Meaning
High-performance thermoplastic composites consisting of polyetheretherketone reinforced with thirty percent by weight of short glass fibers offer exceptional thermal and mechanical properties. Selecting PEEK-GF30 for demanding industrial or aerospace applications ensures that molded parts can withstand continuous service temperatures up to two hundred and sixty degrees Celsius. This material provides excellent chemical resistance and dimensional stability under high loads.
However, its high cost and demanding processing conditions restrict its use to critical functional components.
Processing Requirement
High melt temperatures and mold temperatures are necessary to process this semi-crystalline polymer successfully. Injecting PEEK-GF30 requires barrel temperatures of up to four hundred degrees Celsius and oil-heated molds that can reach two hundred degrees Celsius. If the mold is too cold, the polymer will cool too quickly, preventing full crystallization and resulting in a part with lower strength and reduced chemical resistance.
Mechanical Property
The addition of thirty percent glass fibers significantly increases the tensile strength and flexural modulus of the base resin. Parts molded from PEEK-GF30 exhibit excellent creep resistance, allowing them to replace metal components in structural assemblies. This reinforcement also reduces isotropic shrinkage, although it can lead to directional warpage along the flow lines.
Tooling Impact
The highly abrasive nature of the glass fibers accelerates wear on the screw, barrel, and mold gates. Processing PEEK-GF30 requires the use of corrosion-resistant and wear-resistant tool steels or protective coatings to prevent rapid tool degradation.
