Strength and tribology

The Italian producer of high-performance thermoplastic compounds reinforced with carbon fibres, Xenia Materials, is going to take up the technological challenge by increasing resistance and adding tribological characteristics to its compounds.
Its Xecarb range is made up of 3 product lines, each with their own specific characteristics.
The first one, named Strong, is composed by the base polymers with 30% carbon fibres, a reinforcement which is not actually new to the engineering polymers market, and represents the base of Xenia's product portfolio.
The Double Strong line is highly suitable for metal replacement projects thanks to excellent mechanical properties. Polymers included in this range are reinforced with 50% carbon fibres, where tensile modulus values can reach 32000 MPa.
The third Xecarb product line is the Low Wear one, with 30% carbon fibres and 20% PTFE. This latter additive can improve polymers thanks to its tribological characteristics, which are fundamental for those applications requiring low friction coefficient, self-lubrication, wear resistance (sliding guides, bearings etc.) and makes this product line suitable for many kind of high-performance components.
However the product range main focus can be found in the carbon fibre reinforcement, as this can be used in different percentages varying the compound resistance based on the mechanical properties required, and by means of other fibers such as the aramidic ones, and additives, enhances further the base polymers so as to reach the necessary technological value added.