If you're an engineer, you already know how vital lubrication is to the long-term performance and reliability of lead screw assemblies. Lubrication repels water, provides corrosion resistance, and lowers the coefficient of friction. A reduced coefficient of friction leads to a smoother running lead screw assembly, lower drag torque, and less heat generation, which generally means a longer design life. Conversely, an absence of lubrication potentially leads to erratic drag torques and unpredictable wear that can cause an assembly to fail.
One type of lubrication that we're pleased to offer on all Helix lead screws is PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene). Specifically, we provide lead screws that are coated in the fluoropolymer material. PTFE molecules are long chains of carbon atoms surrounded by fluorine atoms. Fluorine atoms have a high electronegativity, which means that the fluorine atoms do not like to be near any other atoms, so the other atoms are repelled. This property makes a PTFE-coated surface non-reactive, non-stick, and have a low coefficient of friction.
Helix PTFE coating is a tough and durable form of dry lubrication for screw assemblies making them ideal for the medical, semiconductor, and electronics industries. However, any application can benefit from the reduced friction and corrosion resistance provided by PTFE coating.
Here's a look at the top 5 benefits of coating your acme lead screw with PTFE:
While we've covered the top 5 benefits of PTFE coatings above, several other details are worth noting. Helix Linear Technologies applies PTFE coating to screw assemblies in-house. This means we control the process, the quality and keep the cost down. We typically use a coating thickness of 0.6 to 0.8 mil. The PTFE is cured by baking at over 600°F. PTFE coatings are available on all acme lead screws here at Helix.
Helix can manufacture PTFE coated; precision acme lead screws via thread rolling, thread milling, or thread grinding on diameter sizes from 1/8 of an inch to 6 inches.