the super-specialty side of thermoforming.

* Welch carbon fluorine companyin Dover, N. H.
Except for the tiny, super
Thin thermoforming parts for key applications.
Evan Welch started his career in Massachusetts in 1985.
He has to develop his own molding and heating process.
Seal the fluorine polymer film into a unique shape for aerospace, medical, military, fire fighting
Protection and other high
Value component.
Most of Welch\'s products use a fluorine-oxygen polymer film of 5 to 10 mil thick, although he has formed a film of 1 mil thick.
Welch\'s training was conducted in 19708 years, when he worked at Durafilm in the United States.
There he developed a method of vacuum form 8x12.
The flakes of DuPont Teflon FEP turn into steep flakes
Then the dead side is raised.
Cut into tiny insulated sleeves for the pacemaker battery.
\"This is starting to focus on vacuum molding of fluorine polymer,\" he recalls . \".
\"DuPont will send me the lead and I will find a way to get what they want.
I became a person to talk.
\"Once he has his own company, he continues to develop the profession, design and build his own single --
Station vacuum forming machine with fast heating and high heating
Temperature capacity.
The machine uses two 6800-
The Watt heater set is made of a special Nichrome resistance band manufactured by process thermodynamics for Welch
Minnesota, Brandon.
These units are heated to a surface temperature of more than 1000 degrees Fahrenheit in less than a minute
His three production machines are the same as a lab production line for prototyping, so when a part is commercialized, he simply moves the tools from the lab to the production area. No-
There is no room for product failures in Welch\'s market.
His custom products include the corrosion barrier of the gas mask air conditioner and the lining of DuPont Kapton pi for the smoke-proof cover used by commercial flight personnel.
The Federal Aviation Administration requires the Hood to withstand 1000 F in 5 seconds and maintain 20 minutes of life in oxygen
The environment dried up.
NASA came to Welch to prepare for the PE bag where astronauts can pee.
Welch is the only supplier of these vacuum devices.
Formed bag, fold and heat the seal with Kapton tape to strengthen the edge.
They are $40 each and take 28 manufacturing steps.
Welch has also produced dozens of types of battery insulation sets for pacemakers.
The most challenging of them is 10-
The polymer membrane and measures of Mil fluorine are only 0. 25 x 0. 5 in.
But it was painted in 2in. deep.
Welch believes that the quality control of this key product requires a positive working environment.
He paid extremely generous benefits to his 25 employees: 100% of medical insurance, $11,000 per household, 401 K plan, and 50% of employee contributions matched 10% of salary.
When an employee had multiple hardening, Welch redesigned the man\'s job so that he could continue to work.
As a result, Welch Fluorocarbon received the country\'s best employer MS of the year in 2000. Pro-
Active invention sometimes Welch developed a process before he had a customer, and he thought that once he succeeded, someone would want it.
For example, in 1988, he successfully vacuum formed Honeywell\'s Aclar CTFE, a highly crystalline material with a Tg of 360 F.
He heated a piece of Aclar to 440 degrees Fahrenheit, making it amorphous and easy to form, and then cooled it so quickly to room temperature that there was no time to re-grow the crystal.
Therefore, he obtained the CTFE parts which are clear, thin and flexible.
He now forms CTFE for parts such as moisture vacuum over 20,000/year
Protective cover for electrical wiring.
He designed and manufactured two automatic thermoforming machines specifically for moisture-proof covers.
Welch recently developed a unique process to form a 5-
Mil Teflon film on sub-structures like foam donuts or silicone washers.
It took him six months.
Washers for sanitary pipes are considering this process.
Welch charged the customer the full cost of his R & D time.
\"We are not afraid to charge customers a unique fee,\" he explained . \".
\"But most importantly, I want people to look at a part of me and say, \'How did he do it? \" Tel: (603)742-7070, www.
Welchfluorocarbon.