New Medicare rules coupled with the growth in drug-resistant bacteria are triggering substantial demand growth for antimicrobial plastics. As a result, the global market for healthcare antimicrobial plastics will reach 221,758 metric tons by 2017.
“In the future, emergence of safer, natural and eco-friendly technologies and novel applications for antimicrobial plastics will foster rapid growth and expansion,” GAI said in a press release.
Traditionally, the industrial sector was considered the major hub for antifungal plastics, particularly with regard to construction and packaging industries, according to GAI.  However, rising public awareness about contamination and infections is now triggering significant demand for antibacterial plastic products in other markets such as healthcare and consumer products.The specific action triggering explosive growth in antimicrobials in the United States was a ruling by Medicare two years ago that it would no longer cover health care costs for patients who acquire secondary infections while in the hospital. The action comes on top of growth of powerful new bacteria that resist traditional treatments, such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

King MicroShield^® Antimicrobial Sheet Stock

The science behind King Plastic Corporation’s King MicroShield^® is an antimicrobial barrier of protection that helps products stay cleaner between cleanings and inhibits the growth of product-damaging microorganisms, including bacteria, algae and fungi on the surface. It is highly effective and here’s how it works using three fundamental principles:

First, the base layer, a silane base, acts as the antimicrobial’s anchor. It is anchored by a covalent bond, and permanently affixes to the surface.

Second, is the antimicrobial’s positively charged nitrogen. Because cell membranes of microbes are negatively charged, when in close proximity to the positive nitrogen, the microbes are drawn into the surface of the antimicrobial, and killed. The third aspect of the antimicrobial is its long molecular chain. This 18-link carbon chain acts as a sword that pierces the cell membranes of microbes that come into contact with it.

Unlike surface treatments, King Microshield is incorporated at the molecular level and is a non-chemical, non-leaching additive, there is no possibility for the microorganisms to develop resistance to Microshield, unlike many other antimicrobial products. As the microbes come into contact with the surface, they are first punctured by the long molecular chain.  The attraction between the positive nitrogen and the negative cell membrane draws the microorganism even further down on the sword. This in and of itself can end the life of a microbe, but actual contact between the negative and positive charges and blow apart the microbe, delivering a dependable kill.

In addition, since this process transfers nothing from the antimicrobial to the cell, King MicroShield^® antimicrobial stands ready for the next wave and can continue to work at full strength indefinitely. Designed to be a new kind of antimicrobial protection upgrade for many King Plastic polymer sheet products, King MicroShield®  protects surfaces treated with King MicroShield. Application possibilities are endless and can include: medical facilities, nursing homes, dental labs, pharmaceutical labs, commercial/medical laboratories, clean rooms, cold storage, outdoor kitchens, correctional facilities, veterinary facilities, animal science facilities, rest rooms, lockers rooms, pool areas and schools.

Whether you build, design, manage, or own facilities, you can provide an additional level of protection by installing products treated with King MicroShield^®.

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The new tool (Figure 1) utilizes a near flat point with radiused corners to create a smooth bottom with an aesthetically pleasing result.

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The second innovation (Figure 2) is the development of a rout and chamfer bit designed for plastic sheets. By combining both a straight flute optimized for cutting plastics with a cutting edge sized for specific sheet sizes and a 45 degree chamfer edge, these tools can rout out plastic parts and apply a variable depth edge chamfer in a single pass.

By combining these features into a single tool, tool changes within the machining cycle are eliminated and CNC routers without tool changing spindles have new capabilities for parts production. The advances in router tooling have generally followed the rapid growth and usage of CNC routers or router tables as they are commonly called in the sign industry. These machines have revolutionized the speed and accuracy of sign making and the ability to produce intricate shapes and designs with specialized software. Router tooling has enhanced the CNC user by providing stronger tools with improved cutting geometry specific to the material being machined. However, merely choosing the correct tool without effective machining practices is an exercise in futility. Consequently, a review of proper machining practices would be in order. • Maintain CNC machines per manufacturer’s recommendation with proper lubrication of machine slides and drive systems • Check for play in the table or spindle mounting systems • Establish a collet, collet nut, and tool holder maintenance program and replace collets after 600-700 hours of usage • Insure part rigidity by following proper spoilboard techniques • Establish colleting procedures to maximize tool rigidity • Maximize chipload to minimize tool wear • Select tools with the shortest possible cutting edge length to achieve depth of cut • Use straight through tools where the cutting edge length and shank are the same size to reduce breakage • Maximize dust collection to completely evacuate gummy chips produced by some plastics The right tool for the job and sound CNC machining practices will improve throughput, product quality and profitability in the sign industry.

We are only limited by your imagination, and the desire to build the most environmentally friendly and durable line of outdoor products.

Welding is the process of uniting sur­faces by softening them with heat. When welding thermoplastics, one of the key components is the material itself. For as long as plastic welding has been around many people still do not understand the basics which is critical to a proper weld.

The No. 1 rule of welding thermoplas­tics is you must weld like-plastic to like-plastic. In order to get a strong, consis­tent weld, it is necessary to make sure your substrate and your welding rod are identical; for instance, polypropylene to polypropylene, polyurethane to polyurethane, or polyethylene to polyethylene.

Here are some tips for welding differ­ent types of plastics and steps to ensure a proper weld.

Welding Polypropylene

Polypropylene (PP) is one of the easiest thermoplastics to weld and is used for many different applications. PP has excellent chemical resistance, low spe­cific gravity, high tensile strength and is the most dimensionally stable poly­olefin. Proven applications using PP are plating equipment, tanks, ductwork, etch­ers, fume hoods, scrubbers and orthope­dics.

In order to weld PP, the welder needs to be set at approximately 572°F/300°C; determining your temperature will depend on which type of welder you pur­chase and the recommendations from the manufacturer. When using a thermo­plastic welder with a 500 watt 120 volt heating element, the air regulator should be set at approximately 5 p.s.i. and the rheostat at 5. By doing these steps, you should be in the vicinity of 572°F/300°C.

Welding Polyethylene

Another fairly easy thermoplastic to weld is polyethylene (PE). Polyethylene is impact resistance, has exceptional abra­sion resistance, high tensile strength, is machinable and has low water absorp­tion. Proven applications for PE are bins and liners, tanks, laboratory vessels, cut­ting boards and slides.

The most important rule about weld­ing polyethylene is that you can weld low to high but not high to low. Meaning, you can weld low density polyethyl­ene (LDPE) welding rod to high density polyethylene (HDPE) sheet but not vice versa. The reason being is quite simple. The higher the density the more difficult it is to break down the components to weld. If the components cannot be bro­ken down at the same rate then they can­not join together properly. Other than making sure your densities are compat­ible, polyethylene is a pretty easy plastic to weld. To weld LDPE you need to have the temperature at approximately 518°F/ 270°C, the regulator set at approximately 5-1/4 to 5-1/2 and the rheostat at 5. Like PP, HDPE is weldable at 572°F/300°C.

Tips for Proper Welds

Prior to welding thermoplastics, there are a few simple steps that need to be taken to ensure a proper weld. Clean all surfaces, including the welding rod, with MEK or a similar solvent. Groove the substrate large enough to accept the welding rod and then cut the end of the welding rod to a 45° angle. Once the welder has adjusted to the proper tem­perature, you need to prep the substrate and the welding rod. By using an auto­matic speed tip a lot of the prep work is done for you.

Holding the welder about an inch above the substrate, insert the welding rod in the tip and move it in an up and down motion three to four times. Doing this will heat the welding rod while heating the substrate. An indication the substrate is ready to be welded is when it starts getting a fogging effect — similar to blowing on a piece of glass.

Using firm and consistent pressure, push down on the boot of the tip. The boot will push the welding rod into the substrate. If you choose to, once the welding rod adheres to the substrate, you can let go of the rod and it will automati­cally pull itself through.

Most thermoplastics are sandable and the strength of the weld will not be affected when sanded. Using 60-grit sandpaper, sand off the top part of the welding bead, then work your way up to 360-grit wet sandpaper to get a clean fin­ish. When working with polypropylene or polyethylene, it is possible to regain their glossy surface by lightly heating the surface with a yellow open flame propane torch. (Keep in mind that nor­mal fire safety procedures should be fol­lowed.) Once these steps are completed you should have a weld that looks simi­lar to the photo at bottom left.

Conclusion

Keeping the above tips in mind, welding thermoplastics can be a fairly easy process to learn. A few hours of practicing welding will give the “feel” for maintain­ing the right even pressure on the rod straight down into the weld area. And experimenting on different types of plas­tics will help master the procedure. For other procedures and standards, contact your local plastics distributor.

For more complete tips on plastic welding go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_gas_welding#Hot_gas_welding

By Boat Outfitters
As most of you are probably aware, our parent company is ironically named Teak Isle Mfg. With the introduction of marine grade plastics in the early 90’s, specifically King Starboard ®, the marine industry underwent a dramatic shift away from wood component parts towards plastic component parts.

In 1990, 90%+ of Teak Isle’s fabricated parts were composed of Wood. By 1995, 90%+ were plastic. The first and obvious answer is durability. King Starboard® will last the lifetime of your boat with essentially zero maintenance. Teak requires regular oiling to keep the wood from discoloring and breaking down.

King Starboard® is a UV stabilized homogeneous sheet that will never discolor or require any oiling or refinishing. King Starboard® is easily fabricated using standard woodworking materials and for the most part works just like wood.

The advantage when working with Starboard is that the sheets are perfectly consistent. You do not have to accommodate for grain direction, color inconsistencies, and knots in the wood. You also are not limited by board width and therefore you avoid gluing up boards to create wider products.We stock over 10 different colors of King Starboard®. Largely these are different shades of white to match gel coat colors and give boats a clean flush look.

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When King Starboard® was first introduced it was very comparable in cost to teak wood. Now, because of environmental restrictions as well as new political restrictions in Burma (which accounts for nearly 1/3 of the world’s total teak production), Teak prices have skyrocketed.

King Plastic Corp. limit of warranty is money refunded or defective material replaced. All information and data provided at the time of writing is believed to be accurate and complete, but provided without any guarantee or responsibility of any kind, expressed or implied. It is recommended to pre-test all applications. The user must be aware that other safety measures may be required if not stated herein.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY. The liability of King Plastic Corp. (except as to title) arising from the supply of the product, or its use, whether on warranties, contract, negligence or otherwise, shall not in any case exceed the cost of correcting defects in the product as herein provided, and upon expiration of the applicable warranty period specified herein, all such liability shall terminate. The foregoing shall constitute the sole and exclusive liability of King Plastic. In no event shall King Plastic be liable for consequential or special damage.

The warranties stated herein are in lieu of all other warranties (except title), written or oral, statutory, expressed or implied, including any warranty of merchantability or fitness for purpose.

Proper surface preparation is critical when using adhesive. Lightly sand the King StarBoard^® surface to be bonded with 120-grit paper, clean with a solvent (acetone, Tolulene or alcohol), then flame-treat with a propane torch. Practice this technique on some scrap material before treating the finished piece.

Working in a well ventilated area, hold the torch so the flame is approximately 1″ to 2″ (2.5cm to 5cm) away and the blue (oxidizing) portion of the flame is on the StarBoard surface to be bonded. Pass the flame over the surface at a rate of 12″ (30cm) per three seconds. Do Not scorch the surface – there should be no visible difference in the treated surface. Then follow the instructions from the adhesive manufacturer.

Ideally, flame-treating should be performed within four hours of bonding.