Polyxoymethylene
(POM), also called
acetal, from Ensinger is one of
the workhorses of
the engineering
plastics family.
Since its commercialization
in the
early 1960s it has
been used in a
wide variety of
applications
because of its balance
of strength, toughness and lubricity.
There are two general types of acetal in the market:
homopolymer and copolymer. Acetal homopolymer
(POM-H) is produced through a condensation polymerization
of formaldehyde. Acetal copolymer (POM-C) is manufactured
using a different process through the polymerization
of formaldehyde and a co monomer. The type of co
monomer and the amount used vary from one manufacturer
to another. The differences in acetal chemistries will
yield differences in a number of properties.
Since this class of polymers has been used extensively
for close to 50 years and both the homopolymer and
copolymer have similar properties, the trend has been to
treat POM-H and POM-C as interchangeable materials.
This is not always the case. Despite the similarities
between the two polymers there are design scenarios
where the acetal homopolymer has better performance
than the copolymer.
Acetal homopolymers exhibit a higher level of crystalline
structure than their acetal copolymer counterparts.
Typically the crystallinity of acetal homopolymer runs from
55 to 60% whereas, acetal copolymer ranges from only
45 to 50%. This results in acetal homopolymer materials
that are superior to acetal copolymers, offering higher
temperature rating, mechanical strength, mechanical stiffness,
toughness, creep resistance and fatigue resistance.
These property variations can often mean the difference
between the success or failure of a part.
Ensinger offers acetal homopolymer in a variety of formulations
in plate, rod, and thin gauge sheet.
For additional information, contact Bruce Dickinson,
Ensinger, Inc., 365 Meadowlands Blvd., Washington, PA
15301, 800-243-3221/856-227-0500, Fax: 724-746-9209, Web: www.shopforplastics.com.
Acetal Sheet & Rod
GEHR Acetal, Co- Polymer (POM-C) can be used in temperatures
ranging from -58°F to +230°F. POM shows
good sliding properties
and good resistance to
wear because of the
high strength and
smooth surface. Copolymer
(POMC)
exhibits a good thermal
stability and a
high resistance to
chemicals.
In addition to the
standard 48” sheet
lengths, they now offer them in lengths of 96”. The sheets
are available in 24” width, thickness from 3/8” up to 8”,
in black and natural color. Electrically conductive, GEHR
Acetal ELS; antistatic, GEHR Acetal ESd; and wear resistance
food grade WEARGEHR Acetal FG formulations are
also available.
For additional information, contact Bill Shields, GEHR
Plastics USA, 24 Creek Circle, Boothwyn, PA 19061, 800-PVC-GEHR/610-497-8941, Fax: 610-497-8901, E-mail: info@gehrplastics.com, Web: www.gehrplastics.com.
Extruded Shapes
Hi-Tech Profiles, Inc., a leading
manufacturer of extruded stock
shapes, has entered into its 21st
year of service to the plastics distribution
industry. Established in
1988, the company has grown
steadily from its initial roots of
offering only nylon and acetal
stock shapes and continues to
expand its product lines with the
addition of co-extrusion. HTP has moved into a brand new
facility in Ashaway, Rhode Island along with its two sister
companies, HTP-Meds LLC and Hi-Tech Molds. The three
companies combined offer concept to part service with
extremely fast turnaround time.
HTP specializes in the extrusion of all engineered thermoplastic
materials in sizes ranging from 0.050” to 2.5”
OD. The company offers an extensive line of tubing, hollow
rod and bushing stock in nylon and acetal that is in
stock and available for immediate shipment. Custom sizes
are quoted upon request with over twenty different materials
to choose from including ECTFE, Polycarbonate,
PVDF and Polysulfone. Custom cutting and printing are
available upon request with standard stock sizes available.
Co-extruded tubing with two and three layer construction
in sizes ranging up to 1” OD is also available.
Please call for a quote on your next co-extrusion project.
For additional information, contact Brian McGregor, Hi-Tech Profiles, Inc. 15 Gray Lane, Ashaway, RI 02804, 800-342-5495, Fax: 401-377-2423, E-mail: info@hitechprofiles.com, Web: www.hitechprofiles.com.
No Tooling Charge on
New Jobs
HPE Extrusion Solutions, specialists in complex plastic
extrusions, is offering a limited time waiver of tooling
charges on new custom extrusion projects.
Tony Madison, HPE President, said the offer had a dual
purpose. “We are, of course, interested in expanding our
customer base. But we also see this as our own kind of
‘stimulus program.’ Many of our customers are Original
Equipment Manufacturers. They look to us to extrude plastic
components that are integral parts of their own end
products. By offering to design and manufacture a customer’s
extrusion dies, we help OEMs keep their production
costs down and make it easier—and a lot less expensive—
for them to market their industrial or consumer
products. To put it another way, we like to think we’re helping
in our own small way to ‘jump-start’ the economy.”
For additional information, contact Tony Madison, HPE
Extrusion Solutions, Inc., 20 North Front Street, Suite 1,
Bally, PA 19503, 610-845-9111, Fax: 610-845-9113,
E-mail: tmadison@hpeplasticextrusions.com, Web: www.hpeplasticextrusions.com.
Larger Cast Nylon Sheet
Nylatech, Inc.,
manufacturers of
cast nylon 6 and
6/12 as rod,
sheet and tubular
bar as well as
finished or semifinished
custom
cast components,
can supply sheet
in sizes up to 4’ x
10’ in all of their
grades including
Nylatech® Oil,
Nylatech® SL and Nylatech® Nythane™.
For additional information, contact Calvin Petersen,
Nylatech, Inc., P.O. Box 455, Everson, WA 98247, 800-506-9566/360-966-2838, Fax: 360-966-2838, E-mail: nylatech@nylatech.com, Web: www.nylatech.com.
Nylon Profiles
Petro Extrusion Technologies, Inc., extrudes custom and
stock nylon shapes, in FDA or heat-stabilized grades of
Nylon 6 and Nylon 12.
Semi-rigid or flexible
grades are available for
most custom shapes.
Profiles can be made in
natural, standard or
custom colors as
required. Petro also
offers custom cut to length capabilities. They can also custom
extrude profiles based on customer drawings.
For additional information, contact Bob Petrozziello,
Petro Extrusion Technologies, Inc., P.O. Box 99, Garwood,
NJ 07027, 800-229-3338/908-789-3338, Fax: 908-789-0434, E-mail: rpetro@petroextrusions.com, Web:www.petroextrusions.com.
Tubular Bars
Plastifab Industries offers one of the widest ranges of extruded
extra large tubular bars in standard materials such as
HDPE, Polypropylene, LDPE, PPS, nylon, acetal and Delrin®
AF. Current size offerings
range from a
combinations of 22”
outside diameter to
1.75” inside diameter.
Combining
longer length availability
than other traditional
engineering
thermoplastics
processes, these
tubular bars reduce
machining costs and
provide greater flexibility
in many applications.
For additional information, contact Robert S Sowka or
Johnny Lapadula, Plastifab Industries, 7777 Transcanadienne,
Saint-Laurent, Quebec, 800-361-4774/514-325-9840, Fax: 514-325-5222, E-mail: infoprod@plastifab.ca, Web: www.plastifab.ca.
Custom Tubing & Profiles
The Spiratex Company is a custom thermoplastic extruder
of tubing and profiles, founded in 1955. ISO 9001;
2000 certified, Spiratex is an industry leader specializing
in a wide range of thermoplastic resins, including nylon
and acetal. Their unique capabilities include in-house tooling,
co-extrusion, tight tolerance tubing and profiles, ram
and screw extrusion processing. The ability to extrude a
wide range of thermoplastic resins insures our customers
get the right material for the application. Today The
Spiratex Company runs 130 ram and screw extrusion
machines 24 hour a day. Their employee-owned company
prides itself on its work ethic and dedication to problem
solving in all industries.
For additional information, contact Barry Mills, The Spiratex Company, 1916 Frenchtown Center Drive, Monroe, MI 48162, 734-641-4111, Fax: 734-289-4804, E-mail: bmills@spiratex.com, Web: www.spiratex.com.
Antistatic Acetal
Westlake Plastic’s Pomalux® SD-A stock shapes are manufactured from a specially compounded, non-carbon filled, permanently antistatic resin which is non-migratory and non-humidity dependent. The material won't slough, has enhanced lubricity, is dimensionally stable, chemically resistant and easy to machine. Enhanced lubricity provides superior wear resistance. Its extremely low outgassing values and nonsloughing characteristics make it ideal for applications where particulate generation cannot be tolerated. In addition to the standard anti-static materials, which allow for a surface resistivity range of 10^7- 10^11 ohms/square, Westlake can now offer Pomalux SD-A in the range of 10^8-10^10 ohms/square. At this time, this special formulation is available in sheet from 1/4" up to 4" thick and soon to be available in rod and thin gauge sheet.
For additional information, contact Gary King, Westlake Plastics Company, P.O. Box 127, Lenni, PA 19052, 800-999-1700/610-459-1000, Fax: 610-459-1084, E-mail: gary@westlakeplastics.com, Web: www.westlakeplastics.com.
Nylon & Acetal Shapes
ZL engineering plastics, inc. supplies high quality nylon
and acetal stock shapes, as well as PET, PC, PEI, PEEK and
PVDF machining stock. Their inventoried extruded and
cast nylon formulations include: natural, black, MDS, blue
(cast only) and oil filled (cast only). ZL stocks both
homopolymer (Delrin®)
and copolymer acetal
in natural and black.
A broad size range of
nylon rod and plate,
and acetal rod, plate
and tubular bar is
ready for immediate
shipment. Rod is available
from 1/4" to 28"
diameter in 36", 48"
or 120" lengths. We
offer plate from 1/4"
to 6" thick in formats
from 24" x 48" to 48"
x 120". Acetal tubular bar is available from inventory in a
wide variety of sizes including O.D.'s from 1" to 10" and
I.D.'s of 19/32" to 7.5".
For additional information, contact Lisa Schmid (East),
Anna Lopez (West), ZL engineering plastics, inc., 12 John
Walsh Road, Peekskill, NY 10566, 914-736-6066, Fax: 914-736-2154, E-Mail: info@zlplastics.com, Web: www.zlplastics.com.
