engineering plastics | feature
engineering plastics meet ever tougher demands
whether it be for reasons of cost, durability, weight or performance, engineering plastics are replacing metals in ever more demanding applications. Add in factors such as miniaturisation in the electronics industry and higher engine compartment operating temperatures in the automotive sector, and the prospects for producers of high performance resins look bright. in its latest financial results Victrex, the UK-based
manufacturer of high performance polyether ether ketone (PeeK) resins, reported a 14% increase in its Polymer Solutions revenues for 2011 over 2010 to reach a value of £166m on a polymer volume of 2,860 tonnes. it saw growth in all of its key markets, which include industrial, transport, electronics and medical. Many applications for Victrex PeeK materials involve
replacement of metals, very often to improve perform- ance. in one recent example, the company worked with italian product design company Saroplast to overcome premature failure of metal components in an olive and fruit harvesting tool. “we began to evaluate the possibility of replacing metal components with thermo- plastic polymers in order to achieve a lightweight and easy-to-use tool that also increased the lifetime of the device,” says roberto Frare, head of technical- commercialoperations at Saroplast. Saroplast designers focused on a toothed gear wheel
that drives the harvesting tool via a connecting rod. initial trials with a polyphenylene sulphide (PPS) material, proved unsuccessful so the company ap-
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oeM demands for miniaturisation, weight reduction and cost saving mean engineering plastics will continue to replace metals. we review the latest applications
proached the Victrex engineering team. PeeK is one of the highest performing engineering plastics offering high strength, stiffness and dimensional stability at high temperatures or harsh environments. “we worked with the technical planning department
at Saroplast to come up with a metal replacement solution,” says reinhard Veljovic, Victrex market development manager. “A modification was made to a metal ring, and a roller bearing that controls the movement of the rod was added.” the optimised PeeK design has proved to outper-
form the original metal version in testing. in addition, it weighs one tenth that of the original, and contributes to improved acoustic performance and reduced energy consumption. in a similarly demanding application, Spanish
company Soterna turned to Solvay Specialty Polymers and its radel polyphenylsulphone (PPSU) resin in the
April 2012 | injection world 27
Above: This automotive
gear shift lever is produced in Evonik’s
Vestamid HT Plus
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