Noise exposure is also
Australasia’s most common
preventable cause
of occupational hearing
loss, with Worksafe Australia
estimating that a million employees
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,” Cut to Size
New South Wales manager
Pat Flood says. One of the
most versatile materials increasingly
substituting for more expensive
metals includes the Wearlon
family of nylon polymers, he says,
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.
“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
WHAT DID
YOU SAY?
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.
32 MAY 2018