ASTM F3131, Specification for Epoxy/Cotton Raw Materials for Use in Bearing Cages, is a new ASTM standard that will benefit manufacturers of nearly any products that involve motion and bearings.
ASTM member Drake DeFrane says that ASTM F3131 will be the first major standard to provide a guideline for engineering and design applications of epoxy/cotton raw materials used for making components that encase bearings. The proposed specification will cover basic characteristics required for porous laminated epoxy materials intended for use as instrument and thin-section ball-bearing cages. F3131 will also include methods for determining these characteristics.
“Principally, applications for ASTM F3131 are directed toward ball bearing retainers as an alternative composite, offering improved properties and characteristics compared to phenolic composites,” says DeFrane. In addition to the improved dimensional stability, DeFrane notes that the epoxy/cotton composite can be used in low power factor applications, such as oil-filled transformers acting as an electrical insulator, along with use in very cold environments where liquid nitrogen is involved.
Both manufacturers and users of bearings will benefit from the publication of ASTM F3131. “The new standard will be used for comparison with other material currently in use, along with assuring consumers of key property values critical to bearing performance,” says DeFrane.
ASTM F3131 was developed by Subcommittee F34.06 on Aerospace, part of ASTM Committee F34 on Rolling Element Bearings. Interested parties, particularly those from bearing manufacturers and end users, are welcome to take part in the standards developing activities of F34.06.
ASTM welcomes participation in the development of its standards. Become a member at www.astm.org/JOIN.
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ASTM Committee F34 Next Meeting: Nov. 17-19, 2015, November committee week, Tampa, Fla.
Technical Contact: Drake DeFrane, Norplex-Micarta, Postville, Iowa, tel +1.563.864.4269; ddefrane@norplex-micarta.com
ASTM Staff Contact: Joseph Hugo, tel +1.610.832.9740; jhugo@astm.org
ASTM PR Contact: Nathan Osburn, tel +1.610.832.9603; nosburn@astm.org
Release #9766