METAL TO PLASTIC CONVERSION MATERIAL SELECTION

A leading agricultural equipment OEM wanted to convert a structural part, required to withstand high impact and wear, from metal to plastic in order to reduce part cost and weight.

CHALLENGES

Find a suitable plastic material, part design and manufacturing process for a metal to plastic conversion to reduce part cost and weight of a structural part with high impact and wear resistance property requirements.

• Metal to plastic conversion for a structural part
• Plastic material to withstand high impact and wear properties
• Reduce part cost and weight

ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY

EVCO Plastics engineering team worked closely early on with the customer to understand part requirements, and continued close collaboration on design for manufacturability elements, including part design, material selection and testing, mold design and process engineering.

• Multiple materials were reviewed for high impact, wear and lubricity properties
• Sample plaques were manufactured for abrasion testing of each prioritized material to narrow the field of prospective materials to three.
• Finite element analysis (FEA) and mold flows were then conducted on each material and a prototype mold was built to sample the materials in the molding process. Sample parts were tested in the laboratory to simulate field application and determine the top two material options.
• Parts were molded with the final two materials and field tested to determine the final material selection.

SOLUTIONS & RESULTS

EVCO Plastics’ expertise in metal to plastic conversion, material selection, and part and process engineering and design helped the OEM find the right plastic material for a successful metal to plastic conversion of the structural part that reduced the overall part cost and weight, and not just maintained, but improved the structural and performance properties required of the part.