Properties - Production Range - Typical Applications

Vesconite is a special material compounded from an advanced engineering thermoplastic with a combination of properties specially formulated for low friction, long life bearing applications. It combines a load bearing capacity greater than that of white metal with self lubricating properties better than those of nylon, while giving up to 10 times longer service than phosphor bronze.

Developed and proven in many industrial applications over three decades, Vesconite has become the preferred material when high loads must be carried with small clearances, under dirty and unlubricated conditions. It is also most effective in moist, immersed and corrosive applications.

This is because Vesconite has high dimensional stability and does not swell in water, in contrast to nylon 6 and 66 which absorbs up to 9% water by weight with consequent expansion and softening. Not only do Vesconite bushes generally last much longer, but the life of the mating pins and shafts is often greatly extended.

Vesconite has therefore gained international recognition as a versatile, high performance replacement for traditional materials in anti friction and wear applications. Vesconite's initial cost is moderate. It is readily available in a wide range of shapes and sizes, and is easily machined to fine tolerances into finished parts on standard metal working equipment. The factory also offers a special service for the production of custom components.

High load bearing strength

Vesconite has very low creep rates under design loadings of 30MPa and has a much higher load capacity than nylon, being unaffected by water absorption.

Dimensional stability

The thermal expansion factor of Vesconite is only 2,5 times that of bronze, while nylon and HDPE are 5 to 10 times greater respectively. Vesconite does not swell when exposed to water or humid conditions, while nylon can expand by up to 3% linearly when immersed. Vesconite therefore requires only slightly more clearance than the corresponding metal parts and no allowance needs to be made for moisture changes.

Low friction

Vesconite shows outstanding dynamic frictional properties, with friction losses of about half those of bronze or nylon. This allows for higher combinations of loads and speeds. The greasing of Vesconite bushes on assembly further decreases friction, allowing higher speeds to be used and generally improving performance.

Water is also an excellent lubricant for Vesconite bushes, making the material highly suitable for immersed conditions. Vesconite HILUBE offers even further reduced friction (down by 50%), making it an ideal material for unlubricated applications.

Temperature limits

Vesconite's melting point of 260 º C is one of the highest among thermoplastic materials and on a par with white metal.

Vesconite is suitable for continuous use at 80º C.

The low thermal conductivity of Vesconite, common to all synthetic materials, means that frictional heat is removed only slowly through the bush.

One should avoid extreme heat build-up by first checking the PV (load x speed) when designing a replacement for a bronze bush operating at a high PV factor.

The PV limit of Vesconite is about twice as high as that of nylon and higher than most synthetic bearing materials.

				Estimated PV limit MPa x m/min
	Design loading limit MPa	Coefficient of thermal expansion	Maximum % water absorption	Dry	Lubricated at intervals
PTFE (unfilled)	5	17	0.0	-	-
UHMW/HDPE	10	25	0.01	2	10
Nylon 6	20	9	9	3	12
Vesconite	30	5	0.5	5	20
Phosphor-Bronze	80	1.8	0.0	-	100

Wear resistance

Vesconite provides outstanding wear resistance, resulting in many times longer service life when compared with bronze. It is also less affected by poor lubrication and dirty conditions.

Longer life of metal counterparts

The wear of metal pins and shafts is reduced by up to 90% when Vesconite bushes are used. This valuable benefit alone justifies the change over to Vesconite in many instances.

Chemical resistance

Vesconite is very resistant to dilute acids, organic solvents, oils and petrol. It has limited resistance to strong acids and alkalis, and lengthy immersion in boiling water should be avoided.

See the Vesconite Chemical Resistance Chart for more details.

The Vesconite range of machineable rods, bushing stock and plates is one of the widest available for the production of low friction bushes and other hard wearing parts.

Normal metal working equipment, such as lathes, milling machines, bandsaws, drilling machines are suitable for machining Vesconite.

The range includes:

Rods From 8 mm to 135 mm diameter.

Bushing stock From 20 mm to 715 mm diameter in standard lengths of 1000 mm. Special lengths to order.

Plates and Discs Plates are mainly available in standard sizes 1000 mm x 200 mm from 3 mm to 50 mm thickness, as well as varied strips and machined sections. Discs are produced in diameters from 200 to 500 mm in thickness ranging from 3 to 15 mm.

Ready-to-use parts These include over 100 sizes of ready-to-use bushes in both imperial and metric sizes, while standard tooling allows production of many more sizes of plain and flanged bushes from 10 mm to 650 mm inside diameter and washers up to 600 mm diameter.

Vesconite at work

The chosen bushing material is Vesconite when high loads must be carried under dirty and unlubricated conditions, and fairly precise clearances must be maintained.

Vesconite often gives many times longer life than phosphor bronze, can be specified for applications unsuited to nylon and is unsurpassed in most immersed applications.

Vesconite is a premium replacement for bearing materials where:

• abrasive wear is a problem
• lubricant cannot be allowed to contaminate the product
• regular lubrication is impractical
• long bush and pin life is required
• the bush runs under water/liquids
• chemical attack is a problem
• cost savings are desired

Such parts include bushes, thrust washers, wear pads, wear strips, slides and many other components subject to wear and friction.

See the Vesconite Production List for more details

Heavy transport (trailers, buses,etc) Bogie/Trunnion/Pivot bushes and thrust washers, bushes for spring shackles, air brake cams, steering, kingpins.	Earth moving equipment Front end loader arm bushes, idler wheel bushes in tracked vehicles, pivot points, road grader bushes.
Hydraulics Piston neck ring bushes, varied wearing and guide parts, clevis pin bushes.	Mining Plunger pump neck rings, bushes + wear rings for multi-stage centrifugal pumps, electric loco motor axle bushes, steam loco side rod bushes, raise borer column guides, winch bearings and thrust rings, rotary filter components, sheave wheel bushes, hopper car bushes.
Shipping Propeller shaft bearings, rudder bearings, sheave bushes, water pump piston rings.	Irrigation Bushes for sluice gates and rollers.
Agriculture Bushes for rotary sprinklers, disc ploughs, tractor king pins, lawn mower wheels.	Paper Industry Repulper bearings.
Steel Industry Crane wheel bearings, ring bed bearing blocks, wear strips extrusion line, drilling machine spindle head bushes.	Tyre Industry Rubber masticating mill bushes.
Textile Industry Bushes for loom parts of all types, frame link guides.	Bottling Plants Pull down cam blocks, lift cylinder bushes, centre column collar bushes, wear strips.
Abattoirs Overhead roller bushes.	Lifts Guide shoes and blocks.
Conveying/Materials Handling Conveyor roller bushes, screw conveyor hanger bushes, wear strips and guides, butterfly valve spindle bushes, wheel bushes, fork lift components.	Concrete/Brick Industry Foot step bearing and disc pads, block making machine guide bushes.

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