Aerospace
Insulators, Manifolds & High-Temperature Parts
Insulators, manifolds and structural parts with a heat deflection temperature of 160 °C.
CNC Machining PEEK For High-Heat, Chemical-Resistant Parts
CNC Machining
Tight Tolerances
CNC machining material
PEEK overview
CNC machined PEEK is a high-temperature engineering plastic that replaces metal in seals, bearings, insulators and fluid-handling parts. It stays strong and stiff at temperatures that soften most plastics, and it resists steam, hot water, oils, fuels and many harsh chemicals. It weighs far less than metal, barely absorbs water so fits stay true, and runs against steel without lubrication. Aerospace, oil and gas, medical equipment, semiconductor and subsea robotics teams use it for parts that must keep working through heat, pressure and corrosive fluids.
How PEEK is manufactured
PEEK is manufactured by CNC machining, cutting each part from extruded PEEK rod, plate or tube rather than building it in layers. Multi-axis machining produces precise bores, threads, seal grooves and sealing faces for parts bound for extreme environments, with the properties of the stock running through the whole part. Sharp tooling and cutting parameters set for PEEK manage heat buildup, so features come off the machine clean and accurate, with polishing available wherever a face needs a finer surface.
- Machining envelope
- 1000 × 600 × 500 mm
- Lead time
- 5-7 business days
- Tolerance
- ±0.050 mm typical
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Upload CAD files and drawings to Forge Labs Steam, and our engineers review PEEK parts for tolerances, tool access and finish so issues are fixed before production.
Industry applications
Industry applications for PEEK
PEEK is trusted for aerospace, medical and oil and gas programs that need excellent thermal and chemical resistance where uptime matters. It combines a high strength-to-weight ratio for an engineering plastic with useful strength and stiffness at temperatures that soften most plastics, so it replaces metal in seals, bearings and fluid-handling hardware and insulates parts that must keep working in demanding environments.
From rapid prototyping to production runs, teams rely on PEEK to hold tight tolerances. Low-stress extruded stock keeps machined features true, and with no moulds or minimum order quantities, one prototype and a production batch start from the same CAD file.
High resistivity and dielectric strength make it a natural choice for electrical insulators and semiconductor equipment hardware, while low dry friction and wear against steel let bushings and thrust washers run without lubrication.
Oil, Gas & Energy
Pump, Valve & Downhole Components
Pump wear parts, valve seats and seals for corrosive media under heat and pressure.
Medical Devices
Sterilizable Fixtures & Instrument Hardware
Sterilizable fixtures, holders and trays in a steam-resistant engineering plastic.
Robotics
Subsea Thruster, Seal & Connector Parts
Thruster, bearing and seal parts that stay true through long immersion in sea water.
Aerospace
Insulators, Manifolds & High-Temperature Parts
Aerospace programs machine PEEK into electrical and thermal insulators, manifolds, bushings and structural parts that sit in thermal extremes. It resists deflection up to 160 °C under a 1.8 MPa load and is a lighter alternative to metal components.
- Electrical and thermal insulators
- Manifolds and fluid fittings
- Bushings and structural brackets
Oil, Gas & Energy
Pump, Valve & Downhole Components
Power generation, process and oilfield equipment makers machine PEEK into pump and compressor wear parts, valve seats, seals, back-up rings and downhole tool components that face corrosive media under heat and pressure. MCAM's extruded Ketron 1000 PEEK shapes are NORSOK M-710 certified for oil, gas and subsea sealing, seat and back-up parts.
- Pump and compressor wear parts
- Valve seats, seals and back-up rings
- Downhole tool components
Medical Devices
Sterilizable Fixtures & Instrument Hardware
Medical device teams machine PEEK into sterilizable fixtures, instrument holders, trays and test hardware that work outside the patient-contact path. PEEK resists steam up to 200 °C.
- Sterilizable fixtures and trays
- Instrument holders and guides
- Test and assembly hardware
Robotics
Subsea Thruster, Seal & Connector Parts
Subsea vehicle and field robotics teams machine PEEK into thruster cowlings, bearings, seals, sensor protectors and connectors. It absorbs only 0.5% water at saturation and sea water does not attack it, so bearing fits and seal grooves stay true through long immersion.
- Thruster cowlings and bearings
- Seals and slide pads
- Sensor protectors and connectors
Performance data
Technical performance for PEEK
Values from the MCAM Ketron 1000 PEEK stock-shape datasheet, tested to the standard listed with each property.
Mechanical performance
Mechanical properties
PEEK delivers dependable strength, stiffness and toughness, handling demanding load conditions while its balanced mechanical profile prevents brittleness in critical applications. It suits downhole tool components, seals and instrument parts that need long-term durability in harsh service.
MCAM reports tensile strength at yield, and the wide gap between elongation at yield and at break shows how far the material stretches before it fails. Unnotched samples do not break, while notched values are far lower, so generous internal radii at corners and thread roots keep the full toughness of the material in machined parts.
PropertyValue
- Tensile StrengthASTM D638
- 110 MPa
- Tensile ModulusASTM D638
- 4340 MPa
- Elongation at YieldASTM D638
- 5 %
- Elongation at BreakASTM D638
- 40 %
- Flexural StrengthASTM D790
- 172 MPa
- Flexural ModulusASTM D790
- 4140 MPa
- Compressive Strength (10% deformation)ASTM D695
- 138 MPa
- Shear StrengthASTM D732
- 55 MPa
- Izod Impact Strength, NotchedASTM D256 Type A
- 32 J/m
- Charpy Impact Strength, UnnotchedISO 179-1/1eU
- No break
- Charpy Impact Strength, NotchedISO 179-1/1eA
- 3.5 kJ/m²
- Rockwell Hardness MASTM D785
- 100
- Rockwell Hardness RASTM D785
- 126
Material makeup
Physical properties
Low density keeps PEEK parts light, and very low moisture absorption keeps them on size in humid or wet service. Consistent density keeps downstream finishing predictable, so assemblies fit without secondary rework.
Friction, wear rate and limiting PV come from dry bearing tests against steel. Use them to size unlubricated bearing parts; the PV limit already includes MCAM's safety factor.
PropertyValue
- DensityASTM D792
- 1.31 g/cm³
- Water Absorption (24 h, 23 °C)ASTM D570
- 0.10 %
- Water Absorption (saturation, 23 °C)ASTM D570
- 0.5 %
- Dynamic Coefficient of Friction (dry vs. steel)QTM 55007
- 0.32
- Wear Rate (pin-on-disk vs. steel)ISO 7148-2
- 28 µm/km
- Limiting PV (100 ft/min, 4:1 safety factor)QTM 55007
- 0.298 MPa·m/s
Heat performance
Thermal properties
PEEK withstands repeated thermal cycling, which suits aerospace, medical and oil and gas parts mounted near heat sources. Heat deflection shows the short-term limit under load. The continuous service temperature is a long-term ageing limit in air, after which about half the room-temperature tensile strength remains, and strength falls steadily as temperature rises, so size loaded parts from strength at operating temperature.
Expansion climbs steeply in the top temperature band as PEEK passes its glass transition, so check clearances against metal parts at operating temperature. The oxygen index shows that PEEK needs far more oxygen than air contains to keep burning.
PropertyValue
- Melting TemperatureASTM D3418
- 340 °C
- HDT @ 1.8 MPaASTM D648
- 160 °C
- Continuous Service Temperature (air, 20,000 h)
- 250 °C
- Minimum Service Temperature
- -50 °C
- Thermal Conductivity (23 °C)ASTM F433
- 0.25 W/m·K
- Coefficient of Linear Expansion (−40 to 150 °C)ASTM E831
- 47 ×10⁻⁶/K
- Coefficient of Linear Expansion (23 to 100 °C)
- 50 ×10⁻⁶/K
- Coefficient of Linear Expansion (23 to 150 °C)
- 55 ×10⁻⁶/K
- Coefficient of Linear Expansion (above 150 °C)
- 130 ×10⁻⁶/K
- Oxygen IndexISO 4589-1/-2
- 35 %
Functional performance
Electrical properties
PEEK is an electrical insulator, neither conductive nor static dissipative, which suits connector bodies and instrumentation housings in integrated electrical systems.
Volume resistivity describes insulation through the part and surface resistivity across its faces. The dielectric constant and dissipation factor are measured at 1 MHz and help evaluate dielectric losses in signal-sensitive or high-frequency use.
PropertyValue
- Volume ResistivityIEC 62631-3-1
- 10¹⁴ Ω·cm
- Surface ResistivityANSI/ESD STM 11.11
- 10¹³ Ω
- Dielectric Strength (short term)ASTM D149
- 18.9 kV/mm
- Dielectric Constant (1 MHz)ASTM D150
- 3.3
- Dissipation Factor (1 MHz)ASTM D150
- 0.003
Compatibility data
Chemical properties
Victrex immersed unfilled PEEK test bars for at least seven days at 23, 100 and 200 °C. PEEK resists hot water, strong alkalis, oils and hydraulic fluids up to 200 °C, and fuels, ketones and chlorinated solvents at room temperature, while concentrated sulfuric and nitric acid, chlorine and phenol attack it.
These are PEEK polymer screening data, and MCAM's category ratings for Ketron 1000 PEEK agree with them. MCAM rates continuous sunlight as limited, so protect outdoor parts from UV. Confirm chemical ratings with application-specific testing before production release.
Chemical23 °C100 °C200 °C
- Water vapour (steam)
- 23 °CNo interaction
- 100 °CNo interaction
- 200 °CNo interaction
- Water
- 23 °CNo interaction
- 100 °CNo interaction
- 200 °CNo interaction
- Sea water
- 23 °CNo interaction
- 100 °CNo interaction
- 200 °CNot tested
- Sodium hydroxide 50%
- 23 °CNo interaction
- 100 °CNo interaction
- 200 °CNo interaction
- Hydrochloric acid 10%
- 23 °CNo interaction
- 100 °CNo interaction
- 200 °CNot tested
- Hydrochloric acid, concentrated
- 23 °CNo interaction
- 100 °CSlight interaction
- 200 °CNot tested
- Phosphoric acid 50%
- 23 °CNo interaction
- 100 °CNo interaction
- 200 °CNo interaction
- Sulfuric acid below 40%
- 23 °CSlight interaction
- 100 °CSlight interaction
- 200 °CSlight interaction
- Sulfuric acid above 40%
- 23 °CSevere interaction
- 100 °CSevere interaction
- 200 °CSevere interaction
- Nitric acid 10%
- 23 °CNo interaction
- 100 °CNo interaction
- 200 °CNot tested
- Nitric acid 30%
- 23 °CSlight interaction
- 100 °CNot tested
- 200 °CNot tested
- Nitric acid, concentrated
- 23 °CSevere interaction
- 100 °CSevere interaction
- 200 °CSevere interaction
- Acetone
- 23 °CNo interaction
- 100 °CNo interaction
- 200 °CNot tested
- Methyl ethyl ketone (MEK)
- 23 °CNo interaction
- 100 °CSlight interaction
- 200 °CSevere interaction
- Methylene chloride
- 23 °CNo interaction
- 100 °CNot tested
- 200 °CNot tested
- Toluene
- 23 °CNo interaction
- 100 °CNot tested
- 200 °CNot tested
- Gasoline
- 23 °CNo interaction
- 100 °CNo interaction
- 200 °CNot tested
- Motor oil
- 23 °CNo interaction
- 100 °CNo interaction
- 200 °CNo interaction
- Brake fluid (polyglycol)
- 23 °CNo interaction
- 100 °CNo interaction
- 200 °CNo interaction
- Skydrol hydraulic fluid
- 23 °CNo interaction
- 100 °CNot tested
- 200 °CNot tested
- Hydrogen peroxide
- 23 °CNo interaction
- 100 °CNo interaction
- 200 °CNot tested
- Sodium hypochlorite
- 23 °CNo interaction
- 100 °CNo interaction
- 200 °CNot tested
- Chlorine
- 23 °CSevere interaction
- 100 °CSevere interaction
- 200 °CSevere interaction
- Phenol, concentrated
- 23 °CSevere interaction
- 100 °CSevere interaction
- 200 °CSevere interaction
Compliance
Compliance profile
MCAM lists natural Ketron 1000 PEEK as compliant with FDA 21 CFR 177 food-contact regulations; other colours can carry different approvals. The NORSOK M-710 certification covers MCAM's extruded Ketron 1000 PEEK stock shapes, and programs qualify finished parts from that supplier data.
MCAM estimates a UL 94 V-0 rating at 3 mm from raw-material data, as stock shapes have no UL file number. Ketron 1000 PEEK has no biocompatibility data, so medical parts with body contact need a life-science PEEK grade, such as one pre-assessed to ISO 10993 and USP Class VI for contact under 24 hours.
StandardStatus
- FDA 21 CFR 177 (Food contact)Food-contact compliance listed for natural Ketron 1000 PEEK; other colours can carry different approvals
- MCAM statement
- NORSOK M-710 (sour gas ageing)Extruded Ketron 1000 PEEK stock shapes are NORSOK M-710 certified for oil, gas and subsea sealing, seat and back-up parts
- MCAM certified shapes
- UL 94 flammabilityEstimated rating at 3 mm from raw-material data; no UL file number for stock shapes
- V-0 (estimated)
Related materials
Compare PEEK with similar materials
Resources
Datasheets and design resources
Datasheets, design guidance and supplier documentation for PEEK.
Download center
Access the most recent datasheet and supporting documentation maintained by our engineering team.
PEEK datasheetDesign guidelines
Tolerance, wall thickness and finishing guidance for machined parts.
View machining guidance
Advanced Manufacturing
Built with Precision CNC Machining Technology
PEEK is manufactured using advanced CNC machining technology, ensuring optimal material properties and dimensional accuracy.
- Production capacity
- Large work envelope for machining multiple parts or assemblies efficiently
- Quality control
- In-process monitoring and batch traceability for consistent part quality and material properties
- Surface finish
- As-machined Ra 1.6-3.2 µm; precision finish Ra 0.4 µm
- Minimum wall thickness
- 1.5 mm for plastic parts
- Colours & finishes
- Deburring, annealing, polishing and threading
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently asked questions about PEEK
Can't find the answer you're looking for? Reach out to our customer support team.
- PEEK combines excellent thermal and chemical resistance with a high strength-to-weight ratio for an engineering plastic, and retains useful strength and stiffness at temperatures that soften most plastics. It has a tensile strength of 110 MPa, resists deflection up to 160 °C under a 1.8 MPa load and is rated for 250 °C long-term service in air, which suits aerospace, medical and oil and gas applications.
- PEEK is CNC machined from extruded PEEK rod, plate or tube using sharp tooling that manages heat buildup. Parts up to 1000 × 600 × 500 mm are held to ±0.050 mm typical and ship in 5-7 business days, with deburring, annealing, polishing and threading available. For a 3D printed high-performance polymer in the same family, Antero 800NA PEKK is made by FDM.
- PEEK is used across aerospace, medical, oil and gas and semiconductor equipment for electrical and thermal insulators, manifolds, pump components and valve seats, downhole tool components, sterilizable fixtures, and subsea seals and bearings.
- PEEK offers excellent thermal and chemical resistance, a high strength-to-weight ratio, very low moisture absorption (0.10% in 24 hours), low friction and wear for unlubricated bearings, and dependable electrical insulation.
- PEEK costs more than standard polymers, needs specialized tooling to manage heat buildup during machining, and its surface finish improves with polishing after machining. Its strength falls as temperature rises, so loaded parts near the service limit need checking, and the standard grade has no biocompatibility data, so it is not used for implants.
- MCAM rates Ketron 1000 PEEK for service from -50 °C up to 250 °C in air, where the upper figure is a 20,000-hour ageing limit after which about half the room-temperature tensile strength remains. It deflects at 160 °C under a 1.8 MPa load and melts at 340 °C.
- MCAM lists natural Ketron 1000 PEEK as compliant with FDA 21 CFR 177 food-contact regulations, and MCAM's extruded Ketron 1000 PEEK shapes are NORSOK M-710 certified for oil, gas and subsea sealing parts. MCAM also estimates a UL 94 V-0 rating at 3 mm from raw-material data. Ketron 1000 PEEK has no biocompatibility data, so medical parts with body contact need a life-science PEEK grade.
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