VICTREX® PEEK™ polymer provides a replacement for metal gears

Citation

(2012), "VICTREX® PEEK™ polymer provides a replacement for metal gears", Anti-Corrosion Methods and Materials, Vol. 59 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/acmm.2012.12859cab.002

VICTREX® PEEK™ polymer provides a replacement for metal gears

VICTREX^® PEEK™ polymer provides a replacement for metal gears

Article Type: Methods From: Anti-Corrosion Methods and Materials, Volume 59, Issue 3

Olive harvest tool with a gear made out of VICTREX^® PEEK™ (Figure 1) enables lightweight solution with superior resistance to wear and high temperatures. The solution is ten times lighter than metal.

VICTREX^® PEEK™ polymer provides a material solution for the manufacture of gear wheels, in situations where metal components are unable to withstand high levels of wear due to prolonged continuous use and exposure to high operating temperatures. Here, the VICTREX PEEK polymer solution can also reduce weight, lower power consumption, and reduce acoustic noise.

Figure 1 Gear made out of VICTREX^® PEEK™

A case in point is Saroplast’s gearing solution for an agricultural tool. Based near Treviso, Italy, Saroplast is a specialist in product design and moulding. The company was tasked with the design of new gears for a tool designed to harvest fruit. Regionally, the tool is particularly useful for the commercial harvesting of olives.

The original tool had both ergonomic and practical problems. It was heavy and therefore tiring for the user who has to carry it normally all day long. The weight also had a negative effect on mechanical functioning, with the device kept in constant operation for hours at a time. “So we began to evaluate the possibility of replacing some metal components with polymers, in order to achieve a more lightweight and easy to handle tool, while enhancing the lifetime of the device,” explained Roberto Frare, Head of Technical-Commercial Operations at Saroplast.

Saroplast designers focused on the toothed gear wheel that drives the tool via a connecting rod. “We ran the first tests with a PPS-based material, but these trials failed after only 3 minutes because of excessive wear. The problem appeared after only three minutes of use, affecting the rod as well as the gearing,” said Frare.

Any new material would have to be able to survive heavy use. It had to be light in weight and offer excellent resistance to wear, fatigue and high operating temperatures. It would also need to support manufacturing to tight tolerances. VICTREX PEEK 450CA30 polymer emerged as the only solution.

“We worked with the technical planning department at Saroplast to come up with a solution. A modification was made to a metal ring, and we also added a roller bearing that controls the movement of the rod. The key was to use our VICTREX PEEK 450CA30. In the first instance it was used to overprint the component, in the second to mould it directly,” said Reinhard Veljovic, Market Development Manager for Italy, at Victrex Polymer Solutions.

The design has been tested successfully. VICTREX PEEK 450CA30 provides a lightweight solution that enables ease of use throughout an entire day. The high thermal resistance of the polymer allows the tool to operate continuously without incurring excessive wear. The new design also runs more quietly and reduces energy consumption significantly.

“The use of PEEK 450CA30 led to a considerable reduction in weight. The new design weighed TEN times less than the original model, improved the acoustic index and reduced power consumption. The new, highly optimised device feels quite different to the user, and we expect this to result in a significant increase in production,” added Frare.

More information is available from: www.victrex.com