SINTERING - a method for making objects from powder, by heating the material (below its melting point - solid stage sintering) until its particles adhere to each other.
A THERMOPLASTIC is a plastic that melts to a liquid when heated and freezes to a brittle, very glassy state when cooled sufficiently.
PORE SIZE - the median or effective diameter of the openings within porous material.
VOID VOLUME - the percent of a porous material that is air or void.
ACTIVE INGREDIENTS – additives that can be incorporated into the porous material, usually trapped within the voids, and serves a functional purpose specific to an application. Examples include active carbon for filtration, silica gel for separation, surfactants for surface tension modification.
MICRON - one millionth of an inch.
AGGREGATE BLENDS - a mixture of different particles that are uniformly blended.
MANIPULATED - reducing or changing.
SURFACTANTS - a blend of "surface acting agent". Used to make porous plastic hydrophilic, absorb water based fluids.
ACTIVATED CARBON - carbon material mostly derived from charcoal.
ION EXCHANGE RESIN - an insoluble matrix (or support structure) normally in the form of small (1-2 mm diameter) beads, usually white or yellowish, fabricated from an organic polymer substrate.
SELF SEALING ADDITIVES – typically a highly water soluable cellulosic gum material that instantly changes the viscosity of fluid. The viscous gel is locked it the pore structure and renders the part non-permeable to neither fluid nor air.
DIE CUTTING - to cut, shape and form a wide variety of products.
WHAT IS POROUS PLASTIC?
Porous plastic is a cohesive mass of resin particles fused together in a sintering process resulting in a highly customizable porous media. A wide variety of thermoplastic resins can be sintered to make porous plastic. Particle size and shape of resin powders are manipulated to optimize physical characteristics for unique applications. These physical characteristics include pore size, void volume, surface texture, and strength. Further customization is possible by introducing active ingredients into the raw materials and by molding unique geometries.
Pore size is determined by controlling the resin particle size and can range from 5 to 500 microns. Generally, median pore size is twenty five percent of the resin particle size.
Void volume can be controlled independently of pore size and is determined by the resin particle shape. Irregularly shaped particles yield higher void volume. Spherical particles yield lower void volume. Void volumes may also be manipulated by creating aggregate blends of resins. Porous plastic void volumes can be targeted between thirty and eighty percent. |
Surface texture and strength are easily manipulated by controlling particle size and shape. Smoother textures can be achieved by using smaller more spherical resin particles. Larger, irregular particles yield more coarse or abrasive end products. Strength is manipulated by the degree to which the resin particles melt and adhere to one another during the sintering process. Resin selection also allows the engineer to control flexibility, hardness, and other physical characteristics. Some resins are extremely flexible and elastic while others are very strong and rigid.
Porous plastic is easily impregnated by a variety of active ingredients to achieve specific performance objectives. These active ingredients include surfactants, activated carbon,
ion exchange resins, and self-sealing additives.
Porous plastic can be manufactured in sheets for die cutting or molded into unique three dimensional geometries. Micropore plastics manufactures products from .5mm to 5m. |
