POM is a partially crystalline thermoplastic
POM is easy to process and is used in numerous areas of industry, although primarily in the engineering industry and the appliance sector. POM is generally used for production machine parts with a fine appearance, or for strong precision engineering machine parts. POM is a rigid, tough and springy material which is also extremely impact resistant – in spite of its hardness. Moreover, its impact strength does not fall as much as PA’s low temperatures, nor its tendency to creep so pronounced. This means that POM does not flex and yield as much under heavy influences. POM is extremely useful as a sliding material; it has a reasonably low friction coefficient and excellent wear resistance if the opposing sliding surface is smooth. Maximum moisture absorption is around 1% and normally has little effect on the material’s attributes.
The food industry makes extensive use of POM because features robust mechanical attributes and is easy to clean – largely because it is unaffected by detergens. In the engineering industry, POM is used for cogs, slide units, etc. while in the automotive industry also makes extensive use of POM machine parts– not only in the engine compartment, but also for contact parts, fuel caps and the like. POM is used for precision engineering machine parts, where the demands typically include maintenance-free function, elevated strength, elasticity and dimensional stability.
The rigidity of POM is highly dependent on temperature and falls sharply when the temperature approaches the crystalline melting point of around 166°C (POM-C and 175°C for POM-H). POM is not normally used at temperatures lower than -50°C because its impact strength is extremely low. Nor should POM be used for long periods in temperatures of more than 85–100°C, but it can be placed briefly in environments of up to 150°C.
On account of the oxygen content, the molecules in POM are more flammable than those in PA and PET. The material burns with a blue flame, generates hardly any smoke and smells strongly of formaldehyde. POM complies with the RoHS directive.
POM features the following mechanical attributes:
- Reasonably hard-wearing, with average friction attributes
- Good mechanical attributes
- No cold flow – dimensional stability
- Can be used in a broad range of temperatures
- Resistant to many chemicals
- Excellent combination of hardness, rigidity and toughness
- Broad temperature range
- Precision and dimensional stability
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