Whats the difference/ can i use Acetal in place of Delrin??
in 99.9% of cases YES!
First Delrin is Acetal it is just a Brand name by Dupoint a major plastics manufacture for there Acetal Homopolymer developed in the 50s.
The only difference is Delrin is a Homopolymer meaning it has only 1 type of molecule where the Copolymer has more than on type of molecule.
you can buy Acetal in Copolymer and Homopolimer. The Homopolimer Acetal should be exactly the same as Delrin.
The only Acetals we sell are Copolymer and Delrin but we are fazing Delrin out for its Copolimer counterpart. we can still get most grades to order but we may not have them in stock.
Below is a rough guide for Acetal homopolymer and Copolymer to show the usual differences.
Differences between Acetal Copolymer Rod and Delrin Homopolymer Rod
Copolymer acetal is an engineering plastic that has the advantage of being more suited to chemical applications and the Delrin Homopolymer grade is an engineering plastic that is more suitable for mechanical applications, being slightly harder, higher mechanical strength, lower thermal expansion and potentially better or improved wear rates. Acetal Copolymer is more economical than the Homopolymer grade, although there is no visual difference between the two grades.
Homopolymer is also more porous when it is formed via extrusion than Copolymer.
| Properties | Homo-Polymer Acetal | Co-Polymer Acetal |
| Tensile Modulus of Elasticity | 450,000 | 400,000 |
| Flexural Modulus of Elasticity | 470,000 | 366,000 |
| Heat Deflection Temp @ 264 psi – degress F | 257 | 220 |
| Melting Point – degress F | 347 | 335 |
| Coef. of Linear Thermal Expansion | 6.8 x 10-5 | 5.4 x 10-5 |
| Water Absorption @ Saturation | 0.9 | 0.8 |
For more Information on Acetal click below