PKKT Kunststoff-Technik – alles andere ist Plastik

PKKT-Kunststofftechnik is a company that specialises in the production of a wide variety of articles made of – who would have thought it – plastic. The factory in the middle of Solingen Ohligs has existed for more than 100 years now and produces for the most diverse areas of life. 
Components for the furniture industry, tailoring articles, supplier parts for the production of cars and lots of own developments. Some PKKT products are true design classics. PKKT is the home of Harrel-RacingStandard.
PKKT products are made by injection moulding. This technique is also used in the production of SlotCar plastic sheets. The injection moulding process makes it possible to produce even complicated three-dimensional moulded parts quickly in large quantities. For this purpose, molten plastic granulate is injected under high pressure into the cavity of a mould, where it cools down and is then ejected automatically. PKKT has injection die casting systems that produce up to 10 million pieces per year.

What could have been closer to the development of the Harrel-RS, to the idea of an own racetrack, than to enter well known terrain and to think in a familiar matter? Plastic is a highly flexible material. It is malleable, soft or hard, break-resistant, temperature-resistant and insensitive to moisture and, to a certain degree, even resistant to acids. Plastic is also easy to clean, which is why it is so often used in toys. So the way to the perfect SlotCar road was first sought in their own profession, in plastic and its processing.

Unfortunately, however, even the hardest plastic does not reach the strength and stiffness of metals or ceramics. Most racetrack manufacturers who work in plastic and build flat parts therefore rely on constructive means. Grid or honeycomb structures should give the plastic component stability and make it resistant to twisting and bending. This is clearly visible with the SlotCar track parts of the well-known manufacturers. Viewed from below, all track parts have transverse and longitudinal burrs to prevent the components from twisting too much. They do it anyway, even with Carrera’s comparatively hard rails. Could this problem be solved by simply producing thicker plastic track parts? A centimeter thick plastic sheet? The know-how says: no. Above a certain thickness, plastic can no longer be pulled smooth, the track would get dents. In addition, a thicker sheet would mean a disproportionately high consumption of plastic granulate. If you really want the Harrel-RS to stand out in terms of strength, stiffness and reliability, then this process is out of the question. At least not exclusively.

The search for alternatives quickly led to the wooden racetrack There are some suppliers and the construction principle is mostly similar. Here’s the short form: A router follows the track layout on an MDF board and mills slots through which the guide keels of the slot cars are later steered. To the left and right of the slots, braided strands are glued on, so that the current flows to the cars and the race can begin. However, the course of the track cannot be designed differently as with a modular plastic track. For larger tracks several large panels are put together, but the basic layout of the track is determined beforehand and cannot be changed.

PKKT owner Harald Dannert, however, had in mind the creative versatility of common plastic racetracks. Only reliability and stability should be significantly improved. What if you make the decisive parts out of plastic and everything in between out of wood?

Today, the core of a Harrel-RS module is a raw part made of MDF. CNC milled from all sides to ensure that the decisive plastic elements fit homogeneously into the piece of wood. The result is much more than can be achieved with a router and braided strand.

PKKT’s competence in plastics plays to the full with Harrel-RacingStandard. The Powerslots, for guiding the guide quills and fixing the conductor rails, are 100% wear-free, even during continuous racing operation. The Universal Connection Modules, UMAs for short, provide the connection between the road modules. They contain the brass plugs and sockets through which the current flows almost loss-free. Both are not screwed directly to the MDF, the danger that the wood could break is too great. Instead, small oval plastic dowels sit in the MDF raw modules in which self-tapping screws are turned. Once assembled, a stable unit of plastic and wood is created, in combination with copper, brass/gold and stainless steel the perfect hybrid for the perfect SlotCar road.

The plastic used at PKKT-Kunststofftechnik to manufacture the Harrel-RS components is a high-quality polyamide in which the smallest glass beads are mixed. This ensures high stability, permanent shape retention and colour fidelity and, above all, enormous breaking strength. The material can easily withstand a fall from the usual SlotCar racetrack height. The experience with the material plastic pays off for Harrel-RacingStandard. PKKT Kunststofftechnik, everything else is just plastic.