Power tools are an essential part of today’s building, DIY, and garden care arsenal which includes lawn mowers, weed whackers (strimmers), hedge trimmers, power drills, sanders, screwdrivers, and many other motorized tools. Most of these products incorporate a percentage of outdoor plastics as part of the overall assembly, so the question is, what are the best power tool plastics?
As an example, let’s examine a power drill as a typical type of power tool used both in and outdoors and review a number of plastic alternatives, which could be used by any power tool manufacturer (for drills, mowers, strimmers, etc).
Selecting plastics for a power drill or other tools
This is probably one of the more commonly used power tools for both DIY and professional users inside buildings and outdoors, too. A new drill can be expected to last a number of years and withstand general abuse such as drops, scrapes, and other mishaps. The drill housing needs to be made from tough plastic to provide the drill with its functionality as well as protect it from all the abuse it will likely see.
So what is the best material for a power drill housing? Well, there are two main options you should consider:
- Reinforced nylon 66 otherwise known as PA 66 GF.
- Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene, better known as ABS and the modified version PC/ABS.
Nylon 66 (PA 66 GF)
Nylon 66 is a polyamide polymer and is an injection moldable plastic that has some excellent properties that make it an ideal material for this type of product. It has excellent strength properties along with very high stiffness characteristics. It is dimensionally stable over a period of time and is capable of operating in elevated temperatures, bearing in mind this is being used on power tools so the temperature should never get to the point the operator can not handle the product due to high temperatures.
The addition of glass fiber gives the core PA 66 polymer the additional mechanical properties that make PA 66 GF more suitable for tuff and rugged applications such as the housings for various power tools, such as these:
Advantages of PA 66 GF:
- Excellent mechanical strength
- Dimensional stability over time
- Excellent stiffness properties
- Corrosion resistant
- Operating temperatures around 248℉ (120℃)
- Excellent electrical resistance
- Easy processing and moldability
- Easy to color
Disadvantages of PA 66 GF:
- High price, core PA 66 is $2.50/lb (in summer ’22) plus the glass fiber additive at the required percentage
- Susceptible to UV light and will start to degrade and discolor
- Impact strength is not as high as other plastics
ABS
Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) has long been known as the ‘go-to’ plastic if you are looking for excellent impact resistance. ABS is easy to process and has great moldability characteristics. It is dimensionally stable over long periods of time, however, it is susceptible to stress cracking when it comes into contact with certain greases.
Advantages of ABS:
- Excellent impact resistance
- Dimensional stability over time
- Excellent stiffness properties
- Operating temperatures around 158℉ (70℃)
- Excellent electrical resistance
- Low cost at $1.69/lb
Disadvantages of ABS:
- Susceptible to UV light damage and will start to degrade and discolor
- Poor resistance to chemicals and solvents
- Toxic fumes when burned
PC/ABS
The modified version of ABS, PC/ABS which is a blended polymer of Polycarbonate and Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene, is also often used as plastics for power tools. PC/ABS is an engineering polymer that is designed to utilize the unique properties of both PC and ABS by blending them together to create an enhanced engineering plastic.
PC/ABS brings together the best of both plastics to provide higher impact strength, higher stiffness properties, higher operating temperature range, higher dimensional stability and ease of processing.
Advantages of PC/ABS:
- Improved impact resistance
- Improved dimensional stability over time
- Improved stiffness properties
- Improved operating temperature range around 258℉ (125℃)
- Improved electrical resistance
- Low cost at $1.97/lb
Disadvantages of PC/ABS:
- Susceptible to UV light and will start to degrade and discolor
- Poor resistance to chemicals and solvents
- Toxic fumes when burned
Selecting power tool plastics (a summary)
The power tool industry sector or niche requires a product to withstand a lot of rough handling from do-it-yourself weekend worriers and professionals alike. Products need to withstand being misused, dropped, thrown, and other general abuse, as well as being expected to last a number of years in the meantime. Therefore, power tool plastics need to have properties that can handle all this as well as being easy to mold during production to form the different shaped housings needed, and, finally, to look good aesthetically, too!
The commonly used plastics for these products are:
- Nylon 66 (PA 66 GF), is a glass fiber-filled polyamide 66 blend. This is basically a nylon plastic reinforced with glass fibers, which can vary as an additive percentage which results in a performance-enhanced plastic.
- Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) has been known as a high-impact plastic in the engineering plastics lineup for some time and has earned its reputation as being one of the ‘go-to’ plastics for products like power tools that need to withstand the rough and tumble products used outside.
- PC/ABS is a blended polymer of Polycarbonate and Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene. Polycarbonate is used as a bulletproof material and is extremely good at resisting impact and, combined with ABS which is also a very impact-resistant plastic, you get an extremely durable, long-lasting, strong, plastic that is very easy to mold and has excellent finishing.
It should be noted that PC/ABS is the predominant plastic to use when it comes to power tools.
