UHMW-PE: Stronger, Lighter and Less Expensive

Soucy Plastiques uses a compression moulding process that allows us to produce, from a UHMW-PE powder, a wide range of parts to suit your needs. These parts can be machined or integrated with other materials such as rubber.

More and more manufacturers choose UHMW-PE instead of metals, alloys and other plastics to benefit from the following advantages:

· Less expensive than steel and other metals

· Suitable for the manufacturing of complex or detailed parts

· Ideal for combining multiple parts into a single one

· Corrosion resistant, providing a perfect alternative to metal

· Resistant to abrasion, wear and impact, better than carbon steel

· Excellent adhesion to rubber and metal

· Nontoxic, approved by the FDA and USDA: ideal for food applications

· Self-lubricating

· Sliding, with a low coefficient of friction

· Flexible, shape-memory polymer

· Unbreakable with high break elongation

· Inert and resistant to many chemicals

· Sound absorbing, unlike metals

· Waterproof, does not swell

· Light

· Resistant to a wide range of temperatures (-73 to 80 °C)

· Antistatic

· Recyclable

· Thermo-dimensionally stable

· Suitable for manufacturing colored parts, and even parts with patterns

What is UHMW-PE?

The ultra-high molecular mass polyethylene is primarily a material that is used to manufacture very complex parts. UHMW-PE parts can replace those produced with steel, aluminum, various metals and other polymers. An opaque polyolefin with a crystalline structure, also known under the names of high-performance polyethylene (HPPE) and very high molecular weight polyethylene, UHMW-PE is a plastic used in the manufacturing of parts that are under a high level of stress. The extremely high molecular weight (up to 9, 000, 000 Daltons) and long chain conformation give the UHMW-PE its properties, even though it is lighter than metal. Its extreme resistance to physical forces and chemicals as well as its self-lubricating and slick surface prevent clogging and adhesion (see the UHMW-PE specifications).