ICOMold makes the best custom acetal injection molded parts that are both durable and lightweight. ICOMold’s team of experts can work with you to help you create a product that is professionally designed and manufactured to the highest standards. Our custom plastic injection molds can last well over 100,000 cycles, passing on cost-savings to the customer while increasing uniformity.
Acetal, also known as polyoxymethylene, POM, polyacetal, or polyformaldehyde, is a combination of plastic material used to create parts with good dimensional stability, low friction, and high rigidity. It is opaque white but also available in many colors. Like other thermoplastics, acetal becomes a liquid at its melting point, making it an easy material to use in the injection molding process. Acetal is commonly used for eyeglass frames, fasteners, guns, knife handles, lock systems, and other engineering and automotive parts. Acetal has many advantages and applications across many industries.
Advantages of Injection Molding Acetal
Acetal’s wide variety of applications combined with the effectiveness of the injection molding process results in numerous advantages. Some of these primary benefits of using acetal for an injection molding project include:
- High strength
- Hardness
- High stiffness
- Wear resistance
- Low friction
- Good dimensional stability
- Heat and flame resistance
- Chemical resistance
- High flexural modulus
Injection Molding Acetal Specifications
Acetal is a thermoplastic with high tensile strength. It is naturally white and has high stiffness, low friction, water resistance, chemical resistance, and heat resistance. Acetal is slippery, making it a good candidate for parts such as gears and other sliding mechanisms. Acetal is nontoxic when in solid form and can be used for food equipment. It should not be absorbed through the skin as a liquid or inhaled through the eyes, nose, or mouth. Acetal is available in either a copolymer or homopolymer form. As a homopolymer, acetal has increased tensile strength and hardness. As a copolymer, it has good thermal stability and chemical resistance. Properties of acetal:
- Melting point: 356-446 ◦F
- Mold temperature: 122-221 ◦F
- Tensile strength: ~9000 psi
- Hardness level: R80
- Flexural modulus: ~265000 psi
Acetal has more than one name and is sometimes called polyoxymethylene. Other names include polyformaldehyde, polyacetal, polyoxymethylene glycol, and polymeylene glycol.
Injection Molding Acetal Process
To begin the injection molding process, the acetal is heated until it is liquified. It is then added to a two-sided mold to create the desired shape. Once the item has cooled, it is dropped into a bin and then moved into post–processing for finishing touches. The advantage of using injection molding for your acetal part is that once the tool has been made, it can be used over and over again, producing a large volume of high-quality acetal products.
Applications of Injection Molding Acetal
Acetal is often used in injection molding applications when high strength, durability, and low friction is desired. Acetal is very popular and used across many industries for both commercial and consumer goods. Some common uses of acetal in injection molding include:
- Zippers
- RC car motors
- Insulin pens
- Medical devices
- Ski bindings
- Gears
- Eyeglass frames
- Fasteners
- Guns
- Knife handles
- Lock systems
- Engineering
- Automotive parts
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