The lack of reliable and effective nonmetallic material removal tools available to maintainers
drives the continued use of unapproved tools and/or methods when removing materials from
aerospace vehicles. The use of metallic tools has resulted in damage to vehicles, both short term
and long term, causing the need for expensive repairs and reduction in vehicle availability.
The University of Dayton Research Institute under contract to the Air Force Research Laboratory
has developed and commercialized a series of nonmetallic material removal tools under the
“EnduroSharp” trademark manufactured from glass-filled Torlon thermoplastic produced by
Solvay Engineered Plastics. The use of this material coupled with the tools’ designs is
responsible for their superior stiffness and durability (resistance to chemicals and heat) and
enhance the tools’ ability to maintain sharp cutting edges, allowing efficient removal of coatings,
boots, tapes, sealants, gap fillers and caulking materials, pressure , sensitive adhesive (PSA), and
tape residue without damaging underlying composite surfaces.
The lack of reliable and effective nonmetallic material removal tools available to maintainers
drives the continued use of unapproved tools and/or methods when removing materials from
aerospace vehicles. The use of metallic tools has resulted in damage to vehicles, both short term
and long term, causing the need for expensive repairs and reduction in vehicle availability.
The University of Dayton Research Institute under contract to the Air Force Research Laboratory
has developed and commercialized a series of nonmetallic material removal tools under the
“EnduroSharp” trademark manufactured from glass-filled Torlon thermoplastic produced by
Solvay Engineered Plastics. The use of this material coupled with the tools’ designs is
responsible for their superior stiffness and durability (resistance to chemicals and heat) and
enhance the tools’ ability to maintain sharp cutting edges, allowing efficient removal of coatings,
boots, tapes, sealants, gap fillers and caulking materials, pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA), and
tape residue without damaging underlying composite surfaces.
Plastic injection molding continues to become more and more sophisticated with part tolerances becoming tighter and tighter. Initially, tight tolerance was defined as +/-.002 inches and a very tight tolerance is +/-.001 inches. But today there are many factors that impact tight tolerance including part complexity and size, resin selection, tooling, and process conditions. So, getting the mold, part design, material selection and process correct is crucial when working with a product that requires tight tolerances.
Tight tolerances are essential when manufacturing complex parts, especially in the aerospace & defense, medical & life sciences, and diversified industrial sectors. A few thousandths of an inch can be the difference between a component that fits and one that does not – if tight tolerances are not achieved properly the resulting products may underperform. So, it is critical that clients understand tight tolerances and their underlying objectives. Performance Plastics has parts in production that are +/-.0004 inches. Parts are measured in their Metrology lab with a CT Scanner.
Benefits of Tight Tolerances
There are many benefits to manufacturing parts with tight tolerances. It ensures that parts work together smoothly and fit as intended in their final form; parts mesh well and deliver enhanced functionality. They produce lower failure rates and result in higher client satisfaction. Tight tolerances can also result in fewer post-molding processing requirements. Additionally, tight tolerances allow for parts to be transitioned from metal to plastic, reducing overall weight and cost of the final product. This can be very advantageous in some industries, such as aerospace and defense.
Design for Tight Tolerances
Not every plastic injection molding project requires tight tolerances, and some organizations insist on tight tolerances for non-critical features. Tight tolerance should only be required in instances where they are critical. Many products require standard tolerancing because the consequences of failure are low. As a general rule, designers should keep tolerances as large as possible while maintaining the desired functionality of the part.
Materials for Tight Tolerances
Additionally, material selection is a critical element in achieving tight tolerances. Certain resins perform better under certain circumstances. An experienced design engineer can guide a client in choosing the most affordable material that will deliver the best result. So, it’s critical to bring in an experienced team early in the design process.
By engaging a production team during the design phase, part functionality, material selection and design can be discussed upfront, and the team can jointly develop a manufacturing process and correct materials that will produce high-precision components. It is crucial for organizations to partner with an experienced injection molder, who has expertise; the design and manufacturing teams should be integrated to allow manufacturability issues to be identified and addressed during the design process – thus saving significant time and unnecessary cost.
Establishing the right process and correct materials for each product and developing repeatability are key to manufacturing tight tolerance parts. While every application is different, there are some process and material conditions that impact tolerances. For example, quick cavity filling and uniform cooling at the desired temperature are conditions that are crucial to achieving repeatability, and thus, parts with tight tolerances.
Performance Plastics is highly skilled at designing and molding using high performance materials such as PEI-Ultem®, PAI-Torlon®, Ryton® PPS Plastic, PEEK, and Fluoropolymers such as FEP, PFA, and PVDF. We work with our customers to solve technically challenging problems. We can propose materials to implement part functionality in the design stage of development. We offer manufacturing solutions such as a clean room, the ability to offer direct gating of fluoropolymers, high volume production, visual inspection, and automated facilities.
For more information and solutions, please contact Rich Reed, Vice President of Sales & Marketing at 513-321-8404 or email [email protected]
For decades, maintenance personnel have searched for a non-metallic scraper tools or sealant remover tools that could hold an effective edge, but not damage aircraft structures, like composite and aluminum.
That’s why Performance Plastics created the patented EnduroSharp® line of Torlon® Maintenance Tools. Suitable for aircraft, automotive, marine and windmill structures, these nonmetallic scraper tools hold a superior edge and are extremely durable for removing sealants, adhesives, and coatings. What’s more, maintenance personnel no longer have to resort to sharpened putty knives, scribes, and utility blades.
EnduroSharp® is pleased to announce our new and improved Nutplate Abrasion Tool (NAT). An alternative to traditional abrasion methods, this tool was specifically designed to allow maintainers to quickly abrade the bond surface of CR series nutplates. The tools radially abrade the bond surface of the nutplate, ensuring that 100% of the bond surface is abraded uniformly in a manner of minutes.
The NAT kit consists of six components:
One each upper handle (top)
One each lower handle (base)
Four each nutplate base inserts
The NAT kit is available with a convenient carrying case. The rugged case comes with a high-density custom foam insert for easy inventory and protection.
For more information and solutions, please contact Rich Reed, Vice President of Sales & Marketing at 513-321-8404 or email [email protected]
When trying to choose the correct polymer for your application, understanding the materials can help you make your decision. For parts that require superior strength and durability, Ultem® is often a great choice.
Ultem® is a semi-transparent high strength plastic material that can operate in high service temperature environments. It is the ideal choice for demanding, high heat applications and can withstand continuous operating temperatures of 340 degrees F while maintaining strength and rigidity.
Ultem® is a member of the PEI (polyetherimide) family of thermoplastic resins. It provides a unique balance of mechanical properties and processability that gives engineers superior flexibility and freedom in design. Ultem is available in a variety of grades that provide enhanced chemical, heat, and elasticity benefits. It also features high tensile strength, stiffness, strength to weight ratio and dimensional stability.
Ultem® is the high-performance polyetherimide material of choice for many aerospace, aircraft, medical and pharmaceutical applications, including medical components. It offers exceptional mechanical properties and exhibits natural flame resistance and extremely low smoke generation.
Heat, solvent and flame resistant
High dielectric strength and stability
Excellent mechanical properties
Rigid and strong
Exceptional resistance to environmental forces
Performance Plastics is highly skilled at designing and molding using high performance materials such as Ultem®, Torlon®, PEEK, POM, and PPS. We work with our customers to solve technically challenging problems. We can propose materials to implement part functionality in the design stage of development. We offer manufacturing solutions such as a clean room, the ability to offer direct gating of fluoropolymers, high volume production, visual inspection and automated facilities.
For more information and solutions, please contact Rich Reed, Vice President of Sales & Marketing at 513-321-8404 or email [email protected]
The Lithium Ion Battery industry has begun using more and more plastic parts in their manufacturing processes. Most batteries intended for light vehicle usage now have 50% more plastic materials than they did even 10 years ago. Some batteries have entirely plastic formulations ranging from the electrolyte (polymeric electrolytes) to the casing. This is due to the very low weight of plastics as compared to metals. Plastic incorporation in batteries increases the electrolyte efficiency if used in polymeric electrolytes.
Commercially available lithium-ion batteries also use plastics. Plastic components incorporated in batteries include separators, gaskets, and casing components. Plastics have good shock absorbing characteristics and prevent damage to the basic cell unit from minor accidental shocks. Also, plastics such as Teflon® PFA, Ultem® PEI, and PPSU have high temperature resistance, corrosion resistance, and are electrical insulators so they are excellent at preventing short-circuit and “rapid disassembly.”
There has been a major shift from metal to resins in gasket manufacturing. Gaskets can be made from Ultem®, Ryton plastic and Fluoropolymers like PFA because of high heat resistance, chemical resistance, and ability to mold thin walls (.012”). Plastic parts may also lower the cost of production of batteries and may eventually replace most metallic components of batteries.
Performance Plastics is highly skilled at designing and molding high performance materials such as FEP/PFA, Ultem®, Torlon®, PEEK, POM, and PPS. We work with our customers to solve technically challenging problems. We can propose materials to implement part functionality in the design stage of development. We offer manufacturing solutions such as a clean room, the ability to offer direct gating of fluoropolymers, high volume production, visual inspection and automated facilities.
For more information and solutions, please contact Rich Reed, Vice President of Sales & Marketing at 513-321-8404 or email [email protected]
https://performanceplastics.com/wp-content/uploads/Performance-Plastics-logo-PNG-150.png00Aileen Crasshttps://performanceplastics.com/wp-content/uploads/Performance-Plastics-logo-PNG-150.pngAileen Crass2021-03-03 13:57:442022-02-28 15:40:29Injection Molded PFA & PPSU in the Lithium Ion Battery
At Performance Plastics, we understand that working with a qualified molding company is crucial to your company’s success. It is vital to find a team to support your company’s mission and commitment to delivering quality products on time. We have found over time, that there are three essential components that should weigh in your decision-making process when choosing a molder for your next application: Education, Trust and Quality.
Education
Is your molding partner educated about your company and your products? Do they understand your needs and goals? Do they understand advanced materials and their properties? Understanding resins and best molding practices including raw materials, drying time, heat history and molding temperatures will affect the outcome and quality of your application.
Trust
Trust is important in any business relationship – especially one that reflects on your business. Do you trust your molding partner to properly do the job? Open and continuous communication with key management of your molding partner is crucial to the success of any application. Your team should keep you informed of market conditions pertaining to raw materials, new techniques, and opportunities for improvement?
Quality and Quantity
Quality and Quantity, both are important to your business. Your customers rely on you for quality, dependable parts, but you must rely on your team for an on-time and dependable process. Dependable processes, such as quality procedures, run rates and material quality control produce quality parts.
Performance Plastics, located in Cincinnati, OH has over 30 years’ experience molding tight tolerance advanced plastics such as Fluoropolymers (FEP/PFA Torlon, Peek & Ultem) for many industries. We have developed proprietary processes enabling injection molding of parts that are thin walled, with tight dimensional tolerances, and complex geometries.
Education, Trust and Quality. Think about these questions when choosing your molding partner. Remember – education, trust, communication, and quality of work are vital to a long-lasting business relationship. Ask the questions and get some answers. This will assist you in finding and maintaining a dependable partnership.
For more information and solutions, please contact Rich Reed, Vice President of Sales & Marketing at 513-321-8404 or email [email protected].
https://performanceplastics.com/wp-content/uploads/Performance-Plastics-logo-PNG-150.png00Aileen Crasshttps://performanceplastics.com/wp-content/uploads/Performance-Plastics-logo-PNG-150.pngAileen Crass2021-02-25 13:44:042021-12-30 19:26:23How to Pick the Best Molding Partner for your Application
Every project has its own needs and goals. Complex geometries involving fine details or sharp corners often cannot be achieved by traditional plastic molding. Advanced plastic injection molding processes allow designers to combine numerous complex features into a single component, reducing the need for secondary machining or surface finishing operations.
Plastic Injection molding allows design freedom not easily matched by other traditional processes. Performance Plastics’ augments the latest software tools including solid modeling, mold flow analysis and finite element analysis with an internally developed iterative tool design approach to deliver complex geometries and densities superior to most other operations.
Our tooling modification process results in best in class part tolerances, particularly useful in molding mission critical parts where dimensional attributes need to be extremely precise. We use this approach to produce net shape molded parts of exceptional quality, eliminating or significantly reducing secondary matching operations resulting in material and process cost savings.
Performance Plastics, located in Cincinnati, OH has over 30 years’ experience in molding tight tolerance advanced plastics such as Fluoropolymers (FEP/PFA Torlon, Ryton plastic, Peek & Ultem) for many industries. We have developed proprietary processes enabling injection molding of parts that are thin walled, with tight dimensional tolerances, and complex geometries.
For more information and solutions, please contact Rich Reed, Vice President of Sales & Marketing at 513-321-8404 or email [email protected].
https://performanceplastics.com/wp-content/uploads/Performance-Plastics-logo-PNG-150.png00Aileen Crasshttps://performanceplastics.com/wp-content/uploads/Performance-Plastics-logo-PNG-150.pngAileen Crass2021-01-27 13:27:552022-02-27 20:06:41Designing and Molding Complex Plastic Parts
Performance Plastics provides a solution to avoid metal when designing your new part. Perfecting injection molding processes since 1980, PPL has an extensive knowledge of how to create plastic parts equivalent to metal. A high-performance plastic, such as Polyetheretherketone (PEEK), is ideal for parts that demand the high strength of metal, while also being lightweight and resistant to corrosion.
PEEK is a mainstay material for a growing variety of applications in many different industries. Its popularity is due to excellent friction and wear characteristics, extended durability under punishing environmental conditions, including high temperatures, abrasion and aggressive chemical environments.
Unfilled PEEK resins emit extremely low levels of smoke and toxic gas when exposed to a flame. Glass and carbon reinforced PEEK resins offer high thermal stability and are among the strongest thermoplastics in the market.
PEEK has a long list of outstanding characteristics making it one of the most popular alternatives to metal:
High mechanical strength and dimensional stability
Excellent long-term creep and fatigue properties
Excellent resistance to harsh chemicals
Withstands a wide range of acids and bases; high resistance to hydrocarbons and organic solvents
High wear resistance
Low coefficient of friction; high abrasion and cut-through resistance
Low moisture absorption and permeability
Resistant to high-pressure steam, fresh water and salt water
Excellent performance at high temperatures
Suitable for continuous-use temperatures up to 500°F
High electrical integrity
Displays consistent properties over a range of frequencies and temperatures; depending on the grade of resin chosen, PEEK parts can be insulating, conducting or static dissipative
Low smoke and toxic gas emission
Inherently flame retardant without the use of additives; low toxicity of combustion gases
Performance Plastics uses various grades of PEEK resin as metal replacements in applications where few other fluoropolymers would be considered. PEEK is widely used in industries such as: aerospace (commercial and defense), automotive, marine, industrial and energy (fossil fuel and renewable).
To discover how PEEK polymer resins can make the transition from metal to thermoplastic easier contact Rich Reed, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, at (513) 321-8404 or [email protected]
https://performanceplastics.com/wp-content/uploads/Performance-Plastics-logo-PNG-150.png00Aileen Crasshttps://performanceplastics.com/wp-content/uploads/Performance-Plastics-logo-PNG-150.pngAileen Crass2021-01-13 12:26:442021-12-30 20:48:26PEEK Molded Plastic is Taking the Place of Metal
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