Application of PTFE based dry film lubrication to moulded plastic by electrophoretic deposition

Abstract

Where the low friction properties of polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE) are required to enable the sliding of two or more plastic components upon one another, it can be structurally impractical and/or economically unattractive to form the components from monolithic PTFE. This is particularly so in the instance of complex or delicate parts. A solution is the use of an inexpensive and easily mouldable conductive plastic such as polypropylene or nylon 6, and applying PTFE to the active surfaces through electrophoretic deposition (EPD). Using EPD, substrates with both simple and complex geometries can be coated with consistent and conformal layers of various materials. This paper describes how it is achieved, from the pre-treatment of the basic conductive plastic substrate, through the application of the PTFE modified paint by EPD and the curing method using ultra violet light emitting diode (UV LED) technology, to the technique for determining and controlling the coating thickness by a nondestructive colorimetric method.

Keywords:

• PTFE
• Dry Film Lubrication
• EPD
• conductive plastic

Acknowledgement

This paper is based on a presentation given at IMFAir 2015 conference, Dudley, 9–10 June, 2015.