PEEK™ based thermoplasic compound for more demanding wear applications

25-Nov-09

In response to requests from design engineers and OEMs for increased durability to meet the requirements of more demanding applications in the automotive and industrial equipment industries, Victrex Polymer Solutions has introduced VICTREX® WG101™ compound. It is ideal for a wide range of applications ranging from full plastic wear bushings to composite bushings to vane tips in vacuum pumps. This new tribological compound meets the requirements of mechanical load and tribological performance in challenging thermal and chemical environments combined with the ability to meet the need for economical processing and low density. The compound offers significantly improved wear rates and reduced coefficient of friction when compared to the standard VICTREX® PEEK™ 450FC30 product, which is used in the bulk of all PEEK applications in friction and wear environments. "We developed VICTREX WG101 compound to provide a solution for customers whose wear performance requirements could not be met with the PTFE/graphite/carbon fiber composition of VICTREX PEEK 450FC30," explained James Simmonite, New Products Manager at Victrex. "Manufacturing costs and the ability to use standard thermoplastic processing technologies were other key considerations during development." In addition to improved wear rates and coefficient of friction, the VICTREX WG101 compound has a thirty percent increase in compressive strength when compared to standard VICTREX PEEK 450FC30 and is PTFE-free. "Excessive load, which is typically compressive load in wear applications, can also impact the durability of a product," explained Simmonite. "It can lead to polymer creep resulting in dimensional changes. The increased compressive strength of the new compound, however, means that components can be designed for higher loads than the same components made with standard VICTREX PEEK 450FC30 or other VICTREX PEEK-based wear grades." It is RoHS compliant and meets the Global Automotive Declarable Substance List (GADSL) requirements.