Performance plastics help reduce noise, prolong equipment life and protect miners. From safety equipment to truck bed liners to parts such as gears, rollers and sprockets, performance plastics deliver long-lasting, abrasion-resistant performance in harsh mining environments.
Applications
- Grating systems
- Wear pads/strips
- Thrust washers
- Conveyor components — gears, rollers, bushings, sheaves, sprockets
- Chemical delivery pipe systems
- Dewatering systems
- Star wheels
- Lantern rings in centrifugal mining pumps
- Vibrating bin dischargers
- Leachate systems
- Front end loader bucket liners
- Specialized precious metal recovery systems (froth flotation)
- Off-road truck beds, truck liners
- Hopper car liners
- Safety windows/windshields
- Belt scrapers, tooth locks, impact pads
- Chute liners
Advantages May Include
- Available in static dissipative and conductive versions
- Low coefficient of friction
- Self-lubricating
- High pressure/velocity performance
- Superior abrasion, chemical and wear resistant
- Zero to low moisture absorption
- Noise reduction
- Impact and corrosion resistant
- Heat stabilized
- Strength and toughness
- Very low coefficient of linear thermal expansion
- Weight reduction
- Reduces/eliminates arching, ratholing and erratic flow
- Flame retardant versions available
- Dimensional stability
- Resistant to high-energy radiation
- Minimizes wear on mating metal parts
- Smoother system operation
Materials
- Acetal (POM)
- Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene (ABS)
- Acrylic (PMMA)
- Epoxy
- Ethylene-Chlorotrifluoroethylene (ECTFE)
- Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (FRP)
- High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE)
- Nylon/Cast Nylon (PA)
- Phenolic (Industrial Thermosets)
- Polycarbonate (PC)
- Polyetheretherketone (PEEK)
- Polyphenylene Sulfide (PPS)
- Polypropylene (PP)
- Polyurethane (PU/PUR)
- Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)
- Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF)
- Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMW-PE)
Sustainability Advantages of Performance Plastics
5x
UHMW plates protect blasting machinery from rocks and shrapnel — more than 5x as abrasion-resistant as steel. A 1" slab can even stop a .45 caliber bullet from 25 feet away.
Source: plasticmachiningcompany.com
10-15x
Many coal and ore operations switched stainless steel linings and hoppers to UHMW, greatly reducing friction heat buildup and reporting 10-15x service life increases.
Source: plasticmachiningcompany.com
3x
When metal tubes were replaced with UHMW, extreme abrasion resistance raised uptime and lowered maintenance. After three months it showed little to no wear — lasting 3x longer than the metal tube.
Source: plasticmachiningcompany.com
0%
Beyond HDPE pipe's life-cycle cost advantage, its allowable water leakage is 0 — versus typical leakage rates of 10-20% for PVC and ductile iron.
Source: plasticpipe.org
When coal mines close, a final cover system made from performance plastics installs faster and far cleaner than traditional closure systems — eliminating large quantities of soil and equipment use:
50%+
Faster installation
~80%
Lower carbon footprint
Source: agruamerica.com
iapd
the performance plastics association
Sustainability
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