Plain bearing or sliding bearings were already used in the ancient chariots. The main principle is that one material- wood, rotates or slides on or inside a softer material. That same principle is still used today. A lubricant is added to reduce friction and wear. Since those days the materials have evolved. Wooden bearings became metal alloys, pig larder became oil-based lubricants. Performance increased, but mayor changes did not occur.
When the first modern ‘engineering plastics’ arrived
In the begining of 20th century, the first modern ‘engineering plastics’ began to occur. Materials such as nylon and polyethylene demonstrated that reasonable anti-friction properties could be achieved without an additional lubricant.
A further big step forward was the discovery of PTFE, commonly known as Teflon. This material is so slick, that almost nothing sticks to it. Sliding on PTFE almost is like sliding on ice. To a more or lesser extent, the downside of all these plastics is that their limited mechanical, thermal and chemical resistance. For example, the load capacity of those plastics is only a fraction of the load capacity of the lubricated metal-alloy bearings, with a very limited heat resistance.
Composites auto-lubrificated material - the second revolution
Around the middle of the previous century a new group of materials began to propagate: composites. They offer relatively high strengths, did not suffer from corrosion, were durable, thermal resistant and lightweight. Imagine what you get when you combine the sliding properties of PTFE with the mechanical properties of the best, modern composite materials and add anti-friction properties ? The answer is: WARTEX® developed in the early 2000's by ATIMA-TPIM. WARTEX® is the family name of a series of high performance composite materials made by ATIMA-TPIM.
Combining cotton cloth (WARTEX® C2-Mog or WARTEX® C6-Mog), glass cloth (WARTEX® G3-Mog) or glass cloth (WARGLASS® G3), incorporated in the phenolic matrix (WARTEX®) or epoxy matrix (WARGLASS®), the WARTEX® products family offers a unique combination of assets starting from the auto-lubrification property. With the addition of carbon-graphite, alumina and molybdenum disulphide additives to a modified phenolic resin formulation, the WARTEX® and the WARGLASS® provide internal lubrication that reduces frictional heat and extends wear life while offering an unparalleled mechanical strength.
The WARTEX® and the WARGLASS® products family is cured on dedicated ATIMA-TPIM hot presses. Thank to our state-f-the-art production process, the WARTEX® and the WARGLASS® are available in various thicknesses or diameters (up to 100mm thicknesses - up to 1000mm diameter), and available in 2 formats to be further machined on our equipments:
Tube material
Half tube material
Sheet material
Any shape machined on our equipments
Used in the most stringent conditions like the rolling mills or airplanes slat tracks, our bearings and rails blocks made of WARTEX® and the WARGLASS® replace bronze, copper and lead parts that are more expansive with a shorter service lifetime (2 to 5 times shorter compare to the WARGLASS G3). Combined with a lightweight (average 1400 kg/m³), a low friction (up to 0,04 on steel), no corrosion, low heat build-up, no cold flow conditions and excellent mechanical resistance (up to 400 N/mm² for the WARGLASS®), the WARTEX® parts requires less lubrification maintenance, failure replacement and the related production down time.
The WARTEX® and the WARGLASS®, in tube or sheet formats, are used in many different product types. The most common product types are:
hot and cold mill wipers
bushings
collar bushings
sliding plates
spherical bearings
block bearings
guiding blocks
rails stop
The industrial sectors of application are very varied:
Rolling mill and steel industry
Handling equipments
Machine-tool slides and tables
Textile and agricultural machinery
Production equipments
Avionics equipments
Do you want to know of WARTEX® and the WARGLASS® are suitable for your application? For information about prices and requesting a quote, please contact our team.
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