Lightweighting with Plastic Extrusions: Reducing Shipping & Energy Costs

Reducing the weight of products and components has become an important consideration across manufacturing, transportation, construction, material handling, and many other industries. Known as lightweighting, this strategy involves reducing component weight without sacrificing the performance required for the application.

Custom plastic extrusions can play an important role in lightweighting initiatives. Because plastics generally have a much lower density than metals, replacing appropriate steel or aluminum profiles with plastic extrusions can significantly decrease component weight. In fact, plastic parts can weigh substantially less than comparable metal components.

The benefits extend beyond the component itself. Lower weight can influence shipping expenses, energy consumption, handling, installation, and overall operating costs.

Lower Shipping and Transportation Costs

Shipping costs are influenced by many factors, including the size and weight of a shipment. When manufacturers produce thousands or millions of components, reducing the weight of each individual part can add up to a substantial reduction in total shipping weight.

Replacing suitable metal components with plastic extrusions can allow more parts to be transported while reducing the overall weight of each shipment. Lightweight plastic components can therefore contribute to lower freight and logistics expenses, particularly for products that travel through multiple stages of the supply chain.

Weight savings become even more valuable for products that are regularly transported throughout their service life.

Reducing Energy Consumption in Moving Equipment

Lightweighting can also improve energy efficiency after a component reaches its destination.

In automotive and transportation applications, reducing overall vehicle weight can decrease the amount of energy required for movement. Similar principles can apply to industrial equipment, conveyors, automated systems, doors, movable assemblies, and other applications where components are repeatedly accelerated, stopped, lifted, or repositioned.

Plastic extrusions can reduce the load placed on motors and other mechanical components. Depending on the application, this may contribute to lower energy requirements and reduced wear on moving equipment. Plastic extrusions are already used as lightweight alternatives to metal in applications where reduced weight can improve operational efficiency.

Easier Handling and Installation

Heavy components can create challenges before equipment even begins operating. Workers may need additional equipment or assistance to transport, position, and install metal parts.

Lightweight plastic extrusions can simplify these processes. Easier handling may reduce physical strain while making components easier to move around production facilities, warehouses, and job sites. Research into manufacturing lightweighting also highlights improved handling and ergonomics as potential benefits of replacing heavier materials with plastics.

For long profiles or large assemblies, even modest weight reductions per component can make installation considerably easier.

Design Flexibility Can Reduce Weight Further

Plastic extrusion offers another lightweighting advantage: design flexibility. Rather than simply reproducing a metal component in plastic, manufacturers can redesign profiles around the characteristics of the selected polymer.

Features such as channels, connection points, flexible sections, and other geometries can potentially be incorporated into a continuous extrusion. Multiple functions may also be combined into a single profile, reducing the need for separate fasteners or additional components. Plastic extrusion can even combine different materials through co-extrusion to achieve specific performance characteristics while reducing separate assembly operations.

Looking Beyond the Weight of One Component

The true value of lightweighting becomes clearer when manufacturers consider the entire product lifecycle. A lighter component may cost less to ship, require less effort to install, reduce loads on moving equipment, and decrease energy requirements during operation.

Plastic extrusions are not appropriate replacements for metal in every application, particularly where extreme structural strength or temperature resistance is required. However, when performance requirements allow it, converting suitable components to plastic extrusions can provide a practical way to reduce weight while improving manufacturing, transportation, and operational efficiency.

Custom Extrusion with Inplex

Looking for quality custom extrusion products and services? Inplex is one of the leading custom extrusion services in the US and has almost 60 years of experience. We pride ourselves on our ability to put the right talent and technology in place to perform the best possible job for our clients.

We own a 42,000 sq. ft. facility in Naperville, Illinois, that is temperature-controlled and features an environmentally friendly closed-loop water cooling system. If you have specific needs or questions, don’t hesitate to contact us!