PEEK (polyether ether ketone) is a high-performance plastic. It’s strong, lightweight, and can handle extreme heat and chemicals. But it’s also expensive.
If you’ve used PEEK in projects before, you know how quickly costs can climb—especially when the part is made by cutting it from a solid piece. That method, called subtractive manufacturing, often wastes a lot of material.
This article looks at how using injection molding instead can help you reduce waste and keep costs down.
The True Cost of PEEK: Beyond the Raw Material Price Tag
When buying PEEK, the cost of the raw resin is just the start. The final price of a part also includes:
- Time spent machining
- Labor costs
- Tool wear
- Material wasted during the process
For example, one 3-inch round rod of PEEK can cost around $3,000. When a part is machined from this rod, much of it ends up as scrap. That’s money you’ll never get back.
Machining PEEK: Where Does All That Expensive Material Go?
Understanding Subtractive Waste
Subtractive manufacturing means starting with a block or rod and cutting away material to create a part. The leftover material—called swarf—can’t be reused for most high-performance uses.
Picture this: you start with a 3-inch round PEEK stick. To make a complex part, you cut, drill, and mill away large sections. By the end, much of the original material is just chips on the floor.
The Compounding Cost of Complex Designs
More detailed parts mean more passes with the cutting tool. That leads to even more waste. With PEEK’s high cost, this extra material loss adds up fast.
Each extra design feature may cost more than just extra machining time—it also throws away more of that pricey resin.
PEEK Injection Molding: The Near-Net-Shape Advantage for Cost Efficiency
What is Near-Net-Shape Manufacturing?
Near-net-shape means the part comes out of the mold already close to its final shape and size. With injection molding, melted PEEK is injected into a mold where it cools and solidifies into a part. This method limits the need for extra cutting or finishing.
Quantifiable Reduction in Material Scrap
With injection molding, the main sources of waste are runners and sprues—small channels that help fill the mold. In some cases, these can be reground and reused, depending on the grade of PEEK and the part’s requirements.
This is a sharp contrast to machining, where a big chunk of each rod turns into unusable chips. Injection molding keeps more of your material in the finished part.
Calculating the Payback: When PEEK Injection Molding Saves You More
Injection molding does have higher upfront costs. You need a mold, and that takes time and money to design and make.
But once the mold is ready, each part becomes much cheaper—especially if you’re making large quantities.
Let’s say the mold costs $20,000. If you make 1,000 parts, that’s $20 per part in tooling. Add in the lower waste and reduced machining time, and the savings per part can become significant over time.
If you’re unsure, you can work with a supplier to run the numbers for your specific design and quantity needs.
Conclusion
PEEK offers performance few materials can match. But its high cost means you need to use it wisely.
Injection molding helps reduce material waste and lowers the cost per part—especially for complex designs or larger production runs. By creating parts close to their final shape, this method cuts down on machining and makes your PEEK spend go further.
If you’re planning a project that needs the benefits of PEEK, consider whether injection molding could help stretch your budget.
