Cost Saving Levers in Polymer Machining
The advancement of polymer engineering has seen an explosion over the last few decades. In a space earlier dominated by simpler thermoplastics – such as Polypropylene, Nylon, Polyethylene, and PVC – we have seen the development, adoption, and later the commercialisation of more advanced materials such as PTFE (Teflon), PEEK, POM, and PPS, to name only a few.
The increase in available choices led to the need to understand, process, and fabricate these new polymers, with the challenge being that each material behaved differently and therefore required its own set of parameters to be respected, if a consistent end-product was to be obtained.
With each polymer, unique nuances were observed so that as time went by, we developed the ability to know what to expect before embarking on any new developments. As the experience grew, we began to notice certain levers that allowed us to optimise our costs and pass these savings on to our customers.
In a nutshell, we have observed anywhere between a 25% and a 60% saving when we have developed parts for export clients. These savings are not restricted simply to the fact that costs are lower in India, where we operate. Instead, the levers extend beyond this to other aspects of cost optimisation that clients are often unaware of and where our expertise lies.
