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ilestones in innovation

2000 and beyond The 90s The 80s The 70s The 60s The 50s

DuPont™ Delrin® Acetal Resin Our 50th Anniversary Timeline

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Delrin®

DuPont™ Delrin® Acetal Resin

50th Anniversary

In the 50 years since DuPont synthesized acetal and trademarked it Delrin®, this innovative polymer has helped designers and engineers create new products and improve the quality, reliability and cost position of many existing products.




M■ 2000 and Beyond

Static-dissipating parts

Fuel tank caps, filler pockets and sender module flanges begin shift to conductive grades of Delrin®.





Telecommunications

Duct couplers made of Delrin® are part of the boom in broadband communications. The couplers join underground ducts carrying fiber-optic communications cable.





Irrigation

Sprinkler manufacturers build on experience dating back to the 1970s with the use of Delrin® for components controlling movement and water flow in their latest models. Typical applications include gears, gear housings, nozzles and other parts.




M■ 1990sRecreation

With the surging popularity of in-line skating, Delrin® finds a new market in rear brake components for Rollerblade® and other brands of boots.




M■ 1990sWindow hardware

In innovative hardware for vinyl windows, Delrin® parts meets needs for spring characteristics, creep resistance, lubricity and more.




M■ 1990sOffice equipment

The proliferation of ink jet and laser printers spurs increased use of standard and low wear/friction grades of Delrin®.




M■ 1990sNew roller conveyor…

for shipping cartons from Rapistan Demag runs faster and with less noise thanks to the use of Delrin® for eight key components.




M■ 1990sConveyor advances

In sewage and water treatment plants, lightweight chain links up to 15 cm long reduce power costs and eliminate corrosion as replacements for metal links.




M■ 1990sFuel Modules

The first milestone comes in the 1992 model year with commercial production of an in-tank reservoir made from Delrin® for Ford high volume cars in North America.

The next major part to convert is the flange on the top of the tank, starting in 1995. Other parts were adopted over the years.

Today more than 90 percent of North American cars use Delrin® in their fuel systems. Fuel modules used in virtually all cars today use 6 to 10 acetal components.




M■ 1990sFuel Modules

DuPont application engineers play a key role in the industry-wide conversion of fuel modules from metal to acetal by supporting OEMs, tier one suppliers and molders with design, testing and prototyping assistance.




M■ 1980sWindow lift motors

Gears molded from Delrin® and acetal make their debut in window lift motors.




M■ 1980sIn-tank fuel reservoir

In 1986, Chrysler selects Delrin® for the in-tank reservoir used in its turbo-charged and fuel-injected cars. Use of such parts in high-volume vehicles would come a few years later.




M■ 1980sIn-tank fuel pump for flex fuel

In 1981, Volkswagen adopts Delrin® for a two-piece housing and valves and other key components of a fuel pump for vehicles running on fuel mixtures containing up to 15% methanol. The pump is mounted inside the tank.




M■ 1980sTape cassettes

Hub components molded from Delrin® meets needs for mechanical performance as well as the molding characteristics required for high-speed molding in multi-cavity tools.




M■ 1980sZippers

YKK, the global leader in zippers, selects Delrin® due to it’s high lubricity as its primary material for teeth replacing noisy and sticky metal.




M■ 1980sBuckles

In the early 1980s, Delrin® emerges as a primary engineering material for buckles, clips and other fasteners for luggage, backpacks and other recreational products.




M■ 1970sCutlery handles

Rising temperatures of automatic dishwashers spur increased use of Delrin® as handles for steak knives and carving sets.




M■ 1970sOffice machines

An application that highlights growing use of Delrin® in this field. High-speed dot matrix printer for computer terminals, Delrin® meets needs for wear resistance, low friction and high strength in 30 parts, including gears, cams, rollers and guides. Delrin® is also widely used in the typewriters and cash registers of the 1970s.




M■ 1970sOffice machines

An application that highlights growing use of Delrin® in this field. Long (84 cm) precision-machined cams play a key role in the Xerox 4500, world’s first photocopier that can collate two-sided copies.




M■ 1970sPocket lighters

With fuel reservoirs in Delrin®, Bic® disposable lighters are safer and more widely available.




M■ 1970sSki equipment

Leading manufacturers of both cross-country and alpine ski bindings begin using Delrin® and Zytel® for key components in the 1970s. Marker International, for example, whose founder, Hannes Marker, invented safety bindings in 1952, began using Delrin® in 1975.




M■ 1970sSki equipment

In 1972, Raichle of Switzerland begins using buckle components molded from Delrin®. By 1990, the company had produced more than 10 million buckles and millions of other parts molded from Delrin®.




M■ 1970sInterior parts

Window cranks, heating and ventilation control panels, latches and seat belt loops are among interior applications during this period.




M■ 1970sFuel systems

Several firsts in applications where Delrin® remains widely used today.




M■ 1970sFuel systems Rollover valves for the emission control system. One example: a unit developed for Chrysler cars uses Delrin® for three of its five parts.

Fuel caps—Acetal becomes the standard fuel cap material in this period. That’s still the case today.

Filler pockets—An innovative design used on Chrysler compact cars uses a one-piece filler neck and housing molded from Delrin® 100.




M■ 1960sExtruded stock shapes such as rod, tubing and specialty profiles for machining prototype parts and for low-volume applications.




M■ 1960sMechanical parts

Use of Delrin® for gears, cams, bushings, starwheels, pivot pins etc. grows by leaps and bounds. Parts serve in a wide range of product ranging from parking meters to domestic appliances.




M■ 1960sConsumer packaging

Aerosol bottles for cologne.




M■ 1960sData Device

First gears, cams and rollers molded from Delrin® operate without lubrication in guiding printed tape through a data device.




M■ 1960sConveyor parts

Belt links, chains, wear strips and ring bearings are developed. In coming decades, Delrin® would be adopted for parts like these by leading conveyor manufacturers in North America and Europe.




M■ 1960sCarburetor venturi parts

for various cars.




M■ 1960sThrottle linkage components

for the Ford Falcon.




M■ 1960sInstrument cluster housing

for GM’s Chevrolet Corvair.




M■ 1960sTiltable steering columns

Its basic 1963 design, a two-piece, spring-loaded sphere surrounding a metal yoke, is still used today.




M■ 1960sIn 1960, 38 automotive components go commercial. Among them are an instrument housing for Chrysler’s Valiant model, instrument panel lamp sockets, air hose couplings for trailer trucks, and oil drain plugs.




M■ 1950sEarly applications

include molded parts for a manual eggbeater, bearings, a showerhead, water faucets and cutlery handles.




M■ 1950sFirst bathroom mechanicals

Toilet ballcock valves and a valve mechanism for a lavatory faucet are developed.




M■ 1950sFirst toy application

A coupler for Lionel model trains, a one-piece design with a molded-in leaf spring, replaces a tedious-to-assemble metal coupler with a separate compression spring.




M■ 1950sFirst conveyor application

Chain consisting of riveted links developed by Fenco Inc., Chicago, is installed in pickle factory where they are exposed to warm pickle brine. The chains eliminate corrosion problems, ran faster, cost 40 to 50% less than stainless steel parts.




M■ 1950sIntensive application and market development

Gear design data—The University of Michigan Research Institute begins testing the fatigue life and wear resistance of gears made of Delrin® under a DuPont contract.

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