Machinable plastics
UHMW Machining
CDS machines UHMW components for guide and wear applications. UHMW is useful to consider for sliding abrasion and repeated impact, while sustained load, heat and mounting can change how the part holds its shape.
Explore the material considerations below, or follow the quotation path if your part is already defined.
UHMW for sliding wear and repeated contact
Wear strips, slide beds, guide rails, bumpers and custom profiles use different parts of UHMW’s behavior. Sliding-abrasion resistance and impact toughness can make it useful where a surface guides product or takes repeated contact.
- Sliding contact
- The counterface, load, speed, debris and lubrication influence wear. Low friction does not remove frictional heat or establish dry-running suitability.
- Impact and compression
- An intermittent strike is different from a continuously loaded fastener seat or locating face. UHMW can creep or cold-flow under sustained stress.
Sliding, impact and sustained load
- Sliding contactMotion along a surface introduces wear and frictional heat.
- Intermittent impactA brief strike is a different load case from continuous compression.
- Sustained loadA continuously loaded interface can creep over time.
CDS’s UHMW guide offer includes chain guides, wear strips, guide rails and custom profiles, with drawing or sample starting points. For a mounted shaft support, see custom-machined bearing blocks and their drawing requirements.
Heat and restraint affect a long rail
UHMW has comparatively high thermal expansion. Ambient temperature, washdown, conveyed product and sliding friction can introduce heat. If lengthwise growth is restrained, a strip can buckle, shift a joint or distort a mounting hole.
Rail length, support, joints and permitted movement therefore belong in the customer’s assembly design. The customer drawing specifies the rail profile and mounting features for machining; there is no universal mounting pattern.
UHMW machining tolerances also depend on section thickness, unsupported length, stock form, heat and critical interfaces. The important dimensions are those that must work after installation. Read about plastic machining tolerance factors.
A long rail needs room for thermal movement
- Rail lengthA temperature change can alter the length of the rail.
- RestraintThe mounting and supporting structure affect where movement can occur.
- JointThe relationship between neighboring sections changes as they move.
Low water uptake does not settle washdown suitability
UHMW generally absorbs very little water. Cleaning chemistry, concentration, contact time, temperature, frequency and simultaneous load still affect the choice.
Food contact, static behavior and detectability require the exact grade and documents. CDS machines UHMW guides from virgin, reprocessed, detectable and static-dissipative materials. Specify the exact grade and confirm availability for your part.
Your UHMW machining quote
Share your drawing and revision, or the available records for an existing part. CDS quotes machining against your specified material and finished-part requirements.
- Part requirements: Guide profile, holes, slots and overall length, with customer-specified dimensions, tolerances and surface requirements.
- Specified material: Full UHMW grade, color and any controlled virgin, reprocessed, detectable or static-dissipative requirement.
- Order and records: Quantity or useful quantity tiers, requested date and required material, inspection or traceability documents. Identify any specified tests for confirmation with the quote.