Lubricity

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.
       
Resin Type
 Coefficient of Friction
 PTFE  0.1
 FEP  0.2
 PFA  0.2
 ETFE  0.4
 PVDF  0.14-0.17
 PEEK  0.35-0.5

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. 

Need More Information?

Contact us now to evaluate samples of our extruded tubing or request a quote. To locate regional distributors, contact a technical account manager at 1.800.526.3842 or 1.803.268.9500.

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