Polymers in Sport and Leisure

References and Abstracts
assisted moulding. In the past, reinforced fibres have been
considered by many industry experts to lack the impact
strength needed for a gas-assisted structural part. That
especially was true for parts operating at low winter
temperatures, according to Polymer Composites, the
compounder providing the bumper material. Arctic Cat,
based in Thief River Falls, Minnesota, is installing the
thermoplastic panels on about half of its snowmobiles
currently in production. The line includes its redesigned,
high-visibility ZR-Series snowcraft, which is used both
for competitive racing and recreation, and its economyminded
Jag and Puma models and ZL series. Details are
given.
MID-CENTRAL PLASTICS INC.; ARCTIC CAT INC.
USA
Accession no.651015
Item 260
Scrap Tire News
11, No.7, July 1997, p.1/4
MAINSTREAMING THE MARKET
This article looks at the many uses that recycled rubber is
being put to, by the Recycled Rubber Technologies
division of Emert Grinding & Machine, of Pennsylvania,
USA. Applications include: driveways, basketball courts,
playground surfaces, wheelchair ramps, stair surfaces and
decorative planters.
RECYCLED RUBBER TECHNOLOGIES; EMERT
GRINDING & MACHINE; DURA FLEX
USA
Accession no.650078
Item 261
Machine Design
69, No.14, 24th July 1997, p.70/4
ADVANCED MATERIALS TURN IN AN “ALL
PRO” PERFORMANCE
Hotter D S
Sporting goods increasingly employ sophisticated
materials. Hockey sticks use graphite composites to
transfer more energy to the puck and make sticks lighter
and easier to manoeuvre. Hangers moulded from Zytel
nylon attach in-line skate wheels to a metal sole plate.
Snowboards utilise RIM structural foam for the boards
and PU components for the binding systems. THV
fluoropolymer from Dyneon plays an important part as
window material on both kayak sails and tents. Buoyant
fly-fishing fins are being made using Engage polyolefin
elastomers.
USA
Accession no.645746
Item 262
Injection Molding
5, No.7, July 1997, p.58
SNOWSHOES EVOLVE TO THERMOPLASTIC
To make the sport of snowshoeing more accessible to the
general public, Redfeather Design has designed a
thermoplastic version of its traditional aluminium-framed
shoe and plans to retail it for half the price. The snowshoe,
called the Penguin, consists of an injection moulded frame
and a deck to which the shoes are bound. Triax, an ABS
blend from Bayer, was chosen for the frame, which
actually consists of two identical halves connected by a
living hinge. The shoe deck is made from Pellethane, a
TPU from Dow.
REDFEATHER DESIGN
USA
Accession no.645736
Item 263
Utech Asia ’97. Conference proceedings.
Suntec City, 18th-20th Feb.1997, Paper 58. 43C6
OUTSOLES MADE FROM SOLID
POLYURETHANE AS ADVANTAGEOUS
ALTERNATIVE TO RUBBER
Brecht K; Eschmeier T; Michels E
Bayer (Singapore) Pte.Ltd.
Edited by: Reed D; Ward S
(Crain Communications Ltd.; Rapra Technology Ltd.)
Bayflex TT is a new type of material for the manufacture
of solid outsoles. It joins Bayflex TR, whose typical
quality characteristics are outlined, as another polyetherbased
PU speciality in the Bayflex T product range.
Particular attention is given to the outstanding ageing
resistance of Bayflex TT, which ensures a consistently
high level of properties throughout its lengthy service life.
Of special interest to the shoe industry, which is
particularly influenced by fashion trends, is the wide range
of variations that this material allows in the production
of highly transparent outsoles. In addition to the much
sought-after ‘crepe look’, it is now possible to incorporate
visible functional elements into the sole material. Bayflex
TT can be produced in all the hardnesses typically required
for sole production (ranging from Shore A 55-80), and
when combined with mid-soles made from Bayflex T
systems, for example, constitutes an ideal soling material
for leisure, sports, fashion and work shoes.
SINGAPORE
Accession no.645389
Item 264
Plastics Technology
43, No.7, July 1997, p.35
CONCURRENT DESIGN, PROTOTYPING AND
TOOLING SPEED HOCKEY HELMET TO
MARKET
Ogando J
Design engineers at Itech Sport Products are acquainted
with the difficulties of designing a new hockey helmet.
Today’s helmet must have a feature-rich design with vents
70 © Copyright 2001 Rapra Technology Limited