Q and A – I have higher than expected friction with my Rulon bearing
Friday, September 25th, 2009by Dave Biering
Question: I am using Rulon J on a very small diameter shaft with a light load and medium speed condition. For some reason I am getting more stiction and friction than I expected. Any suggestions?
Answer: One of the issues with Rulon and any PTFE based bearing material is that there is an optimal load range to get the performance you desire. If the bearing is too lightly loaded you will experience an increase in friction. That is a phenomenom common to PTFE. The thing to remember is the higher the load, the lower the friction. Reducing the surface contact area by either shortening the bearing or machining small reliefs on the ID of the bearing will increase surface loading. That will in turn reduce the friction. It may take some experimenting to get the result you want but it really does work!
