PEEK Plastic Bearing Retainer

A bearing retainer is a device used to secure or retain the bearings or rolling elements of a machine tool.  The main function of a bearing retainer is to improve the efficiency of rotating machinery by ensuring that the bearings are properly positioned and secured in place.

A common bearing retainer usually uses metal, but metal material needs extra oil to lubricate. So in some types of bearing, the plastic bearing retainer becomes more and more popular due to the outstanding properties of plastic.

The most commonly used plastics are PEEK natural, Bearing grade PEEK and PTFE. For machining, you need a rod, sheet, or tube, please click the above links to check the material specification and datasheet about these materials.

Why choose PEEK virgin and Bearing grade PEEK material

PEEK, also known as polyether ether ketone, is a thermoplastic polymer. It is used in various engineering applications because of its high-temperature performance and excellent chemical resistance. In addition, it offers superior physical and mechanical properties over other materials like nylons or acetals.

Moreover PEEK natural’s high tensile strength, toughness and chemical resistance, non-flammability, especially low coefficient of friction, and excellent dimensional stability make the plastic an ideal material for the application.

The bearing grade PEEK is a special material based on PEEK natural by adding PTFE, carbon fiber, and graphite together. The filled material greatly enhanced the sliding performance of bearing grade PEEK by father lowering the coefficient of friction and increasing wear resistance. By the way, besides these great sliding properties, the material still keeps high mechanical strength, good chemical resistance, and excellent machinability.

PTFE plastic

PTFE is the most common material for bearing retainer. PTFE is usually made of processing the tetrafluoroethylene by chemical synthesis into solid. In addition to good chemical stability and high-temperature resistance, PTFE is a very slippery material. It has a low coefficient of friction, even at high speed and load, which means its lubricating performance is excellent. It also has excellent wear resistance and anti-corrosion properties.

All three materials – PEEK, PEEK PVX, and PTFE – has some advantages, so it is hard to determine which is more suitable and which material is stronger. But the application of each material has different requirements. So we need to understand the advantages of each material and choose a suitable material for our application.