kydex responses
John Fergason
Description
Collection
Title:
kydex responses
Creator:
John Fergason
Date:
5/13/1999
Text:
Thank you to all who responded. Here is what I received. Enjoy.
John-
John , we use a variety of pklastics, co-poly mostly for post-ops, some
colorrs are available.
John, My favorite is MPE (modified polyethylene), but it is softer than
kydex, you can get the same effect with LDPE but both only come in natural
(white)...pkm
John, I'm sure you have considered the logical alternatives like Polypro
and Polyeth., but another thought occurs to me. If you are getting
significant outgasing from Kydex, you are heating it too hot. At temps
sufficient to soften it, it doesn not smell expecially bad. Stay below
400
degrees.
Hi John,
Please post your findings. We have looked for an alternative to Kydex
with no success. The Kleerdex Company seems to have a lock on this
rendition of PVC and ABS and the amourphous material characteristics
that we all have come to respect.
One of the problems that we all have with our plastics is good
temperature processing controls. It is especially important with Kydex
as the out-gassing is very dangerous to you health. The proper forming
temperature of Kydex is 325 to 390 degrees F. Above that range is when
you have the out-gassing problem.
I do recommend the use of an Infrared temperature monitor. These hand
held devices now cost as little as $113 and are pocket size. Davis
Instruments in NJ has one in their catalog; Model QT1, Catalog #
LL37451. Davis can be reached at (800) 368-2516.
try HDPE 5/32 rigid yet easy moldable and comes in a wide variety of
colors
John,
The only way to avoid the smoking or out-gassing problem with an IR oven
is to have a closed loop control system on the oven. In a brief
description; the quartz tube heaters are controlled by an IR eye that
reads the surface temperature of the plastic in the oven.
When the plastic is first placed in the oven, the sensor reads a cold
surface and runs 100% electrical energy through the quartz tubes. As the
surface comes up to your selected process temperature, the IR closed
loop controller decreases the amount of electricity running through the
quartz tube heaters. The surface is maintained at your selected process
temperature until the whole sheet is at process temperature.
The little know fact about quartz tube IR heaters is the surface
penetration of the light energy. Penetration is only about 1-2 microns,
so in effect, the plastic sheet heats by conduction from the surface of
the sheet.
Fillauer and other suppliers have transfer paper to color, customize,
and dress up MPE. We use 1/8 or 5/32 MPE for all of our TLSOs. I look
forward to your summary of replies. DM
I have always used 3/16 copoly. If you have a good mold and modify it
well
adjustments are minimal and an easily be achieved. Alot of people use PE
also but I wonder if surlyn would be a good choice for adjusting even
though
it is $$$$. Do you use bivalve or ant/post opening. At Fairview Labs in
MN
we do 800 TLSO's a year and use 3/16 copoly with only a lining on the
sternal
bar area on 98 % of them and 90 percent have a posterior opening. Please
respond back if you get any unique info. Bruce Russell CO 2804
John-
John , we use a variety of pklastics, co-poly mostly for post-ops, some
colorrs are available.
John, My favorite is MPE (modified polyethylene), but it is softer than
kydex, you can get the same effect with LDPE but both only come in natural
(white)...pkm
John, I'm sure you have considered the logical alternatives like Polypro
and Polyeth., but another thought occurs to me. If you are getting
significant outgasing from Kydex, you are heating it too hot. At temps
sufficient to soften it, it doesn not smell expecially bad. Stay below
400
degrees.
Hi John,
Please post your findings. We have looked for an alternative to Kydex
with no success. The Kleerdex Company seems to have a lock on this
rendition of PVC and ABS and the amourphous material characteristics
that we all have come to respect.
One of the problems that we all have with our plastics is good
temperature processing controls. It is especially important with Kydex
as the out-gassing is very dangerous to you health. The proper forming
temperature of Kydex is 325 to 390 degrees F. Above that range is when
you have the out-gassing problem.
I do recommend the use of an Infrared temperature monitor. These hand
held devices now cost as little as $113 and are pocket size. Davis
Instruments in NJ has one in their catalog; Model QT1, Catalog #
LL37451. Davis can be reached at (800) 368-2516.
try HDPE 5/32 rigid yet easy moldable and comes in a wide variety of
colors
John,
The only way to avoid the smoking or out-gassing problem with an IR oven
is to have a closed loop control system on the oven. In a brief
description; the quartz tube heaters are controlled by an IR eye that
reads the surface temperature of the plastic in the oven.
When the plastic is first placed in the oven, the sensor reads a cold
surface and runs 100% electrical energy through the quartz tubes. As the
surface comes up to your selected process temperature, the IR closed
loop controller decreases the amount of electricity running through the
quartz tube heaters. The surface is maintained at your selected process
temperature until the whole sheet is at process temperature.
The little know fact about quartz tube IR heaters is the surface
penetration of the light energy. Penetration is only about 1-2 microns,
so in effect, the plastic sheet heats by conduction from the surface of
the sheet.
Fillauer and other suppliers have transfer paper to color, customize,
and dress up MPE. We use 1/8 or 5/32 MPE for all of our TLSOs. I look
forward to your summary of replies. DM
I have always used 3/16 copoly. If you have a good mold and modify it
well
adjustments are minimal and an easily be achieved. Alot of people use PE
also but I wonder if surlyn would be a good choice for adjusting even
though
it is $$$$. Do you use bivalve or ant/post opening. At Fairview Labs in
MN
we do 800 TLSO's a year and use 3/16 copoly with only a lining on the
sternal
bar area on 98 % of them and 90 percent have a posterior opening. Please
respond back if you get any unique info. Bruce Russell CO 2804
Citation
John Fergason, “kydex responses,” Digital Resource Foundation for Orthotics and Prosthetics, accessed November 17, 2024, https://library.drfop.org/items/show/211795.
