Click here to buy Engineering Plastics. Engineering Plastics are now the accepted replacement solution to ever more demanding engineering applications where the more traditional materials such as bronze or brass are much less economical and as these metals prices sky rocket and metals become more expensive, engineering plastic remains the professional replacement that is proving to be the solution that people are demanding.

Engineering Plastics are exceptionally easy to machine and with slight tool modification will produce an outstanding smooth surface finish which helps with aesthetics and performance. To machine engineering plastics it is often advisable to use a very sharp tool which could also mean choosing high speed steel as these tools allow for a sharper edge to improve the machining efficiency of most of the engineering plastics. Drilling large diameter cast Nylon Rod in lathes can cause cracking but with the use of very sharp drills, coolant and progressive drill sizes increment in conjunction with a "pecking" system can help the incidence of cracking can be reduced to a minimum.

Because almost all engineering plastics are very easy to machine, it further broadens the gap between traditional materials due to reduced labour time and reduced energy cost due to faster component production times.

The wear resistance of most engineering plastic is well known and documented, giving customers incredible advantage that will further save end users and factory owners even more money because engineering plastic will almost certainly outlast more traditional bronze or brass bearing materials. Some engineering plastics such as UHMWPE are able to resist incredible abrasion by very aggressive products such as gravel, sand and other abrasives which have been able to economically solve long term problems in these highly important industries. Other materials such as oil filled and mos² filled nylon have also further improved the wear resistance of engineering plastic that have been reliably reported to improve bearing lifetime of over four years.

Very low friction is another attribute that most engineering plastics possess and the smooth operation of product components help reduce heat and energy absorption helping to further reduce noise and energy costs.

PTFE, UHMWPE, HDPE, Nylon and Acetal are all engineering plastics that excel at offering very low friction and in fact PTFE is in the record books as having the lowest co-efficient of friction of any other solid material known to man, although UHMWPE and Acetal are both outstanding in this area in their own right.

If electrical insulation is important that just about all the engineering plastics are without equal, PVC, PTFE and Tufnol to name a few are all outstanding and are often used in the commercial production of common electrical resistant components. Another area that proves important for engineering plastics is their chemical and solvent resistance. As with all product ranges, their capabilities vary but PTFE, PVDF, PVC, and Polypropylene are all engineering plastics that are well known for their chemical resistance and these plastics are known to provide and are specified in the production of tanked, vessels and seals in the most aggressive of these harsh environments.

Engineering plastics are available in a massive range of sizes which is unsurpassed. Engineering plastic rod is available in ranges from as tiny as 4mm diameter up to and even greater than 500mm diameter, from stock in the UK. Engineering plastic sheet thicknesses range from as thin as 0.25mm in some instances up to around 130mm thick, again available from stock within the UK. Some engineering plastics such as Nylon are available in much greater sizes and these are available after a reasonable production time.

Another important factor that engineering plastics yet again seem to excel in is their ability to withstand shock resistance absorption and fatigue. The advantage of shock resistance and absorption is particularly important to many applications and can dramatically improve the lifespan of other unconnected machinery components which has proved to massively improve overall machinery lifespan due to vibration transfer is reduced to a minimum and well below that of almost any other bearing material.

Some of our engineering plastics show very high resistance to very high temperatures, materials such as PTFE also known by its DuPont trade name as Teflon has an unbelievable and wide operating temperature range. Although most engineering plastics have a maximum operating temperature of between plus 80°C up to approx plus 260°C and even more surprising is that PTFE is also able to withstand low operating temperatures of approx -260°C which helps this engineering plastic become very popular within the cryogenic industry.

Other important advantages of engineering plastics is their light weight, this helps with the reduced labour and handling requirements on very large components which also help with any health and safety issues but also, overall and important machinery and by choosing the use of a combination of components manufactured from engineering plastics will result in a combined weight reduction which often proves very important.

We at Direct Plastics Online are very passionate about engineering plastics such as Nylon, Acetal, PTFE, Tufnol, HDPE, UHMWPE, PVC, Polypropylene and PEEK in both Rod and Sheet, resulting in a supplier with unrivalled customer service, product availability and price advantage.