[TowerTalk] Micarta Tubing

[Larry McDavid]

bill wall wrote:
> Try a plastic called uhmw. It machines and has many uses.

UHMW is not a plastic but rather an acronym for "Ultra High Molecular
Weight." This term identifies a variant of standard long-chain plastic
molecules and is most often applied to polyethylene, as in "UHMW
polyethylene," but is sometimes also applied to other plastics.

UHMW polyethylene does offer improved mechanical and (particularly) wear
characteristics over standard molecular weight polyethylene. Otherwise,
it is just polyethylene and is not considered a structural plastic. In
compression (not tension or bending), UHMW polyethylene exhibits reduced
cold flow and may be acceptable for the intended purpose here. It does
machine well, but it will not have the structural properties of a good
filled phenolic material.
-- 
Best wishes,

Larry McDavid W6FUB
Anaheim, CA  (20 miles southeast of Los Angeles, near Disneyland)

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