Also known as acetal, polyacetal, or polyformaldehyde, its most widely recognized brand name is Delrin, which is made by chemicals company DuPont. (Other brand names for POM include Kocetal, Ultraform, and Celcon.) Note that Delrin is an acetal homopolymer, but POM can also be made into a copolymer.

Polyoxymethylene (POM) is a semi-crystalline engineering thermoplastic characterized by its stiffness, excellent dimensional stability, hardness, and strength.

Delrin machining has some limitations that make it unsuitable for certain parts and applications. Its main limitations and weaknesses are:

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Machined Delrin parts can be found everywhere, from the automotive industry to consumer electronics. Some common Delrin machining applications include:

Delrin mechanical parts can include gears, housings, springs, fan wheels, valves, bearings, rollers, and scraper blades.

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Delrin is suitable for machining processes like milling and turning, and is supplied in sheets or extruded bars for this purpose. The material can also be cut with a laser cutter, and its granulated form is used for injection molding and plastic extrusion.

In general, if the desired geometry and dimensions of the Delrin part are machinable, then machining is the best option of the three.

This article goes over the basics of machining Delrin: what Delrin is, the benefits of machining Delrin, the limitations of machining Delrin, common applications of machining Delrin, and tips for designing and machining Delrin parts.

From cars to consumer electronics to kitchenware, Delrin is just about everywhere: the high-strength thermoplastic makes great consumer products and is favored by machinists for its good material properties and high machinability.

Delrin is a popular engineering thermoplastic for CNC machining, both because of its material properties and its machinability. Its main advantages are:

We're looking at rapid design/concept prototyping plus perhaps additional first/limited run type manufacturing for odd job plastic parts.

Although intrinsically opaque, Delrin is available in all colors. It has a density of 1.410–1.420 g/cm3 and offers rigidity to -40°C. It is 75–85% crystalline with a melting point of 175°C.

Delrin is widely considered to be one of the most machining-friendly plastics, so it does not require any drastic precautionary measures. That being said, it responds better to certain design considerations and machining approaches than others.

Delrin is a versatile CNC machining material and is not limited to machining project. Delrin 3D printing filament can be used to make 3D printed Delrin parts, and Delrin injection molding is also possible.

3ERP is a leading provider of plastic CNC machining services with expertise in Delrin machining. Contact us for a free quote on your next Delrin prototypes or Delrin parts.

3D printing Delrin offers geometrical flexibility and is suitable for a very wide range of prototyping applications, but its limitations include poor print bed adhesion, possible delamination, and a limited temperature range.

Does anyone have suggestions for good quality IM machines that can be used to rapidly prototype/perform small scale batch production for plastic parts less than 6" x 6" x 6" in cubic volume?

Injection molding Delrin is suitable for larger parts and is more reliable than 3D printing. POM pellets (either Delrin or acetal copolymers) for IM are also more widely available than Delrin 3D printer filament. However, the semi-crystalline nature of Delrin can increase shrinkage of molded parts.

Delrin parts for electronics applications include insulators, connectors, bobbins, connectors, and consumer electronics parts like keyboard covers.