Frelon (material)

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Frelon is a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) based material with other proprietary fillers to increase bearing characteristics, such as low wear, low friction, and high strength. It is chemically inert and self lubricating. It qualifies as a class III plain bearing. [1] The load capacity of a frelon-lined bearing is typically four to eight times that of a comparable ball bearing; for instance, a 0.5 in (13 mm) Frelon-lined bearing can support the same load as a 1 in (25 mm) ball bearing. [2]

Polytetrafluoroethylene polymer

Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a synthetic fluoropolymer of tetrafluoroethylene that has numerous applications. The best-known brand name of PTFE-based formulas is Teflon by Chemours. Chemours is a spin-off of DuPont, which originally discovered the compound in 1938. Another popular brand name of PTFE is Syncolon® by Synco Chemical Corporation.

Bearing (mechanical) machine element that constrains relative motion to only the desired motion, and reduces friction between moving parts

A bearing is a machine element that constrains relative motion to only the desired motion, and reduces friction between moving parts. The design of the bearing may, for example, provide for free linear movement of the moving part or for free rotation around a fixed axis; or, it may prevent a motion by controlling the vectors of normal forces that bear on the moving parts. Most bearings facilitate the desired motion by minimizing friction. Bearings are classified broadly according to the type of operation, the motions allowed, or to the directions of the loads (forces) applied to the parts.

Wear mechanical process, is related to interactions between surfaces and specifically the removal and deformation of material on a surface as a result of mechanical action of the opposite surface

Wear is the damaging, gradual removal or deformation of material at solid surfaces. Causes of wear can be mechanical or chemical. The study of wear and related processes is referred to as tribology.

Characteristics

Frelon creates a self-lubricating bearing surface by transferring some of the soft PTFE to the shafting during the running in process. It is almost universally chemically inert; the only materials that attack it are molten sodium and fluorine at elevated temperatures. [1]

A bearing surface in mechanical engineering is the area of contact between two objects. It usually is used in reference to bolted joints and bearings, but can be applied to a wide variety of engineering applications.

Drive shaft mechanical component for transmitting torque and rotation

A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft, propeller shaft, or Cardan shaft is a mechanical component for transmitting torque and rotation, usually used to connect other components of a drive train that cannot be connected directly because of distance or the need to allow for relative movement between them.

Sodium Chemical element with atomic number 11

Sodium is a chemical element with symbol Na (from Latin natrium) and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 of the periodic table, because it has a single electron in its outer shell, which it readily donates, creating a positively charged ion—the Na+ cation. Its only stable isotope is 23Na. The free metal does not occur in nature, and must be prepared from compounds. Sodium is the sixth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and exists in numerous minerals such as feldspars, sodalite, and rock salt (NaCl). Many salts of sodium are highly water-soluble: sodium ions have been leached by the action of water from the Earth's minerals over eons, and thus sodium and chlorine are the most common dissolved elements by weight in the oceans.

It has a plain bearing pressure rating (P) of 1,500 psi (10 MPa); dry velocity rating (V) of 140  surface feet per minute (sfm) (0.71 m/s); and a PV rating of 10,000 psi sfm (0.35 MPa m/s). [1]

Surface feet per minute is the combination of a physical quantity and an imperial and American customary unit. It is defined as the number of linear feet that a location on a rotating component travels in one minute. Its most common use is in the measurement of cutting speed in machining. It is a unit of velocity that describes how fast the cutting edge of the cutting tool travels. It correlates directly to the machinability of the workpiece material and the hardness of the cutting tool material. It relates to spindle speed via variables such as cutter diameter or workpiece diameter.

Additional lubrication can reduce friction and wear by 50%. [2]

Related Research Articles

Friction force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and material elements sliding against each other

Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and material elements sliding against each other. There are several types of friction:

Ball bearing type of rolling-element bearing that uses balls to maintain the separation between the bearing races.The purpose of a ball bearing is to reduce rotational friction and support radial and axial loads

A ball bearing is a type of rolling-element bearing that uses balls to maintain the separation between the bearing races.

Fluid bearings are bearings in which the load is supported by a thin layer of rapidly moving pressurized liquid or gas between the bearing surfaces. Since there is no contact between the moving parts, there is no sliding friction, allowing fluid bearings to have lower friction, wear and vibration than many other types of bearings.

Lubrication process or technique employed to reduce friction between, and wear of one or both, surfaces in proximity and moving relative to each other, by interposing a substance called a lubricant in between them

Lubrication is the process or technique of using a lubricant to reduce friction and/or wear in a contact between two surfaces. The study of lubrication is a discipline in the field of tribology.

Plain bearing simplest type of bearing, comprising just a bearing surface and no rolling elements

A plain bearing, or more commonly sliding bearing and slide bearing, is the simplest type of bearing, comprising just a bearing surface and no rolling elements. Therefore, the journal slides over the bearing surface. The simplest example of a plain bearing is a shaft rotating in a hole. A simple linear bearing can be a pair of flat surfaces designed to allow motion; e.g., a drawer and the slides it rests on or the ways on the bed of a lathe.

Rolling-element bearing bearing which carries a load by placing rolling elements (such as balls, rollers) between two bearing rings called races. The relative motion of the races causes the rolling elements to roll with very little rolling resistance and with little sliding

A rolling-element bearing, also known as a rolling bearing, is a bearing which carries a load by placing rolling elements between two bearing rings called races. The relative motion of the races causes the rolling elements to roll with very little rolling resistance and with little sliding.

Washer (hardware) thin plate with a hole, normally used to distribute the load of a threaded fastener

A washer is a thin plate with a hole that is normally used to distribute the load of a threaded fastener, such as a bolt or nut. Other uses are as a spacer, spring, wear pad, preload indicating device, locking device, and to reduce vibration. Washers often have an outer diameter (OD) about twice their inner diameter (ID), but this can vary quite widely.

Bolted joint type of fastener

Bolted joints are one of the most common elements in construction and machine design. They consist of fasteners that capture and join other parts, and are secured with the mating of screw threads.

Babbitt (alloy) alloys used for the bearing surface in a plain bearing

Babbitt, also called Babbitt metal or bearing metal, is any of several alloys used for the bearing surface in a plain bearing.

Grease is a semisolid lubricant. Grease generally consists of a soap emulsified with mineral or vegetable oil. The characteristic feature of greases is that they possess a high initial viscosity, which upon the application of shear, drops to give the effect of an oil-lubricated bearing of approximately the same viscosity as the base oil used in the grease. This change in viscosity is called shear thinning. Grease is sometimes used to describe lubricating materials that are simply soft solids or high viscosity liquids, but these materials do not exhibit the shear-thinning properties characteristic of the classical grease. For example, petroleum jellies such as Vaseline are not generally classified as greases.

A linear-motion bearing or linear slide is a bearing designed to provide free motion in one direction. There are many different types of linear motion bearings.

Oil additives are chemical compounds that improve the lubricant performance of base oil. The manufacturer of many different oils can utilize the same base stock for each formulation and can choose different additives for each specific application. Additives comprise up to 5% by weight of some oils.

The Stribeck Curve is a fundamental concept in the field of tribology. It shows that friction in fluid-lubricated contacts is a non-linear function of the contact load, the lubricant viscosity and the lubricant entrainment speed. The discovery and underlying research is usually attributed to Richard Stribeck and Mayo D. Hersey, who studied friction in journal bearings for railway wagon applications during the first half of the 20th century; however, other researchers have arrived at similar conclusions before.

Dry lubricants or solid lubricants are materials that, despite being in the solid phase, are able to reduce friction between two surfaces sliding against each other without the need for a liquid oil medium.

Rulon is the trade name for a family of PTFE plastics produced by Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics. Rulon plastics are known for their low coefficient of friction, excellent abrasion resistance, wide range of operating temperatures, and chemical inertness. Common applications for Rulon include seals, piston rings, bearings, and electrical insulation.

Air bearing bearings that use a thin film of pressurized gas to provide a low friction

Air bearings are bearings that use a thin film of pressurized gas to provide a low friction load-bearing interface between surfaces. The two surfaces do not touch, thus avoiding the traditional bearing-related problems of friction, wear, particulates, and lubricant handling, and offer distinct advantages in precision positioning, such as lacking backlash and static friction, as well as in high-speed applications.

A composite bearing is used to maintain separation and control friction between two moving parts. The distinguishing characteristic of a composite bearing is that the bearing is made from a combination of materials such as a resin reinforced with fibre and this may also include friction reducing lubricants and ingredients. A composite bearing is not simply a PTFE bearing in a carrier of another material, this is a PTFE bearing in a carrier. The plain composite bearing can be lighter than a rolling element bearing but this is not always a feature as some composites are extremely dense which results in lower porosity. Another distinctive feature of the composite bearing is its lightweight design - it can be one-tenth the weight of the traditional rolling element bearing. No heavy metals are used in its manufacture.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Frelon lined linear bushings (PDF), March 1997, archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-11-26, retrieved 2010-11-26.
  2. 1 2 Frelon lined linear bearings, archived from the original on 2010-11-27, retrieved 2010-11-26.
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