(Newswire.net — January 29, 2014) Anaheim, CA — Several years ago, about the middle of 2010, a pie company contacted Industrial Plastic Supply of Anaheim, CA to resolve a problem they were having with their mixing paddles. When thickening their cherry pie filling, the mixing paddles were breaking.
The problem was that this pie company was using paddles that came with the machine which were made of Ryton R-4 (this material has a 30-40% percent glass filling) and this posed two problems. The first problem was that glass filled materials are not FDA approved and any consumption of these glass filled parts would have caused numerous health risks. Can you imagine trying to get rid a whole vat of cherry pie filling every time one of these paddles would break? It is not like you could rinse of the cherries through a strainer and start all over.
The second problem was that the cherry filling when not thickened is extremely acidic. This can be a setback for most plastic materials, because as versatile as plastic is, it does have its limitations. That’s why there is such a variety of plastics and some have specific applications.
So Industrial Plastic Supply of Anaheim, California recommended that the pie maker use PEEK. Why PEEK? The Polyether Ether Keytone and its crystalline properties make it resistant to organic solvents, gives resistance to dynamic fatigue and it is able to withstand high heat. However, to be honest, it is not the cheapest plastic material and this customer wanted to try out some “more affordable” alternatives.
Victrex 450G PEEK Sheet is FDA Approved
Keeping in mind that “the customer is always right…” Industrial Plastic Supply decided to start with UHMW (a polyethylene whose molecular weight is 3.1 million or higher). It snapped and split due to pressure put on the paddle. The upside was that this UHMW polyethylene is FDA approved, and it could handle the acidic pie filling. The next material that was put to the test was Acetal, then PVDF, and after that Ultem. None of these materials could handle the full requirements, and ultimately failed.
A couple of months of trial and error and several plastic materials later, after all other alternatives were exhausted, the pie company finally decided to give PEEK a try. Guess what the end result was? It worked phenomenally! The PEEK mixing paddles outlasted the previous Ryton R-4 paddles by almost 6 times, plus it was FDA approved. The paddles were machined from Victrex 450G PEEK Sheet (it is also available as PEEK Rod). PEEK is also a medical grade material and is often used for implants and medical instruments.
A Breif History of PEEK Material
November 1978 a British chemical company by the name of Imperial Chemical Industries or known simply as ICI patented a new crystalline plastic known as Polyether ether ketone (PEEK). Four years later in 1982 it was granted a US patent. In 1993 Victrex formed following a management buyout from ICI and has since then been a staple in industries such as Aerospace, Automotive, and has even found a niche in the Biomedical field.
PEEK Sheet and PEEK Rod are FDA approved materials.
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