During the past months, Aitiip Technology Centre team has tested different inserts for the flange Wheel. After several validations, finally, the inserts that best adapted to the mechanical requirements were the salt soluble ones. Being inert materials, they can tolerate temperatures between 800 and 1,000 degrees Celsius.
In addition, these salt inserts have shown good endurance in pressure tests during the injection process. After placing the insert in the protomold, the team subjected the insert to the injection process together with the PAEK.
After the injection process, different demonstrators have been analysed in order to ensure that the inner part of the demonstrator had the same aesthetical properties than the external ones.
Besides the salt cores, Aitiip team has been working with other materials. The most remarkable one, the PVA, has been also tested in the case of using polymeric matrixes that needed lower temperatures (Tm of PEEK 220ºC; Tm HDPE 130ºC. the conclusion is that the PVA inserts are completely capable to hold the pressure and the temperatures of the process. This way Aitiip has been able to develop different approaches depending on the final material that has to be process.