The typical engineered part requires three characteristics to function. Your search for plastics that will supply all three will come up with a list of potential materials.<\/a> The information below lists the most common characteristics any engineer will need to consider when looking for a plastic that will function as required. The suggested materials serve as a starting point, and are not comprehensive.<\/p>\n Some plastics are available with fillers that will change the properties of the plastic to suit your needs without having to upgrade materials. However, these fillers, such as glass, may also reduce machinability.<\/p>\n For medical devices. These plastics are able to come into contact with the human body without causing problems. Include a USP class VI designation (Biological Reactivity Testing), also regulated by ISO 10993 (Biological Evaluation of Medical Devices).<\/p>\n Plastics in general have a wide variety of chemical resistance. Though some seem almost universally resistant, others are highly sensitive and crack when exposed to almost any chemical. Before choosing a plastic, consult a good reference guide to learn about specific interactions with chemicals.<\/p>\n Stock plastic begins clear but machining generally changes them from translucent to opaque. If clearness is a requirement, polishing is necessary. Polishing methods include buffing, direct machine polish, flame polish and vapor polish.<\/p>\n When choosing material for your project, consider the machining and finishing costs in addition to the price of the raw material. Though usually more inexpensive than metals, higher performance engineered plastics cost more.<\/p>\n Unlike metals, machined plastics have less structural stability. They tend to absorb water and expand when exposed to heat. More stable plastics have low water absorption and a low CTFE.<\/p>\n Plastics that come into contact with food, especially packaging, require approval for use by the Food and Drug Administration.<\/p>\n For bearing applications, plastics need a combination of pressure and velocity to give it the thermal and structural ability to withstand rotational wear.<\/p>\n Most biocompatible plastics will hold up to this process of using steam to sterilize material prior to first use.<\/p>\n For structural applications, two types of loading strength (measured in psi) are important to consider when choosing a plastic. Tensile strength, the most widely measured, indicates the amount of pressure required to pull a sample apart from the ends, as well as the amount of stretching before the break. In compression strength tests, the opposite is tested. Samples are pressed and the amount of force necessary to break them is measured.<\/p>\n Two types of temperature resistance are important to machined plastic parts: the optimal air temperature, or the amount of heat deflection if under a load.<\/p>\n This index measures the ability of a plastic to endure a blow or sudden impact. This is not the same as continual pressure or load. Some plastics can withstand an impact but will not do well under a constant load.<\/p>\n Outdoor applications require a resistance to UV light. Without it, material will age and become brittle. Black plastics usually have some resistance because of color.<\/p>\n Plastic Selection Tips for Machining For low-volume and close tolerance applications, machining of plastics can be a cost-effective and reliable method for your projects. It is typically simpler to machine and less expensive than metal. Highly engineered plastics perform quite Read More …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":464,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[13,12],"class_list":["post-451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-resources","tag-material-selection","tag-plastic"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/apmmfg.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/apmmfg.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/apmmfg.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apmmfg.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apmmfg.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=451"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/apmmfg.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":501,"href":"https:\/\/apmmfg.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451\/revisions\/501"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apmmfg.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/apmmfg.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apmmfg.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apmmfg.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"choosing](\"http:\/\/apmmfg.com\/shiny-new-site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/plastic-machining-tips.png\")
<\/p>\nBiocompatible<\/h2>\n
Biocompatible Plastics:<\/h3>\n
\n
Radel<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
UHMW<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
Polycarbonate<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
PEEK<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Chemical Resistance<\/h2>\n
High Chemical Resistance Plastics:<\/h3>\n
\n
UHMW<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
Teflon<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
PEEK<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
CTFE<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Low Chemical Resistance Plastics:<\/h3>\n
\n
Acrylic<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
ABS<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
Noryl<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
Polysulfone<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Clearness<\/h2>\n
Clear Plastics:<\/h3>\n
\n
Acrylic<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
Polycarbonate<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
Clear PVC<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
Polysulfone<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
Ultem<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Cost<\/h2>\n
Inexpensive Plastics:<\/h3>\n
\n
Delrin<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
UHMW<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
Polypropylene<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
HDPE<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Expensive Plastics:<\/h3>\n
\n
PEEK<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
Vespel<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
PPS<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
Radel<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
HDPE<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Dimensional Stability<\/h2>\n
Dimensionally Stable Plastics:<\/h3>\n
\n
Ultem<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
PEEK<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
PPS<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
PET<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Less Dimensionally Stable Plastics:<\/h3>\n
\n
Nylon<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
UHMW<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
HDPE<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
LDPE<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
FDA<\/h2>\n
FDA Approved Plastics:<\/h3>\n
\n
Delrin<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
PET<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
Polycarbonate<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
PEEK<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Limiting PV<\/h2>\n
High Limiting PV Plastics:<\/h3>\n
\n
PEEK<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
Nylatron<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
Delrin AF<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
Torlon 4301<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Low Limiting PV Plastics:<\/h3>\n
\n
UHMW<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
PBT<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
PET<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
Nylon<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Steam Sterilization<\/h2>\n
Plastics Compatible With Steam Sterilization:<\/h3>\n
\n
Radel<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
Ultem<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
PEEK<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
Teflon<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Strength<\/h2>\n
High Strength Plastics:<\/h3>\n
\n
Ultem<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
Peek<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
PPS<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
Nylon<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
Delrin<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Low Strength Plastics:<\/h3>\n
\n
Teflon<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
UHMW<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
LDPE<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
HDPE<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
Polypropylene<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Temperature Resistance<\/h2>\n
High Temperature Resistance:<\/h3>\n
\n
PTFE<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
PEEK<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
Ultem<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
Torlon<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
PPS<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Low Temperature Resistance:<\/h3>\n
\n
Acrylic<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
UHMW<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
ABS<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
PVC<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Toughness\/Impact resistance<\/h2>\n
High Impact Resistance Plastics:<\/h3>\n
\n
Nylon<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
Polycarbonate<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
UHMW<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
PEEK<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Low Impact Resistance Plastics:<\/h3>\n
\n
PET<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
Acrylic<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
Noryl<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
Polysulfone<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
UV Resistance<\/h2>\n
High UV Resistance Plastics:<\/h3>\n
\n
Ultem<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
Polycarbonate (UV stabilized only)<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
PBT<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Low UV Resistance:<\/h3>\n
\n
Polycarbonate (FDA)<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
Nylon<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
Acetal<\/h3>\n
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<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"