04 September 2015 – On the Victrex stand at the Fakuma trade fair, the focus will be on striving to help customers reach the top of their game by differentiation and exploiting new market opportunities faster. The acquisition of Kleiss Gears, a US specialist in thermoplastic gears, and the PAEK capacity expansion are two recent examples of the company´s focus on extending capabilities to help accelerate product introductions in important application in the automotive, aerospace, electronics, energy and medical markets.

At the Fakuma trade fair from 13th to 17th October 2015 in Friedrichshafen, Germany, Victrex will, in particular, be presenting solutions for the automotive industry, a focus segment for the company. The company claims that associated benefits include greater fuel efficiency and driving comfort, and an extended service life, all achieved through refinements such as a reduced moment of inertia, less complex parts, new design approaches, and greater functional integration. In addition, it is possible to use the injection-moulding process to mass produce complex and elaborate high-performance components, without subsequent tempering or machining.

Facilitating progress in industries with Victrex PAEK-based solutions

To address specific market challenges, Victrex is working with its customers and improving future performance through innovation in polyaryletherketone (PAEK) materials. These include the Victrex PEEK family as well as downstream areas such as APTIV® films, Victrex® Pipes and tapes and medical technology components, or advanced options in the case of gears. ”We have an important goal in view: to create value through high-performance polymer solutions in our focused sectors. In this way, we are able to help our customers solve problems, using our specific expertise and investment in R&D and technology aligned with the markets. This helps our customers excel in innovation and improve their performance”, explains Rainer Müller, Regional Sales Manager at Victrex.

Reducing development cycles: new options for gear solutions

The acquisition of Kleiss Gears, a US gear specialist with over 20 years’ experience, is also intended to assist in achieving the goal of reducing time-to-market. The move unites Kleiss Gears’ combination of plastic optimised, innovative gear design and testing, and its manufacturing capability, with Victrex’s material know-how, innovation-focused technical expertise and global footprint.

“No matter whether the customer is looking for a materials solution or a complete system solution, we now have the ability to speed up the development and adoption of PEEK-based gear applications and meet the tough requirements of applications such as those found in the automotive industry. Building on the expertise of Kleiss Gears, we can provide our customers with more customised services and products”, continues Müller. According to the company, the main benefits of solutions based on Victrex´s high-performance plastics are a reduction in noise vibration harshness (NVH) of up to 50% and a significant reduction in energy consumption and weight compared to metal gears.

New technologies and optimum production processes for efficiency

Victrex also continues to be involved in pioneering technologies and their application in the aerospace sector. A major theme at Fakuma is achieving greater production efficiency – including parts consolidation – in processes such as:

• The advanced hybrid-moulding process: This allows engineers to combine the strength of continuous fibre-reinforced Victrex PAEK composites with the design flexibility of PEEK injection-moulding solutions. Hybrid moulding enables the more cost-efficient production of a component in minutes, whereas the process for metal or thermosetting solutions can take hours.
• The fusible-core technology of the Dutch injection-moulding specialist Egmond Plastic BV - according to Victrex, it can achieve cost savings of over 30% in the manufacture of complex pump housings, combined with top-class performance and a weight savings of up to 50% compared with conventionally machined metal components
• The British precision injection-moulding specialist Denroy Plastics Ltd. has joined forces with Victrex and Bombardier to develop an optimised bracket technology, and small to medium-size brackets previously cut from aluminium and titanium can now be replaced with VictrexPEEK-based units. These will last the lifetime of the aircraft, whilst radically reducing weight and costs.

 

Source: Victrex