Carlos
11-26-2000, 12:00 AM
I was thinking about the proposed firefighters knife that was discussed awhile ago, and the kind of materials best suited for the application.
Handle materials like titanium, or G10 related fire-retarded laminates like FR4 and FR5 are obvious, but expensive choices.
I've found a few other plastics, with high-operating temperatures, that should/may prove to be less expensive, yet viable.
DuPont's "Vespel" is an interesting graphite-reinforced poliymide that is used in aircraft engines (military and commercial), that boasts high mechanical strength, high wear-resistance, high compressive strength, etc., and a regular operating temperature up to 550 degrees F, and a peak short term operating temp up to to 900 degrees F. As with all such plastics, there are a bunch of variations to choose from based on the SP-1 base resin.
According to the literature you machine it as you would a metal, or Dupont can direct form it (for lots of 500 units or more) using "powder metallurgy" technology. Direct forming is of course more economical, especially over the long-term. A link:
http://www.dupont.com/enggpolymers/americas/vespel/index.html
Another one that I almost overlooked is DuPont's Minlon, which is a mineral reinforced nylon. BMW has used it to replace magnesium in one engine application. Not quite as temp resistant as Vespel. Here is a couple of links:
http://www.dupont.com/enggpolymers/americas/minlon.html
http://www.dupont.com/automotive/applications/power/bmw.html
Handle materials like titanium, or G10 related fire-retarded laminates like FR4 and FR5 are obvious, but expensive choices.
I've found a few other plastics, with high-operating temperatures, that should/may prove to be less expensive, yet viable.
DuPont's "Vespel" is an interesting graphite-reinforced poliymide that is used in aircraft engines (military and commercial), that boasts high mechanical strength, high wear-resistance, high compressive strength, etc., and a regular operating temperature up to 550 degrees F, and a peak short term operating temp up to to 900 degrees F. As with all such plastics, there are a bunch of variations to choose from based on the SP-1 base resin.
According to the literature you machine it as you would a metal, or Dupont can direct form it (for lots of 500 units or more) using "powder metallurgy" technology. Direct forming is of course more economical, especially over the long-term. A link:
http://www.dupont.com/enggpolymers/americas/vespel/index.html
Another one that I almost overlooked is DuPont's Minlon, which is a mineral reinforced nylon. BMW has used it to replace magnesium in one engine application. Not quite as temp resistant as Vespel. Here is a couple of links:
http://www.dupont.com/enggpolymers/americas/minlon.html
http://www.dupont.com/automotive/applications/power/bmw.html