Licharz engineering plastics explained for material selection
Licharz engineering plastics are most relevant to buyers, machinists, and design engineers who specify semi-finished thermoplastic stock for wear parts, sliding components, rollers, gears, guide elements, and other machined industrial parts. Based on company-published material brochures and data sheets, the Licharz range is centered on cast polyamides, POM, PET, and selected high-performance plastics such as PEEK. The practical question is not whether one material is universally better. It is which polymer family fits the load, speed, moisture, temperature, compliance, and machining requirements of the application. This article summarizes the material selection logic behind Licharz engineering plastics and connects it with broader engineering plastics decision-making.
What Licharz engineering plastics refers to
Licharz is a German manufacturer associated with semi-finished engineering plastics and machined plastic components. Its public company information describes a long-term focus on semi-finished plastic materials, especially the LiNNOTAM cast polyamide family, as well as POM and PET. The company also lists engineering components made from materials such as PET, POM, and PEEK for selected industrial and food technology applications.
In practical purchasing language, “Licharz engineering plastics” usually refers to stock shapes and machinable materials, not commodity plastic packaging resins. Typical forms include rods, sheets, and tubes that can be cut or machined into finished components. This distinction matters because semi-finished engineering plastics are selected for mechanical function, not simply for molding convenience or low resin cost.
The search intent behind the term is often comparative. A buyer may want to know whether Licharz materials correspond to standard PA 6, cast nylon, acetal, PET, or PEEK materials. A designer may be checking which family is suitable for a bearing bush, gear, or guide rail. A distributor may be comparing stock-shape options. For these users, a material-selection framework is more useful than a simple brand description.
Main material families in the Licharz range
Licharz documentation highlights several groups that are common in industrial engineering plastics. Each group has a different balance of stiffness, wear behavior, dimensional stability, moisture sensitivity, thermal capability, and cost.
Cast polyamide and LiNNOTAM
LiNNOTAM is the cast polyamide brand most closely associated with Licharz. The company describes it as a dense, durable cast polyamide used for wear parts and sliding machine components. In its semi-finished product literature, Licharz positions cast polyamide for applications such as bearing bushes, guide pads, gears, sprockets, rollers, and other parts exposed to mechanical load.
Cast polyamide is often considered when metal parts create noise, weight, or friction problems. Compared with many metals, engineering polyamides can offer useful damping behavior and good machinability. However, polyamide is also more moisture-sensitive than POM, PET, and PEEK. Dimensional tolerance, water exposure, and operating humidity should therefore be reviewed before a grade is specified.
POM or acetal
POM, also known as acetal or polyoxymethylene, is widely used for precision machined parts that require stiffness, low friction, and dimensional stability. In a Licharz-related selection context, POM may be considered for gears, rollers, fixtures, sliding parts, and components where moisture uptake should be lower than typical polyamide.
The main limitation is that POM is not automatically suitable for high heat or demanding chemical exposure. It is a strong general-purpose engineering plastic, but it does not sit in the same performance tier as PEEK. Designers should check grade-specific data sheets, especially for continuous service temperature, food-contact documentation, UV exposure, flammability, and chemical compatibility.
PET engineering plastic
Engineering PET, often supplied as stock shapes, is selected for dimensional stability, wear behavior, and good machinability. In many applications, PET sits between POM and higher-cost high-performance polymers. It may be suitable where stable tolerances, moderate wear resistance, and low moisture absorption are important.
PET should not be confused with bottle-grade PET or general packaging material. Industrial PET stock shapes are engineered for machined components and are evaluated by mechanical, thermal, and dimensional properties. As with POM, the right grade depends on the actual application conditions, not only on the polymer abbreviation.
PEEK for higher-temperature requirements
PEEK is a higher-performance engineering plastic used when the operating environment exceeds the comfort zone of PA, POM, or PET. A Licharz PEEK material data sheet describes PEEK as a partially crystalline high-performance plastic with strong sliding and mechanical properties under thermal load and good chemical resistance. The same data sheet lists example applications including gears, bushings, piston rings, and wiper blades.
Selected values from the Licharz PEEK data sheet include a density of 1.32 g/cm³, yield stress of 95 MPa, tensile modulus of 3600 MPa, flexural strength of 160 MPa, melting temperature of 340°C, and a stated long-term operating temperature range from -40°C to +250°C. The data sheet also notes that its values are guide values based on defined test conditions and that suitability for a specific application should be determined by trials. That caution is important: even a high-performance polymer needs engineering validation.
How these materials compare for industrial use
The following table gives a practical comparison for preliminary selection. It should not replace grade-specific data sheets or application testing, but it can help narrow the material family before detailed engineering review.
| Material family | Typical reason to consider it | Important limitation to check | Common component examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cast polyamide | Wear resistance, damping, sliding behavior, and lower weight than metals | Moisture absorption, dimensional change, and temperature limits | Bearing bushes, rollers, guide pads, gears, sprockets |
| POM | Good machinability, stiffness, low friction, and dimensional stability | Thermal and chemical limits compared with high-performance polymers | Precision gears, rollers, guides, fixtures, sliding parts |
| PET | Stable dimensions, wear performance, and low moisture uptake in many machined parts | Application-specific temperature, impact, and chemical requirements | Wear strips, guide rails, precision machined components |
| PEEK | Higher temperature capability, chemical resistance, and mechanical performance under demanding conditions | Higher material cost and the need for careful validation | Bushings, gears, piston rings, wiper blades, high-duty components |
A useful starting point is the failure mode. If a metal part is causing noise or lubrication problems, cast polyamide may be the first family to investigate. If tolerance stability and easy machining are the main issues, POM or PET may be better starting points. If temperature and chemical exposure dominate, PEEK may be justified despite its higher cost.
Where Licharz materials are commonly discussed
Licharz public information lists many industries where engineering plastics are used, including mechanical engineering, materials handling, food industry, vehicle construction, railway applications, cranes and lifting technology, shipbuilding, water and wastewater technology, paper, bulk materials handling, and electrical engineering. These sectors share a common requirement: parts must survive friction, load, contamination, cleaning, moisture, or repeated movement.
In the food and beverage sector, Licharz literature discusses engineering components made from cast polyamides such as LiNNOTAM as well as PET, POM, and PEEK. It also refers to food-contact topics such as EU 10/2011, Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, and FDA-related requirements. This does not mean every grade is suitable for every food-contact application. Food-contact projects should be treated as documentation-driven decisions, with the selected grade, color, additive package, and declaration of conformity checked against the exact use case.
For designers, the application examples are usually more useful than broad industry labels. A roller in a conveyor line, a guide element in packaging equipment, and a bushing in a dusty machine may all point toward engineering plastics, but the correct polymer may differ. Load, speed, sliding partner, lubrication, washdown chemicals, temperature, and tolerance determine the final choice. See also: Buying Guides.
Key selection factors before specifying a grade
Load, speed and friction pairing
Engineering plastics are often chosen for sliding and wear parts, but tribological performance depends on the whole system. The counterface material, surface finish, lubrication, pressure, speed, and contamination level all influence wear. A grade that performs well against hardened steel under one load may behave differently against aluminum, stainless steel, or another plastic.
Moisture and dimensional stability
Moisture absorption is a critical difference among PA, POM, PET, and PEEK. Polyamides can absorb more moisture, which may affect dimensions and mechanical properties. POM and PET are often considered when tighter dimensional stability is needed in humid conditions. PEEK generally has low moisture uptake, but it is normally specified for higher-duty reasons such as heat, chemical resistance, or combined loads.
Temperature and chemical exposure
Operating temperature should be separated into continuous exposure, short-term peaks, and heat under load. A material may survive a temperature peak but creep or deform under sustained stress. Chemical exposure also needs detail: cleaning agents, oils, fuels, alkalis, acids, and disinfectants can produce very different results depending on concentration, temperature, and contact time.
Compliance and documentation
For food, medical, water, or regulated industrial applications, the material name alone is not enough. Buyers should ask for the exact grade designation, batch traceability where required, declarations of conformity, migration test support where applicable, and any relevant regulatory statements. This is especially important when additives, colors, or modified sliding grades are involved.
Machining and finished-part geometry
Stock-shape plastics are not specified only by sheet or rod size. Machining allowances, internal stress, annealing requirements, wall thickness, sharp corners, and tolerance strategy can affect performance. Even when a supplier describes a material as easy to machine, finished-part design should account for the polymer’s modulus, thermal expansion, and creep behavior.
What to verify in Licharz data sheets and brochures
Before using any Licharz material in a specification, the most important step is to read the current data sheet for the exact material grade. Public brochures are useful for orientation, but grade-level data sheets provide the values designers need for calculations and risk review.
- Mechanical data: tensile strength, modulus, impact strength, hardness, and creep behavior.
- Thermal data: melting temperature, continuous service range, short-term heat resistance, and thermal expansion.
- Wear data: friction coefficient, wear test conditions, and whether lubrication was used.
- Moisture data: water absorption, moisture absorption in standard climate, and dimensional effects.
- Electrical and fire data: volume resistance, dielectric strength, CTI, and UL 94 classification where listed.
- Compliance data: food-contact, color, additive, and batch documentation where the application requires it.
It is also important to note how values are generated. Many plastics data sheets report average values measured under standard laboratory conditions, often around 23°C and 50% relative humidity. These figures are useful for comparison, but they are not guarantees of finished-part performance. For high-load or safety-relevant parts, trial testing and conservative design margins are still necessary.
Practical takeaway for buyers and engineers
Licharz engineering plastics should be viewed as a family of machinable material options rather than a single universal solution. Cast polyamide is often relevant for wear, damping, and sliding parts. POM and PET are strong candidates for precision machined components where stability and machinability matter. PEEK belongs in higher-temperature or chemically demanding applications where the additional material cost can be justified.
The strongest selection process starts with application conditions, then narrows the polymer family, and then checks the exact grade data sheet and documentation. That approach helps prevent two common mistakes: over-specifying an expensive polymer when a standard engineering plastic would work, and under-specifying a low-cost material in an environment where heat, moisture, chemicals, or compliance requirements demand more.
Frequently asked questions
Are Licharz engineering plastics the same as standard nylon or acetal?
Not exactly. Some Licharz materials belong to familiar polymer families such as polyamide and POM, but brand-specific grades, additives, casting processes, and stock-shape quality can affect performance. Always compare exact grade data sheets rather than relying only on generic polymer names.
Which Licharz material is best for wear parts?
There is no single best option. Cast polyamide is often considered for wear and sliding applications, especially where damping and toughness are useful. POM, PET, or PEEK may be better if dimensional stability, temperature, or chemical resistance is more important.
Can Licharz plastics replace metal components?
They can replace metals in many parts, including rollers, bushings, guides, and gears, when the design conditions fit the polymer. The advantages may include lower weight, reduced noise, corrosion resistance, and improved sliding behavior. However, plastics have lower stiffness than metals and require careful review of creep, temperature, and thermal expansion.
Is PEEK always worth the higher cost?
No. PEEK is valuable when the application needs higher temperature capability, chemical resistance, or mechanical performance that PA, POM, or PET cannot provide. If the part operates under moderate conditions, a less expensive engineering plastic may be more economical.
What should be requested before ordering material for a regulated application?
Ask for the exact grade name, current data sheet, compliance statement, batch information if required, and any food-contact or industry-specific documentation relevant to the application. Regulatory suitability depends on the selected grade and use conditions, not only on the material family.
