Acetal Index

Acetal provides high strength and stiffness coupled with enhanced dimensional stability and ease of machining. As a semi-crystalline material, acetal is also characterised by a low coefficient of friction and good wear properties, especially in wet environments.

Main advantages of our acetal sheet, rod and tube are:

• Acetal has high mechanical strength, stiffness, hardness and toughness
• Excellent resilience
• Acetal has good creep resistance
• Acetal has high impact strength, even at low temperatures
• Acetal has very good dimensional stability (low water absorption)
• Acetal has good sliding properties and wear resistance
• Acetal is excellent for machining
• Acetal has good electrical insulating and dielectric properties
• Acetal is physiologically inert (suitable for food contact)

The main disadvantage of acetal is that it is not self-extinguishing.

Because acetal absorbs minimal amounts of moisture, its physical properties remain constant in a variety of environments. Low moisture absorption results in excellent dimensional stability for close-tolerance machined parts. In high moisture or submerged applications, acetal bearings outperform nylon 4 to 1, although for often improved performance in applications requiring dimensional consistency in an abrasive, high humidity or submerged environment Ertalyte PET-P should be considered.

It is important to note that acetals do not perform as well in particularly abrasive wear applications as nylon.

Acetal is ideally suited for close tolerance mechanical parts and electrical insulators which require strength and stiffness. It also offers resistance to a wide range of chemicals including many solvents.

In general purpose use, both Delrin (Acetal Homopolymer) and Acetal (Copolymer) perform similarly and material selection can be based on stock availability.

For specific technical applications, or if you need further help selecting the appropriate grade - please contact us.