I’ve been experimenting with PPS CF-10, a new material for me. When dropped onto a surface, it sounds like metal but is actually lightweight plastic. I printed a spark plug baffle wire seal with it. Its heat resistance is claimed to be better than the Slick version made from PEI. After testing and breaking a few pieces, I found it’s not as tough as nylon or PEI, but for this application, toughness isn’t critical. The material max operating temperature rating is greater than 400°F, though I would conservatively rate this printed part to about 350°F. I use the high-temp nylon version in my aircraft, mounted directly over the cylinders, and been happy with them at their 300°F rating. This PPS material could open the door to even higher temperature applications. Fun stuff! Now back to work on my bicycle kickstand extension.
Steve Melton
N531EM, RV9A, Superior O-320, WW 200RV prop, Slick mags, CHT 330F, EGT 1300F, B&C, 1400+ hours
Freedom and Democracy are all that really matter.
Ride a bike, unlock the world. https://www.rvplasticparts.com/
I removed the right-hand side high-temperature nylon ignition wire baffle seal (operated 2 years) and replaced it with a new polyphenylene sulfide version. The removed nylon seal is in perfect condition, and I will reinstall it in the future, but for now, I want to log some flight hours with the new material. For this part, the high-temperature nylon has a maximum rating of 300°F, while the polyphenylene sulfide version is rated at 350°F—a significant 50°F increase. I always use the parts I manufacture on my aircraft.
Steve Melton
N531EM, RV9A, Superior O-320, WW 200RV prop, Slick mags, CHT 330F, EGT 1300F, B&C, 1400+ hours
Freedom and Democracy are all that really matter.
Ride a bike, unlock the world. https://www.rvplasticparts.com/
I am beginning to make some nice parts from the PPS-CF10 material. Bringing the Sulfides...
Steve Melton
N531EM, RV9A, Superior O-320, WW 200RV prop, Slick mags, CHT 330F, EGT 1300F, B&C, 1400+ hours
Freedom and Democracy are all that really matter.
Ride a bike, unlock the world. https://www.rvplasticparts.com/
I’m making steady progress on the cowl support tool. The pipe bonding tooling arrived, and I think it’s going to improve pipe perpendicularity. There are four key surfaces to control with the print, and I’m definitely within 0.010 inch—maybe even 0.0005—and it’s a repeatable process. So far, I’m happy with the new bonding tool and the printing accuracy. This has been a fun challenge to see how precise I could make it and I learned something.
This part is in the zero position with surfaces 2 and 3 in contact.
Steve Melton
N531EM, RV9A, Superior O-320, WW 200RV prop, Slick mags, CHT 330F, EGT 1300F, B&C, 1400+ hours
Freedom and Democracy are all that really matter.
Ride a bike, unlock the world. https://www.rvplasticparts.com/
The cowl support tool is now available for sale on the website, and by popular request, the hose baffle mount selection has been expanded to include standard ID sizes. These mounts can also be used for bulk wire pass-through. The baffle mounts offer two materials, high temp nylon 300F and polyphenylene sulfide 350F.
Steve Melton
N531EM, RV9A, Superior O-320, WW 200RV prop, Slick mags, CHT 330F, EGT 1300F, B&C, 1400+ hours
Freedom and Democracy are all that really matter.
Ride a bike, unlock the world. https://www.rvplasticparts.com/