Sheet in PEEK HT 3000x300 mm black

PEEK HT is an unreinforced PEEK grade developed to stay stable when the temperature is pushed. The heat deflection temperature is high. The material keeps its stiffness and mechanical strength further up in temperature than standard PEEK, entirely without added fiber, which means it stays tough and impact resistant. The sheet handles 260 degrees continuously and short peaks toward 300 degrees. That is where, at the really high temperatures, this grade makes a difference against ordinary PEEK.

Tensile strength is high for an unreinforced grade, around 120 MPa, and ball indentation hardness is around 282 N/mm², so the material carries load without deforming when hot. Density is about 1.31 g/cm³, the same range as ordinary PEEK. Water absorption is very low, around 0.04 percent, so the dimensions stand still in moisture and heat and the fit does not change. The flammability rating is V0. Since the grade is unfilled it is electrically insulating, with a specific volume resistivity around 10^14 ohm·cm, and tough in a way that fiber-filled grades are not. Chemically the material stands up to most industrial media, from fuels and oil to steam and many acids and bases.

The sheet format is the stock for parts that are machined and then work hot. Seal supports and check valve parts in hot process equipment where the temperature sits close to the limit for PEEK. Insulating components near heat sources and in oven environments where metal would have carried away too much heat. Machine parts that have to keep their shape and stiffness at temperatures where standard PEEK starts to soften. Structural parts in analysis and measuring equipment that runs hot and continuously. The grade being unfilled makes it tougher and more impact resistant than fiber-filled alternatives, so an edge or a thin tab takes more before it gives way.

Unreinforced PEEK machines more easily than the filled grades, since no hard fibers wear on the cutting edge. Sharp carbide tools, moderate feeds and speeds and cooling of the cut give a clean surface and fine tolerances. Since HT is tough and hard-wearing, it mills and turns nicely without chipping at the edges. Clamp the blank securely. Thick blocks benefit from stress relieving before finish machining, so that they do not move once the material has been exposed and you lose the dimension. Drill in stages and clear the chips in between, and tap at moderate speed.

What separates HT from standard PEEK shows most clearly in the upper part of the temperature scale. Where ordinary PEEK starts to soften and lose stiffness, the HT grade stays stiff and dimensionally stable, which moves the usable limit a bit higher. Creep at high temperature and constant load is lower, so a part that has to carry pressure while hot keeps its shape longer. For seal supports and load-bearing parts working close to the limit of the material, that margin is exactly what makes the design hold up over time instead of slowly deforming.

Since the grade is unfilled it is both insulating and tough, a combination the fiber-filled grades do not offer. The color is typically natural beige to brown. The toughness means thin tabs and edges take handling without chipping, which makes both machining and assembly easier. PEEK is chemically unreactive, so glued joints need a pretreated surface and mechanical fastening is often preferable. If the part instead needs maximum stiffness rather than toughness at high temperature, a fiber reinforced grade may suit better. Describe how hot it gets and for how long and we will point you to the right grade.

A practical advantage is that the HT grade handles repeated temperature cycles without tiring. Many designs are heated and cooled over and over in operation, and where a plastic with poorer heat stability would have crept or deformed step by step, HT keeps its shape through the cycles. That makes it suitable in equipment that is started and stopped daily. Choose a sheet thickness close to your final geometry, so that you do not mill away more of the expensive material than necessary and keep the machining time down.

Black HT in 3000 x 300 mm is the high temperature version, meant for parts that have to sit even hotter than ordinary PEEK can take.

Sheets come in various thicknesses and are cut to blanks per drawing, so you avoid paying for surplus material. In doubt about whether standard PEEK is enough or whether the HT grade is needed for your operating temperature? Tell us how hot it gets and for how long and we will pick the grade for your part.