- Region/Language Americas
Acetals
Product Overview
- Low moisture absorption
- High strength, stiffness
- Easy to machine
- No centerline porosity in Acetron® GP
- Many formulation options: Copolymer, Homopolymer, Teflon filled, and Internally lubricated/enhanced wear grade
Acetal provides high strength and stiffness coupled with enhanced dimensional stability and ease of machining. As a semi-crystalline material, acetal is also characterized by a low coefficient of friction and good wear properties -- especially in wet environments.
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. 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.
Quadrant offers both homopolymer and copolymer grades of acetal including enhanced bearing grade materials. Acetron® GP acetal is porosity-free and offered as our standard general purpose grade. For slightly higher mechanical properties, we offer a broad size range of the homopolymer acetal (Delrin®) products. For improved frictional properties PTFE-enhanced Delrin AF products are available.
Acetron® GP Acetal
Acetron® GP is Quadrant's general purpose copolymer acetal and is the only porosity-free acetal product available today. Investments in process technology by Quadrant now provide the performance and machinability of acetal without center core porosity. Our in-line photometric quality procedure assures every plate and rod is porosity-free as measured by Quadrant's dye penetrant test making it the preferred acetal for food contact and medical applications. Acetron® GP natural is FDA, USDA, NSF, Canada AG and 3A-Dairy compliant.
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Electrical Components
Porosity-free Acetron® GP acetal is intricately fabricated into this electrical test part with dozens of tight tolerance machined holes required at its centerline. (Prior material: Standard Acetal) -
Gears
Acetron® GP maintains tight tolerances despite environmental and clean in place chemical exposure on dairy equipment. (Prior materials: Bronze, Stainless Steel) -
Rollers
Guide rollers machined from Acetron® GP rod operate smoothly and reliably in lift gate systems used to load cargo onto truck beds. (Prior materials: Cast Iron, Cast Aluminum)
Delrin® Acetal
Delrin, a homopolymer acetal, is also manufactured and stocked in rod and plate. It offers slightly higher mechanical properties than Acetron® GP Acetal, but may contain a low-density center, especially in larger cross-sections. Copolymer acetal also offers better chemical resistance than homopolymer acetal. Delrin is ideal for small diameter, thin-walled bushings that benefit from the additional strength and rigidity of homopolymer acetal.
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Structural Keels
Delrin* acetal delivers outstanding fatigue and impact resistance in this continuously loaded structural keel for a prosthetic device. (Prior materials: Nylon, Elastomer)
Delrin® AF Blend
Delrin AF Blend, supplied as a 2:1 blend of Delrin AF100 and Delrin 150 resins, has excellent sliding/friction properties. Bearings made of Delrin AF Blend can operate at higher speeds while exhibiting reduced wear. These bearings are also essentially free of slip-stick behavior because the static and dynamic coefficient of friction are closer than with most plastics.
Delrin AF Blend retains 90% of the strength that is inherent in unmodified Delrin acetal. Some properties are changed due to the addition of the softer PTFE fiber. The natural color of Delrin AF Blend is dark brown.
Delrin® AF 100
Unblended Delrin AF, offers a slightly higher limiting PV and lower coefficient of friction due to additional PTFE content. This added PTFE typically decreases the wear capability and impact strength. Delrin AF 100 is available on a custom basis.
| Acetal | Wear Factor "k" (1) | Comparative Wear Rate to Acetron NS | Coefficient of Friction Static (2) | Coefficient of Friction Dynamic (3) | Limiting PV (4) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delrin AF Blend | 57 | 1.2 | .18-.19 | .19-.20 | 8.300 |
| Delrin AF | 65 | 1.4 | .18-.19 | .19-.20 | 11,000 |
| Delrin 500CL (a) | 176 | 3.7 | .22-.24 | .23-.25 | 3,500 |
| Acetron GP | 200 | 4.2 | .22-.25 | .22-.28 | 2,700 |
| Turcite* A | 213 | 4.4 | .29-.34 | .20-.23 | 6,500 |
Acetron® MD
This copolymer acetal grade, containing a metal detectable additive, has been specifically tailored for use in the food processing and packaging industries where it can easily be traced by the conventional metal detection systems installed to detect contamination of the foodstuffs (results may vary depending on the sensitivity of the metal detection system used). Acetron MD presents good mechanical strength, stiffness and impact strength, and it also features a food contact compliant composition.
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Product Details
- Food contact compliant according to FDA, and EU Directive 2002/72 EC
- Continuous use temperature up to 105 °C (221 °F)
- Metal and visual detection by blue color; metal detection level for particles 3mm x 3mm x 3mm
- Detection by x-ray also possible
- High dimensional stability
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Applications
- Funnels
- Gears
- Guiders
- Gripers
- Scrapers
In general, acetals do not perform as well in abrasive wear applications as nylons. Compensation for moisture related growth generally allows Nylatron® nylons to be used for wet, abrasive applications. If your application requires dimensional consistency in an abrasive, high humidity or submerged environment, Ertalyte® PET-P will often offer improved performance.
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