General Plastics to Feature Fire, Smoke, Toxicity and OSU-Compliant Foam Series at SAMPE Seattle 2017, May 23-24

Locally-based leading manufacturer of flyaway polyurethane foams and build-to-print molded parts will also spotlight affordable, innovative core materials and tooling boards ideal for diverse aerospace applications.

Tacoma, Wash. – May 15, 2017 – General Plastics Manufacturing Company will participate in the renowned technical conference and exhibition for the advanced materials community – SAMPE Seattle 2017. The plastics and composite materials pioneer welcomes the expected 4,300 designers, engineers, researchers and decision-makers from around the world to Booth F33 at the Washington State Convention Center. General Plastics will spotlight its composite core products, including its acclaimed fire-, smoke- and toxicity-compliant LAST-A-FOAM^® FR-3800 FST. Technical representatives will also show samples of the company’s foam tooling boards and molded parts, and look forward to discussing projects.

“We look forward to demonstrating our capabilities and discussing project needs at the industry’s premier global event, less than 45 minutes from our production headquarters,” said President Mitch Johnson, Ph.D. “Our customers from around the world know they can trust General Plastics for consistent material properties, scalable production services, and novel solutions to meet their technical and budgetary challenges.”

Rigid Foam Composite Core and Tooling Boards

LAST-A-FOAM^® rigid foam boards are durable, versatile and affordable, with high strength-to-weight ratios and a wide range of formulations to fulfill diverse applications. These include the demanding physical property, flammability performance and processing requirements of multiple aerospace and military specifications.

Being spotlighted at SAMPE Seattle, LAST-A-FOAM^® FR-3800 FST series halogen-free polyurethane foams comply with the Ohio State University (OSU) 65/65 heat release standard, FAA flame and smoke regulations, and aircraft manufacturer toxicity requirements. These next-generation FST foam boards are light, easily machined, thermoformed and bonded to composite skins, making them a cost-saving alternative and superb core material for many composite buildups. Also a proven performer, LAST-A-FOAM^® FR-4700 High-Temperature Tooling Boards withstand peak temperatures up to 400° F (200°C) and continuous-use temperatures up to 350° F (177°C). Cost-effective and dimensionally stable, this rigid foam board is ideal for prototype tooling, short tooling runs, high-temperature curing prepregs, vacuum forming, master models and monolithic or large-mass tools where traditional metal dies are cost-prohibitive.

Molded Parts

SAMPE Seattle attendees can also explore General Plastics’ build-to-print molded parts capabilities and services. These include custom molding, fabrication and assembly, from mold and prototype design to tooling, bonding, CNC machining and finishing. Its custom molded parts are produced from flame-retardant, self-extinguishing and self-skinning flexible and rigid polyurethane foam materials. Typical aerospace industry parts include armrest pads, flight deck components and custom-molded parts used in walls and ceilings, class dividers, overhead stow bins, food-service galleys and lavatories within passenger cabins. OEM and Tier 1/Tier 2 customers have relied on General Plastics for everything from short runs of specialty parts to ongoing high-volume parts programs.