Trelleborg Opens Development Center for Engineered Polymer Solutions

Summary

Oct. 18, 2022 - Trelleborg Sealing Solutions has expanded its unique capabilities in engineered performance polymer solutions by opening the High-Performance Thermoplastics Technology and Development Center, located in Denver, Colorado, US. The center delivers custom value-added capabilities for sealing, cushioning, and protection, using thermoplastics to replace metal components, which reduces mass and weight, eliminates corrosion, improves reliability and lowers maintenance requirements.

Brian Richards, Director of Global R&D Business Development, says: “Our unique portfolio and knowledge of diverse markets and solutions enables us to maximize the value we create for our customers. They need a partner that has the right people, resources, and passion for solutions in a complex world. Trelleborg’s High-Performance Thermoplastics Technology and Development Center partners with customers globally on their complex challenges to simplify them and add real value. With such a wide variety of material options, choosing an experienced partner like Trelleborg is essential, with our expertise and resources reducing time-to-market when developing new products and keeping pace with accelerating innovation cycles.”

Previously expensive to produce, thermoplastic composites are viable for an increasing number of applications because of advances in manufacturing, part simulation, and material development. They offer greater design flexibility than thermoset composites and metals, making it easier to meet application requirements, while optimizing strength-to-weight ratios and physical properties.

Trelleborg’s High-Performance Thermoplastics Technology and Development Center offers custom thermoplastic materials, compounds, and geometries to meet specific application requirements. This includes products with enhanced corrosion and fire resistance, and specialized compounds that can withstand challenging or niche environments for longer periods of time. Innovative manufacturing processes at the center enable production of smaller and more complex shapes, leading to reduced-size components or multiple functions combined into one solution.

In addition, the center provides customers with access to Trelleborg’s extensive R&D resources, including simulation (mold flow and stress/strain), tribology testing, material analysis including DSC (Digital Scanning Calorimetry), TGA (Thermal Gravimetric Analysis), DMA (Dynamic Mechanical Analysis), microscopy, SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy), and compositional analysis and operational testing.
Richards, adds: “Our thermoplastic composites offer customers products that are multifunctional, add or enhance properties or consolidate parts. Thermoplastic composites are significantly lighter, with half the density of aluminum and a sixth of steel yet are strong with high impact resistance allowing them to replace structural elements.

“Globally, the High-Performance Thermoplastics Technology and Development Center combines design and manufacturing capabilities with our deep application expertise to address the challenges our customers face.”