Using PEEK plastic to make gears, Daben has already used it, what are the advantages?

Using PEEK plastic to make gears, Daben has already used it, what are the advantages?

Maybe it is your favorite car now—a handsome, elegant, quiet Mercedes-Benz that uses Evonik VESTAKEEP® PEEK material in its powertrain.

Plastic gears made of VESTAKEEP® PEEK are used for the first time in the powertrain of a Mercedes-Benz car, replacing the previously used metal gears.

Sound a bit worried? How can plastics challenge metals in the automotive industry, which requires precision manufacturing?

The gears in the car face a very harsh working environment, especially the gears used in lubricating media such as engine oil, they need to have sufficient mechanical and chemical properties.

Evonik VESTAKEEP® PEEK "just happens" to meet these requirements. As a "hexagonal warrior" in the field of special engineering materials, it has the characteristics of high strength, wear resistance, fatigue resistance, chemical resistance, high temperature resistance and easy processing.

Thanks to these properties, PEEK is particularly suitable for the manufacture of long-lasting and durable gear components.

Swipe to see more possibilities of VESTAKEEP® PEEK to improve gear performance:

The use of PEEK to produce gears uses an injection molding process, which can greatly reduce the various post-processing steps required for metal gear manufacturing. In other words, it can also effectively reduce the overall cost.

Compared with other engineering plastics, PEEK has the advantage of high-load transmission at high temperature, and its mechanical properties, heat resistance and chemical resistance are better, which can greatly increase the load limit of components.

PEEK has low water absorption and post-shrinkage, and excellent dimensional stability of parts after injection molding.

In short, let go of the "plastic" stereotypes. VESTAKEEP® PEEK works, you can rest assured.

The final driver can also continue to enjoy the "benefits" brought by PEEK: it can improve transmission efficiency and reduce loss during driving, effectively saving fuel. Saving fuel while driving, it sounds very flattering.

More importantly, it also comes with a "low noise" function. According to calculations, in the simulated transmission unit with grease lubrication, the system noise can be reduced by more than 10 decibels by replacing steel teeth with PEEK gears, which is mainly due to its good energy absorption and shock absorption effect.

From automotive engineering to robotics and drones, plastic gears can be used in a wide range of applications. VESTAKEEP® PEEK expands the application range of plastic gears in transmission systems, allowing them to adapt to higher torques, speeds and temperatures, with the potential to create smaller, lighter and more energy-efficient gear sets.

These advantageous properties can promote the application of PEEK gears in automobiles and accelerate the replacement of metal parts. In addition, PEEK, which is itself suitable for 3D printing technology, may go a step further and continue to show its advantages in automotive 3D printing technology.

Since VESTAKEEP® PEEK is so widely used, will we all drive "plastic-printed cars" in the future?