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In the European Union, organisations must follow directives which ensure that employees are protected from explosion risk in areas with an explosive atmosphere. The ATEX Directive, which was first implemented in 2003, and updated in 2014, was created for this reason and consists of two EU directives that describe what equipment and work space is permitted in an environment with an explosive atmosphere.

The polyethylene family of plastics consist of several grades, named according to their density / molecular weight. The 3 standard grades we supply at Ai Engineering Plastics and Laminates are: PE1000 (UHMW-PE), PE500 (HMW-PE) and  PE300 (HDPE).

Nylon (PA) 6 & 66 are both synthetic polymers called polyamides, with the numbers describing the type and quantity of polymer chains in their chemical structure. Most nylons, including 6 & 66, are semi-crystalline and possess good strength and durability for demanding applications.  

Nylon 66 is a semi-crystalline polyamide (PA) with good rigidity, hardness, abrasion resistance and thermal dimensional stability. It also shows outstanding wear resistance and low frictional properties. Compared with Nylon 6, Nylon 66 has a higher mechanical strength, stiffness, creep resistance and heat and wear resistance, but its impact strength and mechanical damping ability are reduced.

Whilst these properties make Nylon 66 a great choice for an engineering plastic, Quadrant have created a range of specialist Nylon 66 materials with added ingredients to provide enhanced properties compared to standard grade Nylon 66. Many of these specialist Nylon 66 materials have been developed with specific applications in mind.  

Nylon custom cast parts are made by a process in which liquid monomer is directly polymerised into nylon polymer in a mould. Custom casting can produce parts of virtually unlimited size and thickness whilst retaining internal soundness. Custom casting offers a manufacturing alternative that bridges the plastic fabrication methods of machining from stock shapes and injection moulding of thermoplastic parts. It is an ideal manufacturing method for small and medium quantity productions on parts that are either too large or too expensive to injection mould.

Nylon 6 is a semi-crystalline polyamide (PA) with high mechanical strength, stiffness, hardness and toughness. In addition to this, it also has excellent wear resistance as well as good fatigue resistance, sliding properties and machinability. Whilst these properties make Nylon 6 a great all-round engineering thermoplastic, Quadrant EPP have developed a range of specialist Nylon 6 products, which are an improvement on the standard grade of Nylon 6.

Ai Engineering Plastics and Laminates, as part of the Vink Group, have an established partnership with Quadrant EPP, a leading global manufacturer of high-performance thermoplastic materials.

As one of their chosen UK distributors, we recently had the opportunity to visit their manufacturing plants in Holland and Germany, where we were able to see first-hand the processes of casting, RAM extrusion, and compression moulding in the production of polyamide (Nylatron® and Ertalon®) and polyethylene (Tivar®).

The opportunity to visit Quadrant’s manufacturing plants and witness these manufacturing processes first-hand has given our teams a real insight into how various plastics are made and has armed us with knowledge we can pass on to our customers!

Our centre in Glasgow has recently invested in a brand new bandsaw to expand their capacity.