Polypropylene Machining: Material Properties and Uses

There are hundreds of plastics suitable for CNC machining processing, but polypropylene material accounts for 10% of use, second only to PVC. The outstanding feature of polypropylene is the resistance to bending fatigue (7*10^7) times of folding and bending without damage marks.

Soft plastic materials, when machined, tend to heat up and cause deformation, so our machinists use spindle speed 15000-18000, feed rate 3000-5000, and carbide or high-speed steel(HSS) for tools in polypropylene machining.

Learn More Polycarbonate Material

What is Polycarbonate

Polypropylene(PP) is a thermoplastic resin, a polymer made of propylene through a polymerization reaction. As one of the lightest of the commonly used plastics, it is easy to machine and surface treat, and also has resistance to wear and tear, chemical resistance, and favorable economic conditions.

Advantages of Polypropylene Material

Lowest density

Polypropylene is the least dense of all synthetic resins, at 0.90g/cm3, only 60% of the density of PVC materials. With higher flexibility can also reduce the overall weight of the product.

Best heat resistance

PP materials heat resistance is the best, -30 ℃ to 140 ℃ for a long time work will not be deformed. It can be used to make utensils for heating food.

Cheaper

Polypropylene is more affordable than other high-performance plastics such as Polycarbonate and Acrylic (PMMA), which can save you money.

Softening point is close to the melting point

Polypropylene is a crystalline polymer and its particles will only melt at a fixed temperature, unlike Polyethylene or PVC, which soften as the temperature increases during heating.

Best Solution for Polypropylene Parts

Polypropylene parts are able to withstand more load and less fatigue damage due to the higher crystallinity and lower defect density in its molecular structure; it also reduces minor defects and damage within the material.

Then have you considered which of your products' problems can be solved by this feature of it? Please leave these things to Tuofa, we will choose the right material according to your project, and completing the order is just the beginning of our value creation for you!

Custom Polycarbonate Parts Quote

Polypropylene Material Properties

Items		Test condition	Test method	Test data	Unit
Basic performance	Density		ASTM D1505	0.9	g/cm3
Basic performance	Water imbibition	After 24 hours	ASTM D570	0.02	%
Mechanical properties	Notched impact strength	23°C(73.4F)	ASTM D256A	2.6	Kg.cm/cm
	Tensile yield strength		ASTM D638	10	%
	Elongation at break		ASTM D638	360	Kg/cm2
	Rockwell hardness		ASTM D758A	97	R scale
Thermal performance	Bending modulus		ASTM D790B	17500	Kg/cm2
Thermal performance	Melting point		ASTM D648	170	℃

Polypropylene Uses

Polypropylene material is widely used in the production of medical devices, automobiles, bicycles, parts, conveying pipes, chemical containers, etc. It is also used for food, drugs and garments. CNC machined polypropylene parts can be manufactured including:

Machine cases

Bearings

Bolts and nuts

Handles and knobs

Pipe parts(Valves)

Pallets

Custom Polypropylene Parts Display

Choose Tuofa's custom polypropylene parts. In our precision 5-axis CNC shop, engineers precisely control the parameters and tool paths of CNC machines, resulting in high-precision part machining.