Using recycled plastics
Using recycled plastics
(OP)
Hi,
I want to made some surfboard fins out of recycled material. They'd be cut by CNC.
However, I'm having trouble finding a recycled plastic. 30% glass filled nylon is normal used but i cant find any recycled.
Does anyone know
A) Where i'd source some
B) An alternate plastic which is Just as strong, resistant to salt water and UV, available recycled etc. basicly as good as glass filled nylon.
Thanks for the help
I want to made some surfboard fins out of recycled material. They'd be cut by CNC.
However, I'm having trouble finding a recycled plastic. 30% glass filled nylon is normal used but i cant find any recycled.
Does anyone know
A) Where i'd source some
B) An alternate plastic which is Just as strong, resistant to salt water and UV, available recycled etc. basicly as good as glass filled nylon.
Thanks for the help






RE: Using recycled plastics
HDPE recycled into sheets and boards is common, at least in the US:
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HDPE can be pretty tough stuff, maybe not as high a tensile as GF nylon, but it can take a beating without fracturing. Pretty much inert to seawater, though you'd want some UV stabilizers. I think the products being made for outdoor use (decking/siding) would have those added.
RE: Using recycled plastics
A while ago, there was an outfit making dimensional pseudo-lumber out of coarsely chopped partially melted postconsumer PE. It was even more flexible than the decking, contained major flaws and occasional identifiable inclusions of ordinary garbage, and looked greyish at a distance, but up close retained a melange of bright colors that clashed with each other and themselves. One municipality installed some outdoor furniture made of it, but there were allegations of impropriety because the municipal leader and the manufacturer of the material happened to be married to each other. I haven't seen the stuff recently.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: Using recycled plastics
They progressed fron clear PC to GF PC to 35% GF nylon to 45 to 50% GF nylon and even PPS to meet the market demand for fashion colours and performance.
Flex mod along with excellent fatigue and reasonable impact is critical. They seldom last long enough for UV to become a real problem.
There are a few tricks to moulding them without flow marks. I am not at liberty to disclose some of those tricks as I worked them out years ago with a customer who still insists I stay at his home whenever I visit Brisbane due to my involvement in the development process.
I have been intermittently involved with both The Australian Fin Company products. They also moulded for other companies based in Sydney and Byron Bay. I was also involved with Speed Fin Systems through another moulder whom I was already closely aligned with via earlier projects particularly car roof rack systems and "floating" yacht winch handles. I needed to be very careful to provide equal service without betraying confidential information as I was commercially and personally close to both.
With my experience with world leaders in this market, I would not entertain the prospect of repro in this job for one second. It is a difficult moulding and a demanding application.
Regards
Pat
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RE: Using recycled plastics
RE: Using recycled plastics
Regards
Pat
See FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies for tips on use of eng-tips by professional engineers &
http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm
for site rules
RE: Using recycled plastics
In the US most folks do not advertise the amount of regrind in their products. You have to ask for it. If you buy enough you can tell them how much you want.
The availability will fluctuate if they buy the material on the open market instead of from a regular source.
RE: Using recycled plastics
Regards
Pat
See FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies for tips on use of eng-tips by professional engineers &
http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm
for site rules
RE: Using recycled plastics