Bridge Bearings - also called Structural Bearings, Load Bearings or Bearing Pads – are an essential component to any structure expected to face varying vertical and horizontal loads and internal movement.

Such bearings are primarily employed in bridges, roadways and pipelines. In many cases, such bearings are also used in buildings to offer additional support to load beams and girders.

Poly Fluoro Ltd. has combined its expertise in PTFE sheets with know-how on PTFE bonding techniques and metal fabrication to produce high quality and durable bridge bearings. Primarily, our bearings come in two forms:

Lubring Slideways (a proprietary PTFE formulation) is a superior bearing material developed specially for machine tool ways, gibs and other sliding applications.

Lubring has identical properties to Turcite-B® and is widely used by leading machine tool manufacturers, re-builders and in-plant personnel to restore existing equipment to like-new precision.

As a sliding bearing material this material is unequalled for providing high compressive strength and load carrying capabilities, low friction, precise positioning accuracy and minimal wear – with or without lubrication.

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Properties include:

• Extruded billet process – a reduced internal stress allows Lubring to lay flat for easier handling
• Superior etched surface – promotes easier, more reliable installation with superior adhesion
• Excellent vibration dampening – dampens cutting tool vibration from migrating throughout the machine tool
• Increased positional accuracy – lower friction increases positional accuracy and repeatability on linear ways
• Chemical resistance – resists aggressive coolants and lubricants
• High wear resistance – ensures long service life
• Low wear in the event of dry operation – protects mechanical components in cases of poor or failed lubrication
• Impervious to moisture

Poly Fluoro Piston Bands are designed for hydraulic and pneumatic equipment. Its unique design prevents equipment seizures that can arise with other forms of guidance materials. Poly Fluoro Piston Bands offer extremely low friction and breakaway forces. This material is also resistant to all hydraulic fluids, and is suitable for temperatures up to 200°C.

Poly Fluoro piston bands are the solution to costly cylinder re-machining and repairs for large diameter equipment. Coils are available in common sizes and are easy to use, cut and install. Parts can also be punched to a specific profile, in case large volumes are needed.

The bearing material is made from PTFE with a 40% Bronze filling and is specifically designed to support heavy loads. The exceptional physical properties and PTFE lubricants make the piston bands suitable for use on rams or pistons in reciprocating applications. Key advantages include:

1. Prevents metal to metal scoring and prolongs equipment life
2. Reduces radial movement on both rams and pistons to extend seal life
3. PTFE lubricant allows for lower coefficient of friction between mating surfaces
4. Retrofits existing bearing groves and eliminates unnecessary modifications
5. Available in common groove width dimensions, minimizing inventory costs
6. Strips can be cut to size from the coil
7. Accommodates equipment over 300 mm in diameter

PTFE Bushes are used in applications where standard metal bearings cannot be employed due to high coefficients of friction and where other polymer bearings fail due to high loads or temperatures.

PTFE bush bearings offer dry-running lubrication-free behaviour. Our bushings provide the step from a simple plastic bushing to a proven and tested, and thereby predictable and quickly available, machined component. Properties include:

1. Oil-free running – an idea choice in areas where constant lubrication is not possible, but heat build up due to friction is an issue
2. Variety of grades – each grade of PTFE offers different properties. Depending on the application requirements, the appropriate grade can be selected
3. Durability – high wear resistance, low moisture absorption and minimal deformation make this a choice that needs to be made only once
4. Cost effective – although more expensive when compared with metal, the low specific gravity combined with the long life of the bearing makes it a very viable option economically

Regular PTFE Bushes also offer a comparable, cost-effective solution to more expensive branded polymer bearings made using Rulon or Turcite

Polymer bearings exhibit a range of unique properties, making them suited to a number of end-applications.

. Self-lubrication
. High strength to weight ratios
. High temperature resistance
. Chemical resistance

Bearings can be made to match regular bearing products – such as bush bearings or standard metallic bearings – or as customised bearing products as defined by the customer’s end-application requirements

Bearings are available in all grades of PTFE, PEEK, Delrin, Kynar (PVDF) PA66 and specialized materials such as Rulon and Turcite

FluoroTube marks the entry of Poly Fluoro Ltd. into the PTFE tubing segment. The grades and sizes available make FluoroTube ideal for applications such as medical, chemical and automotives.

PTFE tubing includes:

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1. Spaghetti tubing – this is tubing with usually less than 1.5mm in wall-thickness and in outer diameters under 15mm. Spaghetti tubing is used extensively in both medical and automotive applications. Due to the thin wall and smaller dimensions, this is a very challenging tube to manufacture and special attention needs to be given to the grade of resin used, the quality of the tooling and the adherence to process parameters
2. PTFE hoses – these are higher wall thickness tubes and are used primarily in applications requiring high burst pressures or heavy insulation. Due to the high cross-sectional areas, these tubes are relatively easier to extrude, but come in much shorter lengths
3. PTFE sleeves – these can be either extruded or compression moulded. Their wall thicknesses are usually between 2-6mm, but the diameters could go as high as 300mm. Sleeves find a variety of applications requiring insulation, lubrication, corrosion resistance or load bearing.

PTFE Tubing can be further worked upon to yield value added products for a range of end applications. Our current scope of supply includes:

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• . Convoluted PTFE tubing
• . PTFE heat exchangers
• . Anti-static PTFE tubing
• . Formed PTFE tubing

In addition to the above, we have the capability to form, weld and etch PTFE tubing, allowing us to meet very specific customer demands as required.

Polymer seals, valves and seats are used in a number of industrial applications. At Poly Fluoro, parts are available in a range of dimensions and profiles, all customizable based on client requirements and OEM drawings. Our typical range of parts includes, but is not limited to:

• . Ball-valve seats
• . Piston ring seals
• . Rotary shaft seals
• . Butterfly valve seats
• . Tapered valves
• . Spring-energized seals
• . Lip seals
• Parts are CNC machined to tolerances of up to +/-0.02mm – which is in line with best-in-class global tolerance norms.

Our parts go through a rigorous inspection process, including raw material inspection, in-process inspection and final inspection. All parts are assigned batch numbers with full traceability to the raw material and process parameters. For high volume parts, special inspection gauges and fixtures are employed to ensure 100% inspection before dispatch.

PTFE bellows from Poly Fluoro can be made using either standardised industry design parameters or can be custom machined to meet the customer’s drawing specifications.

Bellows are available in sizes of up to 300mm and are CNC machined to give a high tolerance across every dimension. Our bellows are rated for:

• . Long term performance – over 2 million cycles
• . High temperatures up to 200°C
• . Burst pressures up to 7 Bar
• . Highly corrosive environments

Bellows are made from pure virgin PTFE and can be offered either as standalone parts or fitted with metal flanges for installation.

Our bellows go through a rigorous inspection process, including raw material inspection, in-process inspection and final inspection. All parts are assigned batch numbers with full traceability to the raw material and process parameters. Our vision inspection systems allow us to inspect cross sections of the machined parts to ensure that the dimensions are 100% as per the drawing specifications before taking up high-volume production.

Polymer components in PTFE and PEEK can be used in applications involving harsh environments and requiring heavy insulation such as:

• . High-temperature insulation
• . Heavy electrical insulation
• . Microwave applications
• . Chemical resistance

[www.polyfluoroltd.com] Poly Fluoro Ltd. does in-house moulding of both PTFE and PEEK. Moulded parts are then machined to meet customer specifications. Our CNC turning, milling and turn-milling capabilities coupled with specialized fixtures and tooling mean that there is virtually no design that is beyond our reach. A dedicated design and development team ensures that the customer gets the right technical advice in case they need assistance in choosing the right grade of material.

Our parts go through a rigorous inspection process, including raw material inspection, in-process inspection and final inspection. All parts are assigned batch numbers with full traceability to the raw material and process parameters. For high volume parts, special inspection gauges and fixtures are employed to ensure 100% inspection before dispatch.

Gaskets in PTFE, ePTFE and PEEK are suited to applications in environments where high wear, temperature and corrosion are experienced.

Poly Fluoro has the capability to mould and machine PTFE and PEEK gaskets of dimensions of up to 650mm. Gaskets can be either supplied plain or be further machined with holes and surface grooves.

ePTFE gaskets can be punched from sheets and can be offered in sizes of up to 1500mm.

Aside from standardized parts, we also manufacture customised parts to suit specific customer requirements and end-applications. These include:

• . Ferrules for cables and end-fittings
• . Bobbins for tape winding and clamp fitting
• . Specialized gaskets in PTFE, ePTFE and PEEK
• . Custom molded PTFE with metal inserts
• . Transducer covers
• . Fabricated PTFE components made by bonding and/or welding

[www.polyfluoroltd.com] Our CNC turning, milling and turn-milling capabilities coupled with specialized fixtures and tooling ensure there is virtually no design that is beyond our reach.

Furthermore, our in-house expertise in grade selection and end-use allows us to advise customers on a technical level to find the correct solution for their application.

Our parts go through a rigorous inspection process, including raw material inspection, in-process inspection and final inspection. All parts are assigned batch numbers with full traceability to the raw material and process parameters. For high volume parts, special inspection gauges and fixtures are employed to ensure 100% inspection before dispatch.

PTFE films are made using a special process called skiving. Films come in thicknesses of 0.04mm to 0.1mm and are primarily used in insulation. Films are usually made using virgin PTFE, although it is possible to use other grades, if required.

Properties of PTFE film include:

1. High tensile strength – up to 30Mpa is achievable
2. Excellent insulation – break-down voltages in excess of 50Kv/mm
3. High tensile elongation – values in excess of 350% are possible

Good quality skived films depend on both the moulding and skiving to be done using the right techniques and equipments. The properties of the end product are defined in the moulding phase, while the consistency of thickness and the absence of pinholes are controlled for during skiving.

Expanded PTFE (ePTFE) is a highly specialised product manufactured by only a handful of companies in the world. The uniqueness of its properties makes it a highly sought after material in applications such as:

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. Joint sealing
. High temperature gaskets
. Vibration dampening
. Corrosion protection

[www.polyfluoroltd.com] ePTFE is manufactured by a special process and is available in both mono-axial and bi-axial forms. Material can be supplied as strips (adhesive and non- adhesive) and as sheets in widths up to 1500mm. Sheets can be further punched or cut into gaskets to suit end-user dimensions

Membranes and filters are available in roll from or punched to size and come with a range of different properties. Membranes are manufactured in a number of different processed. While some membranes are made using bi-axially stretched ePTFE, others are made with pure virgin PTFE, blended to attain porosity and skived to form a porous PTFE layer.

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Key features include:

• . Thicknesses as low as 0.05mm, going up to 20mm
• . Pore sizes as low as 0.2 microns, going up to >100 microns
• . Low permeability membranes designed to restrict the flow of liquids, but allow gas to pass through
• . High-temperature membranes

Membranes are available in customised variants to allow the end-customer to select the product most suited to the specific application involved.