For decades material suppliers have fought against each other for dominance in one another’s market place. At HBC we have seen a steady migration of component manufacture into Plastic materials from Steel, Aluminium and more recently, Glass. As material prices soar OEM’s look to take cost out of manufacture and this requires expert knowledge in design for manufacture and material performance. In most cases once they take the plunge they never look back.

Using a polymeric-base material, instead of a metallic/glass one allows us to..
• Reduce the weight of the parts
• Easily obtain parts with complex shapes
• Reduce the cost of raw materials
• Reduce the cost of processes

A well researched and selected plastic alternative should possess..
• Excellent mechanical strength
• High thermal stability
• Very high dimensional stability
• Low moisture absorption
• Good chemical resistance properties

For examples of recent HBC projects relating to alternative material specification, design for manufacture and production please see our full case study at www. [To be confirmed]