Advanced Engineering Thermoplastics (AETs)

Thermoplastic polymers are a type of plastic that softens upon heating to elevated temperatures and hardens upon cooling. Thermoplastic polymers may be amorphous or semi-crystalline, with differences in mechanical performance, chemical resistance, and service temperature capability.

AETs represent a specialized family of high-performance thermoplastics with exceptional properties, including short- and long-term thermal stability, enhanced mechanical performance, excellent chemical resistance, superior wear properties, and good fire performance thermal properties. Compared to low-performance commodity plastics, AETs provide numerous advantages over metallic materials, including lower density for weight reduction, good vibration damping characteristics, electrical or thermal insulation, chemical and corrosion resistance, increased design freedom, and fatigue resistance.

Some of the more common high-performance AETs used by Greene Tweed include:

  • Polyaryletherketone (PEEK, PEK, PEKK): The polyaryletherketone family of resins includes various combinations of ketonic and ether linkages. The members of this high-performance family include PEEK (polyetheretherketone), PEK (polyetheretherketone), and PEKK (polyetherketoneketone). These are all semi-crystalline engineering polymers, with outstanding high-temperature performance, harsh chemical resistance, good toughness, and excellent mechanical strength and dimensional stability.
  • Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a fluoropolymer engineering thermoplastic that has exceptional friction/wear properties in addition to outstanding chemical resistance and electrical insulation performance.

Stock Shapes (Billets) Versus Finished Parts

Depending on application requirements, Greene Tweed provides flexibility by offering many of our thermoplastics in both billets (stock shapes) and fully machined or net-molded finished parts.

Stock Shapes (Billets)

Greene Tweed manufactures thermoplastic composites in a wide range of billets (stock shapes). Benefits include:

  • Choose from a variety of sizes at competitive prices
  • Utilize in-house resources to machine parts to specifications
  • Better manage inventory levels and reduce turnaround times
  • Backed by Greene, Tweed's customer service and quality control

Custom-Engineered Solutions

Greene Tweed has design, analysis, development, and testing capabilities to develop custom AET solutions for unique customer needs. Contact Greene Tweed here to learn more.

Greene Tweed’s Thermoplastic Families

 

Advanced-Engineered Thermoplastics

Arlon® Thermoplastics:

  • Proprietary semi-crystalline polyketone compounds
  • Ideal for harsh and extreme environments
  • Operating temperature range higher than most plastics
  • Excellent thermal stability
  • Excellent chemical resistance
  • Very low moisture absorption
  • Low wear and high-impact resistance in unfilled form
  • Good fire performance
  • Reinforced and specialty grades for enhanced mechanical performance, wear, low friction, or other application needs
  • Custom design services available

Avalon® Thermoplastics:

  • Unfilled and compounded fluoropolymers
  • High purity, low porosity
  • Excellent lubricity and low friction
  • Improved elevated temperature performance
  • Wear-resistant and cryogenic-capable materials
  • Excellent electrical insulation/isolation performance
  • Provide sealing and anti-extrusion functionality
  • Custom design services available
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