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Ertalyte PETP Polyester - Your Bronze Bush Alternative

Ertalyte and ertalyte TX are both semi-crystalline thermoplastic polyesters. Ertalyte and ertalyte TX plastic sheet, rod and tube has many properties which make it unique when compared with other engineering plastics in applications that require food contact, stain resistance, low friction and high wearing characteristics. Ertalyte and ertalyte TX has excellent dimensional stability making this material an ideal bronze replacement across significant operating temperature variations.

Available in rod, tube and sheet form, ertalyte is especially suitable for precision mechanical parts capable of sustaining high loads in challenging wear conditions.

Pacific West has two polyester PETP products:

Ertalyte is suitable for the manufacture of mechanical precision parts which have to sustain high loads and are subject to wear. Its main properties are high mechanical strength, better resistance to acids when compared with nylon and acetal, good electrical insulating properties and physically inert.
Ertalyte TX has outstanding wear resistance and even lower coefficient of friction when compared with ertalyte. It is an internally lubricated bearing grade with high pressure velocity capabilities and is ideally suited for applications involving metal and plastic mating surfaces.

Both ertalyte products can be used in the following applications:

Precision gears and bearings
Thrust washers
Pump components
Slideways
Components for mechanisms of precision

Ertalyte bushings bring public transport to a halt

Ertalyte, being a high wear resistant product, was used to replace bronze bushes within disc breaks for trains and trams. The bronze bushings were subjected to high dynamic and static loads and the bronze required replacement every few months. It was suggested that ertalyte, with its strength and dimensional stability, should be used to solve this problem and after two trams were equipped with ertalyte bushings, it was noted that after two years of constant use, no wear could be identified. Ertalyte has since been installed to a number of trains and trams providing longer wear life and reduced maintenance downtime.

Versatile, Impact Resistant and Durable - Polyurethane Makes Demanding Applications Appear Simple

Polyurethane is a highly cost effective, elastomer, designed to provide an ideal combination of properties not available in conventional rubber, metal or thermoplastics.

Polyurethane has a high abrasion resistance and superior load bearing capability, offering an ideal alternative in applications where severe wear prove challenging for most conventional materials.

The impact resistance of polyurethane is exceptional, even at low temperatures, and this highly resilient material also offers resistance to cracking, tearing, breaking or swelling. The unique flex and compression properties provide solutions for high impact operations, intense load-bearing applications and harsh operating environments. Its elastic behaviour will allow recovery after the application of high loads, unlike plastic parts that could deform under load. Metal construction components including, pins, bearings, fasteners or injection moulded parts can be inserted during the production process, further extending the applications scope. No other plastic engineering material offers this wide a scope of applications possibilities.

Polyurethane sheet, rod and tube are extensively used as a metal or rubber replacement material in industries ranging from materials handling, building/construction, mining, transport, industrial manufacturing, packaging or electrical.

Applications Examples:

Elbow couplings traditionally made from steel were replaced with polyurethane, because of the increased abrasion and corrosion resistance offered. Moulded Polyurethane couplings also proved to be a more cost effective alternative.

The original steel, hydraulic hose clamps proved too hard and rigid, causing damage to the hydraulic fittings. Polyurethane clamps, manufactured using polyurethane sheet, eliminated this problem and extended the service life of the fittings. The clamps could be supplied in a range of polyurethane colours to assist with easier identification.

Because the adhesion between polyurethane and other materials is often stronger than the elastomer itself, polyurethane rollers and wheels provide high strength for rugged performance over an extended service life.

Polyurethane has a higher abrasion resistance than conventional rubber and can be precision cast to intricate shapes as shown in this coupling application.

A Thermoplastic that machines like Bronze - Acetal, the great Metal Replacement Thermoplastic

Excellent results when machining plastic shapes

Acetal provides high strength and stiffness coupled with enhanced dimensional stability and easy plastic machining. As a semi-crystalline thermoplastic material, acetal also has a low coefficient of friction and excellent wear properties, especially in wet environments. Many traditional machinists say they like to use acetal as it machines easily, like brass or bronze, and they get excellent finishes.

Acetal’s moisture absorption is quite minimal as tested according to method 1 ISO 62 with a percentage moisture ingress value of 0.85% at saturation in water of 23°C and 0.20% when saturated in air at
23°C /50% relative humidity. Acetal's low moisture absorption results in excellent dimensional stability for close tolerance machined parts. In high moisture or submerged applications, rudder bearings, stern tube bushes and wear pads manufactured from acetal rod, sheet and tube outperform nylon 4 to 1. Acetal is ideally suited for machining close tolerance mechanical parts and electrical insulators which require strength and stiffness.

Customers using acetal for machine plastic components repeatedly come back for different shapes in sheet or rod for their machining solutions.

We offer a copolymer grade of acetal known as Acetal® C. It is porosity-free and offered as our standard general purpose grade. acetal® C (Copolymer) also offers better chemical resistance, making it the preferred acetal for food contact and medical applications. Acetal natural is FDA, USDA, NSF, Canada AG and 3A Dairy compliant.

Key Benefits of Acetal© Rods, Sheets:

High Mechanical Strength
Dimensional Stability
Excellent Machinability
Good Creep Resistance
Very Low Stick-Slip
Physiologically Inert
Low Moisture Absorption
Continuous use at Temperature 115°C
Parts Operate in Water up to 90°C

Acetal© Plastic Applications:

Precision Gears
Bearings with Close Tolerance
Electrical Engineering Insulations
Snap Fit Assemblies
Parts for Pumps

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WHICH PLASTIC � ACRYLIC OR POLYCARBONATE?

As a major plastics supplier in Sydney, we at Pacific West are often asked the same question – which plastic should I use for my application? In this article, we will attempt to answer this question simply for all those who require plastic fabrication.

Both acrylic and polycarbonate are rigid plastic products, and are available in clear plastic sheet, rod and tube form which are transparent and almost glass like in appearance. This is where the similarities end, however, as these plastic products perform very different roles.

Acrylic or ‘perspex’ is the plastic sheet generally used for plastic fabrication, boat windows, display cabinets, raffle barrels, brochure holders, etc. Acrylic has 17 times the impact strength of glass, has a high degree of transparency and can be fabricated, by bending, cutting and moulding, to almost any shape. There are many colours of acrylic on the market, making it a fabulous plastic product to use in signage and perspex displays. Also the good weatherability of acrylic is useful for sign writers. Acrylic will melt at temperatures of 100 degrees Centigrade. This is the plastic to use for your everyday plastic fabrication requirements and all your perspex display cases.

Polycarbonate or ‘lexan’ is the plastic sheet used when safety and security plastics are required. It is renown for its extremely high impact strength – it has 250 times the impact strength of glass and 30 to 40 times that of acrylic. Polycarbonate is virtually unbreakable, light weight, durable, is UV stabilised (has excellent weather resistance) and is thermo formable to almost any shape. Its major uses are safety machine guards, riot shields, safety glazing, windows in race cars, telephone booth panels, etc. This is an extremely strong plastic product and belongs to the engineering plastics group, but it will scratch more than acrylic. There is a mar resistant polycarbonate available, which has the same basic properties as regular polycarbonate, but it has a reduction in abrasion and scratching. Polycarbonate will melt at temperatures of 149 degrees Centigrade.

So, to sum up, acrylic is used for non safety items and all types of displays and show cases. Polycarbonate is used for industrial strength applications where safety is a priority and where very high temperatures are used. Naturally acrylic is cheaper than polycarbonate and regular polycarbonate is cheaper than the mar resistant grade.

Please call us at Pacific West to see if we can help you with your plastic product and perspex display requirements.

Acrylic Polycarbonate

PLASTICS FOR HORSE FLOATS

Pacific West can supply all your plastic requirements for horse float windows. Whether you need to replace your existing windows, or are building a horse float from scratch, we can supply you with clear and grey tinted plastic sheets.

We recommend polycarbonate for this application, as our polycarbonate sheets are shatterproof, thus making your horse float windows extremely safe, for you and your horses. Polycarbonate is 250 times stronger than glass and much lighter in weight, therefore making it the ideal plastic product for your horse float windows.

Polycarbonate sheets are available in thicknesses of 2mm up to 12mm and in sheet sizes from 2440 x 1220mm and larger. Pacific West can supply you with the whole sheets if required or we also provide a cut to size service. Polycarbonate sheets are available in a general purpose grade and also a UV resistant grade.

Features and Benefits of Polycarbonate:

· Excellent impact resistance

· Self extinguishing

· Very good optical properties

· Moderate chemical and scratch resistance

· Excellent acoustic properties

· Corrosion free

· Rust free

· Maintenance free

PLASTIC WHEELS AND ROLLERS BY PACIFIC WEST

Pacific West can machine custom made wheels and rollers to customers individual requirements. We can replace imported components with locally machined plastic materials. Some of the plastic parts that can be machined to order include:

Wheels

Rollers

Bushes

End Caps

The plastic is machined to the highest standard and are made especially for you. Plastics that can be machined into wheels and rollers include:

Polyethylene

Nylon

Teflon

Acetal

As our machined plastic parts are custom made and not just pulled off a shelf, each piece is made to your specifications – size, colour, shape, design, etc. Pacific West work with you right from the first contact up until the finished parts are completed and delivered to you. Pacific West have been in the plastic machining business now for many years and we consider ourselves to be experts in all of areas of plastic supply, machining and plastic fabrication.

ADHESIVE BACKED UHMWPE

Pacific West are proud to announce that we are now stocking adhesive backed UHMWPE. This ultra high molecular weight polyethylene is designed to be used as continuous wear strip, enabling you to simply purchase the adhesive backed strips as cut to size as opposed to a whole sheet of UHMWPE, which does not have the adhesive backing.

The UHMWPE with pressure sensitive adhesive backing tape will allow you to apply the polyethylene in minutes instead of hours, eliminating the need for mechanical fastening – no more drilling and bolting!

Adhesive backed UHMWPE is available in the following sizes:

Thickness: .003” to .125”

Width: �” to 24”

Roll Length: 50 or 100’

Colours: Natural – standard

Conductive black is available

Other colours available on a minimum order basis

Some other advantages of adhesive backed UHMWPE are:

No more seams
Tight thickness tolerances
Elimination of waste

The UHMWPE tapes can also be supplied with an abrasive side using contact cement or epoxies for permanent adhesion. These bonding methods are used where the adhesive demands are greater due to load, substrate, environment or temperature change.

UHMWPE tapes are commonly used for:

Conveyor side liners
Low friction surface on packaging equipment
Bearing surface for telescoping applications
Smooth continuous surface for paddle conveyors
Anti-stick surface on bagging lines
Bearing surface on bakery conveyors
Hoppers
Lane diverters in canning lines
Low coefficient of friction surface under conveyor belts
Anti-static slide tapes for mail sorting equipment
Anti-corrosion/anti-squeak material between leaf springs

Plastics for Soil Testing

Pacific West produces a range of plastics specifically for soil testing.

There are two types of plastic tube for soil testing - high impact acrylic and polycarbonate. These plastics are the best alternatives for soil testing applications and are Shelby style tubes.

Our high impact acrylic has a broader chemical resistance range than polycarbonate. Our polycarbonate has an even higher impact resistance than high impact acrylic.

Both high impact acrylic and polycarbonate tubes have:

· Clarity

· Toughness

· Chemical resistance

The high impact acrylic is the best tube for extended periods of soil storage due to its clarity and chemical resistance. The polycarbonate tube is UV stable, making it the preferred plastic for situations exposed to the elements. Polycarbonate is generally used when the ore is extremely hard.

These high impact acrylic and polycarbonate tubes can also be used as adhesive cartridges for the roof bolting industry.

The chemical resistance charts for both plastic products are available on request from Pacific West.

Sizes and availability

The two main diameters of both the high impact acrylic and the polycarbonate tubes in stock are:

38.1mm (11/2”)

50.8mm (2”)

63.1mm (2 1/2”) is available on request.

Wall thickness is 2mm minimum.

Custom lengths are available in both high impact acrylic and polycarbonate tube to suit customers requirements.

Minimum order quantity of stock items is 300m.

Smaller quantities may be available for certain applications.

Other sizes may be available depending on quantities ordered.

ENGINEERING PLASTICS

Engineering plastics are a group of plastic products that exhibit superior mechanical and thermo properties in a wide range of conditions over and above those of the more commonly used commodity plastics. Engineering thermoplastics are plastics which generally have wax like properties, i.e. they can be melted and shaped several times.

They are referred to as engineering plastics as they replace the more traditionally used engineering materials such as metal and wood.

Engineering plastics are more expensive than other plastic products as they have enhanced physical properties.

Some properties of engineering plastics:

high impact strength – polycarbonate, nylon, UHMWPE
high heat resistance – polyester, acetal
mechanical strength – acetal
rigidity – acetal
flame retardancy – polycarbonate
chemical resistance – PVC
abrasion resistance - nylon
quieter operation – polyethylene
zero moisture absorption – polyethylene
high stability with machined parts - polyester
self lubricated - most of the engineering plastics group

PLASTIC FABRICATIONS FOR CLUBS

Pacific West can supply your club with all its plastic fabrication requirements

Golf Cart Screens

Perspex Display Cases

Menu Holders

Buffet Risers

Sneeze Guards

Salad Bar Covers

Bain Marie Covers

Brochure Holders

Acrylic Drink Holders

Cake Display Stands

and much more....

Email us for a quote today!

Pacific West Corporation
Unit 3/80 Hassall Street
Wetherill Park NSW 2164

Phone 02 9725 4144

Fax 02 9725 3208

Email plastics@pacwestcorp.com.au

Plastic Products by Pacific West Corporation

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