Plastic machined parts are transforming almost every industry, from the ships and planes in our nation’s military to the equipment used in producing food.
As a longtime manufacturer of plastic machined parts, we’ve seen firsthand how our diverse clientele benefits from engineering plastics’ superior properties. Here’s an overview of how each industry implements specialty plastics to create better products, lower manufacturing costs, reduce weight, enhance strength, and other advancements.
With requirements calling for weight reductions to improve fuel efficiency and cut greenhouse gas emissions, the aerospace industry has increasingly turned to lightweight machined plastic parts over traditional metals.
The aerospace industry has also benefited from specialty plastics’ resistance to galvanic corrosion, reduced friction with little or no lubrication, and chemical resistance to all aircraft fluids. Plastic conversions can be cost-efficient solutions for replacing titanium, aluminum, and other metals. Get more specifics on how engineering plastics have taken over aerospace.
In the semiconductor and electronics industries, plastic machined parts applications include wet process components, wafer handling applications, etch and CVS chamber applications, CMP rings, and more. As we’ve written before, the use of engineering plastics in semiconductors can enable them to survive repeated ESD events.
With government funding for hospitals now dependent upon attaining low infection rates, specialty plastics are increasingly integrated into various medical devices because they can withstand exposure to harsh cleaners. The pharmaceutical industry has also turned to specialty plastics to create compact devices patients can use at home. See more on how hospitals and healthcare providers are turning to advanced plastics.
Unlike ever before, heightened competition in the telecommunications industry means networks must be fast and reliable to retain customers. With high resistance to heat and corrosion, static-dissipative properties to prevent damage to sensitive circuitry, rapid production, and other properties, specialty plastics are helping telecom companies stay competitive.
Experts say U.S. agriculture uses about a billion pounds of plastics each year, with specialty plastics used in films for covering mulch, greenhouse covers, tubing, pipes, gears, wear pads, sheaves and various other components. Their ability to lower the weight of equipment cuts fuel costs, while the use of machined plastic parts also reduces costly breakdowns. Here’s more about the rise of machined plastic parts in agriculture.
In the waste and water treatment industries, plastic machined parts appear in brushings, sprockets, wear pads, seals & saddles, rollers, valves, connectors, drainage units, catch basins, and more. Their superior wear surfaces and lower friction can eliminate the need for metal bearings in some incidences, while their low porosity and high chemical resistance keeps them from absorbing the heavy presence of contaminants. Machined plastic parts can result in safer, more efficient waste treatment facilities.
The extreme temperatures, high pressures, heavy loads, and abrasive chemicals that define the oil & gas industry make machined plastic parts ideal. Their advanced properties can not only minimize risk and maximize reliability; they comply with the high standards of the ASME, ISO, Norsok, NACE, and API. The superior seals possible with specialty plastics can even reduce leaks that alter the environment.
Machined plastic parts in the food & beverage industry function well in a variety of applications. In augers, hoppers, rollers, sprockets, and chute liners, they can reduce the need for food-grade lubricant, shorten certification time, improve hygiene, and even lengthen shelf time.
With decades of experience in plastic machining custom parts, we’ve worked with a wide breadth of clients from every industry. It’s our business to help our clients improve their business through better parts made from the dozens of specialty plastics we machine. Parts arrive at your door fast, cut to size, and ready to use.
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