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2007-07-16 News Release

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Thin Film Fluoropolymer Technology makes a bond

Quadrant CMS develops Thin Film Fluoropolymer Technology to bond thermoplastic injection moldable materials to a thin film of PTFE.

This new technology developed and patented by Quadrant Creative Moulding & Systems (Quadrant CMS) makes a bond of a thin strip of PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) with a thermoplastic carrier in a single step overmolding process. The resulting product has a top surface which exhibits the excellent low-friction and chemical resistance properties of the fluoropolymer, yet is as mechanically strong as the thermoplastic carrier beneath it. Moreover, it provides the typical “design for assembly” freedom of an injection-molded part.

Quadrant CMS, Tielt, Belgium, is a fully-integrated manufacturer of injection-molded, systems critical polymer applications and sub-assemblies. The company prides itself on delivering customized design, tooling, molding and assembly from a single source.

In one of the first commercial applications of the technology, a bronze-filled grade of PTFE was used in the production of a Thin Film Fluoropolymer Technology (TFFT) slide bearing for a tumble dryer, developed by Quadrant CMS in South Africa. In its original design, the strip was machined from the bronze-filled PTFE and mechanically held in position, complicated by the requirements of a tight tolerance fit. Using TFFT, Quadrant CMS was able to produce new, smaller PTFE strips bonded to an injection-molded ABS carrier, which included molded-in snap-fit fasteners for fast and simple insertion.

Quadrant CMS’s TFFT wear strip for a tumble dryer. Click Here for High resolution image. photo: Qplas

Specific advantages of the new design include a reduction in the amount of PTFE used for each slide bearing - to just 10 percent or even less of the original volume - for significant cost benefits, and ease-of-assembly, while maintaining the required low coefficient of friction and self-lubricating properties of the PTFE strips when in contact with the mating surface.

“We believe the market will be very receptive to our new technology, which results in a product that combines the excellent sliding properties and chemical resistance of PTFE with the mechanical strength, cost-efficiency and design freedom of standard injection molded thermoplastics,” says Leslie Adyns, Sales & Marketing Director, Quadrant CMS.

The properties of PTFE are well-established: low coefficient of friction, self-lubrication, wide operating temperature range, and good UV and chemical resistance, to name a few.

To date, however, barriers to its wider use have related to its processing requirements: a non-melt processable material, PTFE is produced as a stock shape which is costly to machine to the required size and shape. The material’s low structural strength is a further limiting factor for applications where toughness is required. Hence Quadrant CMS developed its Thin Film Fluoropolymer Technology (TFFT) to bond thermoplastic injection moldable materials to a thin film of PTFE. This allows for the use of PTFE only on the surface where its unique properties are required, while supported by a melt-processable plastic carrier, cost-effectively injection molded in a more complex form or shape.

The technology, patented by Quadrant CMS, enables the adhesion of PTFE to a range of thermoplastic carriers, such as PBT, PET, nylon 6 and 66 (all with or without glass reinforcements), as well as ABS and other material. The process involves the chemical modification of one side of a thin strip of PTFE to make it compatible. It is then used as an insert in an injection mold, behind which the thermoplastic carrier material is molded. The PTFE bonds with the thermoplastic as a result of the heat and pressure of the injection molding process.

For high-wear applications, Quadrant CMS uses a filled PTFE, either with bronze or carbon, to improve wear-life, deformation under load and thermal conductivity, while decreasing thermal expansion. Filled PTFE still exhibits self lubricating and low friction properties, but can provide an extended wear-life of well over 100-fold.

Read a recent press release about - Plastics trade fair K2007 to feature Chemtura presenting their new structure and extended spectrum portfolio of plastics.

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