Gear and Bearing Designs with Lubricated and Reinforced Thermoplastics

A thorough characterization of a series of thermoplastic composites suitable for gears and bearings including static ASTM physical properties such as tensile strength, tensile elongation, flexural strength, flexural modulus, Izod impact strength, gear tooth strength, heat distortion temperature, coefficient of linear thermal expansion and long-term resistance to cyclic stress (fatigue endurance) and creep is presented. Processing parameters including injection pressure, melt temperature, and mold temperature are examined for their effect on gear tooth strength, TIR, and tooth-to-tooth error.