What is POM material

POM is polymerized from formaldehyde. The main chain of its molecule is composed of repeated oxymethylene units (-CH₂O-), with a regular structure. The crystallinity is usually between 70% and 80%, which endows it with high strength and rigidity. In appearance, POM appears as white or light yellow particles, with a hard texture and a smooth surface. It has good chemical stability, being difficult to dissolve in common organic solvents, and is resistant to general acids and alkalis.

1. Mechanical Properties: The tensile strength of homopolymer POM exceeds 70MPa, and the flexural strength is approximately 100MPa, comparable to some metallic materials. It has excellent fatigue resistance. After multiple cyclic loads, it can still maintain stable mechanical properties, making it suitable for manufacturing mechanical parts that bear alternating stresses for a long time, thus prolonging the service life and reducing the equipment maintenance cost.
2. Wear Resistance: POM has a low friction coefficient and strong wear resistance. Compared with metals, under the same friction conditions, its wear amount is smaller. When used in components that require long-term friction, such as pulleys and sliders, it can significantly extend the service life, reduce maintenance costs, and improve the operation efficiency of the equipment.
3. Chemical Stability: POM has good resistance to most organic solvents, oils, and common acid and alkali solutions. In the chemical industry and electronic and electrical manufacturing, even in a complex chemical environment, the parts made of it can work stably.
4. Thermal Stability: The heat distortion temperature of POM ranges from 130 to 160℃. In a certain high-temperature environment, it can maintain good mechanical properties and dimensional stability, making it suitable for manufacturing components in high-temperature environments such as around automobile engines.
5. Electrical Insulation: POM is an excellent electrical insulation material. Its dielectric constant and dielectric loss change little within a wide temperature and frequency range and are not affected by temperature and humidity. It is often used to manufacture insulating components for electronic and electrical appliances.

1. Poor Weather Resistance: POM is sensitive to ultraviolet rays. When exposed outdoors for a long time, it is prone to aging, discoloration, cracking, and a decline in performance. Generally, it is not used in long-term outdoor scenarios.
2. Influence of Water Absorption on Precision: Although its water absorption rate is relatively low, it will still absorb water in a humid environment, resulting in changes in the dimensional accuracy of the products, affecting the performance and assembly accuracy. When manufacturing high-precision parts, drying treatment in advance is required.
3. High Notch Sensitivity: When POM has a notch, its strength drops significantly. Cracks are likely to occur at the notch and expand, leading to the fracture of the part. Sharp notches should be avoided during the design and use.
   Relatively High Cost: Compared with general-purpose plastics such as polyethylene and polypropylene, the production cost of POM is high, and the price of its products is expensive, which limits its application in cost-sensitive fields.
   
   

   

1. Injection Molding: POM has good fluidity and is suitable for injection molding. The injection molding temperature should be controlled between 180 and 220℃, and the mold temperature should be between 60 and 80℃ to ensure the quality and precision of the products.
2. Extrusion Molding: It can be used to manufacture pipes, plates, etc. through extrusion molding. During the extrusion process, the screw rotation speed and temperature distribution need to be controlled to ensure the uniform quality of the products.
3. Machining: POM can undergo machining operations such as turning, milling, and drilling. However, due to its high hardness, appropriate cutting tools and cutting parameters need to be selected during processing to prevent excessive wear of the cutting tools and a decline in the surface quality of the parts.

1. Electronics and Electrical Appliances: It is used to manufacture connectors, switches, relays, etc. With its excellent electrical and mechanical properties, it ensures the stable operation of products.
2. Automotive Industry: POM is commonly used for parts of the fuel system of automobile engines and interior parts such as door handles. Its wear resistance and chemical corrosion resistance are utilized to improve the quality of the components.
3. Machinery Manufacturing: It can be used to manufacture mechanical parts such as gears, racks, and sliders. It can replace some metallic materials to reduce costs and give full play to its properties such as self-lubrication to improve the mechanical transmission efficiency.
4. Daily Necessities: POM is used in daily necessities such as zippers and toothbrush handles. Its characteristics of wear resistance, corrosion resistance, and aesthetic appearance improve the quality and service life of daily necessities.