THERMOPLASTIC ROLLER

Sliding cams are commonly made of hardened steel, which, although effective, is expensive and dirty, due to the lubricant needed to reduce friction between the two metals.

Challenge

One of our customers, leader in automatic machines’ production, asked us for a more economical solution capable of overcoming the premature wear limits of untreated sliding cams. Over the years, our customer had carried out several tests for the replacement of the cams. He had tried both plastic materials and metallic materials, on which specific hardening treatments had been applied. On one hand the plastic material solution made of PEEK did not meet their standards, on the other and the use of hardened metal cams caused various problems, including the high cost of production and the accumulation of lubricant, essential for the correct operation of the application.

Solution

After acquiring the information relating to the worn out components and carrying out an analysis of loads and speeds, our technical office proposed an innovative solution based not on a plastic cam but on a plastic material roller. However, the evaluated high speeds would have required the use of expensive high performance materials let the roller sliding on its shaft. ATP technical office has therefore designed and developed a solution capable of allowing the use of bearings mounted inside a SINTEK D72 roller. SINTEK D72 is an elastoplastic material highly resistant to wear, but with a hardness of 72 Sh.D, which allows sufficient deformation during sliding on the cam and does not require the application of lubrication (if used as a roller). By avoiding direct metal-to-metal contact, it was also possible to significantly reduce the noise level of the machine, an added value largely appreciated by system users.

Advantages

The customer managed to avoid the use of expensive hardened cams, significantly lengthening the maintenance intervals, reducing the noise of the automatic machine and eliminating the cam roller lubrication with a significant gain in terms of cleanliness!

Testimony

“Thanks to the ATP solution we were able to extend the life of the roller even when working in double shift”