Success with Vestamid in a 2 shot moulded safety lamp

The challenge was to retain their unique and practical black and yellow mouldings in a new design of safety lamp.

The base material is a really challenging Vestamid - anti-static, black, electrically conductive Nylon 12 (PA12).   The properties of semicrystalline polyamides are determined by the concentration of amide groups in the macromolecule. This is lower in PA 12 than in all other commercially available polyamides, which accounts for its special properties.

The second shot is also a Vestamid, but in this case a Nylon 12 TPR to which a yellow masterbatch is added. These are high-performance polymers very difficult to mould, let alone to combine and bond as a two-shot moulding.

The first shot is a complex body incorporating a thread form and cavities through which the second shot will flow. AKI insert moulds a light guide also in the first shot before rotating the tool for the second shot.

After the tool has been rotated to create a new cavity form, the second shot is injected at one point but has to fill four distinct cavity forms, each substantially different from the other. This is made even more complicated by the flow characteristics of the second shot material and the need to "shut out" on the first shot whilst still at a very high temperature.

The design will allow this new explosion-proof light to be used in offshore oil and gas, marine vessels, the refining and petrochemical industries, food processing, pharmaceuticals, breweries and distilleries, as well as in fire-fighting, water treatment and gas distribution.

The modern compact and ergonomic design of the Wolflite XT handlamp incorporates the latest LED technology, delivering 200 lumens of light on full power. With spot and flood beam options in the same unit.

In this new design weight is reduced by 30% and battery duration between three and nine hours on full power, depending on model, is extended up to 18 hours in powersave mode. The high performance lithium-ion batteries are recharged three times faster, enabling the lamp to be fully charged from flat in 3-4 hours.

Wolf contracted the redesign and manufacture to A K Industries Ltd (AKI) of Hereford the company's Managing Director Allen Green states: “By taking on the most challenging projects, we have created a continuous learning culture which benefits all our customers.”

For further details on the product, please contact:  Allen Green, Managing Director, A K I

Tel: +44 (0)1432 375 100
email: [email protected]
Web: www.aki.co.uk