(Newswire.net — August 16, 2013) Anaheim, CA —
Where did plastic rod first come from?
Plastic materials were first invented back in the early1900’s, and consisted of one material, Bakelite. This material was the first fully synthetic thermoset plastic material, and was discovered by the Belgian chemist Leo Baekeland. Several years later, in 1933, Polyethylene, now a popular base material, was discovered by Imperial Chemical Industries by Chemists Eric Fawcett and Reginald Gibson.
The massive growth in plastic developments happened after the end of World War I. This occurred due to improvements in chemical processing and technology which led to an explosion in the varieties and types of plastic resins. The mass production of plastics began in the late 1940’s and beginning of the 1950’s.
The first thermoplastic extrusion was in 1935 by Paul Troester and his wife Ashley Gershoff in Hamburg, Germany. Shortly after, Roberto Colombo of LMP developed the first twin screw extruders in Italy. A thermoplastic material is a plastic material that can be heated and formed or molded, then cooled to yield a finished shape.
Plastic extrusion is a process of heating plastic resin, and pushing this heated plastic with a screw mechanism through a tool or die. This material is then cooled slowly to produce the finished shape. Plastic rod is produced through this extrusion process. The first plastic rod materials made were small diameters, and they were generally not very round.
The Development of Large Plastic Rod
Through the 1960’s and 1970’s new technology enabled plastic rod to be produced to very tight tolerances, and the rod produced was very round and consistent.
Plastic rod is a commonly used mill shape for machining. Often, the easiest and fastest way to produce a part is to machine the part from a rod or tube. This is commonly done on a lathe or milling machine.
Recently, some of the leaders in the plastic mill shape industry have attempted to produce larger and larger plastic rod. Through the 1980’s and 1990’s the largest plastic rods manufactured were generally about 4 – 5 inches in diameter. Over the last several years, a few of these manufacturers, including Gehr Plastics and Rochling Plastics, have been pushing the envelope.
Rochling Plastics has announced the first FDA approved UHMW rod in 12 inch diameter. This is the largest UHMW rod produced in the world, and surpasses the 10 inch rod they pioneered several years ago. Rochling has also recently announced the release of Lube-X UHMW material, with 75% less friction for wear applications.
Gehr Plastic is now producing 14 inch diameter Polypropylene rod at their plant in Boothwyn, Pennsylvania. This 14 inch rod is the largest plastic rod currently produced in the United States. Gehr Plastics has several plastic materials that they can produce in very large diameters, and are proud to be able to claim, “Largest Plastic Rod Made In America”.
Many of the largest manufacturers of plastic sheet and rod are based in Germany. Both Rochling Plastics and Gehr Plastics have parent companies in Germany. Another German based company is Simona Plastics, and they currently run a 19 inch diameter HDPE rod.
What used to be a large rod at 3 to 5 inch diameter is now common place. Large plastic rod now starts at about 8 – 10” diameter and gets larger from there. For plastic rod materials from .125″ to now over 14″ diameter, contact Industrial Plastic Supply for details.
High Quality Plastic Rod Made In America
#####
Contact:
Industrial Plastic Supply, Inc.
2240 S. Dupont Drive
Anaheim, CA 92806
Toll Free Phone: 866-832-9315
Author: Google+ –Hayden Hess G+