Nylon commonly known as the work horse of plastics was first patented in 1935 by a scientist working for DuPont. Since this time nylon has become renowned for its toughness & wear characteristics which enable it to be used in many industrial applications that require a tough material.
There are many variants of nylon nowadays each suited to a particular set of circumstances.

Some of the more common Nylons are:

• Nylon 6 SA
• Nylon 66 SA
• Nylon Oil filled LFX or Oilon
• Nylon 6PLA
• Nylon 6XAU

Nylon is not damaged by oils in fact you can purchase oil filled nylon for self-lubricating applications.
It is often used within the electrical industry due to its heat resistance & non-conductive properties as it has a melting temperature of 216 degrees Celsius.
Another Nylon attribute is that it has excellent impact strength as well as being able to withstand high loads, although it does have water absorption which can cause it to swell.
Nylon is used to make plastic bushes as well as bearings & as such may have additives introduced to increase wear properties such as Molybdenum, and in other cases glass fibres to increase strength properties.

Commonly used for applications such as:

• Rollers
• Gears
• Guides
• Insulators
• Wear pads
• bearings

Nylon is an excellent material when machined and is often used to make quality change parts for industry saving a lot of money to business owners due to the fact it is cheaper than steel and lasts longer. In many applications the material is much lighter than metal.
Available in rod & sheet form in various thicknesses & diameters it is commonly supplied in natural as well as black, however it does come in green and yellow oil filled.
Next time you require a bush or bearing consider using nylon for its advanced wear properties, as well as no need for lubrication.
So when inquiring about a piece of plastic call one of our dedicated staff to help source the correct material type for your job.

Without Polycarbonate Machine Guards, the  potential for serious injury is always present when machinery is in motion. Sharp edges are rotating and cutting components to size, or flat panels are slamming down on powerful pistons to crush waste material into compact packages. One careless moment in this or any other machine-heavy area would be enough to cause a nasty injury, one that has the potential to end life. Thankfully, there’s a line of defense that stands between your employee and this hazardous mechanical area. The embodiment of this shield is found in the installation of machine guards. Far from being perceived as peripheral parts of a machine, trained employees are always made aware of such guards, how they function, and what will happen if the barrier is not in place.

You can see examples of Polycarbonate Machine Guards in action everywhere. As one example, check out the belt drives on motor assemblies. Often made of metal, they’re equipped with a grille to improve heat dissipation. Now, while metal guards have always had this role in industry, other environments have turned to engineering plastic as the optimal answer. It’s true that metal will defeat bodily contact when a sealed machine is nearby, but what about the assembly line devices that are only partially enclosed? This scenario and instances where contact is either partially accessible or brought about during key moments of a lengthy process requires a more elegant solution. Think about a machine tool setting where drilling and CNC operations are being carried out repeatedly. The process is directly interfaced to human input. Tough plastic machine guards are fabricated for just such applications. A clear Perspex or hard Acrylic composite moulds to cover every possible access point, allowing the operator to safely monitor the task without injury.

The dynamic forces in play on the other side of this setting reinforce our case study by providing a solid rationale to form the guard from an abrasion-resistant material that incorporates a certain amount of elasticity. Not fabricated from an engineering plastic that could be considered truly pliable, the acrylic and polycarbonate guards are nonetheless formulated to absorb energy. This means sparking metal fragments and rough-edged materials may fly off a component as it’s shaped by a subtractive CNC router operation, but the protective screen will absorb this high-energy explosion of subtractive debris.

Though often seen as the transparent energy-absorbing plastic barriers that are placed between a tool operator and a hazardous working environment, we’d be remiss in not entertaining other scenarios. Plastic machine guards act as bumpers and handrails during an assembly line process where human operators are in attendance. They act as spring-loaded guards that are integral to the outline of powered hand tools. And though these machine guards are often connected to some form of dead-man’s switch or an electronic sensor, a safeguard that stops the machine if the shield is not in place, we must still consider the physical nature of the fixture as a first line of protection. Remember, thanks to these simple attachments, industrial injury figures are consistently kept low.

Acrylic displays have become the mainstream choice for displaying products. Despite its growing popularity, many business owners still ask – what are acrylic displays? ”What you don’t know won’t hurt you,” it’s commonly said. But this is one of those times where “not knowing” could be bad for business. As an entrepreneur, it is your responsibility to know what an acrylic display is and how you can benefit from it on a commercial standpoint.

A Quick History of Acrylic

Acrylic glass, the material used in acrylic displays, was first invented in the mid-1800s. By the time World War II broke out, acrylic glass was commercially available. Both the Allied and Axis forces used it on aircraft windshields, gun turrets, and submarine periscopes because it was less hazardous to the soldiers that operated them. Fast forward to today, and it is now widely employed by the commercial sector as acrylic displays.

What are acrylic displays?

Acrylic displays are basically display stands. Depending on their design, they may be incorporated with other materials such as aluminum, stainless steel, or hard plastic. Acrylic displays can be fully enclosed, partially enclosed, or open.

They are typically used to showcase retail products to customers. Examples of products that can be put on display include packaged food, household items, body care products, clothes, and accessories. However, they can also be used solely for storage. When employed with refrigeration, acrylic displays can be used for both the storage and display of perishable products such as fresh produce, meat and poultry, fish, and other food items that require a cool environment like cake, ice cream, and certain medications.

Because of their many uses and designs, acrylic displays are found in a variety of businesses including flower shops, restaurants, bakeries, cake shops, pharmacies, clothing outlets, computer shops , and many more. With that said, there is more to acrylic display than functionality.

The benefits of acrylic displays

Because of their functionality, acrylic displays are quite practical for any business. That’s because they are made of polymethyl methacrylate or PMMA. This chemical composition gives acrylic display a plastic look and feel, but still provides clarity so that you can still see through it clearly. And while it is technically made of glass, acrylic display is tougher and more flexible than standard glass.

Acrylic displays are highly resistant to impact and scratches, which make them excellent for both the display and storage of products. And, because they don’t contain bisphenol-A common in plastic (polycarbonate) displays, they are a lot safer to use with food items.

Another benefit of acrylic displays is their wide availability of designs to choose from. Some companies like Industrial Plastic Solutions can even provide you with custom-made acrylic displays for your specific needs. More information about the company and their products can be found here: www.industrialplasticsolutions.com.au

Teflon sheet is hard at work in every aspect of domestic life, having seeped into our collective consciousness by creating a formidable reputation in several critical industrial applications. The brand label is derived from the hard to pronounce technical name, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), a complex polymer with high tensile carbon-fluoride bonds, but it’s the properties and applications of this well-known polymer that concern us today.

Having established a place in popular culture as the non-stick coating of choice for cookware, the industrial applications of the long chain polymer are many. Due to an ability to reject moisture, Teflon coated parts are called into service where water is present, meaning Teflon is found underwater and in pipe coatings that reject the influence of watery liquids. The tactile sensation encountered when running a finger along a Teflon coated component is that of a slippery layer of tough plastic. This simple action clues us into another application for the Teflon family, that of a ball bearing or other low friction component. A tough environment that presses the fluorocarbon polymer into service against potentially abrasive surfaces will find Teflon up to the task due to this enviable low-friction coefficient.

As with many advanced polymers, PTFE, is chemically inert. A coating made from Teflon will reject the reactive influences of acids and oils, thus promoting a primary characteristic that typically sees Teflon additives gaining prominence within oil and chemical production domains. But we have to return to that initial contact with the waxy and slippery surface of PTFE to explore the full scope of Teflon. Able to take the form of a powder or an emulsion in the high-end factories where the substance is applied, the curing process used to seal Teflon is incredibly versatile. It can be precisely deposited as the thinnest of layers on a bullet, thus reducing friction within a rifle barrel. The same technology deposits the material on components that move and must never stick. We’re not talking about non-stick frying pans in this case. Instead, we’re referring to sluice gates that have been idle for extended periods. This approach is especially relevant in places where low maintenance is preferred. Self-lubrication is an advantageous factor in these situations, a role that Teflon is particularly adept at fulfilling.

We’ve skimmed across a few of the common applications that Teflon (PTFE) is suited for, taking the opportunity when possible to establish why the polymer is so capable in each application. Look for mentions of Teflon in other disciplines, in the semiconductor industry, pharmaceutics and as a tough coating for use in the food and beverage sector.

This is an intimidating subject. The scope of the topic is large, and the science is shifting to define the development of new materials. Nevertheless, we can condense plastic fabrication into a few paragraphs by touching on key areas of the discipline. First of all, manufacturing science supplies fabrication companies with focused groups of synthetics. In the case of a company with a vested interest in engineering plastic, the sourced manufacturing plastics are manipulated to imbue complex polymer chains with hardy properties. The characteristics tagged onto each of these materials offer a kaleidoscopic combination of durability and functionality, with each one promoting properties that target tough industrial environments.

Clients are well familiar with these toxic situations. Moving parts are in constant contact with raw materials, creating a constant force of abrasion. There’s heat and cold, chemical toxicity and load stresses, meaning we can dispense with further accounts of the outside forces that define the material characteristics of the plastic. Instead, let’s put a spotlight of discovery on the fabrication process. Once that properly graded plastic has been selected by the engineer and any prototyping work has been completed, its’ past time that the product began to be manufactured. This entails the cutting, welding, extrusion, and machining of the part. Alternatively, a moulding methodology is applied. It’s no coincidence that many of these working practices adopt a systemic course of action that closely aligns with metal and wood, except plastics are far more adept when it comes to altering their properties. Nonetheless, plastic fabrication shares key machine tool profiles, including:

• CAD design applications
• Subtractive CNC machining (3-axis milling and turning)
• Edge polishing for the perfect surface finish
• Welding (Plastic welding)

The clarification of the plastic fabrication model does, of course, see a divergence between polymers and metal. Firstly, machine tools use the same axial movements to manipulate raw products but the tool edge is adapted to match the malleability of plastic, the material tolerances that make plastic such a desirable replacement when compared with other, older substitutes.

The fabrication of engineering-grade plastic calls upon immense resources, skill, and a full factory floor of machines to cut, shape and otherwise manufacture 2-D and 3-D plastic parts. We could list those plastics at this point, the near unlimited lines of Nylon, Polyurethane, Polycarbonate, and other multi-syllable polymer solutions commonly found in industry, but we choose instead to relate the craft that’s involved in fabricating each material into a marketable component. Imagine a high-end engineering plastics facility and the daily graft it takes to select materials and infuse those materials with unique geometrical profiles. Business-focused to ensure this activity is sublimely repeatable, 24/7, Industrial Plastics Solutions excels in this field.

Engraved Trophies made from hard plastics make for the finest displays of courage and individual prowess. Unlike contemporary materials, there’s no need to worry over loss of sheen, physical damage, or an unwanted layer of tarnish, for plastic carries none of the disadvantages of soft metal. Instead, just like precious gems and gold, a tough acrylic will act as a metaphor for the enduring spirit of competition by maintaining a polished look that never ages. Instead, just apply an occasional damp cloth to the surface of the plastic, and wipe away fine coats of household dust. This principle, the selection of polished plastic instead of expensive silver or gold, is descended from the provision of clear plastic as seen in store windows and costume jewellery. In short, adopt a hard plastic trophy and you’re bestowed with a tough form that holds the attractive characteristics of cut glass or elegant crystal.

We leverage this untapped sector of societal living, the award of citations and trophies, at Industrial Plastics Solutions. Gifting the accomplishments of individuals, teams, and even corporations with the recognition they deserve, we use specialized plastics fabrication services to mould unique awards and engrave messages that will act as a reminder of a special occasion, a win at a sporting event, perhaps, or an award for a business of the year. Acrylic is the material of choice because it never ages or shows signs of wear. Additionally, the material is easy to mould into any shape and can have internal features incorporated within the basic structure. Imagine a coloured logo or a customized design being awarded to a teen as he or she receives applause on accomplishing a tough task. The engraved trophy will catch the light of the occasion and deliver a cool, crystalline form that won’t easily be forgotten.

The identical service is used to foster relations within a corporation, taking on the role of a stylized accolade that will stand the test of time. The advantage of acrylic here is found in repeatability, in storing the award within our Melbourne-based facility so that an identical updated edition can be formed to serve subsequent years. This idea would satisfy a corporate environment where 5, 10, and 25 year awards are issued.

The impact of a tough plastic award and its artistically added engraving is tough to beat. Even expensive alloys, wood, marble, and ever-lasting gold play second fiddle to hard plastics in general and acrylic in particular due to the versatility of the process. Affordable and easy to repeat, the plastics solution in Melbourne and Victoria can add coloured logos, an immense selection of crystalline shapes, and an enviable set of characteristics that fend off the aging process.

A local plastics machining solution delivers the goods in prosperous Victoria, placing high-quality plastic bushes in the hands of industry-savvy Melbourne clients. The bushes incorporate characteristics that exemplify cost-effective attributes, making the products a natural substitute when compared against traditional metal bearings. The obvious advantage, one anyone can recognize, is the tendency for metal to succumb to corrosion. Simply put, this action can’t be afforded in an industrial setting, not when moving parts are carrying out important tasks 24 hours a day. A flake of oxidized metal is more than enough to corrupt the centrifugal motion of a critical pump.

Rust is the obvious property that comes to mind when manufacturing the moving parts that fit within tough assemblies but there are other factors to consider. Metal forging is an expensive process. Consequently, metal parts cost more than their plastic replacements, making nylon and other tailor-made polymers attractive solutions. The plastics route is also superior in other manners, especially when it comes to maintenance, the need for constant lubrication. That last statement creates a pleasant segue toward our next featured look at engineering plastic solutions. We’re referring to lubricated plastics, the introduction of oil-filled products that completely eliminate heat-related incidents by distributing a lubricating fluid within the matrix of a chosen polymer. Of this class of bush and bearing, NylOil is a popular solution to load-bearing and moving part applications, as is LFX and Oil-on.

At this point we’ve illustrated CNC machined plastic bushes as elegant and functional alternatives to metal bearings. Next, consider the proliferation of the plastic bush when promoting the booming food industry around and within Melbourne. Industry experts see the profits of farmers markets and high-capacity farms curving upward throughout Victoria, with Melbourne acting as a central hub. Machined plastic bushes, sheaves, spacers and sleeves are key components in this growth cycle. The parts find their ways into demanding food processing plants, saving energy by replacing heavier brass components. Additionally, the abrasion-resistance features of nylon and other members of this polymer family again eliminates maintenance, which in turn slices productivity-killing down time in half.

The machined plastic bush has evolved over the last decade to deliver new and improved characteristics. Lighter than ever, the bushes absorb up to 20 percent less water. Meanwhile, advanced friction reduction properties are the norm among all industrial plastics used in bushes and bearings, equaling a near maintenance-free operational model. The last attribute to be given voice today is the chemical resistance of Nylon-6 and other materials in this class. This feature lends credence to an engineers choice when selecting these materials for use in the chemical processing industry, but be sure to talk to your polymer experts when choosing from a sea of possible bush options, choices that include everything from cast nylon to Teflon.

Material design principles are products of the human mind. As such, modern industrial-grade plastics cultivate a dual philosophy, one that discriminates between utilitarian functionality and aesthetic-focused appearance. Imagine a behind the curtain metaphor, the image of hidden machinery on a factory floor. Functionality is the only priority in fabricating these components, The designs covet strength and versatility, chemical resistance and exacting manufacturing standards that ensure one component mates to the next. Meanwhile, snap on the flood lights to see the products that love to be adored in front of the curtain. Car bodies and apparel are two fine examples of this motif, as are the acrylic displays used to engage strolling customers in a shop.

Finely wrought acrylic plastic, also known as acrylic glass, possesses a slanted bias, one that targets the mall shopper whose attention span hangs somewhere around the 5 second mark. The material is based on acrylic acid, a polymer known by the technical term, poly(methyl) methacrylate. PMMA,to use the abbreviated slang, is blessed with several characteristics that make the substance perfect for the display market. First of all, sheets of acrylic are smooth and glossy, and the beauty goes beyond skin deep, passing all the way down to the strong molecular bonds that make acrylic a solid option for supporting weighty products. Let’s not gloss over another key aspect of this display-focused plastic, the unique property of the polymer to pass ninety-two percent of the visual light spectrum, a technical tag that translates to almost perfect translucency.

As see-through as glass and as strong as industrial plastic, acrylic displays make excellent display stands, reinforced supports that frame the merchandiser’s product without stealing attention. Instead, the acrylic stand fades into the background, acting as a subliminal aid in promoting jewellery or clothing and pretty much everything in-between. Of course, if the shop owner wants to hold fast to a thematic colour, acrylic displays are easy to inject with any hue, but most store cabinets stick with transparency as a rule, thus presenting stored items in the best light. Why not stay true to glass cabinetry? Well, glass will always have its place, but acrylic is safer to install in a crowded environment, a shop, and it’s shatter-resistant, another big plus in a merchandising environment.

As strong as or stronger than comparative panes of glass, acrylic sheets are cheap to mass produce via a pressure-rolling process. The transparent material is used in retail display cabinets, signage, and POS displays, positioning the plastic as the king of the thermoplastic heap when it comes to exhibiting shop wares. Buy into the extruded acrylic phenomenon or take a step further by investigating cell cast acrylic, an industrial solution used in aquariums and bullet-proof glass.

 

*Acrylic Display Solutions  Made easy*

The advent of the high-density plastics era shook the twentieth-century, placing the viability of metal and wood on probation for the foreseeable future. It’s not that metal and glass and even wood aren’t still valuable commodities, but high-density plastic has several key advantages when it comes to versatility. To illustrate our point, steel alloys support the heaviest bridges and aluminium sheets provide lightweight assemblies that excel in the aeronautics industry, but high-density plastic can be tailored to serve many purposes, requiring only the restructuring of a few hydrocarbon chains to accomplish this enviable feat.

Dismantling the PE Coding Scale

Just as carbon steel and steel alloys of every description can be classed by their properties and assigned a four digit grading hierarchy, the density of the structure of a polyethylene molecule can be similarly indexed and classified. A PE prefix accompanies two digits to indicate the strength of the polymer, demonstrating the rugged qualities of the high-density plastic. For example, PE80 and PE100 are both commonly manufactured variants of polyethylene. The dual states of the plastic on show here are purpose-manufactured to possess a super-dense composition that makes the material ideal for use in water pipes, meaning both of these variants are well-known and consistently in use across the plumbing industry.

The Mechanical Properties of HDPE

The aforementioned classification standard applied to high-density polyethylene begins at 0.941g/cm3, suggesting the material is inflexible, but tensile strength and elasticity partner most efficiently within the polymer, leading to applications that go beyond pipes. Imagine giving this boring tubular form the shove, opting instead for 96″ x 240″ sheets of the abrasion-resistant plastic. The material is like raw clay, at least metaphorically, providing a blank slate that’s processed within monolithic extrusion machinery, a line of heavy-duty factory tools that take advantage of the thermoplastic’s ductile characteristics. The dense sheets are melted and shaped, cut and fusion-welded, resulting in the desired form and the characteristics that make HDPE popular within every industry.

The Ultimate in Versatile Plastics

New polymers and alloys are introduced all the time, but none of these innovative materials has penetrated every sector of industry and domestic life in the way that polyethylene has. The high-density derivation of the material, HDPE, offers a high coefficient of thermal expansion, an end to the corrosive hang-ups that eat away at costly alloys, and a low modulus of elasticity that can be manipulated to withstand impressive pressures. These characteristics make HDPE the perfect solution when looking for piping that can carry pressurized and heated fluids, but a quick review of the PE grading guide sends us down other avenues of polymer production and application. The domesticity of trash bags and water bottles compete with solutions designed for heavy industry, the HDPE resins that line mining bins and the rugged products that won’t succumb to crack propagation.

Taking advantage of the properties of a material is a key principle of engineering, a rule of industrial design that’s elegantly demonstrated in the field of industrial plastics fabrication by the exploitation of the softening and melting of thermoplastics. This polymer is well known for its recycling properties, meaning a thermoplastic can melt and solidify multiple times, a trait that lends itself naturally to welding.

Far from the process where an electrical arc is generated to bond metal together, the plastic equivalent uses numerous techniques to orient parts and initiate a carefully monitored mechanism where molecular bonds separate, become diffuse, and realign in new configurations, thus joining two parts together in a weld. Of the established operational models used in the welding of plastic components, the following are most recognized, but there are other, more specialized techniques under review.

• Hot-plate plastic welding
• Extrusion welding
• Ultrasonic
• Friction
• High frequency welding
• Hot gas plastic welding

The aim of all of these processes is generally the same, to break the simple molecular bond of a thermoplastic and create a strengthened bond between components. The above techniques are differentiated by how they incite this action, by the application of heat, vibration, or some other motive force. Also certain techniques, extrusion welding is one example, are best suited for welding thicker materials of at least 0.5-inches (12.5-mm).

When the two designated plastic materials are oriented, they’re pressed together. Using only enough pressure to initiate the bond, the pressure does not place undue stress on the shape of the plastic. Next, an energetic force, heat or one of the above vibrational techniques, causes the molecular bonds to break down. The dynamic movement of the molecules becomes diffuse at the source of the join, and the components cool until a strengthened weld is produced, one that contains superior strength. Of course, this fusion scenario is a touch more complex in a real life scenario. There may be several preheat stages to engage, the supply of a “weld rod” made from the same type of plastic that’s undergoing the weld process, and numerous variations that encompass wide form factors. We’re talking of shapes that vary from large bench-top assemblies that span an entire factory floor, quite likely in an ultrasonic or extrusion set-up, to handheld versions built to attend to fine details.

Plastic welding uses heat, low and high amplitude vibrations, or even lasers to produce fused plastic assemblies. Commonly made from thermoplastics due to the materials ability to cycle from soft to hard without damage or brittleness, the process is permanent, an optimal alternative to transient mechanical fasteners that can fail over time.