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August 2011

PEEK properties meet high performance requirements
VICTREX® PEEK™ polymer was specified in the Boeing 777 landing gear hubcaps because of the material's high temperature resistance and high mechanical strength as well as its chemical resistance to the aggressive chemical compounds often found on the runway.

Developed and commercialized in the 1970s by ICI Ltd., PEEK (polyetheretherketone) is a linear aromatic polymer widely regarded as the highest performance melt processable thermoplastic on the market today. Learn more.

Join SPE and IAPD for breakfast before the 2011 Plastics Expo!

The Philadelphia Section of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) will host a free breakfast meeting focused on Understanding Plastics: Selecting, Sourcing and Applying Today's Engineering Plastics when Injection Molding to Size Doesn't Work. The event is sponsored by IAPD in conjunction with the IAPD 2011 Plastics Expo at the Baltimore Convention Center. The presentation will feature Mike Oliveto, a materials engineer from Quadrant Engineering Plastic Products.

Registration opens at 7:30 a.m. and breakfast begins at 8 a.m., followed by the presentation and Q &A session from 8:30 a.m.-9:50 a.m. The Plastics Expo grand opening is at 10 a.m.

How to register
Simply register for the Plastics Expo, which is also free, and mark the SPE Breakfast.

 

Inside this issue

• Tips for Machining PEEK and PAI
• Technical Advisory
• Sustainability: Did You Know ...

Sponsor

Expand Your Knowledge

Tips for machining PEEK and PAI

PEEK (polyetheretherketone) and PAI (polyamide-imide) are high-performance plastics that, on the strength of their outstanding properties, can be used in an extraordinary number of application areas. Learn more.

Technical advisory

• PEEK resins are available in unreinforced, 20 percent and 30 percent glass-fiber-reinforced, and 30 percent carbon-fiber-reinforced grades.

• PEEK resins can be molded or
extruded in conventional thermoplastic processing equipment at 660°F to 750°F (349°C to 399°C).

• Mold shrinkage is about
1 percent for the unreinforced polymer and 0.1 percent to 1.4 percent for the reinforced grades, depending on fiber orientation.

Sustainability of Plastic: Did You Know...

• The raw materials that go into the production of plastics account for only 1.5 percent of total U.S. energy consumption. Plus, it often takes less energy to convert plastics from a raw material into a finished product than comparable products made of other materials.

• Over the lifetime of the average car, plastic parts save 650 gallons of gas as a result of their lighter weight.

• During their life cycle, plastic bags require about one-third less energy to make than paper bags.
More Plastics Resources

Introduction to Plastics is more than an introduction
It's everything you need to know about more than 50 plastic materials commonly used today in industry, signage and visual merchandising, building and construction, and pipe, valves and fittings. This book provides such details as:

  • Their comparative properties
  • How they're made
  • Appropriate applications
  • Processing and fabrication techniques

Learn more


Get to know your distributor
IAPD distributors are your best source for finding materials for your application. Go to www.iapd.org to find a distributor in your area. You can search by company name, location or product category.

The IAPD Magazine
This bi-monthly magazine contains expert-written articles on innovative plastic materials and applications. Each issue focuses on different materials and industries. Subscribe today to stay informed of what’s going on in the plastics distribution market.

Follow us

International Association of Plastics Distribution
6734 W. 121st Street, Overland Park, KS 66209 USA
www.iapd.org | iapd@iapd.org
Phone: +913.345.1005 | Fax: +913.345.1006

 
Designing with Plastics is published by the International Association of Plastics Distribution. While every effort has been made for accuracy, IAPD encourages you to verify information with a plastics distributor to ensure you select the correct plastic products to meet your needs.