Injection Molded UHMW
DPI is the Only Source for Injection Molded UHMW Plastic Parts, Providing Unparalleled Benefits of Wear Resistance, Corrosion and Chemical Resistance, and Low Friction
DPI’s Injection Molded UHMW-PE (Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene) is an excellent material choice for parts and components that require structural strength, low friction, lubricity, abrasion resistance, and corrosion resistance. It is an extremely durable, yet lightweight, engineered plastic material. Because of its unique molecular/structural properties, UHMW-PE provides benefits that make it superior to any other plastic as well as metals – in fact UHMW-PE is an excellent metal alternative in many applications.Injection-moldable UHMW-PE resin is an extraordinarily versatile material suited to thousands of industrial applications.
Injection molding reduces time and costs relative to machined plastic components. It allows for production options such as over-molding on other materials, bonding with elastomers, and even molding around threaded metal inserts or objects. It makes it easy to mold-in valuable information such as company names and logos, part numbers, custom colors, and manufacturing dates.
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UHMW Advantages
- Wear Resistant
- Injection Moldable Proprietary UHMW Resin*
- Extremely Tough and Durable
- Faster Cycle Times Versus Machining
- Lightweight and Versatile
- Corrosion Resistant
- Impact Resistant
- Lubricity/Self-Lubricating
- Noise Level Reduction
- Easily to Work With
- Machinable Plastic
- Less Expensive Per Pound Compared to Rod/Sheet
- High/Low Production Runs
- Reduced Material Waste/Cost Efficient
- OEM Replacement Parts
*DPI manufactures its own proprietary UHMW Resin to create the only injection moldable UHMW-PE on the market.
Common molded UHMW-PE Products
- UHMW Sprockets
- UHMW Gears
- UHMW Wear Strips
- UHMW Drive Components
- UHMW Diverter Arms/Guards
- UHMW Wheels & Rollers
- UHMW Bearings & Bushings
- UHMW Guards & Bumpers
- UHMW Pulleys & Belt Sheaves
- OEM Replacement Parts
Injection Molded UHMW-PE Only from DPI
DPI is the only manufacturer with the capability to injection-mold UHMW-PE thanks to our state-of-the-art facilities, plastics expertise, and most importantly our proprietary injection molding process. Our custom injection molding capabilities provide benefits such as custom and precision parts work, faster cycle times, reduced material waste, cost efficiencies, and high production runs. So, why machine it when you can mold it?
Many industries are discovering the benefits of UHMW-PE for essential equipment. Our team of engineers works with sales to help you to develop the right UHMW structure to suit the unique demands of your specific application. DPI is a custom UHMW injection molding company. Learn more about the industries we serve.
Contact us to learn how our team of engineers can advise you on the right UHMW materials solutions for your engineered/industrial plastic parts applications.
Frequently Asked Questions
It’s a difficult process that requires significant investment to get right. Developing our molded UHMW capability meant modifying virtually every aspect of the standard injection molding process. We compound our UHMW blends in-house, which gives us complete control over material quality and processing conditions. We’ve also modified our machines and processing programs to account for UHMW’s non-standard flow properties, and we design and build our mold tools specifically around our material. The result is consistent performance and repeatable tolerances — but it takes years of development to get there, which is why so few manufacturers offer it.
We offer several formulations depending on customer requirements. One of our higher molecular weight blends comes in at 4.4 million molecular weight. If you have specific performance requirements, we’re happy to discuss which formulation is the right fit for your application.
Yes. We can incorporate any color and any additive that combines with the polyethylene molecule. Common additives include wet and dry lubricants, metal-detectable additives, and UV stabilizers. We can also incorporate tooling textures as needed for the part application — and logos, part numbers, or other identifying information can be molded directly into the part with minimal added effort.
Our largest press can produce a single-shot UHMW part weighing up to approximately 20 pounds, with footprint dimensions up to around 4′ x 4′. We also run multi-shot processes for larger assemblies — some of our UHMW sprockets, for example, come in at over 30 pounds for the complete part.
We prefer a minimum wall thickness of 3/16″ for UHMW parts, though we regularly mold parts up to 4″ thick. Surface aesthetics will differ from machined, compression molded, or extruded UHMW — the finish characteristics are not identical. Tensile properties also vary from standard sheet, rod, and tube. We’ll walk you through the specifics during the design and engineering process so there are no surprises.
Cost is the biggest one. Our molded UHMW material is substantially less expensive per pound than sheet, rod, or tube, and the molding process itself is far more efficient than machining or compression molding. Beyond cost, molding opens up design options that other processes don’t — logos, part numbers, and other part information can be incorporated directly, and features like cross holes, inserts, and overmolded components become straightforward rather than secondary operations.
Extensively — both internally and through third-party labs. We’ve done a significant amount of material testing to establish our material properties and wear life data, and we’re glad to share that information with anyone who wants to review it. Many of our customers have also tested our molded UHMW in actual field applications. You can find a number of those results in the Case Studies section of our website.
Yes, and we do it regularly. We’ve successfully overmolded bearings, threaded inserts, steel components, and dissimilar plastics using our molded UHMW. If your application requires embedded hardware or a combination of materials, it’s worth a conversation about what’s possible.
Yes. We continuously automate to reduce labor and maximize throughput. Our processes incorporate automatic conveyors, sprue pickers, robot arms, cooling systems, grinders, hoppers, feeders, and packaging systems. Many production runs are configured so that machine operators aren’t required once a run is underway.
Extremely! Cycle times range from just a few seconds to around four minutes depending on part complexity, and we regularly use multi-cavity tooling to produce multiple parts per cycle. One of our higher-volume UHMW products, for example, molds 32 parts per cycle in 78 seconds. Compared to machining from rod or sheet, the efficiency difference is substantial — and it shows up directly in part cost.
It varies depending on part geometry and the number of cavities needed to achieve the target part cost. We build all of our tooling in-house and use standard mold base options when available to help keep costs manageable. Simpler tooling can start around $2,500. More complex tooling can run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. We’ll give you a clear cost picture upfront as part of any project evaluation.
It depends on part geometry. For tight-tolerance applications, we use an iterative tooling process — gradually removing material and trialing parts to dial in critical dimensions. We can also apply our in-house CNC machining capabilities to near-net-mold a part and finish-machine any dimensions requiring extra precision.
Injection Molded UHMW Resin Compound
Molded Products Sell Sheet
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