Material guide
Gluing POM (Delrin)
A slippery, dimensionally stable engineering plastic used for bearings, gears and precision parts.
Also called acetal, Delrin, polyoxymethylene, POM-C.
How POM (Delrin) behaves when you bond it
POM is chosen because things do not stick to it, which makes adhesive bonding genuinely difficult. Surface treatment or a mechanical fixing is usually the realistic answer.
POM/acetal is a rigid low-friction engineering thermoplastic with low surface energy and strong chemical resistance. Those properties make ordinary adhesion unreliable; fillers and lubricated grades can be harder still.
Material properties
- Surface energy
- Low, which is what makes it hard to bond
- Porosity
- Non-porous
- Rigidity
- Rigid
- Maximum service temperature
- 90C
- Normally needs abrading
- Yes
- Normally needs a primer
- Yes
- Surface energy
- 36.0000 mJ/m2 (Permabond guide value for acetal/POM; fillers and lubricated grades can differ.) Manufacturer verified
Surface preparation
Use a structural acrylic specifically documented for untreated acetal, or follow a named primer/cyanoacrylate or treatment route. Permabond recommends roughening with grit, nonwoven abrasive or similar and wiping debris with isopropanol for its broader process. Test the exact grade and wet ageing.
Which adhesives work on POM (Delrin)
Excellent
Structural acrylic
Structural acrylic is rated excellent for this material as an application-level assessment, not as a blanket manufacturer claim. The prepared surface must be sound and consistently keyed where the finish permits. A named primer, LSE formulation or controlled surface treatment may be essential. Suitability still depends on the other substrate, joint design and service environment.
Abrade the surface first.
Conditional
Cyanoacrylate
Cyanoacrylate is rated conditional for this material as an application-level assessment, not as a blanket manufacturer claim. The prepared surface must be sound and consistently keyed where the finish permits. A named primer, LSE formulation or controlled surface treatment may be essential. Use only after a product-specific test on the actual grade and joint.
Abrade the surface first. A primer or activator is needed.
Conditional
Two-part epoxy
Two-part epoxy is rated conditional for this material as an application-level assessment, not as a blanket manufacturer claim. The prepared surface must be sound and consistently keyed where the finish permits. A named primer, LSE formulation or controlled surface treatment may be essential. Use only after a product-specific test on the actual grade and joint.
Abrade the surface first. A primer or activator is needed.
Bonding POM (Delrin) to something else
Last reviewed 8 October 2026.