Fluoroguard® enhances your molded parts performance by reducing scratching and marring, improving flex fatigue resistance and physical properties, and reducing wear and abrasion.

Engineers looking for light, durable parts and reduced costs increasingly prefer engineered plastics over metal components. For example, in low-stress environments, plastic gears typically offer performance on par with their metal counterparts. Resins such as DuPont™ Delrin® acetal resin provide low friction, good wear resistance, and are mechanically sound. These attributes can be further improved by adding MoS2, graphite, or fluoropolymers such as DuPont™ Teflon® fluoropolymer resin. Use of a fluoropolymer permits engineers to tailor friction and wear properties, strength, and fatigue resistance at a given operating temperature.

New designers have another option: perfluoropolyether (PFPE). These polymers have been used as topical lubricants in consumer electronics, automotive, and aerospace applications due to their high thermal stability and low vapor pressure for reduced outgassing.

DuPont developed patented Fluoroguard®, a PFPE compounded directly into the base resin. It provides a range of benefits. First, it improves the base polymer's mechanical performance and provides self-lubrication in formed parts. Second, small additions of Fluoroguard® improve extrusion rates, melt flow, and part release during processing. This can reduce torque requirements and lead to quieter machines. It also helps disperse polymer constituents during mixing and, in some instances, noticeably improves the base resin's color retention and results in more vibrant parts.

Fluoroguard® withstands processing temperatures of 360°C (680°F) when incorporated into the polymer matrix using conventional melt-compounding equipment. It also works well in twin-screw extruders with liquid additive feeders or injection capabilities. The PFPE additive is inert to other polymers and various chemicals, but will act as an opacifier in polymers with a refractive index other than 1.3 (nD25).

Fluoroguard® can be compounded into a wide variety of thermoplastic and thermosetting polymers. Adding from 0.1% to 2% (by weight) of Fluoroguard® can substantially improve the performance of polymer gears, seals, and other such products. For instance, Taber abrasion tests show that various polymers with as little as 0.5% Fluoroguard® resist abrasion up to 60% better than their unmodified counterparts. Similar improvements are seen in acetal and nylon 6 parts.
 
The Fluoroguard® also improves abrasion resistance of 0.006-in.-thick SEBS polymer films and nearly doubles ultimate tensile strength.

Fluoroguard® boosts tensile and elongation properties in TPU. As a result, toughness may also increase. Additionally, TPU loaded with 0.25% Fluoroguard® better resist mars or scratches when tested under the GM 9150-P standard.