Piper Plastics Chooses High-Temperature Victrex® T-series Polymer for End Effector Pads
Greenville, SC - (September 19, 2006) - When Piper Plastics wanted a material with higher strength and higher temperature resistance to injection mold end effector pads for the semiconductor industry, it chose a proprietary blended VICTREX® T-Series grade polymer based on VICTREX® PEEK and Celazole polybenzimidazole (PBI). The new melt-processable VICTREX T-Series polymers perform in the most demanding high temperature applications requiring superior strength, wear, hardness, improved creep and thermal properties.
Typically made of metal, end effectors are the "hands" of a robotic arm that pick up the silicon wafers and move them from one operation to the next. Pads are inserted onto the tips of the end effectors and act as "fingers" to grip and touch the wafer as it moves through the semiconductor manufacturing process. One of Piper Plastics¹ requirements when choosing a pad material was that it be an ultra high purity material capable of withstanding high temperatures typically in the range of 300°C (572°F).
VICTREX T-Series polymer is the most thermally stable thermoplastic on the market, offering excellent mechanical performance at temperatures up to 300°C (572°F). In addition to its high temperature capabilities, Piper Plastics chose VICTREX T-Series polymer because it is inherently lubricious with a very smooth surface finish. It is low sloughing and offers exceptional abrasion resistance. Since it began using the VICTREX T-Series polymer, Piper Plastics has seen the life-span of its end effector pads more than double.
According to Dave Wilkinson, Materials Engineering Manager at Piper Plastics, "VICTREX T-Series polymers have one of the best overall property profiles of any high performance material. They are the unique solution for applications requiring superior high temperature resistance, unparalleled compressive strength, excellent tensile and flexural strength and low fatigue properties all with the cost-effectiveness of a melt processable polymer."
In high temperature exposure to organic chemicals, molded parts made with VICTREX T-Series polymers offer outstanding chemical resistance and property retention, even after extended exposures. They have excellent resistance to a range of extreme environments that degrade most plastics.
Victrex USA Inc., a division of Victrex plc., is the sole manufacturer and supplier of VICTREX PEEK polymer worldwide. For more information on the properties and performance advantages of VICTREX T-Series polymers, please call (800) VICTREX or visit the Victrex website at www.victrex.com.
