Tens to hundreds of pieces, tight tolerances or thick sections: machining. Thousands and a mouldable shape: injection moulding. Machining has no tooling cost and annealed stock moves little. Octud runs prototypes from stock shapes and production in the same grade of resin from one source.
POLYMER · PEEK
PEEK machined parts — from rod and plate, to your drawing
PEEK (polyetheretherketone) is a semi-crystalline super-engineering plastic with a continuous use temperature of 260°C and a melting point of 343°C; low-volume, precision parts are normally machined from annealed rod and plate. Octud, the official Joyrun PEEK distributor, supplies both stock shapes and machined parts to customer drawings.
For PEEK parts in small quantities or tight tolerances, machining comes before moulding. Cut from rod or plate with no tooling, then move to injection moulding in the same grade once production is confirmed. Octud handles both stages from one source.
PEEK is semi-crystalline, so injection moulding brings crystallisation shrinkage (about 1.2–1.4%) and anisotropy that make tight tolerances hard to hit from the mould alone. Annealed rod and plate have their internal stress relieved, so machined parts move little afterwards, and for tens to hundreds of pieces machining with no tooling cost is the economical route. Typical parts: semiconductor test sockets, wafer-handling jigs, wear bushings and washers, medical instrument components.
The application picks the grade. Unfilled PEEK (K10G, tensile 98 MPa, HDT 152°C) for wetted and medical parts where toughness and purity come first; 30% glass fibre (K10GL30, HDT 328°C) for dimensional stability; 30% carbon fibre (K10CA30, tensile 265 MPa) for stiffness; PTFE and graphite compounds (K10LF30, K10FE20) for dry-running sliding parts. Carbon-fibre grades are conductive, so insulating parts use glass fibre.
Heat is the thing to watch in machining. Low thermal conductivity lets cutting heat accumulate and melt or burn the surface. Sharp tools, adequate cooling and re-annealing after heavy stock removal are the baseline; parts that move after machining are done rough → anneal → finish.
Representative properties — Joyrun PEEK (manufacturer TDS)
- Continuous use temperature
- about 260°C (generally quoted for PEEK)
- Melting point · Tg
- 343°C · 143°C
- Unfilled K10G
- Tensile 98 MPa · HDT 152°C · UL94 V-0 · ≙ Victrex® 450G
- GF30 K10GL30
- HDT 328°C · tensile 180 MPa · dimensional stability · ≙ 450GL30
- CF30 K10CA30
- Tensile 265 MPa · highest stiffness in the family · conductive · ≙ 450CA30
- Bearing K10LF30 · K10FE20
- CF/graphite/PTFE compound / 20% PTFE — dry-running low friction
- Stock shapes
- Imported directly by Octud — /products/stock-shapes/peek
Joyrun PEEK TDS · continuous use temperature is the generally quoted value for PEEK
Where it fits
- Semiconductor test sockets · burn-in sockets
- Wafer-handling jigs · carrier parts
- Wear bushings · washers · gears
- Chemical-contact valve and fitting parts
- Medical instrument parts (repeated sterilisation)
- High-temperature electrical insulation
Before ordering
- 01Grade — unfilled / GF30 / CF30 / bearing (no CF for insulating parts)
- 02Quantity — tens to hundreds machined; after production is confirmed, moulding in the same grade is possible
- 03Tolerances, roughness and annealing requirements on the drawing
- 042D (PDF) + 3D (STEP) together
Quotation and samples run through the Parts supply page — the form is at the top of it.
Send a drawing for a quote