Witcom PBT-2015/329: Gear material for high dimensional stability
Plastic gears are widely used because they offer many advantages compared to metal gears. Particularly for larger series, the cost of plastic gears can be up to 90% lower than metal gearing. Further cost reductions can be achieved through the design freedom afforded by thermoplastics, allowing more functions to be integrated into one component. On top of this, there are many other benefits compared to metals, like less noise, lower weight, better efficiency, and better corrosion resistance.
In high humidity environments, gears based on polyamide swell due to moisture pick up. In this type of situation, PBT is a better choice as the base polymer. Witcom PBT-2015/319 is a gear material with outstanding wear resistance, even when run against a gear made of the same material. This allows the gears in the drive to be designed out of one material, lowering tooling and manufacturing cost.
Witcom PBT-2015/319 has high mechanical strength, allowing a high torque transmission. The lubricant system incorporated in this material lowers friction, resulting in a high efficiency of the drive. On top of this, the noise production is minimal. Other applications include nuts for lead screw drives, sliders, and bearings.
Do you have any questions about gear materials? Contact us at lubricated@witcombv.nl.
Key properties:
- Minimal moisture uptake resulting in high dimensional stability
- High strength allowing high torque transfer
- Long lifetime provided by the low wear characteristics
- Low friction resulting in high drive efficiency
- Minimal operating noise
