PET Sheet (Ertalyte) — Bearing-Grade Plate Sizes, Tolerances & Uses

Ertalyte PET sheet (plate) is the stock form for machined wear strips, slide plates, guide rails, and flat wear pads. Semi-crystalline bearing-grade PET-P sheet offers the same dimensional stability, low moisture absorption, and FDA food-zone compliance as Ertalyte rod — in flat stock suitable for milling, routing, and saw-cutting. Both Ertalyte natural and Ertalyte TX are available as plate.

At a glance:

• Thickness range: 0.250" – 4.0" in standard 24" × 48" sheets
• Grades: Ertalyte natural (off-white), Ertalyte TX (PTFE-lubricated, opaque white)
• Thickness tolerances: ±0.020" – ±0.060" depending on gauge (machine to final thickness)
• FDA 21 CFR 177.1630 — both grades
• Primary applications: wear strips, conveyor guides, slide plates, manifold blanks, food-zone pads

Sheet vs Rod: Choosing the Right Form

Sheet stock is the correct form when the finished part is flat or requires pocket/slot machining from a plate. Start from sheet for:

• Wear strips (linear wear plates on conveyor frames)
• Slide plates and guide rails
• Manifold bodies and thick flat components requiring multiple ports or cross-drilled passages
• Pad or liner applications where large flat surfaces are needed

Start from rod when the part is primarily a turned cylinder (bushing, roller, bearing ring) — rod minimizes lathe setups and material waste.

Available Sizes

Standard Sheet Stock (Ertalyte Natural and TX)

Sheets are cut from extruded plate. Width and length are nominal — actual sheets may vary ±0.250" on width and length from nominal. Flatness varies by thickness; thinner sheets may show modest bow. For tight flatness requirements, specify maximum deviation per foot.

Custom cut-to-size pieces are available from full sheets on request.

Primary Applications for PET Sheet

Conveyor Wear Strips

Wear strips machined from Ertalyte sheet are standard in accumulating conveyor systems for bottling, canning, and packaging lines. Ertalyte's advantages over competing wear strip materials:

• vs. UHMW: Ertalyte is harder and stiffer, maintains better dimensional tolerance over long strip lengths, and resists creep under sustained product weight better than soft UHMW
• vs. Nylon: Ertalyte maintains strip thickness in wash-down environments; nylon strips swell and change the contact geometry

Standard wear strip cross-sections: 0.375" × 0.750" to 1.0" × 3.0" wide. Strips are typically routed or sawn from sheet, drilled for mounting screws, and countersunk.

Slide Plates and Guide Rails

Machined from sheet stock, Ertalyte guide rails and slide plates serve as linear motion surfaces for product-carrying assemblies in packaging, labeling, and assembly equipment. The material's low friction and hard surface provide smooth, repeatable motion with low maintenance.

Food-Zone Manifolds and Pads

Manifold blocks machined from thick Ertalyte sheet (1.0"–3.0") for beverage and food processing lines benefit from FDA compliance, ease of machining (CNC milling with standard carbide tools), and resistance to CIP chemicals. Drilled cross-passage manifolds are a straightforward application.

Machining Ertalyte Sheet

Ertalyte sheet machines on CNC mills and routers with standard carbide tooling:

• Face milling (finishing): 350–450 SFM; 0.002–0.004 IPT
• Slot milling: 200–300 SFM; 0.003–0.005 IPT; 2-flute carbide
• Profile routing: 300–400 SFM; 0.003–0.005 IPT; climb milling

Use climb milling for best surface finish. Air blast or light mist clears chips. No pre-drying required.

For complete machining parameters and tooling recommendations, see the PET machining guide.

More related guides

Applications

• Wear Strips & Slides
• Food Processing Components

Compare to other materials

• PET vs. PETG
• PET vs. UHMW

Frequently asked questions — PET FAQ