High-Performance Plastics

July 10, 2014

Jennifer Shuttleworth

Minnesota Rubber and Plastics’ (MR&P) custom-designed, high-performance plastic seals for vehicle driveline applications offer critical sealing, wear resistance, and long operating life. The company custom designs and molds materials including PEEK, Aurum, Ultem, and Amodel for demanding vehicle driveline applications. An example of the materials at use is in seals and thrust washers for vehicle transmissions. PEEK, the material chosen for this application, combines a low value for the coefficient of friction with very low wear rates over wide-pressure and velocity ranges. During service, these components are immersed in automatic transmission fluid and operate in a temperature range of -40 to +264°F (-40 to +129°C). They withstand dry and lubricated tribological contacts with pressures up to 100 psi (6.9 bar) and velocities of up to 8000 ft/min (2438 m/min). Under such intense conditions, materials must be dimensionally and thermally stable to allow for the correct flow of fluid throughout the system. According to MR&P, this design is more cost effective than traditional materials and far more durable over time.