New Developments in Polymer Based Bearing Materials

(For extended expressions of polymer abbreviations and chemical formula see section “Nomenclature”.)

A short introduction into the function principle and manufacturing process of polymer composite bearings is given. The state of the art in materials and manufacturing process development is demonstrated by three seperate examples of recently completed projects:

1. 1.
   Improvement of a standard PTFE/MoS₂ material by optimizing the method of production under environmental aspects.
2. 2.
   Development of a new bearing material on basis PTFE/PbO exhibiting substantially improved wear behaviour.
3. 3.
   Development of a self lubricating POM-based bearing material and of an extrusion coating process.