Plastic verses metal

[W5FL]

My son has a couple of ATV's also. The fenders do their job well and their job is to keep mud and sand from hitting the driver. That seems to be a good application of composites and they also seem to hold up well. The scratches would have been much worse on metal. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[Bird]

Wen, have you seen any of the composite body impact wrenches Ingersoll Rand is making? They look like plastic toys, but are rated as the most powerful 1/2" and 3/8" impacts made. And they're becoming very popular with the big truck mechanics because they can use a lightweight easy to handle half inch impact instead of getting the big heavy 3/4" one a lot of times.

Bird

 

[W5FL]

Composite case? Sounds like a good application to me. That way when they are thrown in the corner, they just bounce. Thats what I need - a 1/2 inch impact wrench that is lightweight (advantage) and has the power of a 3/4 inch (check those wheel lug bolts). Are they expensive or is it one of those that if you have to ask the price, then you can't afford one? /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[Bird]

Wen, Northern Tool has the half inch model (IR2131) in their new catalog for $184.99 ($10 more if you want the long nosed model - 2" longer anvil), and the 3/8" model (IR2112) for $179.99. Sears is also selling them, but I don't know their prices. Apparently they really are the most powerful for their size, and the only ones I've worked on were the result of very obvious severe abuse, and oddly enough, the parts are relatively inexpensive and they're easy to repair.

Bird

 

[stvman]

Wen: I guess if I lived in Texas (have you ever seen a salt truck?/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif) I would be more inclined towards metal but I have seen a lot of nasty looking tractors,cars,trucks etc...that are monuments to rust, that prove the composites might save money but in many applications will out last and out perform a metal counterpart. As far as the hood of a tractor or a car there are composites that are not flammable and when heated would serve to smother a fire not accelorate it. If you ever saw the panels that cover the space shuttle/w3tcompact/icons/cool.gif if they were steel we would only be returning charred remains from space/w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif. It's not always cost savings ie...carbonfiber,airbags,bulletproof vests /w3tcompact/icons/cool.gif I just think sometimes it's very easy for people to think plastic=milk jug /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[al f]

I actually did have a friend in college who spent a summer internship doing field trials on a baler for New Holland. Pretty cool. /w3tcompact/icons/cool.gif

Al

 

[al f]

I guess what it comes down to is the enormous breadth of materials (thermoplastics and thermosets) that are covered by the word "Plastic".

Al

 

[al f]

Actually plasticizers make plastics more flexible, not higher inpact /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif. The plasticizer in the flexble PVC that covers your dash does volatilize and cause deterioration. There are materials right now that work better than the PVC and plasticizer for these applications. GM even announced this year they were going to eliminate PVC in auto interiors and replace it with these new materials (TPV's). That is until they found out the costs: this material is about 5 times as expensive as the PVC they use now. They immediately withdrew that comment and are not going to change. It's not the plastics that aren't ready, its the bean counters /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif. No offense to all of you accountants /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Al

 

[W5FL]

Nope, never saw a salt truck. They sand the streets here. A lot of people come here to buy used cars and take them back East.

I do know a lot about materials, though, and most plastics in consumer products are selected primarily for cost.

The bean counters always win in the US (watch your latest IPO shaping up).

That is not completely true in Japan.

Toyota Camry is a domestic vehicle.

Several Fords are imports. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Here you go kicking the bean counters again./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif Bean counters provide information some other person, probably an engineer promoted beyond his abilities makes the final decsion./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif My wife is an engineer for satellite navigation (GPS) so I refer to her as a rocket scientist./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif I have a plastic tractor and like it so far. I suspect Kubota will follow suit in a year or so.