Victrex at K 2016: PAEK-polymer specialist to showcase an enhanced range of products and services
Victrex, a leading provider of high-performance PAEK*-polymer solutions, is to present its significantly extended portfolio at K 2016. In addition to new types of VICTREX™ PEEK polymers and their various applications, the focus will be on forward-facing integrated offerings and, in particular, new technologies. These will include the new VICTREX AE™ 250 composites, developed for the aerospace industry, whose manufacture utilises hybrid molding technology. Solutions for gears and e-motors are to dominate the automotive section of the stand, while new types of PEEK polymer and a record length PEEK structure for composites will be the highlights in the oil-and-gas industry section.
Victrex’s objective across its focus industries is to support its customers with the development of reliable, highly durable applications even under extreme conditions, and whose implementation involves the shortest possible development period at a competitive total cost. The Victrex stand at K 2016 – Hall 5 Stand B09 – will showcase such new PAEK-based solutions, technologies and services and examples of their growing use in critical applications. Having started out, more than 35 years ago, as the first commercial producer of the high-performance thermoplastic PEEK, the company today applies a targeted approach, utilizing material expertise on integrated offerings and downstream products on the industries that they offer the most impact.
Focused research and development, combined with targeted investments, most notably in Victrex’s industrial and medical mega-programmes, also allow the company to forge strategic partnerships, such as that with Magma Global Limited in the oil-and-gas industry.
Oil and gas: Magma delivers longest PEEK-based pipe
Recently, the world’s longest structure based on VICTREX™ PEEK was developed in the form of spoolable m-pipe™ from Magma Global Limited, which provides a reliable, cost-efficient underwater intervention pipe. This flexible composite pipe can be used in extreme conditions at depths of up to 3,000 metres (10,000 feet) and can withstand pressures of over 1,000 bar (15ksi). Meanwhile, Victrex is investing in a production facility specifically for composites. Furthermore, Victrex presents new polymers for the Oil and Gas industry, including a thermoplastic that offers a unique range of properties for sealing systems at cryogenic –196°C temperature and up to 200°C , and the VICTREX OGS™ 125, that has been specifically developed to optimize the compression molding of large seals.
Aerospace: new Victrex composites
Requirements are high within the aerospace industry also, where, for example, exact specifications have to be met for the weight-bearing brackets in aircraft. A paramount objective, in addition to reliability, durability and lightness, is the reduction of overall costs. Cost savings achieved in the production and assembly of individual components – based on new design and manufacturing options, for example – may contribute to this.
This is precisely where the recently introduced VICTREX AE™ 250 composites, in various prepreg forms, offer great potential for the aviation industry. In combination with hybrid molding technology, mounts, clamps, clips and housings for primary and secondary structures can be manufactured in minutes, whereas metallic or thermosetting materials might take hours. In 2016, Victrex will present these new PAEK composites for the first time at a K trade fair.
Automotive: cost efficient, high-performance gears and e-motors
The full PEEK-based gears package, which the automotive industry has been able to access at Victrex since last year, will also be featured at the K stand. The company has built-out its expertise through the acquisition of a US gear specialist, with the aim of offering both efficient custom and complete services for the precise and rapid design, development, testing and production of gears, right along the delivery chain.
Another forward-looking solution for e-motors, namely APTIV™ film, moves into pole position in the automotive sector. Used as a so-called slot liner, for electrical insulation, the ultra-thin PEEK-based film allows 5% more copper to be used, compared with the materials used to date. This enables an increase in the power density of the same size motor or reduces the amount of space it occupies and reduces costs by up to US$20 per motor.
Victrex’s APTIV films have been used successfully in aircraft production for some time; however, they have also been used in the electronics industry, as the membrane in more than a billion micro-loudspeakers for mobile devices. Here, they ensure accurate sound reproduction – despite the demand for ever higher performance – over a service life that is more than 300% longer than that of other materials.
*) PAEK, Polyaryletherketone, a family of high-performance thermoplastics, such as VICTREXTMPEEK
Supporting information for performance claims in this press release is available on individual request from Victrex.
