Materials
Advanced Materials for Limitless Applications
ABS
Benefits: Good impact resistance and toughness at a lower cost than many engineering plastics, with easy machinability, gluing, and finishing. Offers decent rigidity and dimensional stability for general-purpose parts.
Applications: Common in housings, enclosures, prototypes, fixtures, and consumer product components where cost and workability matter more than high heat or chemical resistance. Also widely used in automotive interior trim and structural mockups.
Compliance: Available in flame-retardant grades for applications requiring UL 94 ratings.
ABS strikes a practical balance between toughness, cost, and ease of fabrication, making it a go-to material for enclosures, prototypes, and general-purpose components. It’s not built for high heat or aggressive chemicals, but for everyday structural and cosmetic parts, it’s hard to beat on value.
Acrylic (Plexiglass®)
Benefits: Excellent optical clarity and UV resistance, lightweight compared to glass, and good weatherability for outdoor use. Easy to machine, polish, and fabricate, with strong impact resistance relative to standard glass.
Applications: Ideal for signage, display cases, glazing, machine guards, and light fixtures where visibility and durability both matter. Also used in point-of-sale displays and protective barriers.
Compliance: Available in cast and extruded grades; select grades meet flame-retardant and impact-resistance standards for safety glazing applications.
Acrylic is a popular choice when clarity and durability both matter, offering the look of glass without the weight or brittleness. Its ease of fabrication and resistance to UV and weathering make it well suited for signage, displays, and protective glazing across a wide range of environments.
Acetal (POM-C)
Benefits: Excellent dimensional stability, low moisture absorption, and good wear resistance. Offers high strength and stiffness with superior machinability.
Applications: Ideal for precision components, gears, bearings, and food processing equipment where moisture resistance and tight tolerances are required.
Compliance: Available in FDA, USDA, 3A, and NSF-compliant grades.
Acetal is widely used in applications that demand stability and precision, such as mechanical components and food processing parts. Its low moisture absorption makes it a reliable choice for humid environments without compromising performance.
Acetal Delrin® (POM-H)
Benefits: Slightly higher stiffness, tensile strength, and fatigue resistance than acetal copolymer, with excellent dimensional stability and low friction. Performs well under repeated stress cycles and holds tight tolerances in precision parts.
Applications: Specified for precision gears, bushings, and mechanical components where maximum stiffness and fatigue life matter most — common in consumer products, automotive parts, and high-cycle industrial machinery. For applications with less demanding fatigue or chemical exposure requirements, acetal copolymer (POM-C) is often a suitable, lower-cost alternative.
Compliance: Available in FDA-compliant grades for food and beverage equipment. Note: “Delrin” is a registered trademark of Celanese Corporation and is referenced here only as a commonly recognized term for acetal homopolymer, not a claim to that brand.
Delrin® is the trade name for acetal homopolymer (POM-H), a close relative of the acetal copolymer (POM-C) most commonly stocked for general machining. While they share many core properties, homopolymer offers somewhat higher stiffness and fatigue resistance, making it the better choice for high-cycle or high-precision parts. We source genuine Delrin directly from the mill for jobs that call for it, and can help determine whether standard acetal or true Delrin is the right fit for your application.
Composite Bearing and Wear Materials
Benefits: Self-lubricating construction eliminates the need for grease or external lubrication, reducing maintenance and downtime. Offers high compressive strength, excellent dimensional stability at temperatures up to 400°F, and strong resistance to abrasion and galvanic corrosion. Non-conductive and non-magnetic properties make it a reliable electrical insulator in demanding environments.
Applications: Well suited for high-load, high-impact, slow-rotating applications such as heavy machinery bearings, hydraulic and pneumatic cylinders, marine and hydropower equipment, and mining and industrial gate/valve components. Commonly specified as a direct replacement for bronze, babbitt, nylon, and wood bearing materials where quieter, longer-lasting performance is needed.
Compliance: Materials are manufactured to ISO 9001 standards, with select grades carrying ABS and RINA marine approvals for demanding marine and offshore use.
Composite bearing and wear materials are increasingly used as a modern replacement for traditional bronze, babbitt, and wood bearings. Their self-lubricating design and resistance to corrosion make them a dependable choice for heavy machinery, marine equipment, and industrial systems where consistent, low-maintenance performance is critical.
HDPE (High-Density Polyethylene)
Benefits: Strong, impact-resistant, and UV-resistant when pigmented black. Offers high chemical resistance, low moisture absorption, and cost-effectiveness.
Applications: Commonly used for cutting boards, industrial liners, tanks, and outdoor applications requiring moisture and chemical resistance. White HDPE is FDA-compliant for food contact.
HDPE has a naturally white, translucent appearance in thin sections. It is stiffer than UHMW-PE, making it ideal for structural applications where frictional wear resistance is not a primary concern.
UHMW-PE (Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene)
Benefits: Exceptional abrasion resistance, high impact strength, and low friction for excellent wear resistance.
Applications: Used in conveyor systems, wear strips, chute liners, bumpers, and industrial components that require durability and self-lubricating properties.
UHMW-PE excels in demanding applications where low friction, impact resistance, and long-lasting wear performance are required. It is commonly used to reduce noise and friction in industrial environments.
Nylon 6 (Cast) & 6/6 (Extruded)
Benefits: Exceptional tensile strength, abrasion resistance, and chemical resistance, with a low friction coefficient that suits wear applications. Nylon 6/6 offers slightly higher strength and heat resistance than Nylon 6, while Nylon 6 machines a bit more easily.
Applications: Common in gears, bearings, bushings, and wear strips where strength and durability are the priority. Best suited for applications where moisture exposure is limited, since both grades absorb moisture over time, which can affect dimensional stability in precision parts.
Compliance: Some grades meet FDA standards for food contact.
Nylon 6 and 6/6 are workhorse materials for high-strength, high-wear applications like gears, bearings, and bushings. Their main tradeoff is moisture sensitivity — in humid environments or precision applications, dimensional stability should be evaluated before specifying either grade.
Nylon 11 & 12 (Fuel & Chemical Resistant)
Benefits: Significantly lower moisture absorption than Nylon 6 or 6/6, giving better long-term dimensional stability. Offers strong impact resistance and flexibility even at low temperatures, along with excellent resistance to fuels, oils, and alcohols.
Applications: Well suited for fuel lines, pneumatic tubing, cable jacketing, and flexible components exposed to fuels or chemicals over time. A good option when dimensional stability in variable humidity matters more than raw stiffness.
Compliance: Certain grades are available in FDA-compliant formulations; Nylon 11 is notable for being derived in part from castor oil rather than petroleum feedstock.
Nylon 11 and 12 trade a bit of stiffness for major gains in moisture resistance and long-term stability, making them the better choice for parts exposed to fuels, oils, or fluctuating humidity. While less commonly stocked than Nylon 6 or 6/6, they’re available through our sourcing network for applications where their unique properties are worth the wait.
PET-P (Ertalyte®)
Benefits: Superior clarity, impact resistance, and excellent weathering properties. High-temperature performance up to 250°F.
Applications: Ideal for outdoor uses, high-impact applications, and areas requiring dimensional stability.
Known for its transparency and toughness, polycarbonate is often used in environments requiring both durability and visibility, such as safety shields, machine guards, and lighting covers.
Phenolic (Micarta®)
Benefits: Superior clarity, impact resistance, and excellent weathering properties. High-temperature performance up to 250°F.
Applications: Ideal for outdoor uses, high-impact applications, and areas requiring dimensional stability.
Known for its transparency and toughness, polycarbonate is often used in environments requiring both durability and visibility, such as safety shields, machine guards, and lighting covers.
Polycarbonate (Lexan®)
Benefits: High strength and stiffness with very low moisture absorption, giving excellent dimensional stability even in humid environments. Strong fatigue and wear resistance, low friction, and machines to tight tolerances better than most semi-crystalline plastics.
Applications: Widely used for precision gears, bearings, bushings, and wear components, especially in applications requiring tight tolerances that must hold up over repeated cycles. Also used in food and beverage equipment.
Compliance: Available in FDA-compliant grades for food contact applications. Note: “Ertalyte” is a registered trademark of Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials (formerly Quadrant) for their grade of PET-P (thermoplastic polyester), referenced here as the commonly used industry term.
Ertalyte is often the material of choice when a job needs the dimensional stability of a low-moisture plastic combined with the strength and precision to hold tight tolerances over the long run. Its consistency under load makes it a favorite for high-precision gears and bearings.
Polypropylene
Benefits: Exceptional versatility with a wide range of hardness levels. Offers superior tensile and tear strength, abrasion resistance, and impact resistance.
Applications: Ester-based polyurethane is suitable for grease-prone environments, while Ether-based excels in water exposure.
Compliance: Some grades need to meet FDA standards for food contact applications.
Polyurethane is a highly versatile elastomer in grades tailored to specific needs. Ester TPUs excel in oil-rich conditions, while Ether TPUs perform better in moisture-heavy environments. This adaptability makes it suitable for seals, gaskets, and wear-resistant components.
Polyurethane (Ether and Ester Based)
Benefits: Excellent UV resistance, nonflammable properties, and dimensional stability.
Applications: Flexible PVC offers a range of applications due to its plasticizer-enhanced flexibility, while rigid PVC is ideal for corrosion-resistant uses.
Compliance: FDA-compliant grades available.
PVC’s versatility lies in its ability to be adapted for various uses. Flexible PVC is commonly used for hoses and tubing, while rigid PVC is preferred for structural and chemical-resistant applications. Both forms offer exceptional weather resistance.
PTFE (Teflon®)
Benefits: The lowest coefficient of friction of any solid material, exceptional chemical resistance, and stability across an extremely wide temperature range (roughly -300°F to 500°F). Naturally non-stick and an excellent electrical insulator.
Applications: Used in seals, gaskets, bearings, and liners for chemical processing equipment, as well as non-stick surfaces, electrical insulation, and components exposed to extreme temperatures or aggressive chemicals.
Compliance: Available in FDA-compliant and USDA-approved grades. Note: “Teflon” is a registered trademark of The Chemours Company and is referenced here only as a commonly recognized term for PTFE, not a claim to that brand.
PTFE is the material of choice when nothing else can survive the combination of extreme heat, aggressive chemicals, and the need for a truly non-stick, low-friction surface. Though often called by its trademarked name Teflon, genuine PTFE from any qualified source delivers the same core performance for demanding industrial applications.
PVC (Flexible and Rigid)
Benefits: Superior chemical resistance, UV stability, and high-temperature performance up to 300°F.
Applications: Excellent choice for high-heat and chemically aggressive environments. Outperforms PTFE in wear and creep resistance.
PVDF is highly valued in industries requiring extreme durability and resistance to harsh chemicals. It is commonly used in the semiconductor, chemical processing, and water treatment sectors.