Case Study: Marine Fendering

Recently Redwood Plastics was approached by a large California-based construction contractor for assistance with a marine fendering project involving an electromagnetic detector array. The application had called for Redco HDPE (High-Density Polyethylene) however, lead times on the HDPE as thick as specified would be too long. We came up with the idea of bolting two pieces of thinner UHMW (ultra-high molecular weight) polyethylene. The UHMW had better all-around properties anyways making it a superior choice. The availability of the UHMW meant we could hit the lead time required of the contractor and earn the business. We recently have had several inquiries on our ability to custom fabricate marine fenders and we’d enjoy helping out with yours. Pictures of the blocks and application are below.

If you require assistance with your project contact us today.

When To Choose Tuffkast

Redco Tuffkast has been designed for use in “extreme” applications. But what exactly does this mean? In order to answer that question you need to first consider the properties of regular nylon 6. Nylon 6 can take a lot of load (4,000PSI in operation) and is suitable for a variety of load bearing applications such as outrigger pads, bushings and sheaves. But nylon has three key limitations. Firstly, nylon starts to get increasingly brittle in cold around -10 Celsius (14 Fahrenheit) and many parts of North America exceed that during the winter. Secondly, nylon 6 does not handle impact and shock well and is not well-suited to applications such as impact or bumper pads. On precision parts, especially those with flanges or thin edges, care needs to be taken when handling the part even at room temperature. Finally, nylon absorbs water causing it to swell and making it not the optimal material in marine or “wet” applications.

Tuffkast counters many of these deficiencies in nylon 6. Tuffkast performs well in cold applications and absorbs about half as much water.  However, the area Tuffkast really shines is in abrasion and impact-resistance, notably, Tuffkast marine fenders in British Columbia, Canada helped prevent massive damage to a ferry dock in 2006, a story you can find here. It is this combination of resistance to the elements with the impact and abrasion resistance that makes Tuffkast an excellent choice for many very demanding applications.

If you want to inquire about Tuffkast’s suitability for your application then please contact us today.