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Crossflon Bearings overcome problems of poor lubrication, excessive heat and cold, friction, wear and corrosion. The Crossflon range of bearings simplify design problems and ensure greater reliability, efficiency, self-lubrication and improved performance. In general all of the variations of Crossflon materials are designed to operate dry, and offer self-lubrication with high performance.
APPLICATIONS
Beldam Crossley has been at the leading edge of development of compounded PTFE materials since the mid 1950's. By staying close to the rapidly changing requirements of the design engineer's world we are able to meet the demands of today's technology. If problems with lubrication, heat, cold, friction, wear or corrosion are blocking the way to a design solution, Crossflon bearings can generally solve the problem of reliability and efficiency. In general, all of the diverse Crossflon bearings are designed to run dry. They offer self-lubrication with high performance.
BEARING MATERIALS
Design Criteria
In choosing the appropriate Crossflon bearing, the critical parameters of the application must first be determined. Bearing load, speed, PV, environment, mating surface, duty cycle, etc. all play an integral part in this choice. The more important criteria are described here, and their values listed in the "Design Criteria".
Bearing Pressure
Bearing Pressure is measured in Newtons per square millimetres (N/mm²) or Megapascals (Mpa). It is calculated by distributing the total load in Newtons that the bearing is carrying by the projected area (I.D x length in mm) of the bearing. This gives the avearge pressure, MPa, that the bearing must support. The criteria chart lists the maximum recommended ambient temperature and static pressures. Elevated temperatures generally reduce static load capacity, lower temperatures generally increase load capacity.
Bearing Speed
Bearing Speed is determined by fiest calculating the circumference of the shaft I metres, then multiplying by the revolutions per second of the shaft. This gives the sliding, or surface velocity of the bearing in metres per second (ms-1). The chart lists the maximum recommended dry sliding speed at very light loads. Lubrication or liquid cooling can greatly extend these limits.
Bearing PV
The third parameter is the product of operating pressure and surface velocity, defined as PV. (PxV = PV) It is in effect a measure of the work the bearing is doing. While it is not the final answer, PV is an invaluable general guide in matching bearing to application.
Shaft Hardness and Finish
The various Crossflon materials are designed to operate against surfaces that have minimum hardness and surface finish requriements. These mnimum values should be followed since each bearing's published dynamic properties and predicted wear rate are based on this system.
Friction and Wear
Crossflon Bearings utilise custom-compounded PTFE. Like PTFE they exhibit very low friction at very low speeds, and very low friction at high loads. These properties are diametrically opposed to most other materials and give Crossflon bearings their smooth start/stop characateristics. They eliminate most stick-slip problems.
Start-up Phase
In the start-up phase, a transfer takes place between the bearing material and the shaft or counter-face. This initial transfer is essential in order to ensure that the bearing runs at its optimum friction and life expectancy. After initial break-in, the wear rate levels out, and the coefficients of friction continue to change through this phase, until finally attaining a value that is for the most part, constant.
WHY USE CROSSFLON PLANE BEARINGS
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