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Processing methods

MACHINING
INJECTION MOULDING
THERMAL METHODS
COMMON METHODS
PRODUCT ENQUIRY

Tribological Part Production

We provide you finished parts made of ZEDEX® polymers at cost-effective with the optimal process in any quantity. Alternatively, we also produce entirely according to customer requirements.

Machining

The following processes are available for the manufacturing of your products:

CNC Milling

X-; Y-; Z; 4-axis
HRT210-CNCCB wedge bar chuck Röhm Ø 200mm / 3

  • X-1270 mm; Y-508 mm Z-635 mm
    Clamping area: 1,321 x 457 mm
  • X-1016 mm; Y-406 mm Z-406 mm
    Clamping area: 1,465 x 265 mm
  • 4-axis with tailstock outer Ø 349 mm workpiece length: <730 mm; Height pad: 54 mm
  • 4-axis with aluminum device outer Ø 210 mm with rectangular pocket width: 83 mm length: 110 mm to 400 mm for segment angle mill chord dimensions

CNC lathe

X-; Z-; Y-;
HS-C-; GS-C axis Automated with robot

  • up to outside-Ø 65mm from the bar with short bar loader, driven tools and parts catcher
  • from outside Ø 70mm to outside Ø 102mm, from the bar with bar gripper
  • forage work larger than Ø 60 to <= Ø 210mm; <= Ø 250mm; <= Ø 400mm
  • from series to outer Ø 65mm with CNC high-performance lathe, robot arm for workpiece feed, picking up the finished workpieces from the machining area and storing them in the parts magazine.

CNC automatic lathe

Long / short automatic lathe with bar loader and 2-channel control

  • from Ø3 to Ø20.8mm from the rod length: 3.000mmmax.
  • Part length: 76mm
  • Milling the main and counter spindle, driven tools for cross holes, or key surface
  • Backside machining, parts ejection counter spindle and extendable parts catcher

Conventional lathe

  • up to outer Ø 60mm from the rod length 1000 mm
  • Chuck work with bezel outer Ø 15 mm to Ø 373 mm over cross support, workpiece lengths <750mm
  • Overturning between tips, rotating Lynette Ø 35 mm <Ø50 mm; Workpiece lengths max. 1,800 mm
  • Turning length for bores <1,000 mm
    Face plate work up to outside Ø 500mm, workpiece lengths <250mm

Grinding

  • Centerless from Ø 10 mm to max. Ø 150 mm
  • Lengths 1000 to 3000mm
  • Tolerance 0.1 mm

Threads

turn or mill
RH or LH
one-start & multi-start screw thread

 

  • Mounting thread e.g. M30
  • Movement thread e.g. TR20x4
  • Pipe thread according to international standards e.g. Pipe NPT ¼ “tapered external thread
  • Half shells without gap with special threads according to customer requirements.

Dressing - profiling

  • Thickness 2 mm to 100 mm
  • Width 10 mm to 795 mm
  • Length <3000 mm
  • Profile width of tool and fixture: 40mm; 50mm; max.80mm
  • Chamfering edges: with thrust roller 30 degrees; 45 degrees; adjustable from 0 ° to 85 degrees chamfer length max. 50mm
  • Round edges with thrust roller: R2; R3; R4; R5; R6.35; R8

Sawing

 

Round

  • Ø: < 400mm;
  • Lengths: <3,000mm

Flat

  • thickness < 100 mm
  • width < 1000 mm
  • length < 3000 mm

Planing with a vacuum table

Width < 600 mm

  • Thickness > 3 bis < 300 mm

Width < 200 mm

  • Thickness <3 bis 2mm mit planing surface

Width < 100 mm

  • Thickness <2 bis 1mm mit planing surface

Roughening of adhesive surfaces

  • thickness 2 mm up to 50 mm
  • width 10 mm bis 1000 mm
  • length < 2000 mm

 

3D printing

3D printing technology (additive manufacturing) has almost no limits in terms of complexity. A wide selection of materials and a wide range of post-processing options now open up new opportunities for you. Thanks to our various self-produced 3D tribofilaments, we know exactly which material is suitable for your project and we would be pleased to advise you on this.

Let us advise you – we have a solution.

Casting

  • maximum outer diameter 2000mm
  • maximum casting weight 80kg

Injection moulding

  • 1-, 2 components
  • inserts (e.g. thread inserts)
  • item weight 0.5 to 1600 g
  • toolmaking
  • prototype tools (aluminum)

Contour milling

  • maximum thickness 100 mm
  • maximum width 600 mm
  • tolerances ± 0.05 mm

welding

  • hot air welding
  • mirror welding
  • automated or conventional

Coating - cladding

  • Thick-walled coating with ZEDEX® high-performance plastic on metallic cylinders.
  • Cladding of metallic bodies with ZEDEX® polymers.

Labelling

  • engraving from a character height of 2.5 mm
  • screen printing from 5 mm font height
  • inkjet from 10 mm font height

Milling grooves

  • groove width: 2.2-4.0x 20mm groove depth
  • groove width: 4.0-7.5x 37.5mm groove depth
  • groove width: 7.5-14.5x 37.5mm groove depth

Bonding

  • Dosed: one-component adhesives
  • Dosed: two-component adhesives

Post heat treatment

Introduction

The plastic is subjected to a heat treatment, and it will be quoted as annealing.

The annealing target is to reduce the tension and increase the crystallinity of the component. All the ZEDEX® high-performance polymers are anneal treated, in order to reduce the processing-related inner tension.

When the interference-fi t temperature of pressed plain bearing bushes should be increased, two annealing at the operating temperature range are advisable. However, the admissible long-term service temperature can not be exceeded.

When is an annealing process advisable?

In the following cases, we suggest an additional annealing process and / or an intermediate annealing between machining and the final machining: 

  • when tight tolerances are required
  • when an asymmetrical material removal or a big chip removal is required
  • with a big walls´ thickness variation on the end products
  • when sharp corners and edges must be machined
  • when the end product have got a cross-section discontinuity

Realisation of the annealing process

The annealing should take place in a circulating air drying oven. The temperature in the oven follows a ramp function (see fig. 1).

The heating rate is 20°C per hour, whereas the cooling rate 10°C per hour.

Higher heating and cooling rates should be avoided. The holding period depends on the maximum wall thickness of the workpiece and can be taken from the figure 2. The holding temperarture depends on the material and can be taken from the figure 3.

The annealing process is completed, when the final temperature is reached. From this point on, the oven can be turned off. The workpiece should be removed from the oven only when its temperature matches with the room´s one.

Hints regarding the annealing process

An adequate large allowance must be provided before annealing. The use of a support during the annealing process reduces defl ection and deformation. The annealing process could form oxide layers on the surfaces, thus their colour affect. These layers reach, in the semi-finished products, a maximum thickness of 0,2 mm, and, normally, they are removed through machining.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Tensions

Processing (extrusion and injection moulding) induces technologically the chains orientation, generated in the polymers structure.

The plastic structure, after the melding process, starts to solidify in a “forced position”, which causes a strong restoring force and produces an internal tension in the plastic.

Now if additional external stresses are added, e.g. through machining, the overlapping of the internal and external stresses, could overstep the material strength resistance and create tears and even the break of the semi-finished products.

Stress relaxation, warping

Semi-finished and end-products, during a long-term storage, reduce the existing tensions, thanks to the stress relaxation.

Besides, the tensions are reduced because of the warping effect. This can also arise during the use of the end-product.

Through a plastic storage, with a temperature closed to the heat distortion temperature, the chains mobility increases and the stress relaxation accelerates. In this case, the stress relaxation and the associated warping are faster and more intensive.

If the semi-finished products are subjected to a annealing process, the warping is partially anticipated.

 

Degree of crystallinity

Semi-crystalline polymers have the tendency to crystallize partially. At the end of the annealing process, the material cross-section crystallinity is not uniform.

In the same way, there are differences about the degree of crystallinity of thick-walled and thin-walled semi-finished products.

Through a following warm-up of the semi-fi nished products, over the cold crystallization temperature, and a slow cooling, the degree of crystallinity increases and reaches a homogeneous level.

However, this cold crystallization doesn’t reach a high degree of crystallinity as a slow cooling directly after the melting process.

The semi-finished products, through the cold and post-crystallization, are subjected to a warping and to a change of the following properties:

 

  • lower elongation at break
  • higher density
  • higher stiffness
  • higher strength
  • higher chemical resistance
  • higher permeability
  • higher wear resistance due to sliding friction
  • higher PV-value
  • higher thermal conductivity
  • higher melt temperature
  • increasing of the interference fit temperature for pressed-fit plain bearing bushes (twice annealing at operating temperature range necessary).

Execution of the tempering process

Prior to delivery, ZEDEX® engineering & high-performance semi-finished products have already undergone a post-heat treatment.

Beacuse of that, with an additional annealing process, the user can only archive a small increase in the degree of crystallinity.

Please contact us if a higher degree of crystallization is required.

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