Quadrant’s extreme materials reach new levels
Posted: 7 July 2003
To provide product and design engineers with machining grade polymer
materials having optimum levels of performance, Quadrant Engineering
Plastic Products (former Erta and Polypenco) recently announced
its Extreme Materials line of engineering plastic stock shapes.
“A standard grade of an engineering plastic may be sufficient
for some applications,” says Giovanni Vesco, Commercial Director
at Quadrant EPP, “but there are many application environments
that require much more from machined plastic parts.
"In the past, engineers had few choices in readily available
plastics for machining other than ultra-high performance materials
like polyimides. However, this also meant over-engineering and its
corresponding price tag.
"With our Extreme Materials product technology, we have developed
product compositions that enhance the performance of standard materials
beyond their typical capabilities.
"Thus, for example, we are able to offer not just standard
PPS, but a grade that performs well in Offshore applications previously
thought not possible.”
The first products announced as part of Quadrant’s Extreme
Materials programme are two bearing-grade polymer stock shapes:
TECHTRON HPV PPS: To the basic capabilities of
polyphenylene-sulfide (PPS) – high heat resistance, broad
range of chemical resistance and excellent dimensional stability
-- excellent wear resistance and a low coefficient of friction have
been added.
KETRON® PEEK-HPV: To the basic capabilities
of polyetheretherketone (PEEK) – very high heat resistance,
high strength and stiffness, and good chemical resistance –
an excellent combination of low friction, low wear, high LPV, low
mating part wear have been added.
“The HPV grade of TECHTRON,” says Dr. Richard Campbell,
Quadrant’s R&D director who heads up the product technology
behind Extreme Materials, “offers a unique combination of
performance capabilities for bearing applications in chemically
aggressive environments, for example Offshore applications.
PPS has no known solvents below 200°C and is inert to steam,
strong bases, fuels and acids. Although there is a PPS that also
has excellent wear resistance. Unlike standard PPS, TECHTRON HPV
PPS has a low coefficient of friction and greater resistance to
wear in dynamic applications.”
With respect to KETRON PEEK-HPV, Campbell says, “traditionally,
PEEK has been recognized for its high strength and stiffness and
a continuous use temperature of 250°C.
"It offers chemical and hydrolysis resistance similar to PPS,
but can operate at higher temperatures. To these capabilities, KETRON
PEEK-HPV adds outstanding bearing performance. This new performance
improvement makes it a cost effective alternative to some fluoropolymers
and polyimides for bearing applications in aggressive chemical environments.”
Quadrant’s development team is currently working on extending
the performance capabilities of other polymers, including polyamide-imide
(PAI), fluoropolymer (PTFE), and polyethylene-terephthalate (PET).
“The material and processing technologies that allowed us
to develop TECHTRON HPV PPS and KETRON PEEK-HPV,” says Campbell,
“have also been applied to many other materials manufactured
by Quadrant.
"New grades of these materials will allow us to offer extreme
levels of performance improve productivity and bring clear benefits
to a new group of designers working in the field of Offshore.”
Quadrant EPP offers its Extreme Materials, as well as its standard
lines of plastic stock shapes, through its worldwide operations,
technical support centres and authorized distributors.
Quadrant Engineering Plastic Products is the world leader in the
manufacture of engineering plastics in stock shapes (rod, plate
and tube) for machining.
Quadrant EPP also produces custom nylon castings and finished parts
and is the sole manufacturer of Extreme Materials with a unique
combination of properties: vastly improved wear resistance, better
dimensional stability over a wider temperature range, greater strength
at higher temperatures and new levels of static dissipation.
The company’s products are used in many industries, including,
offshore, processing and packaging machinery, semiconductor manufacturing,
aerospace, electronic equipment, chemical processing, life sciences,
power generation equipment, textile equipment and testing equipment.
For more information see http://www.quadrantplastics.com.
Posted by Richard Price,
Editor Pipeline Magazine
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