resin is synthesized by catalytic ring-opening polymerization of lactide, with a stereochemical composition controlled to a nominal D-lactide fraction of about 4 mol%. This stereochemical balance suppresses rapid spherulitic crystallization during quench but permits strain-induced crystallization during longitudinal and transverse drawing. A representative pellet specification lists a specific gravity of 1.24 when measured in accordance with ASTM D792, a melt mass-flow rate of 3.0 g/10 min at 210°C and 2.16 kg in accordance with ISO 1133-1:2022, and a crystalline melting endotherm peak near 150°C determined by differential scanning calorimetry according to ASTM D3418. The glass transition temperature, also measured by DSC, lies between 55°C and 60°C and defines the lower boundary for stretching operations. These values are lot-dependent and should be verified against the certificate of analysis issued for each batch.
On production-scale cast-film lines, the resin is pre-dried with desiccant dryers to a moisture content below 0.025 wt% using an air dew point at or below -40°C. Desiccant beds regenerated above 150°C are typical, and a heated hopper residence time of 4–6 h at 65–85°C is required for cold pellet feed. In twin-screw extrusion with an L/D ratio of 36:1 used for masterbatch dilution, the processing section is configured with forward conveying elements and only one kneading block to limit shear heating. Barrel temperatures from feed to die are generally held between 190°C and 220°C; melt temperatures above 230°C accelerate thermal degradation, increase lactide monomer condensate on the chill roll, and reduce molecular weight, measured as a decrease in intrinsic viscosity. The cast web is quenched on a polished chromium roll at 15–30°C to produce an amorphous sheet that remains drawable. Operating below 15°C can reduce surface tack but introduces condensation defects when ambient relative humidity exceeds 60%.
Storage conditions before processing influence hydrolytic stability. Sealed bags with desiccant should be maintained at 10–40°C; prolonged exposure to 80% RH causes pellet moisture to rise above 0.05 wt% within 48 h in uncontrolled warehousing. Pellets with surface moisture are not restored by simple air drying; a desiccant bed system or vacuum drying at 80°C for 4 h is necessary. In injection-molding applications, 6400D is generally not recommended because of its low melt mass-flow rate and narrow processing window; if injection molding is attempted, clamp force settings for thin-wall tools should account for higher viscosity and higher injection pressure than typical high-melt-flow PLA injection grades.
The melt rheology of 6400D differs from general-purpose PLA extrusion and injection grades primarily in its narrow molecular weight distribution and its D-lactide-controlled crystallization half-time. In controlled-strain capillary rheometry using a Göttfert Rheograph 25 or Rosand RH2200 equipped with a 1 mm diameter, 16 mm length die, the apparent shear viscosity of 6400D is lower than that of high-viscosity blow-molding PLA grades but higher than that of injection-molding grades with melt flow rates of 6 g/10 min or greater. This intermediate viscosity maintains a stable melt curtain at film line speeds of 80–120 m/min while providing sufficient melt strength for bubble inflation or tenter stretching. Dynamic mechanical analysis of quenched 6400D sheets shows the storage modulus crossing the loss modulus near the glass transition; the resulting tan δ peak between 55°C and 60°C marks the segmental mobility required for orientation. Compared with general-purpose PLA resins with D-lactide contents below 1 mol%, the 4 mol% D-lactide content of 6400D extends crystallization induction time. This prevents haze-forming spherulites from forming before the sheet enters the tenter, a common defect when high-crystallinity PLA extrusion grades are substituted without reformulation.
Compared with PET, 6400D exhibits a lower density of 1.24 g/cm³ versus 1.40 g/cm³ and a lower crystalline melting peak, which reduces extruder energy demand but narrows high-temperature dimensional stability. Volumetric feeder settings developed for PET cannot be transferred directly to PLA unless bulk density is measured according to ASTM D1895. This differential is relevant in coextruded structures where layer thickness uniformity is controlled by melt pump speed. Unlike general-purpose PLA film resins that may contain higher D-lactide fractions for low-temperature heat sealing, 6400D is positioned for controlled orientation and high modulus after tentering; this distinction should be confirmed against the supplier’s lot certificate because minor stereochemical deviations can shift heat-seal initiation and shrink tension.
In cast-film extrusion, 6400D is normally run with a breaker plate and screen pack with mesh sizes from 40/80/40 to 60/100/60. The presence of moisture above 0.025 wt% produces a reduction in melt viscosity of more than 10% within 10 min of residence time, a defect observed as increasing die lip gel deposition. For this reason, hot-air conveying systems should maintain a closed-loop dry air supply; vented barrels are not a substitute for pellet pre-drying because hydrolytic chain scission occurs before volatile removal can be completed. The specific energy consumption of the extruder is typically higher than for polyolefin extrusion because PLA is a polar resin with lower melt compressibility, but the process is thermally reversible within the specified melt-temperature window.
In sequential biaxial orientation of 6400D, the first machine-direction draw is generated by differential roll speeds at a stretch ratio between 2.5:1 and 4.0:1, with draw-roll temperatures maintained between 60°C and 75°C. The second transverse draw in the tenter frame is normally performed at a stretch ratio of 3.0:1 to 5.0:1 using clip-chain systems with preheat zones at 70–90°C, drawing zones at 75–95°C, and annealing zones at 110–135°C. The process tolerance is narrow: if transverse stretching temperature falls below 70°C, the amorphous PLA sheet may fracture at the clip edges; if it rises above 95°C with residence time above 4 min, the film can develop thickness bands from non-uniform crystallization. Published data for full-scale tenter-frame trials with this specific grade are limited, but pilot-line measurements using a Brückner Karo IV stretcher show that a draw ratio of 3.5:1 in both directions produces balanced tensile modulus and maximum strain at break when the draw temperature is kept at 85°C and the annealing temperature is 120°C for 30 s. Under these conditions, the film reaches a haze value below 2% when measured according to ASTM D1003.
Shrinkage tension after annealing is reduced to below 1% in both machine and transverse directions when the film is exposed to 80°C for 10 min in accordance with ASTM D1204. The acceptable temperature spread across the tenter clip width should not exceed ±5°C; larger deviations generate edge curl and gauge variation. Batch-to-batch variation in D-lactide content of ±0.3 mol% can shift the crystallization induction time enough to alter haze by up to 2% on the same line. Incoming resin lots are therefore qualified by DSC isothermal crystallization half-time at 110°C, not solely by melt flow rate. Web breaks at tenter clip edges are most frequently observed when ambient relative humidity changes from below 40% to above 70% without adjustment of pre-drying residence time.
Thermal degradation of 6400D in the melt is dominated by random chain scission and depolymerization to lactide, with kinetics that accelerate as melt temperature increases from 200°C to 240°C. At 240°C, melt residence times above 5 min can reduce the weight-average molecular weight by more than 20%, as determined by gel permeation chromatography using polystyrene standards and a differential refractive index detector. Additive packages containing metal stearates can further accelerate this degradation, which is why neutral or acid-scavenging masterbatches should be screened by thermogravimetric analysis before production use. The recommended melt-temperature set point for the die is below 220°C to preserve melt strength and limit lactide vapor contact on casting equipment. Extruder screws that generate high shear heating through aggressive mixing elements are not recommended for this resin because the resulting melt-temperature peaks can exceed the barrel set point by 10–15°C.
Hydrolytic chain scission in 6400D occurs before visible pellet wetting is apparent. The reaction is autocatalytic in the presence of lactic acid and is accelerated by free carboxyl end groups. Melt viscosity loss measured by ISO 1133-1:2022 is therefore a lagging indicator; molecular weight distribution analysis by GPC provides an earlier indication of chain degradation. Pre-drying is required at relative humidities above 60% in the production hall. Desiccant dryers with air dew points below -40°C and closed-loop conveying reduce moisture re-uptake during transport from hopper to extruder inlet. If the pellet inlet temperature is below room temperature, condensation can form on the pellet surface even when the surrounding air is nominally dry; hopper insulation and warm-air sealing are specified in high-humidity plants.
Shrink sleeve label converting tests with 6400D using roll-fed gravure and flexographic printing have recorded print adhesion values above 3 N/15 mm after corona treatment at 42–48 mN/m; this is lower than the surface energy required for some UV-curable inks, so a primer or in-line plasma treatment is often specified. The films display a moisture-driven dimensional change: when stored at 50% RH and 23°C, transverse-direction shrinkage is below 0.5%, but storage at 80% RH increases moisture uptake and can increase shrinkage to 1–2%. For this reason, film rolls are wrapped in polyethylene and kept in climate-controlled rooms. In twist-wrap applications, the grade is evaluated by dead-fold and twist-retention tests; 6400D retains a twist angle above 360° after 24 h at 23°C in a laboratory fixture, a property related to its high modulus and low yield strain after biaxial orientation.
The neat resin is not stated as universally food-contact compliant for all jurisdictions. Compliance must be established for the final article based on additive package, migration interface, and food type. Representative compliance parameters and documentation requirements are listed below.
| Standard/regulation | Scope | Documentation required |
|---|---|---|
| FDA 21 CFR 175.300 | Resinous and polymeric coatings | Supplier letter for neat resin; final additive validation |
| EU Regulation 10/2011 | Plastic food-contact materials | Migration testing per food simulant |
| REACH 1907/2006 | Substances in articles | SVHC declaration for lot-specific product |
| RoHS 2011/65/EU | Heavy metals and brominated flame retardant restrictions | Analytical test report for homogeneous material |
| ASTM D6866 | Biogenic carbon content | Batch certificate from supplier |
Coextruded and laminated structures using 6400D as the outer layer have been processed on pilot lines with polyurethane-dispersion tie resins applied at coating weights of 2–4 g/m². Peel adhesion values above 5 N/15 mm are achievable only after surface treatment and full crystallization annealing; residual lactide on the film surface below 0.1 wt% is recommended to prevent bond failure. Published data for this specific lamination configuration remains limited, and converters should validate adhesion on their own line because variations in corona treatment and annealing history affect surface crystallinity.
