Originally posted by Aero Steve: [b]I'd like to see your plastic "skid" plate.
Welcome to the 2000s (go grab a beer...careful, now, 'cause if you read the rest of this, you might actually LEARN something):
Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethelene (UHMW)
Quote:
Performs well under the most rigorous conditions of wear and environment because of its unique combination of physical and mechanical properties. Not only does it have the highest known impact strength of any thermoplastic currently available but it also offers high resistance to abrasion, demonstrating only negligible weight loss when subjected to abrasion against copper, brass or steel. In addition to these properties, a very low coefficient of friction and extremely low moisture absorption make UHMW an extraordinary material for industrial wear, impact and sliding applications. Particularly effective were no lubrication is available or during operation in the presence of water, UHMW is non-toxic, odorless, tasteless and FDA approved for direct contact in meat and poultry processing. UHMW can be easily sawed, milled, turned, planed, drilled or punched on standard wood working equipment. UHMW offers diversity of usage in touch applications in a wide range of industries. Typical Applications --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
While it's not as strong as steel, it IS plenty strong enough for skid plates (as been shown in real-world use). I put it on for testing, after reading about it in an offroading magazine; figured I'd give it a shot. That, and a buddy of mine got a couple of 4'x8' sheets of it for free from his work...
You shape it like you'd build something out of wood; so it's really quick and easy to build into whatever shape you need. Seeing as how most of my personal shop tools are for woodwork, this appealed to me... Took me all of about 15 minutes to measure, mark, and cut a full front skid... I don't have a metal brake, so I wouldn't have even been able to think about building a steel plate myself.
A lot of competition rigs in UROC use this material, because it drastically reduces the weight of their rigs, and it's very easy to replace, if damaged. And, since it's so slick, it helps to slide over rocks, instead of just coming to a dull thud.[/b]
In other words--its a material similar or identical to a plastic cutting board...4 Wheeler used it to make a custom skid on their Trail Lex...cheaper than steel too...my only question with it would be how thick to you need to make it to get a decent strength ratio...if it has to be 2 inches thick then I wouild say it would be too unweildy(Spelling?) to use...but like at 3/16 or 1/4 I would imagine it would be quite handy...
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