Many industrial processes require high performance materials in friction/wear applications. Traditionally this has been the realm of lubricated metals, but with the increasing demand for performance and lighter weight specifications, advancements in material science have brought engineered plastics to the forefront. Engineered plastics bring the benefits of lighter weight, longer part life cycles and lower failure rates. These applications were previously only possible with metal. Performance Plastics injection molds engineered plastics in complex geometries with extreme dimensional tolerances. The material space in play requires wear resistance, high strength, high temperature resistance, and low creep in a non-lubricated environment.

Friction/Wear applications are those that encompass wear, friction and lubrication interactions that produce surfaces that behave in relative motion in natural and artificial systems. They are complex, multi-disciplinary applications which require contributions from engineering, chemistry, chemical engineering and mechanical engineering. Friction/Wear applications can be found in healthcare, aerospace, nanotechnology and most importantly in applications enhancing energy efficiency and reducing carbon footprints.

Friction/Wear applications using polymers and their composites include gears, bearings, bushings, coatings, automobile brake pads and various other types of surfaces for optimum tactile performance. Performance Plastics partners with the experts at PBI Performance Products utilizing their proprietary product Celazole ® and our joint technologies to offer our customers specialized solutions to their most challenging issues.

Performance Plastics, located in Cincinnati, OH has over 30 years’ experience in molding specialized fluoropolymers for the aerospace, medical, power generation and other industries. We have developed proprietary processes enabling products that provide wear resistance, high strength and high temperature resistance.

For more information and solutions, please contact Rich Reed, Vice President of Sales & Marketing at 513.321.8404 or email: [email protected].

Aircraft maintenance is the most important activity that airlines and owners should never underestimate. This maintenance does not stop at the engine, it also includes fasteners, adhesives, and sealants. Aerospace fasteners, adhesives and sealants are vital components to make sure an aircraft can safely fly. The advancement of fasteners, adhesives, and sealants also creates an advancement in products to efficiently replace old fastener, adhesive, and sealants. At Performance Plastics, we have seen the need to improve the tools maintainers use for aircraft maintenance, which is why we created our EnduroSharp® product line.

The EnduroSharp® product line has changed the way aerospace maintenance professionals remove sealants and adhesives from substrates and fasteners. Instead of using ineffective metal scrapers and blades, we have created a line of non-marring aircraft maintenance tools. It is our goal to make these tools as efficient as possible, which is why we are constantly wanting feedback from maintainers on all our tools. Most recently we have been working on feedback we have received from our EnduroSharp® Torlon® Adhesive Reamer tools. Maintainers thought the tool worked great, but great can always be better.

The EnduroSharp® Torlon® Adhesive Reamer tools were created to fit into a drill we had in our lab here at Performance Plastics. What we did not know is that the end of our Reamer tool did not correctly lock into other drills used by maintainers. Therefore, we corrected the issue and redesigned the end of our Reamers to make sure that they fit every drill an aircraft maintainer could possibly use.

At Performance Plastics, we take pride in our ability to solve problems, even when it is our own problem. We know how important it is to use tools that allow you to efficiently and effectively do your job. We take all feedback seriously and want to make our products the best they can be for every person using them.

For more information on our EnduroSharp® product line contact Rich Reed, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, at (513) 321-8404 or [email protected]

The product line for EnduroSharp® has changed the way aerospace maintenance professionals remove sealants and adhesives from substrates and fasteners. EnduroSharp® tools are made from Torlon®, a high strength polymer, creating a non-metallic tool that will not damage composite structures during use. The EnduroSharp® lineup consists of a variety of scraper blades, gap blades, reamers, cutter, bits, and discs for removal of adhesives on aircrafts. The product line even consists of kits containing all of the parts and sizes that you will need.

The EnduroSharp® Torlon® Gap Blade & Holder Kits provides aerospace maintenance professionals precise depth specific, incremental skiving of gap filler materials. This kit includes the EnduroSharp® standard holder, pocketholder, gap blade adapter and 1 gap blade of each size. EnduroSharp® Torlon® Gap Blades (TGB) are available in five widths and three depths per width, providing 15 different sizes, TGB-75-75, TGB-75-16, TGB-75-25, TGB-10-75, TGB-10-16, TGB-10-25, TGB-12-75, TGB-12-16, TGB-12-25, TGB-17-75, TGB-17-16, TGB-17-25, TGB-23-75, TGB-23-16, and TGB-23-25. The blades slide and lock into the detent pin of the adapter, to easily alternate between the sizes as needed. This kit also contains the pocket scraper blade holder for use of the scraper blades in smaller areas.

The EnduroSharp® Torlon® Gap Blade & Holder Kit is just one of the kits offered in the EnduroSharp® Product line. Contact Rich Reed for our Vice President of Sales and Marketing, at (513) 321-8404 or [email protected], more information on our EnduroSharp® kits and products.

High performance injection molded plastics have been replacing metal in various applications. The transition from metal to high performance plastics has given engineers more freedom in their designs, while also increasing their products durability. The use of high-performance plastics has created more opportunities in the aerospace, automotive, electronic, and energy industries. High-performance plastics have not only allowed these industries to decrease the weight of their products, but also helped to create smarter products.

The use of high-performance plastics over metal has been increasing efficiency, but what about the use of high-performance plastics with metal? The use of high-performance plastics, such as PEEK and FEP, with conductive additives including graphite and boron nitride has created a vast amount of new opportunities. Integrating plastic polymers with metal components will still give a lighter, durable product, but it also opens an innovative range for thermal management. The increase in thermal management allows for improved heat sinks and heat removal applications, creating enhanced performance and reliability.

Modifying plastic to improve thermal conductivity has been producing cutting edge products in many industries. These thermally conductive polymers have solved engineering problems for circuit boards, electronics, Li ion batteries, smart phones, appliances and even industrial equipment used in corrosive environments.

For more information on injection molded thermally conductive polymers contact Rich Reed, our Vice President of Sales and Marketing, at (513) 321-8404 or [email protected].