Graphite Metallizing Corporation, the manufacturer of self-lubricating Graphalloy® bushing materials, announces the success of their bushings in a high-temperature plastic thermoforming application.
The customer uses thermoforming to manufacture custom plastic designs. They specialize in plastic trays used for material packaging, shipping, and handling for a variety of industries including automotive, electronic, medical, and food packaging.
The application is light load and slow speed, with an operating temperature of 350-400°F. This temperature creates a problem for oil or grease-lubricated rolling element bearings. In 2013, they purchased Graphalloy bushings to allow operation at this higher temperature, since Graphalloy bushings are self-lubricating and can withstand temperatures from -450°F (-265°C) to +1,000°F (+535°C).
A Graphalloy sales rep followed up with the company to see how the Graphalloy bushings were working, and the plant manager said they were working very well. He said he installed the bushings originally in early 2013 and the spares were still on the shelf.
Graphalloy bushings offer solutions in places where traditional bearing lubricants will not work, including high-temperature applications, clean environments, submerged operation applications, and more. Graphalloy, a graphite/metal alloy, is a unique self-lubricating bearing material that offers superior performance in hundreds of mechanical and electrical applications.
Graphalloy standard and custom-designed products provide lifetime cost savings and significant operating advantages over conventional bushings and bearings.
Features and benefits include:
- Self-lubricating. Requires no grease or oil. Permits continuous operation and eliminates downtime.
- Works at high temperatures where oil-based lubricants burn off or oxidize and plastics fail. Operating temperatures to 1,500°F/800°C (in non-oxidizing atmospheres). Will not gum or seize.
- Does not congeal or solidify at low temperatures or cryogenic conditions. Maintains self-lubrication.
- Works without lubrication. Survives run dry applications. Eliminates galling or seizing in hot and dry conditions. Will not attract dust.
- Operates submerged. Will not swell or wash out. Withstands a wide variety of hostile fluids.
- Dimensionally stable. Does not cold flow or deform under pressure. Maintains its size and shape.
- Chemically resistant. Insoluble in most industrial liquids. Works in acids, alkalies, hydrocarbons, water, and liquid gases.
- Low coefficient of friction. Constant, low coefficient of friction. Not just a surface layer, solid throughout.
- Linear motion. Maintains lubrication during linear motion. Lubrication is not drawn out and dust is not pulled in.
- Current conducting. Eliminates sparks and static. Conducts well.
- Corrosion resistant. Graphalloy bushings resist attack by most corrosive liquids and gases such as sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, chlorine water, and caustics. Graphalloy bushings also perform well in submerged or washdown applications. A thin layer of Graphalloy deposited on the shaft inhibits corrosion of the shaft.
- FDA accepted. Accepted for food services. No lubrication to drip or cleanup. Easily steam cleaned.
MORE INFO www.graphalloy.com
