Professional Plastics acquires Adapt Plastics & Hi-Tech Polymers of Loves Park, Illinois

Professional Plastics, Inc. has recently acquired Adapt Plastics, Inc and Hi-Tech Polymers LLC of Loves Park, Illinois from founder Larry Phippen.  Established in 1974, Adapt Plastics is a distributor and fabricator of precision machined plastic parts used in food processing, pharmaceutical, automotive, aerospace, and material handling industries.

Adapt Plastics offers CNC turning, milling and routing services for machining of prototype, custom, low-volume and small run plastic parts.  High-quality single or multiple machining processes are available for a variety of needs, with tolerances down to +/-.001" achieved on turn diameters up to 18", and bar diameters up to 4".  Parts up to 60" x 36" may be milled, and parts up to 22 foot x 5 foot may be routed.

Hi-Tech Polymers is a molder of rigid and flexible cast urethane parts.  HTP offers complete molding & fabrication services using RTM, low-pressure injection & vacuum casting.  Urethane elastomers are available in molded durometers from 10A thru 80D in both Ether & Ester with dual durometer molding, inserting & pigmenting to color.  Specialty materials include FDA filled systems, PTFE, bronze, moly & UV inhibitors.

For more information about Adapt Plastics and Hi-Tech Polymers, please visit www.adaptplastics.com or call Chris Kietzke at (858) 637-2801

Why Designers Continue To Replace Metal Parts With Engineering Plastics

Mechanical engineers and designers are increasingly replacing existing metals parts with components made from engineering plastics. A common misconception is that this trend is based purely on reducing the initial cost per part, but the reality is quite different. Engineering plastics are often more expensive than metals, but provide benefits such as improved performance, longer part life, and reduced downtime. This long-term, “overall cost of ownership” approach is driving a strong market for engineered plastic solutions.


Here are a few of the product features and benefits that are driving the trend towards increased use of engineering plastics.

Wear Resistance
In high-wear applications, many plastic materials will outperform brass & other metal bearing materials. Plastics such as Nylon, UHMW, PTFE, Acetal and Turcite® offer natural lubricity to increase wear resistance and extend the part life of bearings, rollers, gears, and seals.

Lightweight
When replacing metal parts, plastics will typically reduce the part weight by 30% to 50%.This can translate to significant energy savings when used in applications such as transportation, linear motion, and material handling.

Temperature Resistance
Plastics, ceramics, and composites have been developed which resist both extremely high & extremely low cryogenic temperature ranges with minimal loss of mechanical properties. Materials such as Celazole® PBI can continually operate at up to 750°F, while materials such as Kel-F® PCTFE can operate at -400°F.

Impact Resistance & Shock Absorption
Many plastics and composites offer excellent impact resistance. Materials such as Polycarbonate are used for impact-resistant glazing and shields. Nylon and Polyurethane will absorb impact shock and isolate stress points to protect surrounding components.

Insulation Properties
Many plastics have excellent insulation properties, reducing heat, and improving product reliability. Laminates such as G-10/FR-4, GPO-3 and LE Phenolic are used extensively in electrical and transportation industries to insulate from heat and electrical shock. Thermoplastics such as PTFE and Meldin® work well in high-temperature insulating applications.

Corrosion Resistance
Metals are inherently susceptible to corrosion from moisture, acids, and organic solvents. Many plastics were designed specifically to combat these problems. Materials such as PVC, CPVC, Polypropylene, and PTFE offer superior corrosion resistance at an economical price.

Medical Approval
Many plastics have been approved for use in medical applications ranging from heart pump valves to endoscopic instruments. Products meet FDA, USP Class VI, and ISO 10993 standards. Such materials include Radel®, PEEK, Ultem®, and Polycarbonate.

Fire Safe
Dozens of plastic materials have been developed to meet common aircraft, transportation, semiconductor, and UL ratings for flame and smoke safety. Specifications include FAR, FTA, FRA, ASTM, UL and FM. In the semiconductor industry materials meeting the FM-4910 specification have reduced or eliminated the need for costly fire-suppression systems, and thus have reduced overall equipment costs. In some cases, the use of these materials have even reduced insurance costs in high-liability applications. Common flame-retardant and flame-safe materials include: Kydex®, Boltaron®, Halar®, CP7-D, FRPP, Corzan® CPVC, and Kynar® 740 PVDF.

High Purity
Plastics have long been a crucial product used in the manufacturing of high-purity fluid & gas handling applications. Many plastics have eliminated the concerns of out-gassing, leaching, and other contamination in crucial high-purity systems. These products include: PTFE, PFA, FEP, Halar® and Kynar® PVDF.

Static Control
Several plastics and composites have anti-static qualities to prevent the build up of an electric charge. Products range from conductive materials 10^2-10^6, and static dissipative 10^6-10^10, to highly resistive materials 10^10-10^12.


REQUEST A QUOTE!


To learn more, contact Professional Plastics, Inc. or please visit www.professionalplastics.com

Unitrex® Lf20 PTFE Filled PEEK Offers Superior Performance

Unitrex® Lf20 PTFE Filled PEEK offers the performance of standard unfilled PEEK, with the addition of PTFE, resulting in a very lower coefficient of friction. For wear applications requiring both high heat resistance and resistance to many acidic and alkaline solutions, this material is an excellent choice.

With its unique combination of wear resistance, FDA compliance, UL94 V-0 flame rating and extremely low toxicity and smoke release, Unitrex Lf20 is suitable for use in a myriad of applications including aerospace, aircraft, oil & gas extraction and processing, semiconductor fabrication and many more.

Additionally, this material is increasingly being used to replace component parts made of metals due to its light weight, fabrication ease, insulating properties and design freedom, which allows for part consolidation in many applications.

Unitrex Lf20 PTFE Filled PEEK Features:

Very low coefficient of friction

High Continuous Use Temperature

FDA compliant

UL94 V-0 rated

Low toxicity and smoke release

Dimensionally stable

Highly resistant to alkaline and acidic solutions 

Easily machined and fabricated

Typical Applications:

Compressor seals

Valve components

Poppets

Pump components     

For more information, visit: http://www.professionalplastics.com/UnitrexLf20PTFE_FilledPEEK
or call Professional Plastics, Inc. at (888) 995-7767.  16 Locations in the USA and Singapore.

Fluorosint® HPV Wear Resistant, FDA-Compliant PTFE Bearing Material

Fluorosint® HPV PTFE - Most Wear Resistant Fluorosint Grade - Outlasts Low-Tech PTFE Based Materials.

Quadrant's FDA-compliant Fluorosint HPV is a mica-filled high-performance bearing grade that can deliver a pressure velocity (PV) performance improvement of more than 40 per cent over other PTFE materials according to in-house tests conducted by Quadrant. Parts made of Fluorosint HPV can withstand higher loads and velocities while delivering better wear resistance, enabling the part to last longer compared to existing FDA-compliant PTFE-based materials. The product was specially developed to meet the demands of high-performance bearing applications where other, low-technology PTFE formulations would exhibit premature wear or not perform adequately. These characteristics, together with FDA compliance for food and pharmaceutical applications, open up interesting new options for engineers and manufacturers. Simply put, parts machined from Fluorosint HPV last longer than those made from many of the alternative filled PTFE materials on the market today. Fluorosint HPV can replace bronze, steel and powdered metal parts and deliver performance gains in wear life and system performance. Typical applications include thrust washers, wear guides, seals and food processing and preparation equipment.

FDA compliant Fluorosint HPV PTFE is a high performance bearing grade of Fluorosint - optimized for high PV and very low "K" or wear factor. Fluorosint HPV PTFE was developed for bearing applications where other, low-tech PTFE formulations exhibit premature wear or simply cannot perform. FDA compliance gives food and pharmaceutical equipment manufacturers new design options and all benefit from its excellent load bearing and wear characteristics.
Features of Fluorosint® HPV PTFE:

Most Wear Resistant Fluorosint Grade - Outlasts Low-tech PTFE Based Materials

FDA compliant

Optimized for high PV and very low "K" or wear factor.

Developed for bearing applications where other low-tech PTFE formulations exhibit premature wear.

Typical applications include thrust washers, wear guides, seals and food processing and preparation equipment.

Professional Plastics supplies a full range of Fluorosint products through their 16 locations throughout the USA and Singapore.  Complete technical data and pricing is available online at:  http://www.professionalplastics.com/FluorosintHPV

Plastic Materials for Chromotography, Mass Spec - GC, CG/MS

Professional Plastics offers a full-range of materials used in chromotography, mass spectrometry - GC, CG/MS.  These materials include Polyimide Vespel, Plavis, PEEK and Teflon used for Ferrules and Columns.

Gas-liquid chromatography (GLC), or simply gas chromatography (GC), is a common type of chromatography used in organic chemistry for separating and analyzing compounds that can be vaporized without decomposition. Typical uses of GC include testing the purity of a particular substance, or separating the different components of a mixture (the relative amounts of such components can also be determined). In some situations, GC may help in identifying a compound. In microscale chemistry, GC can be used to prepare pure compounds from a mixture.
Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) is a method that combines the features of gas-liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry to identify different substances within a test sample. Applications of GC-MS include drug detection, fire investigation, environmental analysis, explosives investigation, and identification of unknown samples. GC/MS can also be used in airport security to detect substances in luggage or on human beings. Additionally, it can identify trace elements in materials that were previously thought to have disintegrated beyond identification.

Manufacturers of GC and GC/MS Equipment include: Agilent, LECO Corporation, PerkinElmer, Shimadzu, Thermo Electron Corporation, Varian, Inc. and Alpha MOS - Perichrom.
 
For more details visit Professional Plastics webpage for Plastic Materials for Chromotography, Mass Spec - GC, CG/MS. 
 
Professional Plastics, Inc.
Phone (888) 995-7767
http://www.professionalplastics.com/
E-Mail: sales@proplas.com