Polyethylene High-Molecular-Weight (high-molecular polyethylene, short form: PE HMW, RCH 500 or PE-500) is from the mechanical properties and with regard to the good sliding properties the PE quality below PE-UHMW and above PE-HD/ PE 300 (order thus PE-UHMW / PE-HMW / PE-HD) a very well to process technical plastic (thermoplastic plastic), has like all PE types with approx. 0.95 g/cm³ (PVC = 1.4 / PA = 1.14 / POM = 1.39 / PTFE = 2.2 / PEEK = 1.32), it has the second-lowest weight of all high-quality engineering plastics and thus alone offers a very interesting price basis (compared to POM, PEEK, PTFE, PVC, PVDF, acrylic glass or PET). The moisture absorption of PE 500 / PE-HMW is 0.0% (better than PA), the modulus of elasticity of PE 300 is a low 800 N/mm², but the PE is very attractive due to its high alkali and acid resistance (better than POM, PA, PVC, PET / PE-UHMW and PVDF is better here), self-lubricating effect (For PE HMW lower than PE-UHMW) and easy plastic processing (cutting to size, milling, turning, water jet cutting, welding (PE 500 plastic sheets do not evaporate as PVC, PVDF do), PE HMW is a very popular material for technical plastic parts and sheets in mechanical engineering (PE HMW) that are subject to good sliding properties, good mechanical properties and wear and abrasion, as linings for bulk material containers, but also as cutting boards (PE 500 is physiologically harmless) in the food industry or in private households.

In addition to the good properties mentioned above, PE-HMW / PE-500 is superior to many other engineering plastics. Compared to PVC, which also withstands many chemical substances, PE 500 / PE-HMW has an approx. 45% lower weight and no toxic gases are produced either during the machining of sheets or during combustion. The wear resistance and notched impact strength of PE is higher compared to PA, POM, PEEK, PVC or PTFE.  Compared to PA, POM and PEEK, the sliding properties of PE are much higher. Compared to PP, PE HMW is also much more resistant to cold (PPH has its glass transition temperature at about 0°C, PP CoPo at about -40°C). Contact with food is unproblematic due to FDA approval. Also, PE-HMW has almost no water absorption, which is a problem for PA in many applications. In terms of price, PE-HMW is generally far more attractive than PE- UHMW, PA, POM, PEEK, PVC-U, PVDF or PTFE. Note : The only weak point of PE HMW / PE-500 is static strength, just like PE-HD or PE-UHMW. In general, you have to support PE HMW structurally and cannot design e.g. plates / components with wide support distance from it and have to avoid high surface pressures. High molecular weight PE (all polyethylene types like PE-UHMW, PE-HMW or PE-HD) can be used well as electrical insulator with good dielectric properties. Welding PE-500 with PE welding rod is possible, but much easier to do with PVC-U or PE-HD. Mirror welding (here the plates to be welded made of PE-HMW, PE-UHMW or PE-HD are melted by means of heating mirror and welded without welding wire by pressing them together) is possible without problems with plates made of PE, but is usually done with thicker pressed plates instead of extruded plates.

PE-HMW has poorer melt flow than PE-HD, but better flow than PE UHMW. This makes PE 500 difficult for injection molding, it is extruded only in small quantities, and for PE 500 / PE-HMW usually remains only the production of sheets, blanks, machined finished parts and round bars. Pressed sheets of polyethylene are produced in the pressing process (as in cake baking, the powder is filled into molds and pressed and melted at temperatures >200 degrees under high pressure and then cooled down again under pressure). The dimension of the PE sheet is determined by the size of the mold. The advantage of the pressed sheets compared to the extruded sheets of other materials such as PE 300, PVC, POM, PA or PP is the relatively low stress in the sheet. The sheets then have a press-finished tolerance of about +/- 2 and are usually planed to +/- 0.2 mm tolerance. PE 500 is extruded only in small quantities and there is only a small delivery program of sheets and blanks extruded from PE 500 and special productions on request. Round bars of PE HMW are extruded by ram extrusion and the round bars are also very low stress, because in this process a small amount of PE material is always extruded (actually pressed / melted) to the existing round bars in the machine and the material is not provided with large stresses during melting. For example, if the sheets are not to be used as blanks in wear protection, the sheet material is usually milled into finished parts, and the round bars are turned into drawing parts (good machinability with woodworking machines is given). PE 500 cannot be pressed into sheets in thicknesses of 1-7 mm, so a special process is used here. Thicker pressed sheets are split into thinner sheets (cut / peeled to the thickness) and so there are also pressed PE HMW sheets (just like pressed PE-UHMW sheets)

In a thickness of 1-7 mm for special applications such as orthopedics. Our own residues such as planing waste or offcuts from blanks can be reground and pressed into high-quality PE 500 Regenerat sheets.

Delivery quantities of these polyethylene semi-finished products are available as pressed sheets (thickness 8 to 280 mm), also single pieces or pre-cut parts, round rods are available in many formats and colors (transparent material such as PC or acrylic glass (Makrolon) is not possible) in stock. For offers on PE-HMW sheets, PE-HMW round bars, blanks or molded parts just ask us, we will be happy to make you an offer. The better the blanks fit into one of the standard sheets, the better the price. As a cheaper variant, we have a colored or black (no natural possible) polyethylene PE-500 regenerate in the form of semi-finished products ( plates, blanks) or finished parts from this high-molecular PE.

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