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Delrin® Case Study
LIP Moves Production into High Gear with
Delrin® 100CPE Acetal Homopolymer
“Over time and as our customers’ needs changed, we have
gradually replaced metal in our gears with Delrin acetal solutions,”
said Carlo Sansilvestri, managing director, LIP. “Our relationships
with Delrin and its Italian distributor, Biesterfeld Polybass S.p.A.,
have been great assets. Along with the high performance of the
material, this collaboration has kept us loyal to Delrin.”
To strengthen its competitive position, LIP sought ways to enhance
manufacturing efficiency and cost-effectiveness – while continuing
to use proven Delrin technology. The company was eager to test
new Delrin® 100CPE acetal homopolymer, which promised to
deliver significant processing and cost advantages.
The solution
Delrin® 100CPE resin is the successor to the well-established
Delrin® 100 series, known for high strength, precision and fatigue
resistance. In addition to lower emissions, Delrin® 100CPE resin:
• Significantly reduces mold deposits during processing
The challenge
• Requires less-frequent and shorter cleanings due to lower
mold deposits, which can cut maintenance costs
Polymers are an important resource for producing technical
components, according to Italy’s LIP srl, a leading manufacturer
of standard and custom gears. Compared to traditional metal,
plastics offer greater design freedom, lower weight, reduced
noise, elimination of corrosion, the ability to absorb vibration and
shock, and a low coefficient of friction (often through
self-lubrication). Acetal and nylon are among the most common
thermoplastics used in gearing.
Adopting Delrin® 100CPE acetal homopolymer enabled LIP
to extend the time between mold cleanings by 33 percent,
supporting higher throughput and greater cost-effectiveness.
Importantly, Delrin® 100CPE solution delivers the same
high-performance properties that LIP had relied upon with the
Delrin® 100 product.
For more than 40 years, LIP has injection-molded gears and
other technical products using Delrin® acetal homopolymer, a
polyoxymethylene homopolymer (POM-H). Most of its gears are
used in worm gearboxes for electromedical, home automation
and home appliance applications. LIP also produces complete
gearboxes with Delrin gears for vending machines, ice makers
and agricultural equipment.
“We wanted to maintain the key performance properties of Delrin®
100 that are essential to our gearing products, particularly impact
and yield strength,” said Sansilvestri. “Very often our customers’
applications undergo sudden stops and motion reversals, and the
performance of Delrin® 100CPE resin provides a greater margin of
safety in the most critical scenarios.”
Emission reduction
“We foresee that environmental impact reduction will become
more relevant in the near future,” said Sansilvestri. “It’s very
important to us to be able to meet upcoming requirements for
sustainable materials, while maintaining the high performance
that our customers have come to expect.”
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Delrin® 100P
Delrin® RA 100CPE
Delrin® 100CPE
The success
LIP is committed to continuous improvement to benefit customers
and their businesses. The company is always exploring new
solutions that could further improve the quality, reliability and
sustainability profile of its gearing.
CO2
Up to
This new solution won a 2021 R&D 100 Award in the
Mechanical/Materials category, based on its world-class
environmental impact profile. Delrin® RA products demonstrate up
to a 75 percent reduction in Global Warming Potential (GWP)
compared to fossil-based Delrin.
The base polymer for Delrin® RA grades is:
• Produced from 100-percent certified bio-feedstock from waste,
according to mass balance principles
Formaldehyde
emission
(VDA 275)
Delrin® 100
To be prepared for increasing market demand for sustainable
products while retaining the many advantages of Delrin® 100CPE
resin, LIP recently began trialing Delrin’s newest product: Delrin®
Renewable Attributed (RA) acetal homopolymer.
• Manufactured using 100-percent certified renewable electricity,
steam-sourced via municipal waste energy recovery
Of particular interest to LIP, the new resin’s high strength and
fatigue resistance can extend the useful life of parts to reduce
premature failure and waste. This material can be substituted
for Delrin® 100CPE resin with identical performance, avoiding the
need for further homologations and making the transition quick
and easy.
Sansilvestri concluded, “Based on our encouraging results to date
with Delrin® RA, we expect to offer our customers precision gears
with more environmental benefits, while maintaining excellent
performance and remaining cost competitive, which is vital.
Trusting once again in Delrin technology and the Delrin/Biesterfeld
team, we are excited about the future.”
75%
lower carbon
footprint than
fossil-based
Delrin®
To learn more, contact your Delrin representative or visit Delrin.com.
Delrin® is an industry-leading premium industrial polymer business. Grounded in strong innovation, Delrin is a category creator with a longstanding
reputation for quality, reliability, supply and product performance. The iconic Delrin brand, coupled with proprietary technology and deep application
expertise make us a leader in the high-end engineering polymer market. Delrin has exciting growth prospects from exposure to automation, actuation,
healthcare, mobility and consumer applications.
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