Wear resistant. Chemical inert. Ultra-tough.
HDPE handles chemical service and food applications at low cost. UHMWPE is the toughest plastic — abrasion resistant beyond any metal, self-lubricating, impact-proof. Standard for wear strips, chutes, cutting boards, industrial liners.
At a glance
- Density
- 0.93 g/cc
- Tensile strength
- 40 MPa
- Elongation
- 350%+
- Hardness
- D 65 Shore
- HDT
- 80 °C
- Continuous service
- 80 °C
- Abrasion (ASTM D1044)
- Lowest wear of any plastic
- Friction coefficient
- 0.1-0.2 (self-lubricating)
Key data
- Density
- 0.93 g/cc
- Tensile strength
- 40 MPa
- Elongation
- 350%+
- Hardness
- D 65 Shore
- HDT
- 80 °C
- Continuous service
- 80 °C
- Abrasion (ASTM D1044)
- Lowest wear of any plastic
- Friction coefficient
- 0.1-0.2 (self-lubricating)
Polyethylene grades.
LDPE
Low density. Flexible, soft, cheap. Used for bags, films, squeeze bottles, flexible fittings.
HDPE
High density. Rigid, chemical resistant, FDA. Used for chemical tanks, food containers, piping, consumer bottles.
UHMWPE
Ultra-high molecular weight. Extreme wear resistance, self-lubricating, impact indestructible. Used for wear strips, chutes, hockey pucks, industrial liners.
HDPE Food Grade
FDA compliant for food contact. Cutting boards, food processing equipment, beverage containers.
Cross-Linked PE (PEX)
Cross-linked polyethylene — higher temperature (90 °C continuous), better creep resistance. Used for hot water pipe, industrial tubing.
PE Natural
Unfilled PE without pigment — slight translucency. Allows visual content monitoring.
Molecular weight determines mechanical properties. LDPE/HDPE for standard applications, UHMWPE for extreme wear and impact.
Why UHMWPE is special.
Lowest wear rate
Beats nylon, Delrin, and even some metals for abrasion resistance. Industrial liner of choice.
Self-lubricating
Runs dry against anything without lubrication. Sliding wear coefficient 0.1-0.2.
Extreme impact resistance
Virtually unbreakable. Hockey pucks are UHMWPE. Absorbs impact energy without crack propagation.
FDA + USP Class VI
Medical-grade UHMWPE for orthopedic implants (joint replacement bearings). Biocompatible.
UHMWPE has the lowest wear rate of any plastic — and better than many metals. Properties unique in the plastic world.
HDPE & UHMWPE applications.
Industrial wear strips
UHMWPE wear strips for conveyors, chutes, truck beds — lowest wear of any material
Cutting boards
HDPE food-grade cutting boards for commercial kitchens, meat processing
Ice hockey pucks
Standard puck material (UHMWPE) — survives impact indefinitely
Orthopedic bearings
Medical-grade UHMWPE for knee and hip replacement bearings
Chemical tanks
HDPE chemical storage tanks, processing vessels
Trailer bed liners
UHMWPE liners for dump trucks, trailers — abrasion protection
Chute liners
Ore chutes, gravel chutes — UHMWPE for wear protection
Marine hardware
Dock bumpers, marina fenders, boat components
Chain guides
Machine chain guides, drive belts — self-lubricating operation
Polyethylene finishing.
As-machined
White natural color. Slight wax-like feel. Ra 1.6-3.2 µm typical.
Colored
Pre-pigmented sheets in standard colors. Food-grade color coding (red, blue, green, yellow).
Cannot bond
Requires flame or corona treatment before bonding — PE naturally rejects adhesives.
Cannot paint
PE surface rejects paint. Requires specialized preparation or is left natural.
Laser marked
Good contrast on white PE surface. Standard for part identification.
Heat welded
HDPE and UHMWPE weld with hot gas or extrusion — parent-material strength joints.
Extrusion welded
Large PE tank fabrication via extrusion welding — produces seamless vessels.
Mechanical fasteners
Threaded inserts standard for UHMWPE hardware — threads don't hold well directly.
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Wear resistant — questions
UHMWPE vs HDPE — differences?
Molecular weight: UHMWPE is 3-6 million g/mol vs HDPE at 250,000. Properties: UHMWPE is much tougher, more wear-resistant, impact-proof, self-lubricating. Cost: UHMWPE is 3-5× HDPE price. For standard chemical/food/container applications: HDPE. For wear-critical or impact-critical applications: UHMWPE. For orthopedic implants: medical-grade UHMWPE specifically.
Machining UHMWPE challenges?
UHMWPE is soft (cuts well) but gummy (chips don't break cleanly). Solutions: very sharp tools (constantly maintained), high cutting speeds, chip breakers on tools, compressed-air chip evacuation. Tolerance ±0.1 mm typical. For tighter tolerance UHMWPE parts, slower careful machining and chilling techniques improve dimensional control.
Medical UHMWPE for implants?
Yes — medical-grade UHMWPE is standard material for orthopedic joint replacement bearings. Knee and hip replacement components: titanium or CoCr metal + UHMWPE bearing + polyethylene spacer. UHMWPE handles the wear, metal provides strength, assembly lasts 15-25 years in body. Specialty grade with gamma-sterilization and specific molecular weight distribution required.
Why can't PE be painted or glued?
Polyethylene surface has very low surface energy — nothing wants to stick to it. Adhesives bead up, paint beads up. Mitigation: flame treatment (brief propane flame pass raises surface energy), corona treatment (plasma treatment), chemical etching. These increase surface energy temporarily (hours to days). For permanent bonding, mechanical fastening or hot-gas welding preferred.
Temperature limits?
LDPE: 60-70 °C. HDPE: 80 °C continuous. UHMWPE: 80 °C continuous. Peak short-term: 110 °C all grades. For higher temperature plastic: use PP (100 °C) or specialty PE grades (cross-linked PEX up to 90 °C). For above 120 °C, different plastic family entirely.
Sheet sizes and lead times?
HDPE/UHMWPE sheet: standard sizes up to 1500 × 3000 mm, thicknesses 3-100 mm. In stock for standard thicknesses, 1-2 week lead time for specialty. Machining: easy and fast. Typical PE orders ship 7-10 days. Cost-effective in high volume — $3-5/kg HDPE, $10-15/kg UHMWPE raw material.
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