Dimension Bond Corp.

Manufacturers and users of plug-assist tooling have a new technique to improve the surface finish and cycle time of thermoformed parts.

Fiber-reinforced and mineral-filled compounds are not always compatible with use in dynamic applications, where parts slide, rotate, pivot, or move across each other. "When a glass-filled part rubs against a metal surface or even a similar glass-filled surface, rapid abrasion takes place," says George Osterhout, v.p. of Dimension Bond, a Chicago-based supplier of a specialized coating service that can address this problem."The reason for the abrasion is minute ends of the fiber reinforcing materials protruding from the surface of the filled part," adds Osterhout.