How Teflon Coatings Help Drive Dynamic Change In Automotive Industry
15.01.2020
As technology advances, vehicles of all types become more sophisticated. Today’s cars feature sat-nav systems, integrated entertainment, self-driving systems, air conditioning, hybrid engines…the list goes on and on. Autonomous and fully electric vehicles will be even more advanced.
That level of complexity is staggering, when compared with a vehicle from the 1950s when an electric window was the height of luxury. What this means for automotive design engineers is that a lot more components must be considered, and a lot more challenges need to be solved in order to meet the demands of interconnectivity, autonomous driving, electrification and mobility services.
Automotive engineers are faced with a double dilemma. They have to improvise and innovate designs to meet the increasing demands placed upon the internal combustion engine for better performance, reduced emissions and improved economy. Whilst doing so, they must also look to the future to develop and improve the next generation of electric vehicles.
Yet, whether they are designing for today or the future, the problems they have to solve still remain much the same. Where there are multiple components made from multiple materials, there will be friction, heat, aggressive chemicals, high pressure and a wide range of temperatures from the very high to the very low.
Fluoropolymer coatings like Teflon make an invaluable contribution to engineering efficiency and as such they play an increasingly important role in automotive excellence.
The unique properties of Teflon industrial coatings mean that they can become an integral surface component of any kind of part – from clutches that engage easier to valves that resist wear and coil springs that become silent. Teflon industrial coatings can be applied on steel, aluminium, glass, ceramic and some plastics and elastomers (depending on the coating solution).
Fluoropolymer-based coatings can significantly improve the properties of the parts include the coating of fasteners, throttle body shafts, AC pistons, petrol filler tubes, sprinkler ball valves and trunk springs. They can also be applied to complex geometric parts, such as the internal threads of the smallest nut.
In the hostile environment of an engine where high pressure, high temperatures and harsh chemicals like exhaust gases are all present, corrosion of metal surfaces is a very real risk that needs to be managed. Teflon coatings can be applied to a variety of components within the engine to provide powerful protection against the damaging effects of corrosion, increasing reliability and durability.
Automotive engineers need to get multiple components working together as efficiently as possible, under increasingly harsh conditions and Teflon industrial coatings have been aiding that mission and look set to continue for some time to come.