What is Torlon? – Performance Plastics

Performance Plastics’ Senior Design Engineer, Brian Black, walks through the key points of injection molding Torlon®.

Torlon® is a high strength, high performance, melt processable plastic material. It’s ability to perform under severe stress combined with its resistance to elevated temperatures makes it ideal for various applications across many industries

Solvay Torlon® features superior creep resistance and mechanical strength over a wide range of temperatures and a very low coefficient of linear thermal expansion. It is an amorphous material with a glass transition temperature of 537°F.  Torlon’s resistance to chemicals, high-energy radiation, hydrolysis, and UV combined with its ability to maintain physical properties under extreme temperatures make Torlon® ideal for applications exposed to severe environments.

Torlon® is optimal for parts that need to perform under conditions generally considered too severe for thermoplastics. Typical applications include aircraft hardware and fasteners, automotive transmission and powertrain components, and oil & gas exploration and recovery equipment. The material’s excellent electrical insulating properties have made it a common choice for semiconductor fabrication and testing as well as electrical and electronic components.

Typical Applications Include:

• Semi-conductor machinery parts
• Aerospace components
• Pump and Valve parts
• Compressor Components
• High Temperature Insulators

At Performance Plastics, we are experts in injection molding, specializing in high performance plastics.  Torlon® is a reactive polymer, which can cause complications during the injection molding process. A specific set of conditions, equipment, and processing procedures must be followed to effectively injection mold Torlon®. Our proprietary tool design software, processes and equipment enables us to injection mold components having complex geometries made from challenging ultra, high-performance thermoplastic materials, and reinforced compounds.

We utilize a unique combination of extensive material knowledge, mold flow analysis, a design system and process expertise to eliminate or minimize the need for secondary operations. Our expertise in process control allows us to effectively injection mold Torlon® in parts with extremely tight tolerances. This gives us the ability to provide an injection molded part made from the highest strength and stiffness of any commercial thermoplastic.

Torlon® is one of the many high performance polymers Performance Plastics manufacturers.  For more information on Performance Plastic’s capabilities, please contact Rich Reed, our Vice President of Sales and Marketing at 513.321.8404 or email at [email protected].