There are many reasons why thousands of companies worldwide use Tufcot® materials in hundreds of applications.
The 6 benefits of using Tufcot® composite materials over conventional metals and other composite bearing materials are:
1 – Low Friction
Tufcot® composite bearing materials offer low coefficients of friction across the material range, even under dry running conditions. Their general makeup means that all our different grades are inherently low friction, and this can be further modified with the use of additives to suit the application.
Tufcot® standard materials, such as Tufcot T100 Marine or T100G, offer friction coefficients as low as 0.13. Our XPL material uses a custom fabric to give friction as low as 0.04.
Low friction reduces power requirements in mechanical systems and contributes to a longer bearing life.
2 – Self-Lubricating
The resins and fabrics that form the basis of Tufcot® composite materials contribute to the self-lubricating properties and solid lubricants such as graphite or molybdenum disulphide enhance these properties. As Tufcot® bearings slowly wear, the release of these lubricants ensures continued self-lubrication throughout the life of the bearing.
In many cases, no additional lubrication from oil, grease or water is required for a Tufcot® bearing to operate successfully. Eliminating additional lubrication means that automatic systems or schedules are no longer required and removes the risk lubricants contaminating the environment.
3 – Minimal Swell
Water absorption and subsequent swell can be considered negligible for Tufcot® materials. This is one reason why Tufcot® T100 Marine has gained approval from ABS, Bureau Veritas, DNV, Lloyd’s Register and RINA for marine applications such as rudder and water lubricated propeller shaft bearings.
Dimensional stability in fluids means that the machined sizes of Tufcot® bearings are maintained and allows more accurate control of running clearances.
4 – High Strength
Tufcot® materials can operate at high loads and have an elastic response. Beyond their elastic limit, Tufcot® materials do not suffer from permanent deformation, so high edge-loading, temporary overload, impact or emergency loads which would normally require repair or replacement of metallic bearings can be accommodated.
All of this with a mass of approximately one-sixth of the equivalent bronze or steel component.
This lower mass introduces further advantages such as helping to reduce power requirements in mechanical systems, lowering logistic costs, simplifying installation, and reducing the overall mass of equipment.
5 – Simple Installation
Tufcot® bearings can be fitted in several different ways. The most common method is using interference with the housing which can be achieved with either a press fit or a freeze fit using liquid nitrogen. Even very large bearings can be freeze fitted and Tufcot® material suffers no detrimental effects from being chilled down.
Tufcot® can also be bonded using readily available adhesives or can be fitted using mechanical fastenings.
6 – Low Maintenance
Where the application of Tufcot® materials can eliminate additional lubrication, automatic systems or maintenance checks are no longer required. Solid lubricants throughout the material mean that there is no risk of lubricant starvation, even in demanding applications such as mining and construction.
In addition, the low wear of Tufcot® bearing materials means a longer bearing life and intervals between servicing of machinery and equipment can be extended.
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