Rulon (plastic)

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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. [1]

Contents

History

Rulon, not to be confused with Mulon, was produced by Dixon Industries Corporation in 1952 [1] and named after its then President, Robert Rulon-Miller. This first type of Rulon was dubbed "Rulon A" (which was later replaced with type AR). Dixon was then bought by the Furon company. Furon was purchased by Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics. [2]

Properties and types

There are many different types of Rulon produced for specific applications. These include: [2]

Rulon A has a 1000 fold increase in wear resistance as compared to PTFE. However, it machines much like PTFE. It can also be moulded, extruded, skived, stamped, and hot and cold formed. Below is a table of properties pertaining to Rulon AR, but note that the other types of Rulon have similar properties. [1]

Properties of Rulon AR [3]
PropertiesTest procedure usedValue
Specific gravity ASTM D7922.22
HardnessASTM D224060 - 75 Shore D
Water absorptionASTM D5700
Tensile strength ASTM D48942,000 psi (14 MPa)
ElongationASTM D4894175%
Deformation under load 1500 psi, 24 hr, RTASTM D6215.0%
Izod impact strengthn/a6.0 ft-lb/in (320 J/m)
Thermal conductivity ASTM D22142.3 BTU·in/(hr·ft2·°F) (0.33 W/m·K)
Operating temperature rangen/a−400 to 550 °F (−240 to 290 °C)
FlammabilityASTM D635non-flammable
Maximum pressure (P)n/a1,000 psi (6.9 MPa)
Maximum velocity with no pressure (V)n/a400 ft/min (2.0 m/s)
Maximum PVn/a10,000 psi·ft/min (0.35 MPa·m/s)
Minimum mating surface hardnessn/a35 RC

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Rulon". San Diego Plastics, Inc. Retrieved 2008-01-23..
  2. 1 2 "High Performance Fluoropolymer Materials" (PDF). Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corporation. 2005. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2011-10-15. Retrieved 2010-10-11.
  3. "Rulon AR". Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corporation. Archived from the original on 2010-05-29. Retrieved 2010-10-11.