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Precision Polymer Engineering Ltd.

Blackburn,  United Kingdom
http://www.prepol.com/
  • Booth: N0967

Welcome to Precision Polymer Engineering!

Overview

Precision Polymer Engineering (PPE) is a manufacturer of high performance sealing solutions for critical semiconductor applications.

PPE designs, develops and manufactures molded elastomeric seals, gaskets, and custom components from a broad range of unique materials. The result is sealing solutions which perform reliably in the most difficult applications, lasting longer, requiring less maintenance, and delivering the lowest overall cost of ownership.

Few environments are more challenging for elastomer seals than those found in semiconductor industries. Across deposition, etch, ash/strip, thermal processing and annealing, these processes place exceptional thermal and chemical stresses on elastomer materials. That's why PPE developed its Perlast, Kimura, and Nanofluor ranges of materials - with low particulation and low trace metal contamination to ensure

  • Extended system up-time
  • Increased mean time between failure (MTBF)
  • Decreased wet clean or mechanical clean frequency
  • Minimised cost of ownership through reduced cost of consumables

The Perlast Difference

PPE is a leading innovator in FFKM material science, staying ahead of Moore's Law with improved performance and reliability across thermal, plasma, and wet chemical semiconductor processes. 

Perlast is at the leading edge of FFKM technology. There is a recommended Perlast material grade for all process chemistries, temperatures, hardware locations, proximities to substrate, device type, and technology node.

Perlast semiconductor FFKM grades have been proven to offer the lowest particle and trace metal contamination, for minimised yield loss and low chemical erosion rates. Perlast is available as standard or non-standard O-rings, KF/ISO/NW fittings, end effector pads, and customer components, and are all manufactured exclusively in PPE's cleanroom environments at Blackburn, UK and Brenham, TX, United States.

Visit the website to find the Perlast grade best suited to your semiconductor application. 


  Press Releases

  • In the world of industry, change is the only constant. How a business reacts to this volatility is critically important. One part of the solution is to identify areas where future-proofing is already possible, and invest in upgrades before problems start to appear. In semiconductor operations, sealing systems are typically a good place to start. Seals are often among the last considerations when searching for opportunities to improve on reliability, productivity, and running cost. However, with the development of chemically-resistant Perlast® FFKM materials, industry leaders around the world are taking the opportunity to upgrade their seals while the conditions are right.

    Why Perlast®?

    Perlast® is Precision Polymer Engineering’s range of perfluoroelastomer sealing materials. Effectively a rubber form of PTFE, Perlast® material grades offer almost universal chemical resistance. The ability of a seal to withstand aggressive chemicals without degradation is central to equipment reliability, particularly on lines with chemically challenging process media, or intensive clean-in-place (CIP) or steam-in-place (SIP) sterilisation regimes.

    In test and in situ, Perlast® sealing components have demonstrated exceptional seal performance in the face of a wide range of acids, bases, solvents, fuels, and oils – even in long term exposure at high temperatures. The ability of Perlast® seals to maintain sealing effect under these conditions places Perlast® at the leading edge of polymer technology for all kinds of industries, ranging from the harsh environments of oil and gas exploration, through to pristine food and pharmaceutical production environments where purity is everything.

    Extreme pH compatibility

    Elastomeric materials used in industrial applications can be faced with all kinds of pH conditions, from extreme acidic to highly alkaline. Some sealing materials can perform to a good standard in acid or alkali, but Perlast® FFKM seals demonstrate exceptional compatibility across the full pH spectrum. Perlast® is resistant to degradation and swelling under such aggressive chemical environments, keeping the seal intact and operational, minimising the risk of seal failure, and cutting the cost and hassle of unscheduled downtime significantly.

    Low leachability, high purity

    When the purity of a product matters, special attention needs to be paid to the elastomers used within that process. Under particularly challenging chemical environments, elastomer materials can begin to break down and leach contaminants. This has clearly detrimental effects to the safety of the product. Perlast® FFKM has been formulated for low leachability in chemically aggressive operations, ensuring peace of mind for operators in industries such as semiconductor manufacturing, and food and pharmaceutical processing.

    Oxidation resistance

    Particular industrial process environments which are rich in oxygen can be very corrosive to elastomers. Examples include combustion systems in aerospace applications and high performance motorsport. The deterioration and eventual breakdown of elastomer seals due to oxidation is a major contributing factor to the loss of sealing effect, and eventual seal failure. Perlast® FFKM has outstanding oxidation resistance, contributing to a more reliable sealing system which delivers excellent long term performance.

    The chemical resistance of seals is concerning to engineers seeking a more reliable sealing system. Perlast® FFKM has been developed specifically to address these concerns, as a family of high performance material grades which reduce the need for frequent replacement, contributing to overall cost savings and significantly improved operational efficiency.

    To find out more about the chemical properties of Perlast®, and discuss the right grade for your specific application, visit www.perlast.com, or get in touch with one of our sealing experts for a no-obligation consultation.

  • With the right sealing system in place, the semiconductor manufacturing process will be more resistant to unscheduled downtime caused by maintenance, repair and replacement of failed components. Upgrading seals to a material which demonstrates outstanding thermal and chemical resistance – such as Perlast® FFKM – can help to improve reliability and performance in this way. However, the material is only half the story. When it comes to finding the right sealing solution for any industry or application, it’s not just about the product. It’s about the knowledge and expertise behind that product. That’s where a technical sealing partner is invaluable.

    Identifying a reliable sealing solution is only possible if the application is understood in depth. Even within the same industry for example, a dairy process line will face markedly different challenges to those of a pharmaceutical manufacturing line. For getting to the heart of the unique challenges faced by a sealing system, a technical sealing partner is a must.

    Why Precision Polymer Engineering?

    Precision Polymer Engineering prides itself on being a full service partner for all elements of critical sealing. Every facet of sealing is covered by specialist teams of engineers and material scientists, with decades of experience working with all kinds of industries and applications, improving sealing performance and keeping downtime to an absolute minimum. Technical support is broad-ranging, including comprehensive component design and modelling, which captures customer requirements and translates this into seal design recommendations to maximise the efficiency of a sealing system. PPE engineers can also employ Finite Element Analysis (FEA) to analyse specific applications and model the predicted behaviour of sealing components under different temperatures and pressures.

    Precision Polymer Engineering is also a trusted technical partner for detailed elastomer testing. Across UK and US based laboratory facilities, in-house scientists and material experts work to ensure supplied materials have the properties required to perform to the highest of industry standards. Key capabilities include failure analysis and chemical compatibility testing, as well as a suite of additional technical services geared towards safeguarding industrial process lines against the severe consequences of seal failure.

    The key feature of a technical sealing partner is that this level of technical support is not restricted to the specification and implementation phases of a seal upgrade project. These capabilities are available as part of an ongoing long term aftercare partnership, developed to ensure that areas for improvement in a sealing system are identified and acted upon before issues begin to appear.

    Next steps?

    To find out more about PPE as a potential technical sealing partner, or to enquire about the advantages of Perlast® FFKM material grades in critical semiconductor applications, visit www.perlast.com. You can also get in touch with sealing specialists directly via the website, and start a conversation about where a sealing partnership could take your operations.

  • Semiconductor equipment failure has severe consequences for productivity and profitability. Despite this, it is often the case that some of the most failure-prone elements of a process line are given the least attention by reliability engineers. Sealing is a key example. Viewed on a balance sheet, seals are often the least ‘valuable’ component in a process line; leading some operators to a false equivalence that seals are among the least important components. This could not be further from the truth – particularly in process lines where extreme temperatures are involved. The correctly specified sealing material can be critically important to long term reliability and productivity. In this, Perlast® FFKM has emerged as the sealing material to trust for industry leaders around the world.

    Perlast® FFKM, as a perfluoroelastomer, is engineered to provide exceptional thermal stability in extreme high and low temperatures. In test and in situ, Perlast® material grades have provided reliable sealing performance in temperatures over 320°C – and as low as -40°C. Perlast® can maintain integrity and retain mechanical properties under prolonged exposure to these kinds of temperatures. For sealing challenges in critical semiconductor applications, Precision Polymer Engineering’s teams of material scientists and sealing engineers have developed a Perlast® material grade to suit.

    The extreme temperature capability of Perlast® is just one of many reasons why Perlast® FFKM grades are displacing incumbent sealing systems around the world.

    Chemical resistance

    Perlast® FFKM grades provide almost universal chemical resistance. Across acids and alkalis, alcohols and hydrocarbons, Perlast® perfluoroelastomers continue to deliver reliable sealing performance. Perlast® is also resistant to aggressive clean-in-place (CIP) and steam-in-place (SIP) sterilisation routines, improving the speed and efficiency of process line cleaning cycles.

    Technical support

    Precision Polymer Engineering is the preferred technical sealing partner for businesses across energy, semiconductor manufacturing, food and pharmaceutical processing, and a wide range of other critical industries where seal failure is not an option. The engineers and scientists at PPE facilities have been working in sealing solutions for decades, providing design advice, material recommendations, and assistance with requalifying alternative FFKM materials.

    FFKM availability

    From the COVID pandemic to the ongoing war in Ukraine, the world is facing major challenges which are affecting the ability of international businesses to operate smoothly. The supply chain difficulties involved in manufacturing FFKM have led to many major companies pushing out lead times to several months. With the exorbitant costs of a dormant process line, these lead times are not acceptable. Our supply chain has remained unimpeded by these challenges, enabling Perlast® FFKM O-rings and sealing to be manufactured to order in as little as 30 days.

    Perlast® FFKM material grades have been used in demanding applications for years, standing as a byword for reliability and high performance in semiconductor sealing. These materials are available in standard and custom-sized O-rings and gaskets, as well as bespoke custom profiles. Discover more about the advantages of upgrading to Perlast® FFKM seals, by visiting www.perlast.com, or getting in touch with one of our sealing experts for a no-obligation consultation.


  Products

  • Perlast (FFKM)
    Perlast FFKM perfluoroelastomer seals deliver high temperature sealing capability and universal chemical resistance, designed for performance and reliability in the challenging environments typically found in semiconductor industries....

  • Perfluoroelastomer (FFKM) is the most chemically resistant elastomer available and is effectively a rubber form of PTFE. Perlast perfluoroelastomer grades provide additional properties which prove most valuable in critical sealing applications where purity, high temperatures and retention of sealing force are paramount.

    The Perlast range of perfluoroelastomer materials are at the leading edge of polymer technology. They have been developed by PPE to offer superior sealing solutions with enhanced performance and improved functionality, which has been proven in the field for over 20 years. Perlast parts are manufactured exclusively by PPE, including O-rings and custom parts for semiconductor applications, as well as sanitary gaskets and spring seals for other kinds of industries. 

    If you are having problems sourcing FFKM sealing products from your current supplier, check out the reasons why you should consider Perlast. There's a handy cross reference table of FFKM grades to get you started.

    Features of Perlast FFKM seals include:

    • Availability - FFKM O-rings manufactured to order in approximately 30 days
    • High temperature stability up to 327C (620F)
    • Almost universal chemical resistance
    • Outstanding mechanical properties
    • High purity materials for reduced process contamination