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Colored Acetal Copolymer – Dupont Delrin 150SA Homopolymer Rod

Colored Acetal Copolymer – Dupont Delrin 150SA Homopolymer Rod

Is colored Acetal Copolymer – Delrin® Homopolymer Rod Readily Available?

We get this question frequently.

The easy answer is yes, however, the most common available colors are Black and Natural (white in color). But to continue the thought, we have several manufacturers that run ‘Medical’ grades of Acetal Copolymer as well as Acetal Homopolymer (ie: Dupont Delrin® 150SA Homopolymer Acetal) in several colors. Comparing Dupont Delrin to Acetal Copolymer These materials are special run, but can frequently purchase by the standard length without a custom run. The biggest factor may be the price. The colored version of Acetal Copolymer – Delrin Homopolymer Acetal materials are dramatically more expensive.

Colored Acetal Copolymer – Dupont Delrin® Homopolymer 150SA Rod

While price is a factor, the benefits may out weigh the cost. Many of our clients use these colored rods to help differentiate their product from their competition. With colors that can come close to a logo color or match a machine, these advantages are clearly visible. Having a special color available to machine small to medium runs of your product can save you thousands over molding a new part for trials.

What colors can I get in Acetal Copolymer or Dupont Delrin® 150SA Homopolymer Acetal Rod? The range is a bit limited, but does include: brown, dark blue, dark green, gray, light blue, light green, red, rust and yellow (and of course Natural and Black). For details on the properties of these materials click here: Acetal Copolymer and Dupont Delrin® 150SA Homopolymer Acetal. Dupont™ Delrin® is a popular acetal homopolymer brand name and the most commonly used acetal homopolymer.

For specifics on your requirement, please contact us for availability and pricing. Email or call 866-832-9315

We can supply both the Acetal Copolymer and the premium Dupont Delrin 150SA Homopolymer acetal from our premium suppliers: Ensinger Plastics, Z/L Plastics, Rochling Engineered Plastics and others in special formulations.

Looking for the differences between Acetal Copolymer and Dupont Delrin® 150SA Homopolymer Acetal materials, click here.

**Note:  Delrin® is a registered Trademark of Dupont

Plastic Materials In Natural Disasters

Plastic Materials In Natural Disasters

Plastics In Natural Disasters

The world is an ever changing and frequently hostile environment. Damage can be caused by a range of factors: from storms, floods, tornado to fires, hurricanes and earthquakes – all natural disasters.

This is certainly evident in the recent earthquakes and tsunami that ravaged Japan and Haiti. In addition, we have man made disasters. The nuclear concerns in Japan have captivated people’s attention throughout the globe. The Gulf Oil Spill is an example of another environmental disaster. Plastic materials are the perfect choice in prevention, preparedness and clean up from natural disasters.

Plastics in disaster preparedness.

Many plastic materials are used in the prevention, control and repair management – whenever and wherever a natural disaster may occur.

Tuffak Polycarbonate sheet is used for window protection One of the most visible plastics is the Polycarbonate used in hurricane window covers / shutters. Polycarbonate is a clear rigid plastic that has extremely high impact strength, and is the material most commonly known as ‘Bullet Resistant Glazing’. It is used in safety glasses, riot shields and bank theft prevention glazing. The Polycarbonate protects windows and inhabitants from flying debris and breaking glass caused by the high winds, hurricanes or tornado. Use of the Polycarbonate window coverings saves homes from damage, and helps reduce insurance premiums.

Hillsides are affected by storms and heavy rains, causing mud slides. The standard and most popular solution is to cover hillsides with Polyethylene film. This helps to prevent the rains from saturating the ground and causing the ground to move or shift. The Poly film is normally .004” – .010” thick in widths up to 20 feet and lengths of 100 feet (the same material used as painters tarps from home improvement centers). This film is then attached to the hill with spikes, stakes or sand bags; and this material sheds the water rather than letting it soak in. It can be applied with folds and used like rain gutters to direct water flow away from specific areas. Also, the current sand bags used are not the old cotton fabric bags used years ago; they are now a high strength and tear resistant woven polypropylene ‘fabric’ bag.

The recent critical issues with nuclear leaks bring up an interesting use of a plastic material. As you may recall, after the earthquake and tsunami, the Japanese energy experts were pumping water and boron into the reactors to help control the amount of nuclear energy released.

Boron Filled Polyethylene Helps Protect Against Radiation DisastersThe nuclear industry uses a plastic material, High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) that has been filled with the natural mineral boron. This boron filled (typically a 5% boron fill) is used to shield neutrons and nuclear energy in many applications; nuclear submarines, nuclear power plants, hospital radiation, dental x-ray shielding and industrial radiation applications. It is normally produced in sheet, and can then be mounted in and around the radiation source as shielding. The benefit to using this boron filled HDPE is this sheet weighs significantly less than traditional lead shielding, and is therefore much easier to install.

Plastic used in clean up from disasters

It is much more difficult to clean up after natural disasters occur. Many of the methods used in the preparation limit the amount of clean up caused by natural disasters.

Depending on the severity of the natural disaster, the uses of plastics in the aftermath are almost limitless. In the cleanup and rebuild after major Earthquakes, shelter is a key component. One of the quick shelters brought in are simple wooden frames with twin-wall plastic sheets made from either Polypropylene or Polycarbonate stapled or nailed to the framework. This provides an inexpensive, easily movable and effective shelter for short term housing. The twin-wall design provides excellent insulation and energy savings. This style shelter is foldable, easy to transport and very easy to set up. Several versions can be made from small huts to larger family areas, to separate sanitary latrine units. These extruded twin-wall materials work well to protect against rain and excessive exposure to the elements. These can be used as assembled, or with a sand bag reinforced perimeter. In Haiti, there were reports of residents filling used one gallon water bottles with mud, and building shelters with these mud building blocks.

The gulf oil spill brought plastics to the front line in disaster cleanup again. Materials used to collect and dispose of excess oil from the waters were rushed to the area. Polyethylene bags are used to collect the oil covered and saturated cleaning rags and clothes, preventing additional dispersion. Many varieties of machinery were brought in to clean the waters. One style machine uses 8” UHMW rod as a squeegee roller that grabs the oil from the water surface and then collects it for later use. Oil booms and rotary wheels are common systems for collecting oil from spills. Because plastics have great surface tension, the oil ‘sticks’ to the plastic surface during the cleaning process. Then the plastic surfaces are wiped clean for reuse and capturing the oil. Plastic tubes and hoses are used to move the oil after collection.

A significant use of plastics would be in the aftermath of natural disasters, specifically in the sanitation and clean water areas. First is sanitation; plastics are used in keeping items clean and dry. Polyethylene film covers items such as medical supplies, shelters, clothing and food cartons. This film keeps the items protected during shipment and ready for use.

Water is the second area of concern. Clean water is critical during the clean up and resettling after a natural disaster. Individual use water bottles are the quick and easy way to deliver water. Larger rotationally molded tanks are brought in with the ability to store large amounts of water in the areas affected. Reverse osmosis equipment (many components are made from plastic) is brought in to convert contaminated water in the clean potable water on site.

In all of these examples, plastic is lighter in weight than the alternatives, normally less expensive that the alternatives, it lasts longer and the plastics are recyclable.

Plastics are excellent choices for material to use in natural disasters.

Nylon Food Grade Changes

Nylon Food Grade Changes

Is Nylon Rod and Sheet Food Grade

This question was very easy to answer, up until now.

First: what is Zytel 42? It is a Natural Nylon 6/6 extrusion grade plastic resin. An extremely popular and heavily used material for machinable and durable plastic parts. For as far back as we can find information, this Zytel 42 Nylon 6/6 resin has been used in numerous food contact and food processing machine components.

We have just received notice that Dupont will be making some changes to their formula for this Nylon grade. For years we have provided our clients with Dupont Zytel 42 Nylon resin extruded into sheet, rod and other profiles. The Dupont announcement states that the Zytel 42 will no longer have a food grade rating – FDA approval. They will produce a new resin called Zytel 42FG, which will have all the approvals we always had with the Zytel 42.

Why in the world would a company do such a thing? Our guess is that this is a cleaver way to increase prices significantly without a standard and blatant price increase. Let’s just hide it in a new resin package.

Nylon Sheet, Nylon Slab and Nylon Rod are all available as these:

Zytel 42 – will still be available, but without the FDA approval

Zytel 42FG – the ‘new’ resin will carry the FDA approval, but at much higher price

Nylon Food Grade still available

Large Cast Nylon Blocks 12" X 12" X 48"

These huge Cast Nylon Blocks 12″ X 12″ X 48″

What is the difference between the old Zytel 42 and the new Zytel 42FG? From what we have read so far, nothing. It is probably the same material, new name. The ‘new’ Zytel 42 is actually the new ‘dumbed’ down resin – they just took away the Food Grade label, maybe took out an ingredient or two, and viola, new Zytel 42 – non Food Grade Nylon.

This news has spread quickly through our industry. As mentioned above, we have provided this material in this grade for over 36 years for Food Grade/FDA Approved applications.

The main reason for this article is to get the news out the the marketplace. Engineers and designers have been specifying this resin for their applications, and now, with out much notice, the product they assume is Food Grade will no longer be acceptable for these applications. It is unclear at this point whether the extrusion plants will be producing product from both resins, or opting to use one or the other. It appears that Nylon Food Grade resins my become a special, or that all materials may becomes standard as Nylon Food Grade.

Is Nylon Food Grade Resin Important To You?

This is the question we find ourselves asking. Does the end user think of Nylon when they are looking for an FDA approved plastic? Or, do they consider Acetal Copolymer, Acetal Homopolymer, Polyethylene, and other materials first? Do you think of Nylon rod, bar, sheet and slab as mechanical materials to use when making gears, wear strips, and other non FDA applications?

Please take a moment and let us know you thoughts. We value your input – it will help us in evaluating the direction we want to go with our inventory.

Check our main website for more details on these and other plastic materials – www.iplasticsupply.com

What is Oilon PV80

What is Oilon PV80

What is Oilon PV80

We have recently received a question from a client on an old product called Oilon PV80. This was one of the first attempts to make a plastic ‘slicker’, and they achieved this by adding an oil agent to Acetal resin. The Oilon PV 80 material failed miserably due to the oil additive not blending well with the base Acetal. The product had vastly uneven oil content throughout the extrusion. Don’t let this failure sway you away from Acetal products, as they are excellent machining and wear resistant materials, Acetal just doesn’t take the blending with oil. It does blend well with PTFE, and that is the very popular Delrin® AF (also known as LF13) product and this is a common replacement for the Oilon PV 80.

Since then, our factories have figured it out, and they now use Nylon as a base. The Nylon has made this a widely accepted success providing excellent performance and longevity. With a few different versions, this product line works extremely well in OEM, Manufacturing and many Food Processing applications. Check out this and other Nylon varieties on the Nylon page. Look in the upper right corner for the variety of material you are interested in.

Oilon PV80 vs. NylonHuge Cast Nylon Pulley

Nylon provides the best of all worlds when it comes to filled wear resistant materials. It is a rigid material with natural wear resistance. In addition, Nylon can be cast with a variety of fillers and additives (ie. Oil, Glass, Pigments, Graphite, etc.) that extend and improve many properties – and they are equally dispersed through out the material. The Nylon is superior in this blending process, whereas the Oilon PV80 did not blend well at all. Cast Nylon also is available in a huge range of sizes and shapes.

Also, let us know if you want more info on the old, antiquated and abandoned materials of old. Most of those old materials have been replaced by superior performance materials. Some of the older call outs were just trade names, like Bakelite (the first high pressure laminate – phenolic sheet). Some members of our team remember the first materials invented, and of course all the materials that followed. Give us a try.

While Nylon has been a staple for many years, the casting process has been perfected and is made in huge range of sizes and grades. Take a step up to one of the newer high tech grades of Nylon. Most Cast Nylons can be produced with a variety of fillers to meet the demanding design requirements you need.

Choose a newer and superior material, and forget the old Oilon PV80.

**Note:  Delrin® is a registered Trademark of Dupont

Plastic Mentor – Blogging for iplasticsupply.com

Plastic Mentor – Blogging for iplasticsupply.com

Plastic Mentor – The Blog

Large Inventory of Performance Plastic Sheet and Rod, in stock here in Anaheim, CA

Industrial Plastic Supply of Anaheim California

This is the blogging platform for the website: www.iplasticsupply.com – Industrial Plastic Supply in Anaheim, CA.

Industrial Plastic Supply has been serving the mechanical, industrial, medical, food processing and many other industries since 1975. We supply a huge range of plastic sheets, strip, slab, blocks, rods and tubes. With over 80 plastics in stock, we can assist with the materials you need.

As a method to bring a more informative and direct link to you, we created Plastic Mentor.

The focus of the Plastic Mentor Blog is to share information, educate, and answer your plastic material questions.

Please feel free to ask your tough question. One of our certified and experienced ‘Plasticologists’ will be happy to get back with you. Click Here to contact us. Also, we welcome you to call us with questions, problems, material inquiries, etc. Call us at 866-832-9315

Don’t be a stranger, send us an e-mail, call us or stop by our Anaheim, CA warehouse (2240 S. Dupont Drive, Anaheim, CA  92806). We would love to start a plastic relationship.