 Lubricity
Defined
Lubricity is defined in the Webster's New
World Dictionary as "slipperiness; smoothness".
It is more widely known in our industry
as the coefficient of friction. Lubricity
is one of many unique characteristics of
fluoropolymers that separates itself from
other polymers. The fluoropolymers have
a smooth surface with a slippery feel.
Because
of the low coefficient of friction, there
have been many practical non-lubricated
and minimally-lubricated mechanical systems
developed around fluoropolymers. The low
coefficient of friction is a result of low
interfacial forces between its surface and
another materials and the comparatively
low force of deform.
Advantages
of Lubricity
Some of the advantages of the fluoropolymers
lubricity would be increased flow rates,
abrasion resistance, and the overall "slickness"
of the material when the application calls
for it. In fact, PTFE has a coefficient
of friction that is, amazingly enough, comparable
to ice on ice, and it even remains stable
under severe load.
Friction
and Wear
Friction and wear are generally treated
by engineers as being negative, and they
generally seek to reduce them. However,
without friction and wear, we would not
be able to use pens or pencils (they write
by wearing away the soft graphite), we would
slide uncontrollably down the slightest
incline, and our cars would not operate
(the wheels would spin and we would always
continue in a straight line if we ever got
moving). Equally with very high levels of
friction and wear we would also not be able
to write and our cars would seize up at
the first start (if we could make them in
the first place). We depend on manageable
values of friction and wear for almost everything
we take for granted.
Download
our Friction & Wear technical whitepaper
(PDF) >
Lubricity
at ZEUS
Below is a table that shows the coefficient
of friction of our most popular resins.
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Resin Type |
Coefficient of Friction |
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PTFE |
0.1 |
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FEP |
0.2 |
|
PFA |
0.2 |
|
ETFE |
0.4 |
|
PVDF |
0.14 - 0.17 |
|
PEEK |
0.35
- 0.5 |
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 Request Samples and Tech Info
If you would like samples of our fluoropolymer or other engineered tubing, or would
like to discuss a specific application, we'd like to talk with you. Zeus has a generous
sample program, making it easier than ever for engineers and designers to get stock
and custom samples quickly. Click here to contact us now.
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"Offering custom Teflon® tubing and Teflon®
heat shrinkable tubing as well as tubing
and heat shrink made from fluoropolymer
resins such as PTFE, FEP, PFA, ETFE, PEEK,
and more."
Teflon®
is a registered trademark of
DuPont
PEEK is a trademark of
Victrex PLC
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