China Polyplastics DURACON POM Manufacturer, Supplier, Factory

As a representative engineering plastic material widely used as a substitute for metals, Polyplastics DURACON POM has a good balance of self-lubricating properties, oil resistance, and mechanical properties. It has expanded the market starting from replacing mechanical parts such as gears, screws, and bearings that were previously made of metal. Today, it is widely used in daily necessities from zippers and toothbrush handles to safety parts such as car door locks, latches, and seat belt buckles, as well as fuel system parts. It has the top global market share※, accounting for 19% of the entire market.

Slidability

Fuel resistance/oil resistance

Low VOC

Food-related uses

Chemical resistance

Creep resistance

Dimensional stability

Fatigue resistance

Friction and abrasion resistance

Suitable for insert molding

The chemical name of POM is polyoxymethylene. It is also commonly called polyformaldehyde or acetal resin. The main structural unit is a crystalline thermoplastic resin composed of a molecular chain of polyoxymethylene (-CH2O-).

According to different production processes, it can be divided into two major categories. One is homopolyoxymethylene composed of the molecular chain of polyoxymethylene formed by formaldehyde, and the other is copolyoxymethylene formed by formaldehyde trimer - trioxane and ethylene oxide.

Duracon® is a typical representative of copolyoxymethylene and is mainly used in mechanical parts such as gears, screws, and bearings, and highly reliable parts with requirements such as chemical resistance and fuel resistance. Specific applications are as follows: audio-visual equipment such as DVDs, video recorders, and Blu-ray recorders; office equipment such as printers and copiers; household appliances such as washing machines, refrigerators, and razors; car parts such as door locks, fuel tank caps, fuel pump systems, seat belt parts, and car interior parts; building materials such as window frames and blind parts, and even the latest game consoles, with extremely wide applications.

Homopolyoxymethylene and copolyoxymethylene

As mentioned above, POM can be divided into homopolyoxymethylene and copolyoxymethylene. Homopolyoxymethylene has only carbon-oxygen bonds constituting the main chain, while the main chain of copolyoxymethylene also contains carbon-carbon bonds.

The difference in molecular structure makes homopolyoxymethylene and copolyoxymethylene of POM have different physical properties and functions.

Copolyoxymethylene has better thermal stability than homopolyoxymethylene.

Since it is not easy to decompose during molding, it is not easy to change color or generate less gas, so the processing temperature range is wide.

It has excellent hot water resistance, alkali resistance and oil resistance at high temperatures.

The copolymer is more excellent in long-term properties such as creep failure life.

Raw materials and manufacturing methods

It is prepared through the following four process steps: 1) Synthesize formaldehyde by oxidizing methanol; 2) Trimerize formaldehyde to generate trioxymethylene as a polymerization monomer; 3) Add a small amount of comonomer to the main monomer trioxymethylene and copolymerize to generate crude POM copolymer; 4) Add stabilizers and the like to the crude copolymer for granulation to produce Duracon®.

In addition, in order to improve various properties, glass fibers or other reinforcing agents, special additives, etc. will be added to the crude copolymer for blending to manufacture different grades of materials with special properties.