The wear of polytetrafluoroethylene helical gears under dry and lubricated conditions

The wear and thermal characteristics of Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) helical gears were experimentally investigated using a rig test under dry and lubricated conditions. The study employed two gear ratios (1:1 and 0.75:1) at constant speed and torque to determine the effect of ratio on wear. Both wear and temperature increased for the driving and driven gears in all test environments. The experimental results highlighted the critical role of lubrication: significant surface wear began much earlier in dry conditions (after 100×104 cycles) than in lubricated conditions (after 120×104 cycles). This confirms that lubrication significantly improves the wear resistance of PTFE gears.