by Adrienne Lallo/Lallo Communications
A jet engine — where temperatures spike to 700 degrees Fahrenheit — is no place for an ordinary plastic. As part of the DuPont™ Vespel® Parts and Shapes business, DuPont Technology Associate Timothy Krizan formulates rugged new polyimides for the aircraft engine industry.
Vespel® parts replace plastic, ceramic and metal parts in aircraft engines and wherever friction is undesirable, corrosion is commonplace and pressures are almost unbearable.
Krizan is an organic chemist by training who refers to Vespel® resins as “polymers on the edge.” DuPont produces the complex polymer resin and fabricates parts from these resins to meet manufacturers’ specifications.
Vespel® components perform under conditions where ordinary polymers melt, char or erode. They are lighter than metal and can be flexible while holding their shape. These characteristics enable manufacturers to produce equipment, such as photocopiers and welding torches, that runs more efficiently and reliably, lasts longer and is more economical to operate and maintain. Vespel® also eliminates metal-to-metal contact and reduces the associated noise.
DuPont first introduced high-molecular-weight polyimides in the 1960s as coatings to insulate electrical cables. DuPont™ Kapton® polyimide film continues to provide high temperature resistance as well as weight and space savings in flexible electronic circuits for applications such as aerospace and automotive cable harnesses.
Today, Vespel® polyimides are widely used inside semiconductor etching chambers, where plasma gas carves paths for circuitry onto silicon wafers. Polyimide fixtures that hold the wafers in place resist the corrosive plasma and safeguard the clean environment.
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