BASICS OF UHMW-PE

UHMW-PE: Ultra High Molecular Weight PolyEthylene

UHMW-PE is a very abrasion resistant plastic material which is used to protect many different parts and products from wear and to improve their properties such as gliding.

Compared to other PE or HDPE which has molecular weight of approx. 300,000 g/mol, UHMW-PE has a molecular weight of up to 12 million g/mol.

This extremely high molecular weight is responsible for the special properties of UHMW-PE.

It is also the reason, why this material is “only” getting into a crystalline melt and does not melt like a regular PE.

To production the UHMW-PE films we need very high pressures and temperatures to form a solid block which is then mechanically skived.