See-Through Plastics PLUS

Clear, Rigid Polyurethane
Recognized as a worldwide leader in plastics processing technology and application development, Ensinger has the ability to combine the optimum material solution with the most suitable manufacturing method, and thus provides industry with the most innovative and cost-effective engineering solutions available today. Ensinger designs and manufactures semi-finished and finished products tailored exactly to the customer’s individual requirements. Your projects can benefit from Ensinger’s vast knowledge base and many years of experience in finding the best solutions for problems involving engineering thermoplastic materials.

Ensinger offers a broader array of engineering materials than any other plastics processor. From commodity materials such a polypropylene, polyethylene, acetal and nylon to high performance resins such as TECAPEEK® polyetheretherketone and TECATRON® polyphenylene sulfide, Ensinger has the ability to provide shapes and parts for even the most difficult and challenging applications and environments.

In addition to this wide range of engineering material choices, Ensinger also provides a staff of extremely knowledgeable plastics professionals to help their customers make informed material choices and process decisions. From their experienced customer service staff to their industry specific market specialists, Ensinger’s ability to guide customers toward the right engineering solution is unsurpassed.

For more information, contact Bruce Dickenson, Ensinger, 365 Meadow lands Avenue, Washington, PA 15301-8984, 724-746-6050/800-243-3221, Fax: 724-746-9209, E-mail: sales@ensinger-ind.com, Web: www.ensinger-ind.com.

Heavy-Duty Bending
The new WEGENER BV 306 bending machine is suitable for processing sheets in up to .” thickness. In its standard version, the machine is capable of bending PE, PP and PVDF. For these semi-crystalline materials, a V-shaped top heating bar is used to achieve a permanent corner. When equipped with a flat bar, the machine can easily handle PVC, CPVC, PC and acrylic.

The heating element travel limitation, which is offered as an option for the upper and the lower bar, allows the bending of see-through materials without leaving any markings. So even in heavier gauges, a cosmetically pleasing bend is achieved economically with accuracy at full repeatability. The heating times, bending times and the temperatures are set by way of a modern Siemens 7” touchscreen. Operation is performed with easy to follow displayed symbols. Once the parameters are set, the operator can insert or relocate the sheet and let the machine do its job. For added versatility, a lateral quick-release fastener on the clamping beam allows for easy removal of closed profiles.

For more information, contact Leah Dockter, Wegener Welding LLC., 16W301 S. Frontage Rd, Burr Ridge, IL 60527, 630-789-0990, Fax 630-789-1380, E-mail: info@wegenerwelding.com, Web: www.wegenerwelding.com.

4' 120V Plastic Bending Table
Abbeon introduced the new 120V 4-foot plastic bending table with top and bottom heat for faster cycle time and thicker material. This table is made of durable scratch resistant Trespa panel. This table features one top heat, one bottom heat, and one controller. The temperature is infinitely adjustable and the heating wire height can be adjusted. The working width is 1250 mm (48”) and material thickness is from 0.5 to 10mm (.02 to .39”). There is an optional timer available and freight delivery (Continental USA) is included.

Abbeon offers a complete range of plastic bending equipment including Free Standing Heating Trays, Adjustable Bending Fixtures, Plastic Bending Bars, Silicone Heaters and Heating Blankets, Accessories and Insulations Boards.

For more information, contact Jim Early, Abbeon Cal Inc., 1363 Donlon Street, Unit 1, Ventura, CA 93003, 800-922-0977, E-mail: abbeoncal@abbeon.com, Web: www.abbeon.com.

Acrylic Sheet Lines
Thermoplastic sheets are used extensively in daily life. From cars, to signage, glazing, furniture and lighting just to name a few. Plaskolite has a robust product line; ABS, OPTIX® acrylic, TUFFAK® polycarbonate, VIVAK® PETG and FABBACK ® mirror to enhance these applications and more.

Acrylic sheets have several grades, OPTIX extruded, DURAPLEX impact modified and OPTIX-L continuous cast. These versatile sheets can be specified in many applications. Acrylic from Plaskolite is inherently UV resistant and crystal clear. The beauty of acrylic sheets, it can go from residential to industrial and beyond.

TUFFAK polycarbonate sheets are easy to form and fabricate and are virtually unbreakable. From trains and boats to windows and signs Plaskolite has the polycarbonate sheet in clear, colors and mirrorized options.

ABS is a hidden gem in the thermoplastic portfolio. It has excellent impact strength and is easy to fabricate and form, it is rigid and creep resistant. Plaskolite extrudes this sheet with the highest quality of recycled product with a 100% virgin cap. This utility grade thermoplastic is ideal for automotive, dunnage and containers.

VIVAK PETG sheet is the ideal product for deep draws and complex shapes. It is thin and lightweight for direct to print applications. This durable and flexible co-polyester sheet is intended for interior P.O.P. displays, it meets FDA requirements for food contact and will not sacrifice structural integrity in the finished part.

All thermoplastic sheet products from Plaskolite are backed by a team of experts ready to support specifiers, designers and end users.

For more information, contact Jane Nash, Plaskolite, LLC, 400 W Nationwide Blvd, Suite 400, Columbus, OH 43215, 800-848-9124/662-893-5409, E-mail: jane.nash@plaskolite.com, Web: www.plaskolite.com.

CNC Edge Polishing
Eliminate the finishing of edges by hand with the latest in CNC polishing technology. The EURACRYL ABP 310 Edge Polisher can produce flat edges from a matte finish to high gloss polish on acrylics, polycarbonates, and visual plastics, and also chamfer edges.

Stiles Machinery’s EURACRYL ABP 310 machines are CNC-controlled edge polishers for manufacturing components made of plastics, including acrylic. It’s designed to eliminate manual labor; the machine brings value as a standalone machine or a component of a work cell.

The EURACRYL ABP 310 frame is integrated with patented SorbTech mineral composite material. This “steel of tomorrow” is capable of withstanding the increased demand on machine dynamics while providing a low vibration, stable machine construction – resulting in higher quality finished parts, longer tool life, and less manual labor.

The machine features a 10' working field. The openended table design of the ABP 310 allows for machining of parts longer than 10' (in 2 cycles). Parts can be stacked up to the maximum processing height of the machine, further enhancing the efficiency and throughput of the machine.

For more information, contact James Swanson, Stiles Machinery, 3965 44th St. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49512, 616.698.7500, E-mail: jswanson@stilesmachinery.com, Web: www.stilesmachinery.com.

Polycarbonate Shapes
Trident Plastics Inc. offers compression-molded polycarbonate plate from .250” up to 5.00” thick in a wide range of formulations. Trizod® OP is an optically clear polished, ultravioletstabilized polycarbonate sheet specially engineered for superior optical performance. It is also available in FDA compliant and staticdissipative grades. Trizod GP-P is a general purpose polished polycarbonate and Trizod MG Clear & Black is a machine grade polycarbonate that is an un-polished, ultraviolet-stabilized polycarbonate with excellent dimensional stability and good strength and stiffness over a wide range of temperatures.

They also offer 10%, 20%, 30% and 40% glass-reinforced polycarbonate that is effective in designs where metals, particularly die-cast aluminum and zinc, are commonly used. The addition of glass fibers to polycarbonate increases tensile strength, stiffness, compressive strength, and lower the thermal expansion coefficient. The greater the amount of glass fiber added to the polycarbonate, the greater the effect on each property will be. For example, compared to standard un-filled grades, Lexan® 3414R 40% glass-reinforced polycarbonate has as much as five times the tensile modulus, more than double the flexural and tensile strength, and up to 65% more compressive strength. Since, 1977, Trident Plastics Inc. has been supplying industry with quality materials, competitor prices, and an unsurpassed level of service. Their customer base is nationwide with a primary focus on machinists and fabricators. They are a full-service distributer offering plastic shapes, resins and a wide range of services including compression-molding, thermoforming, vacuum forming, thermoplastic welding, surface planning & grinding and laser and water jet cutting.

For more information, contact Dean Cadic, Trident Plastics Inc., 1029 Pulinski Rd., Ivyland, PA 18974, 215-672-5225, Fax: 215-672-5582, E-mail: sales@tridentplastics.com, Web: www.tridentplastics.com.

Profiles & Tubing
Petro Extrusion Tech., Inc. (PET) offers both custom and stock clear extruded tubing and profiles, in a variety of thermoplastic materials.

With over 50 years’ experience in the extrusion business, Petro Extrusion Tech offers clear tubing in acrylic, polycarbonate, and other clear materials, in a range of sizes from 1/8” up to 8” OD.

PET offers a line of stock PC tubing, in various wall thicknesses and sizes, including several heavy wall tube sizes.

PET also offers stock items such as their polycarbonate angles and channels, all in clear, available from stock in various stock lengths. PET has a stock line of acrylic profile shapes for the P.O.P. industry, including Z-Bar shapes and U-Channel profiles, all in clear, and available from stock.

For more information, contact Julie Hanan, Petro Extrusion Technologies, Inc., P.O. Box 99, Garwood, NJ 07027, 800-229-3338/908-789-3338, Fax: 908-789-0434, E-mail: sales@petroextrusions.com, Web: www.petroextrusions.com.

Performance Tapes, Films, Fabrics, & Silicone
CS Hyde Company is your worldwide source for high performance tapes, films, fabrics, silicone and belting. They specialize in PTFE® products made with Teflon™ Fluoroplastics, Kapton®, PEEK, Mylar®, FEP, Ultem® and many other performance plastics that meet specifications of every industry. They also have a fully equipped warehouse with converting machinery to meet specific slit widths, specialty die cut parts, adhesive lamination, and high-speed automated sheeting. Their goal is to provide their customers with products made to specific specs, competitive costs, and a fast delivery.

They supply a variety of PSA tapes with different adhesive systems to better fit your application. Adhesives include acrylic – for high tact adhesion, silicone- for clean release and high temperature, and rubber – for cost effective applications. CS Hyde has no minimums on common slit widths and low minimums on custom width slitting.

Their plastic films selection covers performance characteristics ranging from abrasion resistance, chemical resistance, and high heat resistance. They supply a variety of different thicknesses and most of their films are sold by the linear foot which is great for R&D applications. Common films they stock are Kapton® HN, FEP/PFA, PEEK°, Mylar® Type A, UHMW, Ultem® PEI, and several others. Visit their website to see their full product line as well a converting capability videos.

For more information, contact Sales, CS Hyde Company, 1351 N. Milwaukee Ave., Lake Villa, IL 60046, 800-461-4161/847-395-0325, Fax: 847-395-0334, E-mail: sales@cshyde.com, Web: www.cshyde.com.

Cutting & Milling Tools
Hufschmied offers a range of tooling specifically designed for milling plastics. With plastic materials it is crucial to keep the milling temperature as low as possible. This can be achieved with tools from their Universal-Line and Sharp-Line. Depending on your requirements and your machinery, the solution to your processing problem offers you a choice of one, two or three-flute cutters.

Hufschmied tools are designed to minimize burr formation and provide a quality edge finish at high feed rates minimizing secondary operations.

For the processing of PMMA, cast or extruded, the Frasen Per Plex product range of single-fluted milling cutters produce a mirror-like surface finish without the need for additional polishing tools or any other polishing action. When working acrylics, milling cutters and drills need to produce sharply defined cutting edges. For this approach, Hufschmied supplies the FPE tool system with a single-step roughing and finishing cycle producing these very sharply defined edges. For polycarbonate and PET their Sharp-Line will provide a smooth finish with long tool life.

When it comes to cutting thermoset the avoidance of burr formation is critical to a high quality edge finish. Their Universal-Line and Proto-Line are well suited for this category of materials.

For more information, contact Erin Roche, Hufschmied USA, 42 Ozick Drive, Unit 6, Durham, CT 06422, 239-220-6602, E-mail: erin.roche@hufschmiedusa.com, Web: www.hufschmied.net.

Acrylic Hinges & Hardware
Fabrication Tools & Materials, Inc. (FTM) stocks clear Acrylic hardware. FTM’s superior line of products include the Acryl-Hinge small™, Acryl-Hinge 2™, the 6” Acryl-Hinge™, the 12” Acryl-Hinge™ and the newly redesigned 12” Acryl-Piano Hinge™ (1-3/4” x 12” hinge). All of FTM hinges are molded in high strength DR Acrylic and designed with Micro- Dots® for easy surface solvent cementing and for a strong bubble free bond.

Also included in FTM’s product line is the Acryl- Pulls™ in three sizes; small, medium and large. The Acryl-Pulls are easy to clean and the highly polished finish is crystal clear. At FTM you will also find the Acryl-Hasp™, the Acryl-Knob™ and the first ever Acrylic Cam Lock that’s sure to give your next display a fresh and clean look. The Acryl-Cam Lock™ is molded in high strength Acrylic for easy solvent bonding and the internal mechanism is molded in Polycarbonate for superior strength.

FTM also carries a selection of Acrylic keyhole attachments, wall hangers, door catches, business & literature card holders along with Acrylic shapes; balls, cabochons, cubes and discs ranging in sizes from 1/4” to 1”.

For more information, contact David Geer, Fabrication Tools & Materials, Inc., 327 Industrial Drive, Unit 1 Placerville CA 95667, 530-626-1986, Fax: 530-642-2602, E-mail: info@123ftm.com, Web: www.123ftm.com.

Plastic Polish
Three plastic polishes from NOVUS Inc., the St. Paul-based plastics care specialists, are helping millions win the war against fading, scratching, and dulling of plastics that all too often cause the best products to grow old before their time.

NOVUS Plastic Polishes, which have been used and recommended by manufacturers for over 40 years, have an enviable record of rejuvenating the plastic surfaces in many industrial settings, as well as, in the home.

NOVUS Polish No. 1 is a cleaner, shiner, and protector for all plastics. In one easy application, this highly concentrated formula polishes quickly to an even finish. It leaves a glaze that resists finger marking and dust buildup. It is antistatic and antifogging.

NOVUS Polish No. 2 removes fine scratches and haziness from most plastics. It is not just a surface cover-up, but a polishing compound that restores and protects damaged plastics.

NOVUS Polish No. 3 was formulated to remove heavy scratches. After using No. 3 follow up with No. 2 to remove any fine scratches.

Manufacturers of everything from aircraft to appliances use NOVUS Plastic Polishes to cut down on scrap in fabrication. These fabricators have discovered regular use of NOVUS Plastic Polishes keep replacement costs down while maintaining the aesthetic beauty of their products.

NOVUS Plastic Polishes are available in 2-oz. bottles (48/case), 8-oz. bottles (24/case), and 64-oz bottles (12/case).

For more information, contact Dean Trocke, NOVUS Inc., 650 Pelham Blvd., Ste. 100, St. Paul, MN 55114, 800-548-6872, E-mail: sales@novuspolish.com, Web: www.novuspolish.com.