LATI and PHT - Platiques Haute Technologies offer advanced solutions for working prototype production in plastic materials. Sheets and bars made of technical compounds produced using high-temperature compression techniques guarantee homogeneous and defect-free products, ideal for preliminary verifications and testing. With more than three decades of experience, PHT stands out for the reliability and quality of its semi-finished products, which are essential for complex and detailed project developments.
The development of a new project consists of several stages, ranging from the first idea to the realization of working prototypes. This last step is particularly critical for plastic objects produced with injection molding. Producing prototypes of complex items, perhaps using reinforced technical compounds, is challenging or impossible without a prototype mold: an expensive tool whose reliability and industrial scalability are not assured.
Although there are a lot of opportunities with 3D printing today, it is necessary to consider that obtaining precise and detailed finished objects by machining from solid remains highly desirable for both the practicality and quality of semi-finished products. The ease and availability of technology to machine aluminum, brass, or dedicated resins is still an unparalleled strength when working prototypes and not just models are desired.
When switching to natural polymers or thermoplastic compounds, homogeneous and compact solid blocks that can be cold processed are challenging to produce, e.g., by turning or milling. Indeed, not all plastics lend themselves to being turned into thick solids, and the process can be lengthy, expensive, and of uncertain outcome. In fact, due to the natural shrinkage of polymers, also favored by the slow and gradual cooling imposed by the great thickness, you can find defects within the machined blocks: blowholes, cracks, unevenness, and stresses that could lead to deformations.
The knowledge and professionalism of those who make these semi-finished products are crucial to the success of the process, and the French company PHT can guarantee more than 30 years of experience in plastic bars, sheets, and block production.
PHT's process consists of high-temperature compression of plastic granules: the progressive formation of the solid is carefully monitored during fabrication by dedicated computerized systems. With this technology, PHT makes large solid geometries, for example, 1200 x 1000 x 130 mm sheets. Which are the materials available? From amorphous polymers such as natural or glass-fiber reinforced PS, PSU, PES, and PPSU, to semi-crystalline ones such as LATI's LARTON G/40, a PPS reinforced with 40 percent glass fiber. Reinforced PPS is particularly suitable for high-temperature applications in aggressive chemical environments and for dimensionally precise objects. The ability to make working prototypes of LARTON G/40 from solid is a plus for anyone who wants to verify and test the material's performance before making a mold.
PHT can provide perfectly homogeneous solid blocks of LARTON G/40 without any defects, which benefits both the processability and reliability of the generated prototype.
PPS-based compounds are among the most widely used in metal replacement applications destined for highly chemically challenging environments, as in situations characterised by permanent contact with hydrocarbons and solvents, or in the presence of strong
LATI is paying close attention to the development of areas related to the food industry, from vending to coffee machines, from the transport of drinking water to food processing.
The requirements in the field of electronics and telecommunications are ever more stringent with the progress of technological development that characterizes this industry.