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: Tecaran^TM, 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

UK Stock Sizes

ABS is not typically stocked as standard in the UK. Please see the 'notes for designers' for further information.

Technical Properties

ABS Technical Properties

Properties of Tecaran^TM ABS grey

Physical Properties	Value
Density	1.04 g/cm³

Mechanical Properties	Value	Parameter	Norm	Notes
Modulus of elasticity (tensile test)	1700 MPa	1mm/min	DIN EN ISO 527-2	For tensile test: specimen type 1b
Tensile strength	32 MPa	50mm/min	DIN EN ISO 527-2
Tensile strength at yield	32 MPa	50mm/min	DIN EN ISO 527-2
Elongation at yield	3%	50mm/min	DIN EN ISO 527-2
Elongation at break	49%	50mm/min	DIN EN ISO 527-2
Flexural strength	49 MPa	2mm/min, 10 N	DIN EN ISO 178	For flexural test: support span 64mm, norm specimen
Modulus of elasticity (flexural test)	1600 MPa	2mm/min, 10 N	DIN EN ISO 178
Compression strength	15/26/46 MPa	1% / 2% / 5%	EN ISO 604	Specimen 10x10x10mm
Compression modulus	1400 MPa	5mm/min, 10 N	EN ISO 604	Specimen 10x10x50mm, modulus range between 0.5 and 1% compression
Impact strength (Charpy)	Not Broken	max. 7.5J	DIN EN ISO 179-1eU	For Charpy test: support span 64mm, norm specimen
Notched impact strength (Charpy)	34 KJ/m²	max. 7.5J	DIN EN ISO 179-1eA
Ball indentation hardness	74 MPa		ISO 2039-1	Specimen in 4mm thickness

Thermal Properties	Value	Parameter	Norm	Notes
Glass transition temperature	104°C		DIN EN ISO 11357	Found in public sources
Service temperature	100°C	short term	NN	Found in public sources. Individual testing regarding application conditions is mandatory
Service temperature	75°C	long term	NN

Electrical Properties	Value	Norm
Specific surface resistance	10¹⁴ O	DIN IEC 60093
Specific volume resistance	10¹⁴ O*cm	DIN IEC 60093

Other Properties	Value	Parameter	Norm	Notes
Flammability (UL94)	HB	Corresponding to	DIN IEC 60695-11-10	Corresponding to means no listing at UL (yellow card). Individual testing regarding application conditions is mandatory
Water absorption	0.2%	24h / 96h (23°C)	DIN EN ISO 62	Ø ca. 50mm, h=13mm