Mr. Thomas,
HDPE is the cheapest machinable plastic you can buy. One inch HDPE is 250 bucks for a 48"x96" sheet. The price is pretty much by the cubic inch so you can extrapolate any size up to six inches thick. So far this year I have bought thirty sheets of one inch HDPE. Today I sent three sheets to that big scrap pile in the sky. The stuff is so cheap that wood would be more expensive.
UHMW, or UHMUPE, is just a more dense material, as compared to HDPE. If you are using an endmill or saw to cut UHMW; the chips will be manageable. Single point tools will produce stringy chips that are a real bear. Chipbreakers are totally useless in any configuration. All you can do is program in interrupted cuts by the stop and start method.
I would call Sabic Polymershapes or Curbell Plastics. Personally I use Sabic and I have no intrest in them. My local rep is why I buy there. Sabic was General Electric Polymershapes, last year, and before that they were Cadillac Plastic. I could trace the names back to the sixties, but you get my drift.
Stick with HDPE for handles and other such items. UHMW is about twenty percent higher in price and you will not notice any improvement in your low stress applications.
The company is the world’s best UHMWPE Plant supplier. We are your one-stop shop for all needs. Our staff are highly-specialized and will help you find the product you need.
UHMW has been an industry standard for abrasion resistance for many years. However, UHMW is expensive and physical properties diminish over time when exposed to UV. One manufacturer has developed a product called King Hy-Pact®, the super tough industrial polymer sheet that is environmentally stabilized with excellent physical properties. It is the product of a proprietary process called K-Stran™, the most advanced manufacturing process of quality sheets with tight tolerances and custom widths up to 60”. Tests have shown after 2,000 hours of UV exposure, King Hy-Pact® outperforms both UV stabilized HDPE and UHMW with superior toughness in wear resistance, flexibility and high-impact strength. King Hy-Pact® is the smart choice for many high abuse applications requiring superior properties, outstanding flatness and a smooth surface while providing significant cost savings compared to UHMW. Applications include, but are not limited to food processing chutes, star wheels, fabricated parts, snowplow blades and dock fenders.
Contact us to discuss your requirements of MEG Plant. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.
Industry Ready
King Hy-Pact® is UV stabilized and FDA approved. It comes standard in a standard sheet size of 48\” x 120\” with gauges as thin as 1/8” thick up to 1” thick.
Expansion and Contraction
Distributors and installers should be aware that when polymer sheets are attached with mechanical fasteners, space must be allowed around fasteners for the product to expand and contract during temperature changes. Please refer to the CNC Fabrication page for brochures, videos and guides.
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