RTP's APWA compounds improve wear-resistance

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team May 14, 2009

RTP Company has commercialised a line of all-polymeric wear-additive (APWA) compounds that offer improved wear resistance.

The materials are free of particulate or fluid additives and provide excellent plastic-on-plastic performance without sacrificing properties inherent to the host resin.

Tom Cordes, general manger of wear products at RTP Company, said: 'By eliminating traditional wear-reducing additives, such as PTFE or silicone, we have been able to significantly increase mechanical performance in these compounds.

'Using our new olefin-based APWA technology we are able to better maintain crucial base-resin properties - such as strength, impact resistance and specific gravity - allowing moulded parts to perform more consistently in end-use applications.

'Not only are wear performance and all-round properties improved, our APWA compounds are both non-halogenated and RoHS-compliant, making them more environmentally responsible.' APWA materials don't produce 'plate-out', which is a common issue with PTFE materials.

Plate-out is additive residue that builds up in mould cavities; it requires processors to regularly stop production to perform cleaning, reducing production yields.

Other benefits of RTP Company's APWA compounds include: improved plastic-on-plastic wear resistance and reduced friction, resulting in higher PV load capacity during standard ASTM D3702 thrust-washer testing; better flow during moulding, permitting thin walls and intricate designs to fill easily; blemish-free surface appearance and complete colourability, making them ideal for visible components and consumer items; production of more parts or use of less material, with specific gravity reductions of up to 10 per cent over similar PTFE-lubricated materials; and better lot-to-lot and part-to-part consistency, because unlike other olefin-based wear-reducing additives, APWA compounds are not reactively extruded.

RTP Company's APWA compounds are available worldwide in five resin-systems commonly used for wear-resistant applications: nylon 6/6 (PA), polycarbonate (PC), acetal (POM), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), and polycarbonate/acrylonitrile butadiene styrene alloy (PC/ABS).

A flame-retardant grade in PC is also available and product-development work with other resins systems continues.

The new olefin-based APWA technology is ideal for gears, bushings, rollers, impellers and moving/sliding parts in industrial equipment, business machine and fluid-handling applications.

A complete portfolio of wear-resistant compounds, using all available additive technologies, is available from RTP Company.

RTP's polymer experts can help determine which wear-resistant compound provides the best solution for unique end-use application requirements.

RTP Company can engineer products that provide multiple solutions in a single material, allowing wear resistance to be combined with conductivity, flame retardance or other performance criteria.