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Young Scientist Engineering

August 3, 1998 Design News

RECREATION/COVER STORY

Play Time!

Plastics put the fun in outdoor play equipment

Mark Allan Gottschalk, Western Technical Editor

Commercial playgrounds must withstand the pounding and rubbing of thousands of little hands and feet. It's doubtful that many see more action than the ones incorporated into McDonald's restaurants.

Such a playground at the McDonald's in Lys-les-Lannoy, France not only contains numerous plastic components, it also uses plastic on some of the metal components. Perforated sheet metal parts were powder-coated with Abcite®, a thermoplastic, reversible, cross-linked copolymer from DuPont Engineering Polymers (Wilmington, DE).

Powder-coating with Abcite addresses a problem which can crop up during assembly of the playground. Fastening sheet metal with screws can damage conventional coverings such as paint or shrink film, exposing the underlying metal and leading to possible corrosion. Even galvanized steel has its limits. In open-air playgrounds exposed continually to sun, rain, and pollution, deterioration of the installation can result in costly repair. A faded, rusty playground is also less than enticing to children and parents.

The factory applied Abcite using the fluidized bed dripping process. This provided good edge coverage of the perforated plates forming tower compartments that lead to the playground's slides. The coating required just a single application, and yielded a 600-micron-thick layer of the material. Essentially the same covering found on many golf balls, Abcite is nothing if not durable. But designers also liked the smooth, plastic feel it lent to the metal and its thorough edge coverage that prevents corrosion.