PEEK Replaces Costly Metals, How to Protect Yourself from PVC Gases

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Prospector Resin Blend

September 2008

In this issue we tackle replacing metals with PEEK, how to protect yourself from PVC gases and how best to optimize your plastics equipment for improved productivity. Also we're happy to announce a first ever PLA conference happening later this month. Read on to learn more!

- The IDES Team

Prepare for "The Attack of the PVCs"

Molding PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride) presents you as a processor with a host of important issues. Heating results in the outgassing of hydrochloric and hydrobromic acids. These acids cause varying levels of discomfort for operators and can lead to pitting, oxidation, and other problems with a mold, die or other metal machinery in the vicinity.

Learn how to protect yourself from PVC gases.

Click to continue

PEEK Replaces Costly Metals

With the recent start-up of Solvay’s 500 ton/year world-class production unit, Solvay Advanced Polymers now delivers KetaSpire® PEEK and AvaSpire® modified PEEK – two ultra polymers that can give design engineers best-in-class chemical resistance, retention of mechanical properties up to 300°C, plus ease of processing.

KetaSpire PEEK meets the global need for lighter, stronger and better performing alternatives to metals and ceramics. Design engineers can specify PEEK for use in automotive, oil & gas, healthcare, aerospace, semiconductor and various industrial friction and wear components.

KetaSpire and AvaSpire resins are part of Solvay’s complete family of Spire® Ultra Polymers.

Click here for full article (pdf)

Cross-Training Your Plastics Equipment for Better Productivity
by Mike Brostedt, Gammaflux

A Simple but Effective Plan for Custom Molders

Being competitive in today’s molding industry is more challenging than ever before. Whatever the issue . . . resin costs, China, you name it, this is not your father’s molding industry anymore.

It’s not all gloom and doom, of course. Plenty of molders have worked hard to find ways to adapt to the new playing field. The implementation of lean manufacturing principles, Six Sigma, ISO certification, company-wide training initiatives, and other methods are some of the things molders are doing to better compete. So, if I told you that you can significantly cut back on downtime and gain an edge with something seemingly as simple as:

Standardizing on 12-zone increment hot runner controllers for all molds in your shop that are less than 60 zones, and
Standardizing on one type of cable and connector for your hot runner molds

You’d do it, right?

Click here for full story

Can You Buy the Plastics You Need?

Lately we've heard from the people that call or write into IDES about the shortage of plastic materials. Purchasers aren't able to obtain pellets from manufacturers because they don't meet the minimum size order requirements.

If this is happening to you, there is a solution!

Now is the perfect time to search for an alternative plastic from another supplier. With Prospector's Alternative Plastics Search you can locate offset plastics in one click and easily contact suppliers for pricing and availability. Best of all you can be confident that you have looked at all the possibilities and have come up with the best alternative plastics because Prospector locates the materials for you from a pool of more than 76,000 grades from more than 660 global resin suppliers.

To learn more, we invite you to view this short demo video

Webinar: Expert Material Selection Techniques with Michael Sepe

Join Michael Sepe, renowned materials expert, for an hour-long webinar as he introduces the New World of Material Selection:

In 1980 there were 4300 commercial choices in the world of plastic materials. Today there are over 75000 and the growth rate shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. In addition, the global marketplace has forced those tasked with selecting materials to focus on the importance of availability where the product will be manufactured. A technological solution that cannot be purchased close to the action is not a solution at all.

How does today’s design engineer cope with this explosion of information and the rapidly changing playing field? The task is made easier if you focus on the fundamentals of understanding material properties. With this as a foundation, you can build up to a commercial solution for any application. Without this stable starting point, the process becomes a maze of trade names and material property snapshots that leave everyone holding their breath and crossing their fingers as the first parts come off the mold.

View Recorded Version & Download Slides

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