Top 5 UHMW FAQ


What is UHMW-PE?
UHMW-PE stands for Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene. This is the highest strength thermoplastic available at present. It is highly resistant to corrosive chemicals and has a very low coefficient of friction. In fact, its coefficient of friction is significantly lower than that of PTFE and Teflon. In addition to that, it has higher abrasion resistant too. There are forms of UHMW that are around 15 times more abrasion resistant than carbon steel.

UHMW is very useful for tough jobs. Ultra high molecular weight of this polymer is the key to its unique properties. The molecular weight of its resins ranges between 3.5 to 7.5 million. This makes it extra strong and enables it to withstand abrasion. Due to its high molecular weight, it doesn’t melt or flow as a molten liquid. These properties make it an ideal product to be used as composites plate in armors. It is excessively used in fishing lines due to these qualities. It is an ideal product for hydraulic seals and bearings. UHMW Conveyor Components excel in their jobs as it has very high wear resistance and excellent sliding properties. UHMW railing guides, curve tracks, wear strips, belt guides, chain guide profiles and other parts are the preferred choice of conveyor manufacturers globally.

Is UHMW Custom Extrusion a good and economical option?
This question has two parts and both need to be answered separately. Yes, UHMW custom extrusion is a very good option when it comes to getting a smooth finish and required size. There would be very good tolerance to your give measurements. This is something difficult to achieve with any other process. Remember UHMW is a very hard material. It is used in various industries which require very low coefficient of friction and high strength.

It may or may not be an economical option for you and that will depend upon your order size. The tooling costs are very high in UHMW custom extrusion. Calibrating the tools leads to wastage of a lot of material. This cost will get added to the cost of the final product. So, if your order size is considerably small then this may not be an economical option. You can choose standard sizes in that case to avoid this cost. However, if your order size is big then this cost will get divided evenly and you would get a great product at a low cost. You can get UHMW-PE profiles with a smooth finish. The ram or surge lines can be avoided if the manufacturer has the skill and experience. This makes the careful selection of the manufacturer important.

Is it possible to get exact specifications in UHMW Tubing?
You can get UHMW Tubing as per your exact specifications. This is very much possible for an experienced manufacturer. UHMW Tubing techniques allow production of all kind of simple and complex pieces with exact ID/ OD combination in custom lengths and colors. This can be achieved through screw extrusion process.

What are the advantages of using UHMW-PE?
UHMW products have a very high toleration of impact and this makes them ideal for use in various industries. It offers the unique advantage of low friction and high strength. It works excellently well in the areas where products with lower molecular weight grades fail.

How does UHMW react to various chemicals?
One of the best things about UHMW is that is highly resistant to corrosive chemicals except for some oxidizing acids. It has very low moisture absorption and therefore it can be safely used for underwater operations. Even organic alcohols, acids and ketones have little effect on it. Hydrogen and nitrogen also don’t have any impact on this material.

Location: Romulus, MI, USA

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