Military and Defense
Durable, lightweight plastics for military and defense applications
High performance plastics are used in the construction of missiles, shipping and storage containers, tanks, submarines, manned aircraft, drones, telecommunications systems, and other military and defense equipment.
To ensure consistent and reliable performance, the plastics used for military applications must meet stringent performance requirements including: ASTM, SAE AMS, MIL, MIS, and Federal Specifications. In addition to defining minimum property values, these standards often specify acceptable extrusion, molding, and machining processes and appropriate uses for the materials.
In support of defense-related product manufacturing, Curbell Plastics is ITAR compliant company-wide with a comprehensive export controls compliance program in place.
Benefits of Plastic Materials for Military and Defense Applications
Formulations are available with the following characteristics:
- Enhanced flame, smoke, toxicity, and heat release
- Broad operating temperature range
- Resistance to greases, fuels, and other chemicals
- Toughness and impact resistance
- Reduced weight
- Electrical insulating characteristics
- ESD properties to control static electricity
- Outdoor weatherability
- Low permeability to water
- Noise and vibration damping
- Moderate modulus for effective sealing
- Friction and wear performance
- Abrasion resistance
- Transparency to visible light
- Low dielectric constant and low dissipation factor for transparency to RF
Plastic Materials for Military and Defense Applications
Acrylic
Outstanding strong, stiff, clear plastic available in a variety of brilliant colors and finishes.
DuPont™ Vespel® Polyimide
Extremely high temperature creep resistant plastic with excellent friction and wear characteristics.
KYDEX® Thermoplastic Sheet
High impact, thermoplastic sheet that is tough, durable, and easy to form.
LE Linen Phenolic
A composite sheet material that consists of electrical grade phenolic resin impregnated into layers of linen fabric.
Noryl®
Engineering plastic with outstanding strength, stiffness, and electrical insulating properties.
PEEK
Strong, stiff plastic with outstanding chemical resistance; performs over a wide range of temperatures.
PTFE
Low friction engineering plastic with outstanding chemical, high temperature, and weathering resistance.
UHMW
Extremely tough abrasion resistant, low cost plastic, used for a wide range of wear applications.
Plastic Applications for Military and Defense
- Avionics and instrument panels
- Bearings, bushings, gears, cams
- Cases for transportation and storage
- Electrical connectors
- Electrical insulators
- Flexible tubing
- Locking elements for fasteners
- Radomes
- Satellite / spacecraft components
- Seals, valves, seats, gaskets
- Simulator screens
- Spline couplings
- Windows, covers, guards
PEEK
Due to its exceptional performance characteristics, PEEK is a popular choice for a wide range of military and defense applications including seals, bearings, and electrical connectors. PEEK is also used in military spacecraft applications due to its low outgassing behavior, transparency to RF, wide operating temperature range, and resistance to radiation.
PEEK is available in unfilled, glass-filled, carbon fiber-filled, and bearing grades.
Curbell offers PEEK materials that comply with ASTM D6262, and MIL-P-46183 standards.
DuPont™ Vespel® Polyimide
DuPont™ Vespel® polyimide is a high-performance plastic material known for its broad operating temperature range and extreme wear resistance. DuPont™ Vespel® spline couplings are used to connect rotating metallic shafts on military aircraft. These polymeric spline adapters offer several advantages such as being less abrasive to mating components, requiring no lubrication, reducing noise and vibration, and better accommodating misalignment of mating metal splines. DuPont™ Vespel® is also specified for the locking elements in threaded locking fasteners. DuPont™ Vespel® locking elements are often rated for use up to 450°F in threaded fasteners.
DuPont™ Vespel® is widely used in military spacecraft due to its long-term reliability, radiation resistance, low outgassing, flammability characteristics, and ability to operate effectively in vacuum conditions.
DuPont™ Vespel® is available in grades that can be certified to AMS 3644G and ASTM D6456. Note that these specifications have replaced the obsolete MIL-R-46198 spec.
Engineering Plastics
Curbell supplies a wide range of plastic materials for military applications including nylon, Ultem®, acetal (Delrin®), PTFE, and PCTFE. These plastics are popular choices for seals, bearings, bushings, and electrical insulators.
Plastics are available in formulations that offer many performance advantages including:
- Reduced weight
- Reduced noise and vibration
- Self-lubrication
- Resilience and impact resistance
- Resistance to greases, fuels, and other chemicals
- Transparency
Inactive MIL Specifications Reference Table
Specifications for engineering plastics, change relatively frequently. Some inactive specifications for military and defense we commonly see requests for are referenced in the table below.
| Inactive Specification | Title |
|---|---|
| MIL-P-21922B | Plastic Rods and Tubes, Polyethylene |
| MIL-PRF-21922C | Plastic Rods and Tubes, Polyethylene |
| MIL-P-19336 | Plastic Sheets, Polyethylene, Virgin and Borated, Neutron Shielding |
| MIL-P-22035 | Plastic Sheets and Sheeting, Polyethylene |
| MIL-P-3803 | Plastic, Polyethylene, Molded, & Extruded Shapes, Sheets and Tubing |
| MIL-P-17091B | Polyamide (Nylon) Plastic, Rigid, Molded Parts, Rods and Flats |
| MIL-P-46060 | Plastic, Polyamide (Nylon), Rigid (Rods, Tubes and Flats) |
| MIL-M-20693B | Molding Plastic, Polyamide (Nylon), Rigid |
| MIL-R-46198 | Resin, Polyimide, Hot Pressed or Pressed and Sintered |
Note: Many MIL Specs and Federal Specifications have been superseded by newer, updated specifications. View a more comprehensive list of MIL Specs and Federal Specifications here.
Have questions about a material specification? We can help, Ask a Plastics Expert.
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