Plastic Injection Moulding Materials

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Product Development: Plastic Materials

Here at Moldwel, we are proud to offer expert advice and services when it comes to developing your product including:

3D Printing
Advice on materials
Tooling Insert systems
Mould tool solutions

Here are some of the many thermoplastics that we work with here at Moldwel:

Polypropylene

A low cost lightweight thermoplastic with a high chemical resistance. It is a tough, stiff, and scratch resistant material with a waxy appearance. It is often used for covers, handles, caps, trips, crates and housings

Polyethylene (LDPE)

A lightweight material with a waxy appearance. The material is durable and flexible with great chemical resistance. Its is often used for covers, containers and kitchenware.

Polyethylene (HDPE)

A tough and stiff chemically resistant thermoplastic. It is low costing and has a natural waxy appearance. It is often used for housings, chair seats, and containers.

Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS)

A strong and flexible thermoplastic with low mould shrinkage levels. The naturally opaque material is chemically resistant with electroplating capabilities. It is often used for housings, inhalers, end caps, and boxes.

Polycarbonate (PC)

A transparent material with great temperature resistance. It is also incredibly tough and boasts dimensional stability. It is often used for housings, light covers, safety headgear, shields, and reflectors.

Acetal (POM)

A thermoplastic with excellent creep, fatigue and chemical resistance. It is strong, rigid, and is naturally opaque. The thermoplastic is often used for handles, plumbing parts, rotors, valves, cams, and bearings.

Nylon (PA)

A strong material with great resistance to chemicals and fatigue. It has low friction, low creep and a medium to high cost. It is often used for gears, wheels, bushings and bearings.

Polyphenylene Sulphide (PPS)

A very strong and heat resistant material that is usually brown. It is often used for fuel system components, switches, shields, covers and bearings.

Polybutylene Terephthalate (PBT)

A rigid thermoplastic with a resistance to heat and chemicals. It is commonly used for automotive fillers, handles and pumps, as well as bearings, cams, electrical parts, housings, valves, and switches.

Polyetheretherketone (PEEK)

A strong and chemically resistant material with thermal stability and low moisture absorption. It is often used for aircraft parts, pump impellers, seals, and electrical connectors.

Thermoplastic Elastomer (TPE)

A tough and flexible material. It is often used for bushings, washers, and electrical parts.

Injection Moulding Material Advice

At Moldwel we can advise you on the best thermoplastic to use for your products.

What are Thermoplastics?

Thermoplastics are plastic materials, often known as polymers. They become pliable when heated and then solidify upon cooling. With this in mind, they are great for manufacturing components with, as they can be reshaped and remoulded when in their liquid form. In their raw form, thermoplastics are small pellets that can be mixed together with dyes and additives. These can change the colours and enhance the properties of the thermoplastic. Typically, thermoplastics are the go-to material to use when it comes to producing parts through the plastic injection moulding process.

Thermoplastics fall into two distinct categories: Commodity Polymers and Engineering Polymers. Both have different structures and properties – therefore, the choice is dependent on the end use of the product / component.

Commodity Polymers

Commodity polymers are generally lower cost, off the shelf polymers where the mechanical properties of the material are not critical to the end use product performance. The material will still be of a good quality and will still have many specific attributes and benefits. Commodity polymers are generally used in plastic injection moulding for products that are mass produced and are often referred to as “throw-away” single use components, such as drinks bottle or disposable food trays for example.

Examples of widely used commodity polymers are :

Polypropylene (PP)
High Density Polyethylene (HDPE)
Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE)
Polyethylene (PE)
Polystyrene (PS)
Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS)

Engineering Polymers

When a specific mechanical property is required, in challenging applications or environments engineering polymers, as opposed to commodity polymers would be used. Specific properties such as strength, metal replacement, chemical stability and lubrication are examples of where an engineering polymer would be selected. Often, due to the costs involved in manufacturing this higher spec of material means higher volumes are not used in engineering polymers and smaller volumes of manufacture are seen. Specific properties that can be used in Engineering Polymers include for example Flame Retardant, Glass Filled, Chemically Lubricated.

Examples of Engineering Polymers :

Polyamide (PA – Nylon)
Polyamide Glass Filled (PA 6 – PA66)
Polycarbonate (PC)
Polyoxymethylene (POM – Acetal)
Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)
Polybutylene Terephthalate (PBT)
Polyether Ether Ketone (PEEK)