Custom Development of High Performance Component Replacing Steel and Nylon

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Ashley Industrial Molding, Inc. manufactured the oil deflector shown here for a well-known agricultural equipment manufacturer with an aggressive plan for converting functional components from sheet metal to plastics in order to reduce secondary operations, weight, and cost.

Our engineers determined that compression molding would easily accommodate the design complexity of this component, and utilizing molded-in color sheet molding compound would provide an elevated level of strength and chemical resistance combined with the desired light weight properties. These oil deflectors have overall dimensions of 550 mm in length x 250 mm in width x 265 mm in height. Tight control over tooling quality and process parameters allowed us to manufacture them within ± 0.25 mm tolerances and with a Class C surface finish.

Light assembly operations incorporated installation of compression limiters, which would prevent the plastic deforming under the compressive loads generated by tightening bolts during equipment assembly. Testing and inspection confirmed we met the customer standards for uniform thickness, chemical resistance, and temperature/oil property retention.

Contact us today if you are interested in learning more about this project or how our proven expertise for converting metal parts to plastic can improve your next application.

Custom Oil Deflector Highlights

Product Name: John Deere SMC Oil Deflector

Product Description: SMC Oil Deflector

Capabilities Applied / Processes

Primary:

Compression Molding

Secondary:

Drilling and compression limiter installation

Equipment Used to Manufacture Part: Press, Drilling fixture and installation tools

Overall Part Dimensions: Length: 550 mm
Width: 250 mm
Height: 265 mm

Tightest Tolerances: ± 0.25 mm

Material Used: Molded-in-color SMC

Material Finish: Class C surface appearance

In process testing/inspection performed: Thickness check Inspection

Industry for Use: Agriculture

Standards Met: Chemical resistance, temperature/oil property retention

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