SPECIAL FEATURE: PLASTICS
ENGINEERING
PLASTICS: KEEPING
THINGS ON THE QUIET
Noise can be a major safety
hazard in industrial and resources
processing, production automation
and transport logistics plants,
where the sound of heavy materials
handling machinery operating can
distract attention from the job in
hand and drown out the sound of
malfunctioning machines, alarm
signals or warning shouts.
Noise exposure is also Australia’s
most common preventable cause
of occupational hearing loss, with
Worksafe Australia estimating that a
million employees in Aussie may be
exposed to hazardous levels of noise
at work. Damage to hearing can
occur when noise levels are higher
than 85 decibels, which is about the
loudness of heavy traffic.
“One highly effective way in which
the noise problem can be addressed
at its root cause (rather than through
hearing protective devices, valuable
though they are) is in the substitution
of engineering plastics in application
areas where quiet running, low
weight and low friction are advantageous,”
says Cut To Size NSW
manager, Pat Flood.
He says one of the most versatile
materials increasingly substituting for
more expensive metals includes the
Wearlon family of nylon polymers,
which extends from the most
commonly used and cost-effective
PA6 semi-crystalline polyamides
through to especially formulated
types such as PA12, which is used
where greater shock loads and
vibrations damping efficiency are
required in rollers, gears and pinions.
Cut To Size manufactures machinery
components from such materials
for applications across Australasia
from its head office in Sydney where
facilities include CNC machining
facilities coupled with GibbsCAM
and Solidworks software.
“Wearlon nylon is used across
many industries to reduce noise
and reduce machinery rail wear,
with applications including food
and beverage, mineral processing,
agribusiness materials handling
and industries that want to avoid
corrosion or the need to use
lubricants that can contaminate
production.
Nylon rollers, for example, offer
high wear resistance, low friction
and lower noise where a part slides
over the roller surface. Nylon rollers
also offer savings in maintenance
costs and, being non-corrosive, offer
all-weather performance in outside
installations, including mineral
processing plants and logistics
operations. Uses include beam
trolley rollers, monorail rollers and
turntable rollers, as well as vital parts
on conveyors and belts.
“Cast nylon trunnion wheels can also
be used to reduce plant operation
noise and reduce wear on rotating
barrels,” says Mr Flood. Nylon
trunnion wheels can be used in
noise and vibration-prone applications
where they support vertical
barrel loads and dual thrust loads.
Wearlon trunnion rollers protect their
running surfaces while providing
good damping of vibration and
noise in applications such as rotary
drum screens, wire cable windows
and rollers and guide wheels in
transport vehicles, crane carriages,
crane tracks, trolleys, storage and
retrieval systems, as well as handling
systems and applications with
rolling movements (such as vertical
conveyors, bucket elevators and
trough conveyors).
Cut To Size extrudes components
manufactured from nylon rod
diameters below 50mm and
casts them above this measure.
Components made from sheet
material 10mm thick and lower is
extruded, while 10mm and above
is cast.
“Cast nylon is better for machining
the larger components, because it is
slightly more ductile, has less internal
stresses and has more consistent
density compared with the extruded
material in these sizes. So, we use
casting to deliver optimum long-term
performance in larger components,”
says Mr Flood.
While the Wearlon family often gives
a highly cost-effective solution to
noise, friction and wear abatement
issues, Cut To Size also engineers
components from a full range of
engineering plastics from world class
suppliers, including nylon, acetal,
PTFE, polyurethane and specialist
high-performance products.
PERFORMANCE PLASTICS
ROD, TUBE, SHEET & MACHINED COMPONENTS
PE-UHMW
Cutting Board
PETP
PPSU
ACM L2 Marine Bearings
PE-HMW
Polypropylene
PVC
PEI
ACM Tribotex Bearings
PE-HD
Polycarbonate
PTFE
PPS
Electrical Composites
Nylon
Polyurethane
PVDF
PEEK
TriStar CJ & FCJ Bearings
Acetal
Acrylic
PSU
PI
RULON Fluoropolymers
performance engineering products
SUPPLY SERVICES
AUCKLAND MT MAUNGANUI CHRISTCHURCH
Freephone 0800 102 112
www.supplyservices.co.nz
REN119
36 May 2018
/www.supplyservices.co.nz