High-Energy Treatment of Tubing & Molded Parts

High-Energy Treatment of Tubing & Molded Parts – E-Beam Services reports that plastic tubing and molded parts processed by means of the company’s high-energy electron-beam process can replace more expensive engineered products in automotive under-the-hood applications. Such parts are said to exhibit outstanding performance and durability, as well as temperature and chemical resistance.E-Beam’s high-energy process permanently alters the polymeric matrix by converting the material to a crosslinked polyethylene (PE) or PEX, the company explains. Utilizing electron beam technology, the process does not change product formulation or processing, E-Beam notes-unlike many thermochemical processing methods, electron beam crosslinking is performed on the fully formed component or product.
Automotive design engineers can used this crosslinking process on HDPE tubing and molded parts to provide in-service temperatures as high as 120C, E-Beam says, noting that, in comparison untreated HDPE tubing normally withstands in-service temperatures of approx. 60C.
In addition to improving performance temperatures, the process is also said to increase thermal stability under load. When tested at 80C, PEX tubing performs at 870 psi, while untreated HDPE tubing fails at 670 psi, according to E-Beam Services. Enhancements are also said to include increased tensile strength; increased impact resistance; improved resistance to slow crack growth and environmental stress crack; reduced rapid crack propagation; and improved resistance to oils, petroleum and solvents.