Tech Talk Blog

Ultracomp Composite bearings are made using different migratory lubricants. PTFE, Graphite and MOS2 are the traditional lubricants used in these high load, low speed bearings. Historically, MOS2 has been the lubricant of choice in marine environments because of the compatibility of the moly with mating hardware in salt exposure. Graphite would act as a cathodic agent against stainless or other metals when exposed to salt air, salt fog or salt water. Tri Star recommends UC300 with PTFE lubricant as a more universally acceptable material. For dry or wet applications, the PTFE lubricant is an effective agent for low friction lubrication, is compatible with soft mating hardware like aluminum and stainless and has no corrosive effect in the salt environment. Let us know if you have issues with corrosion in your marine bearing applications. We have a solution!

Slide plate bearings provide support and a low coefficient of friction while allowing an object to move (or slide) freely along a supporting surface. They consist of an upper and lower component, and can be used in both guided and free-moving applications.

Slide bearings are engineered to fit anywhere there is the potential or threat of movement, such as bridges, oil pipelines, building footplates, tank farms and petro chemical applications.  For example, the Alaskan pipeline, at roughly 800 miles long, could be subjected to a mile of liquid flow movement(hysteresis) within the structure.  It requires a bearing designed to resist corrosion, temperature extremes and rugged terrain.

Fluorogold slide bearings easily tolerate thermal expansion and liquid flow movement, and hold up well in cold temperatures.  They also absorb vibration and impact, making them a preferred bearing material for use in earthquake zones.

Fluorogold can also be customized to meet exact design requirements and offers outstanding chemical and electrical properties.  They’ve also been tested for and proven resistant to radiation, where neither the bearing strength nor the epoxy bond were impacted by doses as high as 10⁶ rads.

Share your experience with slide bearings.

The Dixon M-Liners from Saint Gobain have become very difficult to obtain since they come from overseas. Tri Star is now offering a size for size equivalent product in it’s Tri Steel product line called Tri Steel PE. This product is a rolled steel backed polymer lined bearing. The polymer liner is a special PEEK/PTFE combination that has a thicker dimension  than normal steel backed bearings. This allows for post machining of the ID to tighter tolerances without removing the primary bearing source. Learn more from Tri Star’s website www.tstar.com and review the information on Tri Steel Bearings or watch our Tri Steel video on the Video Learning Center.

Ultracomp Composite Bearings are designed for extreme loads where impact and vibration may occur. Because of it’s very high impact strength it can take extreme loads as well as shock loads. Ultracomp requires no lubrication which eliminates maintenance, is much kinder to the environment and reduces overall costs of ownership.  Ultracomp absorbs virtually no moisture, takes static loads up to 55,000 psi and handles dirty, gritty environments. Ultracomp is also an excellent underwater bearing for applications as diverse as bowthrusters, rudder bearings, roller bearings, dockside equipment exposed to salt air and water. Also an excellent bearing material for construction, material handling and ag equipment.

Visit our Video Learning Center to learn more about all we have to offer.

The life expectancy of filament wound composites like TriStar’s CJ product can be improved by understanding some of the typical failures. One consideration is the shaft material. In some applications where the motion is oscillating and at variable frequencies, the bearing can experience rapid wear. This is caused by small angle oscillation or small amplitude vibration and the resultant fretting corrosion. The wear debris that occurs can quickly become an abrasive that dramatically shortens life.

There are a couple of possible fixes for this problem. First, consider going to a 400 Series stainless pin. Testing by an independent company showed a 26 times improvement in wear life by making this simple change. The improvement was directly related to the elimination of the fretting corrosion that occurred on the 1215 carbon steel pin used before.

A second fix is improving the shaft finish and hardness. Another test showed that by going to a 50-55 Rc hardness on the shaft and improving the surface finish to 4-6 rms extended the wear life of an application from 500,000 cycles of life to over 1 million cycles.

One thing to look for if you are experiencing rapid wear of composite filament wound bearings is the debris. If the debris is a fine brown powder than the wear is normal. If the debris looks more like shavings or accumulates in large clumps on the shaft, then you may have a shaft material, surface finish or pin hardness issue that needs addressing.

That being said – CJ bearings are crucial for transportation and other roles. Find out more in our Shooting Star Archives!

New TriSteel PE material utilizes the outstanding wear properties of PEEK, combined with the PTFE low friction additive, make this product unique in thin wall metal backed products. The PEEK liner has excellent resistance to chemicals and when combined with a stainless steel shell material it is perfect for applications in chemical pumps, valves or environments where temperature is critical. TriStar’s TriSteel PE bearing is available in inch and metric sizes as sleeve, flange and thrust bearings. Ask the Experts or visit www.tstar.com for more information.

Recent studies have proven beyond question that the surface finish of the mating hardware when using composite bearings will make or break the performance. In a rotary test, the 8rms mating surface finish had a wear rating of 1, at 16rms it increased to 1.4, 32 rms 2.2 and at 63 rms 5.3. It was also noted in the test that the method of finishing also influenced the bearing wear. Roller burnished surfaces performed the best with ground and polished next best. Turned finishes or mill finishes, even at 16rms, tended to have faster wear than the other finishing techniques.

And if that wasn’t enough for you – head over to the Video Learning Center and pick up a few more nuggets of information.

Composite self lubricating bearings take advantage of superior strength from filament or laminate wound structure. Add to that a variety of lubricating media like PTFE, MOS2, Graphite and combine with abrasion resistant, high strength woven liners and you have the makings of super bearings! Composite bearings are primarily applied to high load, low speed applications however new liner materials allow for speeds up to 500 feet per minute without lubrication. Another unique quality of composite bearings is they love to be under water. Excellent materials for marine applications under water, deck side and dock side.

Check out some stories in our Shooting Star Archives and look on www.tstar.com for more information!

TriStar’s CJ bearings are filament wound composite bearings with various liner materials for specific applications. CJ bearings are able to operate from cryogenic to +350 temperatures with NO LUBRICATION. CJ bearings are primarily for high load, medium speed linear or oscillating applications such as lift and tilt points on equipment. The FCJ and Super CJ are designed for high loads and high speeds with 400 sfpm attainable without lube. CJ bearings are truly maintenance free bearings and cost effective even when compared with bronze bushings. For more information on CJ bearings visit www.tstar.com. And don’t forget to contact TriStar to learn how CJ bearings can help with your product performance.