Little Resistance With KS Bearings Permaglide(R)

DETROIT, April 12 -- Kolbenschmidt Pierburg's KS Bearings division is expanding the use of its slippery Permaglide(R) friction-reducing material to produce components that take up less space, weigh less and offer improved performance for North American automotive products.

After succeeding in its quest to find an environmentally friendly material to replace the lead found in many automotive lubricants, KS Bearings now uses Permaglide(R) on components such as transmission gear-shift-lever guides, door hinges and shock absorbers.

"This really is a break-through material that can be incorporated into hundreds of different automotive applications," notes Mike Adrian, KS Bearings vice president of North American sales. "Permaglide(R) offers advantages not only in cost, but in weight and performance as well. Its use also will have a positive environmental impact."

The patented Permaglide(R) process, developed and owned by Kolbenschmidt Pierburg, incorporates a 1-millimeter to 1.5-millimeter sandwich of PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene, commonly known as Teflon(R)), zinc sulfide and bronze bonded to a steel backing.

Components with an extremely slippery P1 Permaglide(R) surface can handle higher loads, speeds and temperatures. P1 Permaglide(R) can be manufactured to require no lubrication, allowing manufacturers to eliminate many lead- containing lubricants such as the grease used on conventional front-wheel drive shafts. Permaglide(R) components satisfy the ELV (end-of-vehicle-life) directives already in place in Europe that require vehicles to be 85 percent recyclable by 2006.

KS Bearings also produces a machinable version of the material, P2 Permaglide(R), for components that may require lubricants because of load, temperature or speed. The frictional characteristics of Permaglide(R) materials can be custom-tailored to a specific application. "If it's too slippery -- for example, on a door hinge -- we can add more resistance to give a better feel," Adrian says.

Permaglide(R) is finding its way into areas that previously were considered unsuitable for this type of application -- inside an internal combustion engine, for example. "We're currently testing Permaglide(R) on the rocker arms and camshaft of a high-performance V-8 engine for a major manufacturer," Adrian says. Permaglide(R) reduces parasitic friction losses on those components, improving the overall efficiency of the engine.

"We've also have had strong customer interest in our door hinges and shock absorbers," he says, "and we have the manufacturing capability to meet our customers' needs for multiple shapes and sizes and any geometry."

KS Bearings engineers can redesign components to take up less space with lower weight and improved performance. The division uses Permaglide(R) on 100 percent of the door hinges, pedal systems and windshield-wiper components it manufactures for a major German automaker.

Typical areas of application for Permaglide(R) components include:

Auxiliary systems -- common-rail pump, brake and fuel systems, engine belt tensioners and starters.

Powertrains -- contoured switching guides and dual-mass flywheels.

Suspension components -- shock absorbers, struts, steering systems and brake systems.

Chassis -- hinges on doors, hoods, trunks and tailgates, windshield wipers, body systems, seat adjustment gear, safety belt pretensioners and pedal systems.

Permaglide(R) also is used in many non-automotive commercial and industrial applications. Kolbenschmidt Pierburg AG owns worldwide rights to the material, and the company markets the process to non-automotive customers through a license with INA-Schaeffler KG of Germany.

KS Bearings, a key manufacturer of engine bearings, journal bearings, bushings, flanged bushings and thrust washers for the global auto industry, is a division of Kolbenschmidt Pierburg, a leading supplier of bearings, pistons, automotive oil and water pumps, throttle bodies, secondary air systems and exhaust flaps, as well as electric exhaust-gas-recirculation systems and aluminum engine blocks. Kolbenschmidt Pierburg has North American production plants in Fountain Inn, S.C.; Greensburg, Ind.; Fort Wayne, Ind.; Marinette, Wis., and Leamington, Ontario, and a North American sales office in Southfield, Mich.

Kolbenschmidt Pierburg AG is a subsidiary of Rheinmetall AG. The company has approximately 11,400 employees at its five automotive divisions. Global sales for its Aluminum Technology, Pierburg, KS Pistons, KS Plain Bearings and Motor Service divisions totaled nearly $2.4 billion in 2004. Additional information is available on the Internet at http://www.usa.kolbenschmidt-pierburg.com/ .