For decades, lead has been considered the paradigm in radiation shielding. The material is cheap, easy to process, and provides durable shielding. Yet, there has been an overwhelming increase in health, safety, and environmental concerns over the mining, processing, handling, and disposal of lead. In fact, lead has already banned from use in many applications, such as motor fuels, paint, and water pipes. If this is any indication, the cessation of lead will continue to spread across industries.

According to the Center for Disease Control & Prevention, over two million individuals are injured and 32,000 are killed each year in motor vehicle accidents. As an employee of or contractor for the Department of Transportation, you have a critical responsibility to guide the flow of traffic, reduce congestion, and ultimately create a safer transportation environment for drivers. Even if you’re an owner of a large parking area at an airport, shopping mall or entertainment venue, managing and controlling traffic is essential.

When it comes to material handling, the conveyor that the materials are transported on is just as important as the materials themselves. While the primary goal of most conveyor systems is to provide an opportunity to inspect products and transport them throughout your facility, this is not possible without the implementation of a proper handling system. 

Engineers are tasked with selecting the perfect material for your gasket application. Each part must be able to withstand the task at hand, including operating temperature and being flexible enough to maintain a proper seal throughout the process. 

As we discussed in our last blog, engineers historically chose asbestos because it served a myriad of important functions; it was durable, able to handle high temperatures and parts-handling, and relatively affordable. Unfortunately, it was also linked to mesothelioma, an invasive and often fatal type of lung cancer. Once it was pulled off the market, workers had to find an alternative for their gasket solutions.

Despite the declining popularity of lead-based products, RoHS compliant products are still not universal in the workplace. According to OSHA.gov, “approximately 804,000 workers in general industry and an additional 838,000 workers in construction are potentially exposed to lead.”

As the engineer responsible for ensuring the performance and safety of sealing components, there can be quite a lot of pressure riding on making the proper material selection for a specific application. Before you even begin to think about installing and testing a new gasket, you are tasked with the critical responsibility of selecting a material that is compatible with the surrounding environment, can withstand the operating temperature and pressure, and is flexible enough to achieve a proper seal.

When your company is handling a massive amount of packages each day, employees risk injury due to inadequate equipment—and oftentimes the tools that they use suffer from the heavy wear & tear of daily use. With packages of all sizes, shapes, and weights moving along the conveyor system daily, jams are bound to occur. Unfortunately, workers sometimes have to resort to makeshift jam break poles or whatever is within arm's reach to alleviate the problem. 

Brandonite^® is a patented family of composite materials, specifically composite polymers, designed to replace metal, plastic, or rubber.  This family of composite materials is perfect for a broad number of applications, such as:

• aerospace
• aeronautics
• industrial manufacturing
• self-lubricating parts and materials
• automation equipment
• radiation shielding
• antimicrobial medical devices,
• coverings, and prosthetics

Plastics — Used in Every Walk of Life

Plastics, composites, and engineered materials are used for everything from:

• Packaging to keep food fresh and frozen food free from freezer-burn
• Construction materials
• The hulls of aeronautical vehicles
• Gaskets for HVAC applications
• Light-weight automobiles
• Medical devices, prosthetics, and biomed innovations

The Amazing Mr. Fantastic is a Thermoplastic

Thermoplastic polymers become pliable or mold-able when raised to a rather high, but very specific temperature and solidify upon cooling. The forces holding the molecules together in a thermoplastic, the inter-molecular bonds, weaken when the right amount of heat is applied.  The molecules of the plastic stretch further away from each other, like beads on an elastic charm bracelet or the metallic links on an elastic watchband, making the material softer and more pliable.  Add enough heat and the material melts into a liquid that can be used in injection-molding, compression molding, calendaring, and extrusion.