Introduction :

Indore Composite, in collaboration with Plasti Comp, LLC, USA, the pioneer in long fiber thermoplastic (LFT) materials and technologies have emerged with RePlet" – reinforced polymer pellets. LFT produces tough and strong, yet lightweight molded solutions.

Reinforcement additives, such as glass fibers that run continuously through the length of the pellets, help these compounds exhibit much better mechanical properties than short fiber reinforced thermoplastics. The strength, stiffness and impact resistance make them ideal choice in automotive, sporting goods, industrial, construction and other demanding applications. Indore has recently launched it’s range of RePlet Long Fiber Thermoplastic in India for the growing automotives and industrial applications.

Advantage RePlet:

RePlet Long Fiber Thermoplastic pellets offer outstanding combination of stiffness and impact strength coupled with enhanced long-term properties. The skeletal glass fiber
structure in components made from RePlet pellets provide enhanced mechanical properties and superior impact resistance compared to equivalent short fiber reinforced thermoplastic. RePlet eliminates costly secondary operations. An injection molded nylon 66 LFT small engine gear yielded a 40% weight saving over a mechanical metal gear. A low specific gravity, high tensile and flexural strengths also translate to a higher strength to weight ratio than many short fiber reinforced resins. RePlet structural polymers bring significant cost saving to demanding applications requiring performance that are beyond the reach of standard injection molded materials. RePlet structural polymers provide today’s engineer with a unique balance of cost & performance and are ideal for structural or semi structural applications.

Key benefit of RePlet LFT:

• Excellent impact resistance plus high stiffness
• Good property retention at elevated temperatures
• High creep resistance
• Impact strength maintained at low temperatures
• Excellent surface finish
• Outstanding fatigue performance
• Low warpage and good dimensional stability.

Metal Replacement :

The Substitution of metals by any thermoplastic is mainly driven by the need to reduce

Component or system cost and weight saving. Cost reduction is typically obtained through parts consolidation and the elimination of secondary operation such as machining, welding or painting, Metal replacement with LFT can also provide the following additional benefits:

• Weight reduction
• Corrosion resistance
• Chemical resistance
• Thermal insulation, sound dampening
• Improved appearance / surface finish
• Design freedom (3D shapes)

Opportunities exist to replace die-cast metals which require extensive machining or have corrosion and / or weight problems.

Similarly, steel stampings having complex assemblies , deep draws or corrosion problems are also potential candidates for metal replacement.