We use cookies to enhance your experience. By continuing to browse this website, you agree to our use of cookies. More information.
Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) is a high-performance engineering polymer that has one of the highest strength-to-weight ratios of any thermoplastic and has excellent heat resistance. PEEK can be used as a substitute for other materials, including glass, steel, aluminum, and other polymers. The strength of the material complements its high purity and lubricity, making it suitable for challenging applications.
Zeus' research, engineering, and production teams have developed a series of PEEK products to drive innovation in automotive, aerospace, oil and gas, medicine, and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) applications.
The company has also developed an advanced thermally stable PEEK coating for optical fibers with extremely low attenuation in the 250 °C range. This kind of rigid plastic is considered to be one of the highest performance materials of its kind in the world. The significant advantages of PEEK as a material science solution are creating new breakthroughs in many different markets.
Many metal components are being replaced by PEEK, allowing applications to maximize flexibility in design innovation while minimizing the weight and cost of the system. In analytical applications, the purity, high burst pressure, and chemical resistance of PEEK ensure that PEEK tubing can withstand the pressure required for critical laboratory work without contaminating the results.
In a biomedical environment, PEEK can be exposed to sterilization procedures such as autoclaving and gamma radiation.
The Zeus team can extrude PEEK into various forms, such as monofilament, multi-lumen, and the company's ultra-thin-walled Sub-Lite-Wall® tube. In addition, Zeus can perform post-extrusion molding for a range of complex applications, such as thermoforming, tapering, tilting, flanging, and flaring.
Zeus's PEEK drawn fiber monofilament has excellent corrosion resistance and abrasion resistance, toughness and tensile strength. It is an ideal braided material for cable and wire sheathing, and performs well at high temperatures up to 500 °F (260 °C). This monofilament is also used as a substitute for braided reinforcement of catheters, where metal cannot be used.
PEEK's mechanical integrity, chemical resistance, and high maximum temperature make it an excellent choice for critical fluid transfer where heat is the main focus. The material can withstand a variety of solvents, acids and alkalis.
PEEK can withstand high burst pressures and has high purity, making it the material of choice for biomedical, analytical and pharmaceutical applications, ensuring that the analytical fluid is not contaminated. In HPLC applications, PEEK has become the gold standard, and materials with nominal walls as thin as 0.0015" (0.0381 mm) and inner diameters as low as 0.002" (0.051 mm) can be purchased.
Bifurcation tubes, also called sheaths, are usually used in optical fibers to protect these fragile communication devices. PEEK can slip through the fiber effortlessly without affecting the fragile fiber, while reducing friction and strain. The material can do this without using any fillers and additives.
The excellent strength of PEEK material makes it suitable for protecting optical fibers. Zeus' thermally stable PEEK coating has all the advantages of PEEK and has very low attenuation over the fiber length and temperature range over 250 °C.
PEEK can be made into different shapes and multiple lumens to allow multiple channels. Through these multiple channels, the optical fiber can be inserted into the outer diameter tube. Zeus can also design the outer surface of the tube to create channels along the outer diameter, inner diameter, or both.
The durability of PEEK makes it a perfect substitute for many different types of materials, including other plastics that require improved design capabilities. After extrusion, PEEK tubing can be used in many industrial applications that require more customization. Zeus provides thermoforming, tapering, beveling, flanging and flaring for its PEEK products.
PEEK has excellent dielectric properties, which means that no matter where the material is used, it can provide insulation, mechanical and physical protection. PEEK products are rapidly replacing other plastics used for motor insulation, especially in steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) applications.
PEEK Lay-Flat® tubes have been used as phase insulation and slot liners in motors. Zeus' PEEKShrink® and PEEK insulated wires are designed to meet critical electrical performance requirements, as electric motors are increasingly used to power cars.
PEEK can withstand extreme pressure, temperature, physical abrasion and chemical exposure. These features make PEEKshrink® the material of choice for mandrel coverings on which components can be built.
Due to PEEK's superior strength-to-weight ratio, engineers can consider using PEEK to replace heavier metal parts. PEEK can withstand mechanical and physical stress, but also has excellent chemical resistance and high heat resistance, which together provide this material with advantages over metal parts. These qualities make PEEK suitable for automotive, aerospace and other general industrial environments.
PEEK protects and insulates wires while improving fuel efficiency and reducing weight. PEEK coils can be used as flexible conduits to collect wires and harnesses and make them easier to manage. PEEK tubing can also protect the covered items from abrasions and physical trauma.
In addition to insulation and protection, PEEKshrink® can also be used to support wire splicing. PEEK and PEEKshrink® harness applications are widely used in the aerospace and automotive industries, and can be easily adapted to many different fields.
PEEKshrink® heat shrink tubing provides excellent chemical resistance and electrical insulation; these characteristics make it a perfect splicing tool, whether for field repairs or for design purposes.
The pipe contains multiple loops, thereby forming a highly maneuverable and flexible pipe material. This kind of tube is also called flexible conduit, used as a protective layer for optical fibers and wires in the main fields of automotive, aerospace and general industrial applications, where performance, flexibility and transparency are very important. Zeus PEEK coils can withstand continuous temperatures up to 500 °F (260 °C).
Zeus specializes in developing customized profiles with tight tolerances for its extrusion products. The company's product portfolio ranges from typical products such as guide rail covers to high-precision extruded profiles for minimally invasive surgical equipment.
The technology developed by Zeus transforms superior extruded profiles from concept to reality. Engineering surface pipes and splines are other custom PEEK profiles provided by Zeus.
Extruded pipe is a high-performance and dynamic thermoplastic with high temperature resistance, toughness and excellent chemical resistance, making it an ideal choice for almost all applications.
PEEK tubing can be used to protect its contents from mechanical and abrasion stresses, but it also provides insulating properties for electrical applications. In the automotive and aerospace industries where weight is a major issue, PEEK is being used to replace heavier metal parts.
This PEEK product is a multi-lumen tube that contains many lumens or "channels" to create multiple working channels that extend along the length of the tube. Multi-lumen tubes are widely used in medical devices, such as catheters, as well as fluid handling applications and electronic equipment. Zeus manufactures multi-lumen tubes with high quality standards and tight tolerance capabilities.
PEEK drawn fibers are ideal materials for forming expandable and flexible braided sleeves to protect hoses and wires. The material is lightweight, has high tensile strength, and exhibits excellent friction and wear properties when used in abrasion environments. In addition, PEEK is used in catheter braiding in medical environments to provide structural reinforcement where metal is not suitable.
Zeus' PEEK insulated wire, also known as enameled wire, is the result of extruding PEEK over a series of solid conductors and stranded conductors (such as copper wire). PEEK insulated wire is specifically designed for use in harsh environments, such as the aerospace, automotive, electrical, and oil and gas industries.
Zeus PEEK enameled wire has excellent wear resistance and can withstand extreme loads and exposure to corrosive liquids. For some applications, there is little or no need for varnish.
Lay-Flat pipes are pipes that are flattened and cut to length or wound on rolls for delivery. It provides seamless flat tubes with very thin walls and high flexibility.
Chemical inertness, lubricity, strength and biocompatibility are other characteristics of PEEK Lay-Flat® tubing. With excellent insulation capabilities, Zeus' PEEK Lay-Flat® can also be used as phase insulation and slot lining for motors.
PEEKshrink® is a heat shrinkable material that provides all the advantages of PEEK in the form of a shrink fit. PEEKshrink® packaging provides a layer of protection for sensitive components used in medical equipment, telecommunications hardware, electronics, oil exploration equipment, and many other applications.
PEEK's inherent lubricity, purity and toughness make it suitable for life science and analytical applications. The temperature tolerance of PEEKshrink® also makes it suitable for wire harness and wire splicing applications used near high temperature motor/engine environments.
Zeus' PEEK Sub-Lite-Wall® tube is the best choice for extremely thin walls. This type of tubing is custom-ordered and is usually used for tubing that requires a wall thickness of <0.004" (0.102 mm). Thin-walled tubing is especially important when space considerations are critical, such as inside endoscopes or as heat shrink tubing Excessive wiring to achieve a larger package.
Due to its chemical inertness, PEEK can safely exist in biological environments. It can also withstand multiple sterilization protocols.
PEEK shows high resistance to all common chemicals such as alkalis, acids, hydrocarbons and water.
Due to its high purity, PEEK hardly allows any chemical substances to leach out of the pipeline, thereby contaminating the contents of the pipeline or its exterior.
The unique rigidity of PEEK enables the pipe to transmit torsion or torsion very well, and is suitable for applications that require remote operation of the material or its contents (such as sensors, optical fibers, or wiring).
The PEEK tube is flame-retardant and meets the UL 94 V-0 standard (1.45 mm thick material) and can be used safely at high temperatures.
PEEK thermoplastic pipes can withstand high burst pressures in terms of wall thickness and size. Compared with other pipes, this quality makes it possible to use smaller PEEK pipes in high-pressure applications.
The combination of the lightweight properties of PEEK plastic and a wide range of beneficial properties allows PEEK tubing to replace heavier parts such as metals and other plastics.
PEEK can operate safely at temperatures up to 260 °C (500 °F).
The inert chemical properties of PEEK play a direct role in its mechanical properties and inherent toughness. Therefore, PEEK tubing and recycled heat shrink tubing show excellent resistance to wear, impact and other physical trauma.
PEEK can easily withstand multiple sterilization protocols, such as autoclaving and gamma radiation. This fluoropolymer can even withstand more than 3000 autoclave cycles.
As a thermoplastic, PEEK is compatible with customization after extrusion, such as flanging, taper, tilt, flaring, and thermoforming.
This information is derived from materials provided by Zeus Industrial Products, Inc. and has been reviewed and adapted.
For more information on this source, please visit Zeus Industrial Products, Inc.
Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your paper, essay, or report:
Zeus Industrial Products, Inc. (2019, September 27). Comparison of PEEK and metal. Why is plastic better? AZoM. Retrieved from https://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=13532 on December 8, 2021.
Zeus Industrial Products, Inc.. "Comparison between PEEK and metal. Why is plastic better?". AZoM. December 8, 2021. <https://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=13532>.
Zeus Industrial Products, Inc.. "Comparison between PEEK and metal. Why is plastic better?". AZoM. https://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=13532. (Accessed on December 8, 2021).
Zeus Industrial Products, Inc.. 2019. Comparison of PEEK and metal. Why is plastic better? AZoM, viewed on December 8, 2021, https://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=13532.
Do you have any questions about this article?
AZoM and Professor Guihua Yu of the University of Texas at Austin discussed a new type of hydrogel sheet that can quickly convert contaminated water into pure drinking water. This novel process may have a major impact on alleviating global water shortages.
In this interview, AZoM and Jurgen Schawe from METTLER TOLEDO talked about fast scanning chip calorimetry and its various applications.
AZoM talked with Professor Oren Scherman about his research on a new type of hydrogel that can achieve extreme compressibility under high pressure.
StructureScan Mini XT is the perfect tool for concrete scanning; it can accurately and quickly identify the depth and position of metallic and non-metallic objects in concrete.
Miniflex XpC is an X-ray diffractometer (XRD) designed for quality control in cement plants and other operations that require online process control (such as pharmaceuticals and batteries).
Raman Building Block 1064 consists of the following necessary components: spectrometer, 1064 nm laser, sampling probe and other optional accessories.
AZoM.com-AZoNetwork website
Owned and operated by AZoNetwork, © 2000-2021