Fakuma 2018 Kuraray develops new GENESTAR™ grades with tribological properties
Kuraray’s GENESTAR™ PA9T plays an important role in the selection of the right material for gears in demanding gear applications. The Japanese company has recently developed new unreinforced tribological products with improved sliding and friction properties, increased strength and consequently lower abrasion. Nordmann, Rassmann GmbH distributes the products in Germany.
GENESTAR™ grades are particularly attractive because of their low water absorption and high dimensional stability. In a fully saturated condition, they only absorb up to 3% water compared to polyamides from other manufacturers which absorb 6.5-12%. These products from Kuraray offer consistently good mechanical properties in a temperature range of -40°C to 95°C. Due to the excellent chemical resistance of the GENESTAR™ grades, the majority of lubricants also have very little influence on them.
The unreinforced and glass-fiber reinforced GENESTAR™ grades offer advantages over other materials where high temperature are encountered; polymers that cause malfunctions of the gear drive due to their expanding behavior in humid environments. The GENESTAR™ grades can be used as alternatives to polyether ether ketone (PEEK) or metal.
Unreinforced GENESTAR™ grades have already been successfully combined with metal worm gears and glass-fiber grades in combination with other reinforced GENESTAR™ grades. For example, they are used in automotive applications such as air conditioning systems, adaptive front lighting systems, rear windshield wiper drives, cooling and oil pump drives, and chargers for electric vehicles. Kuraray’s GENESTAR™ series offers a wide range of special settings for each particular application.
To simplify gear design and simulation for engineers, Kuraray has acquired a KISSsoft license and made the GENESTAR™ versions available for calculation in the associated database.