Selecting Materials And Processes For High Performance Plastic Parts
This paper is intended to help design engineers and those within the plastics industry supporting them select the process sequence and materials that maximize the performance of service critical parts. A great deal of folklore exists within the plastics community regarding the relative differences between machined and injection molded plastic parts. This lore is easy to understand given datasheet values published by resin and shape producers. The values listed on resin datasheets are almost always greater than those published by leading shapes suppliers (http://bit.ly/datasheetreview). Don’t let that observation distract or slow down your mission to design and manufacture the best ...
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Thinking Lean! Reducing The Cost Of Manufacturing High Performance Polymer Parts Using Drake’s Seamless Tube®.
Starting with the right size and shape based on final part geometry is critical when working with materials like Torlon®, PEEK and polyimides that are inherently expensive. Did you know that an extra .25” on a diameter can add 25% or more to the cost of your raw material? This waste is compounded by a machinist spending time removing extra stock. Add in extra tool wear, especially in glass or carbon fiber reinforced materials, and the unnecessary cost related to using a less than optimal size can exceed 50%.
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Making The Best Even Better. Post Curing Torlon Wear Parts Reduces Wear
High PV bearing applications are tough for even high-performance polymers like Torlon, PEEK and PPS. The reason is simple; frictional heat generated especially by the velocity component of “P x V” does not dissipate as easily as does in inherently more conductive bearing materials (i.e. metals). The heat begins to soften the polymer, thermally expanding it. In most constrained bearings (think journal bearings/bushings or plane bearings) the plastic, with higher CLTE than the metal constraining it, has nowhere to go and collapses onto the shaft or piston. Excessive heat builds up, eventually causes bearing failure by over heating or excessive ...
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Large Diameter PEEK Challenges? Drake’s Large Diameter Reinforced PEEK Rod Is “The Solution”
Ever hear from a customer… “I just started drilling and I heard a crack” or “I was sawing and melted plastic (swarf) stopped the blade” or “my inspection department found cracks in all my parts”. I can even tell you what the “mill” likely said… “They were using the wrong size drill or the wrong feed rate or the saw blade was the wrong type or they should have annealed the material in between operations.” We used to say that until we recently helped out a customer requesting another mill’s 4” diameter GL30 rod. Check out the results of Drake’s ...
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Understanding Datasheet Properties to Maximize Part Performance
Producing parts from extruded stock shapes is preferred when injection molding is not practical, and many times for part performance reasons. Experienced plastics engineers have learned that the performance of a machined part can far exceeds that of an injection molded part, yet a comparison of resin and shape datasheets causes one to conclude the exact opposite. Why do the properties of extruded shapes rarely match the properties listed on a resin datasheet? Understanding orientation related to material flow especially when using fiber-reinforced grades is the key to understanding this observation. Molecular orientation due to melt flow profiles also impacts ...
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Drake Motorsports Development – High Performance Polymer Parts for Racers
CYPRESS, Texas, March 23, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE)—Drake Motorsports Development, LLC was recently formed to accelerate the availability of track proven race parts and to continually develop new racing products from a racing industry insider perspective. The first part developed is an offset control arm bushing machined from Torlon 4435. The bushing delivers an increased static negative camber range of adjustment for the front wheels, which is used as a suspension tuning method to optimize tire contact under high lateral loads. Tyler Quance, owner of Drake Motorsports Development, and the Engineering Manager for Drake Plastics, has been racing a Spec Miata ...
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Introducing Drake PAI 4200 (Natural Polyamide-imide), When Purity Matters
CYPRESS, Texas, March 21, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE)–Drake Plastics Ltd Co. announces the introduction of Drake PAI 4200, a new grade of PAI which is available in Rod, Plate and Seamless Tube for machining, as well as offering injection molded parts. Drake PAI 4200 is Torlon 4000 T resin which has been compounded into pellets, making it suitable for extrusion or injection molding. Drake PAI 4200 is a temperature extreme capable, high purity and high-performance thermoplastic for parts requiring the performance of unreinforced PAI such as Torlon 4203, but without the TiO2 which is considered a potential contaminant in some applications. ...
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Introducing Drake PAI 5060 (60% GF Reinforced Polyamide-imide)
Thermoplastic for Extreme Temperatures CYPRESS, Texas, March 20, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Drake Plastics Ltd. Co. announces the introduction of a new high strength, insulative material based on Torlon® PAI. Drake PAI 5060 is a highly loaded composite with 60% fiber reinforcement. Prior to the introduction of Drake PAI 5060, the maximum reinforcement available in PAI was 30 percent. Drake PAI 5060’s balance of extremely high modulus (stiffness), minimal CLTE (dimensional change with temperature) and machinability make it an excellent upgrade to difficult to fabricate high-performance polymers or ceramics. Tensile tests confirm the modulus is more than 50% higher than ...
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Honda Of Houston Acquired By Drake Powersports
HOUSTON — Motorcycle dealership Honda of Houston changed hands in an asset sale Monday and was acquired by Cypress-based Drake Powersports LLC.
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Market Demand Drives Drake Plastics Medical Expansion
CYPRESS, TX–(Marketwired – March 22, 2017) – Drake Plastics announces both the capacity and facility expansion of Drake Plastics Medical Products Ltd. Co. Since inception in February 2016, Drake Plastics Medical has served key customers as both a supplier of specialty medical grade polymers and as a contract manufacturer of medical devices. To accommodate growth, ground breaking for two new buildings dedicated to Drake Plastics Medical is scheduled for April 2017. This will add 24,000 square feet (2200 square meters) of new manufacturing space at Drake’s 45-acre Cypress, Texas campus. Completion of this expansion is scheduled for August 2017 according ...
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