Shelf life of molded and extruded pebax

[bigdrummerboy]

Hello all!

I am being challenged on shelf life of processed pebax components waiting for further processing.

So I know that Arkema gives a 2 year shelf life on the pebax resin upon receipt but once we extrude or mold in to a component that will later be process into a device how would one determine the shelf life of the component until it is processed in the final/finished device?

TIA for ANY HELP!

 

[Marc]

A quick "Bump". TIA for any help with this one.

 

[Ninja]

I don't even know what "pebax" is.

In my experience, for most products, "shelf life" has nothing to do with expiration of utility or anything that affects form fit or function.
"Shelf Life" is typically a way to limit liability of the supplier.

I use plastics and oils with 1yr shelf life...and have used them 20yrs later with no issue.
The vendor, however, ceased being 'responsible for it' after 1 yr.

That being said:
If you truly want to understand shelf life...you have to test it yourself...

1. either with real time testing over a few years (do you have retains from the past few years to test?)
or
2. HALT (Highly accelerated lifetime testing) if possible.

Strictly for reducing waste (outdated material being deemed unusable when it's actually OK) and for reducing testing cost (retesting material that has gone over shelf life ... but has never in history failed this test)...it is good to truly understand what changes is your raw materials or finished products over time in storage.

...even foodstuffs have a "best by" date...not a strict shelf life. It's all shades of grey...see how you can understand your particular shades of grey.

HTH