Can Polyethylene Wax(PE Wax) Act As A Lubricant?

Can polyethylene wax act as a lubricant? Polyethylene wax is a good internal lubricant, used in polyethylene and polypropylene. It is not completely compatible with polyethylene wax, so it acts as an external lubricant to a certain extent. For large injection molded products, wax can not only improve the fluidity during processing, but also greatly improve the surface gloss and resistance to environmental stress cracking.

Polyethylene wax (PE wax), also known as polymer wax, is referred to as polyethylene wax. It is widely used because of its excellent cold resistance, heat resistance, chemical resistance and wear resistance. In normal production, this part of wax can be directly added to polyolefin processing as an additive, which can increase the gloss and processing performance of the product. As a lubricant, it has stable chemical properties and good electrical properties.

Polyethylene wax has good compatibility with polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl wax, ethylene propylene rubber, and butyl rubber. It can change the fluidity of polyethylene, polypropylene, ABS and the demoulding properties of polymethyl methacrylate and polycarbonate. Compared with PV and other external lubricants, polyethylene wax has a stronger internal lubrication effect.

The working principle of polyethylene wax is as follows: polyethylene wax dissolves in the solvent at high temperature (about 100-140℃), and precipitates when cooled to room temperature, existing in the coating in the form of microcrystals. Its thixotropy is conducive to the storage of the coating, and after the coating is applied, it can migrate to the surface of the coating during the evaporation of the solvent, and finally form a “waxed” surface with other components of the coating. The effect of polyethylene wax depends on the following factors: the variety and specification of polyethylene wax, the final particle size, the ability to migrate to the surface of the coating, the composition of the coating, the nature of the coated substrate, the construction and application method, etc.