Homopolymer Acetal or Delrin is the best plastic for turning on a lathe lathe. It is pretty easy to turn, although it does require slower speeds. I have used this stuff to make Scottish small pipes chanters. I have bought numerous items from iPlastic. Smaller pieces usually ship promptly and everything was well packed. I have never had an issue with an order.
Between the Delrin and Acetal rods, both materials are exceptionally durable and easily machinable, as they have very similar physical properties. They do appear the same, but for practical uses there are some differences that may make one preferable than the other. It also depends on your application. As with all plastic materials, be sure to check the typical properties data sheet for the desired properties you may need for your application.
Our Acetal Sheet is definitely our primary material for machining,as it gives an great finish both on manual and CNC Machines. Its got a very low moisture absorption making it the usual grade for food contact and where the dimensional stability is important. Acetal Sheet has the perfect combination of high mechanical strength, hardness and toughness, giving it superb sliding properties, electrical insulation, and wear resistance.
Acetal Sheet has many applications and is especially of value in the food preparation industry. Because of its low moisture absorption it helped it to achieve Food & Drug Administration approval in addition to its superb sliding abilities which aid with very low friction and hard wearing food safe components.
Acetal Sheets are of the plastics used within the automotive industry because of its long lasting dimensional stability and toughness. It provides solutions for designers to help them create long lasting and very durable components. Another popular area for Acetal Sheet is in boating applications. This environment suits acetal quite because the low moisture absorption results in components that will not expand or change dimensions due to contact with water.