ABS Plastic Machining

Your guide to ABS Plastic Machining

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Opaque thermoplastic made from a two phase polymer blend

Impact resistance and toughness

Not typically stocked as standard in the UK

ABS has good machinability, but can be hard to source in the UK. There are several other engineering plastics that have similar attributes and yet offer significantly better value for money. Please call our engineering team to chat through your project.

This guide will take you through the main attributes, common applications, notes for designers and suitable finishing and treatments and property tables. Don't forget to bookmark the page so you can refer back later.

If you are interested in ABS machined parts, or a more readily available equivalent, please scroll to the bottom of the page for more information about our service and to request a quote.

ABS Guide: Properties, Applications and Design Considerations

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What is ABS?
 

Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) is an opaque thermoplastic made from a two phase polymer blend. ABS plastic is well known for its impact resistance and toughness.

Plastic ABS is both harder and more scratch resistant than PET and POM (Acetal), but has a lower thermal stability. The characteristics of basic ABS offer a wide scope for modification by varying the proportion of the components used in the polymer blend.

You may also see ABS referred to as:

  • Trade names: TecaranTM, Royalite®, Terluran®, Absylux, Absoloy, Abson, Abstrene, ABStron, 4Lac, 4Loy, Abifor, Abistir, Absolac
  • CAS Registry Number: 9003-56-9
  • ABS Resin
  • ABS Copolymer

Whilst ABS typically has good machinability, its difficulty to source does not make it our first choice. There are other engineering plastics that present very similar properties at a lower cost.

 
Industry Examples: Automotive | Mechanical engineering | Electrical and Electronics | Food technology
 
Typical Components & Applications: Appliance housings | Casings | Boxes | Furniture components | Housings | Covers | Structural components | Interior panelling | Electroplated parts | Pipes and fittings | Handles | Computer housings | Radiator grills | Domestic appliances
 

Main Attributes:
  • Good machinability
  • Easy bonding and weldability
  • Gamma and x-ray resistant
  • Good toughness and impact strength even at low temperatures
  • High stiffness
  • Good dimensional stability
  • Can be used in temperatures ranging from -50°C to +70°C
  • Opaque
  • Electrically insulating
  • Resists scratching
  • Low density
  • Good chemical resistance
  • Good damping
  • Low moisture absorption
  • Not weather resistant
  • Limited resistance to acid and caustic solutions
  • Recyclable

Note For Designers:

ABS is not easy to source in the UK and more often than not, needs to be bought in from America. As such, it can be expensive with a long lead time.

There are several other engineering plastics that have similar attributes and yet offer significantly better value for money. Please call our engineering team to chat through your project.

Can we meet your ABS plastic machining needs? Contact us now
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ABS Plastic Machined Parts

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Penta Precision provides the following plastic ABS machining services: 
  • CNC milling
  • CNC turning
  • Prototypes and batch runs
  • Insert installation
  • Part marking
  • Manual milling
  • Manual turning
  • Machining design advice
  • Design for manufacture service

Want to know more?

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