Sumika Electronic Materials, Inc. Installs Second Grinding Mill

Grinding Facility Photo

Sumika Electronic Materials, Inc. – Press Release
March 12, 2015

Sumika Electronic Materials, Inc. has just installed their second grinding mill for particle size reduction services at their manufacturing facility in Phoenix, Arizona. Due to the high demand for these services they are planning to install two more machines by 2018. Sumika provides grinding services mainly for Polyethersulfone (PES) products primarily for North American customers through the use of dedicated rotary classifier grinding mills. Rotary classifier mills are integrated mills and classifiers and are designed to provide two distinct grinding sections, one for raw feed and the other for semi-ground material returned by the classifier requiring a higher grinding intensity. This feature provides improved grinding efficiency overcoming the limitations of conventional units in which both feed and oversize returns are ground in a single operation.

In addition, Sumika installed laser diffraction characterization instruments that accurately and precisely measure Particle Size of feed stock and of finished product. An Inductively Coupled Plasma device checks for metals before and after the grinding process to insure that the product is free from metallic contamination and they use a Karl Fischer titration instrument for Moisture testing. Sumika offers exceptional quality and service for customers that require particle size reduction services of materials used in composites for the aerospace and automotive industries. They provide quick turnaround and short lead times for most of their products and their advanced product characterization equipment insures that the product is the same every time from the first lot to the last.

PES and more specifically PES5003P is a toughener used in epoxy based Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer’s (CFRP’s). The SEMI grinding operation is now approved by many prepreg manufacturers and suppliers to the major aerospace companies and is capable of changing particle sizes to a wide range of specifications. Sumika Electronic Materials, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Chemical Company, Ltd., and Sumitomo is the leading manufacturer of PES materials. Sumika also manufactures custom epitaxial wafers using a Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition process in a state-of-the-art clean room facility. The company serves as the base of US operations and customer support for Sumitomo Chemical’s photoresist business, which includes Dry and immersion-type Arf, Krf, NEB and i-line resists and for Sumitomo Chemical’s engineering plastics business. This includes a full line of Liquid Crystal Polymer (LCP) and Polyethersulfone (PES) resins. Sumika is certified to the ISO9001:2008 and ISO14001:2004 standards. If you need particle size reduction services or any of the other products mentioned then please contact Sumika Electronic Materials, Inc. by visiting their web site http://www.sumikamaterials.com/ or call (602) 659-2500.