Heat Resistant Plastic: How to Select the Best Material

Plastic compounds come in a staggering array of formulations and materials for a wide range of industries, applications, and products. Selecting the right plastic material that offers excellent heat-resistant properties is critical for any application in which thermal properties can be adversely affected by the environment.

What is the Best Heat Resistant Plastic?

High-speed material handling conveyor systems are often subjected to temperature extremes. After much research into various plastic formulations that could be appropriate for high-quality plastic-component conveyor systems, we determined the best plastic material for heat resistance and the applications we address is polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), commonly known by its brand name, Teflon®.

PTFE is a fluorocarbon solid with a high molecular weight and one of the lowest coefficients of friction against any solid, making it ideal for high-speed, high-temp conveyor system components. In fact, PTFE performs significantly better than nylon and acetal and is comparable to ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE).

We manufacture precision PTFE profiles, guides, and wear strips for material handling conveyor systems where general-purpose thermoplastic materials are not appropriate. Our Teflon® components are widely used in such demanding industries as chemical and food processing and glass manufacturing. You’ll even find our PTFE conveyor system components in high-volume bakeries.

There are a number of benefits to PTFE, including:

• Operating temperatures of -350^o to 500 ^o F
• Higher resistance to chemicals, enabling operation in harsh environments
• Very low co-efficient of friction
• Excellent insulating properties for electrical applications
• Approved for direct food contact
• Dimensionally stable, low coefficient of thermal expansion

If you need top-quality, high-reliability plastic components for virtually any packaging equipment, conveyor system, or power transmission application, talk to the experts at Slideways.

We offer the right plastic material for heat resistance with the industry’s widest selection of custom plastic parts and heat resistant plastic compounds, including high-temperature components from PEEK, Torlon®, Rulon® and Vespel®.