The primary raw material of Toyoflon® is PTFE (Poly Tetra Fluoro Ethylene), which has superior low friction properties as well as heat and chemical resistance. Originally, PTFE is a polymer that is hard to make into fiber, but by employing its sophisticated matrix yarn technology Toray succeeded in developing uniform, high quality long filament while retaining the characteristics of PTFE. This gives Toyoflon® the best and stable low friction property among chemical fibers and is being used as sliding material in various fields such as automobile and industrial machinery.
The highly durable slide textile developed this time is a composite material of dual structure textile combining PTFE fiber Toyofron® with highly rigid fiber. By leveraging Toray’s advanced textile technology to densely weave the highly rigid fiber, the company succeeded in forming the lubricant layer by accumulating the fine particles of PTFE fiber in the textile, which until now were scattered through repeated contact with the sliding portion. This enabled achievement of low friction as well as high durability and compared to textiles using existing PTFE fiber Toyofron® alone, the new material realizes more than 100 times better abrasion resistance. The use of this newly developed highly durable textile enables miniaturization and weight reduction, high surface pressure due to reduction in the sliding part area resulting from improved performance, and longer product life without requirement for maintenance. The highly durable slide textile leveraging these features is set to be adopted in the seismic isolator by Nippon Steel & Sumikin Engineering Co., Ltd.
Based on the Corporate Philosophy of “contributing to society through the creation of new value with innovative ideas, technologies and products,” Toray has been striving to develop materials that have potential to change the society in nature. Under the new medium-term management program “Project AP-G 2016” started in April 2014, Toray is working on establishment of an integrated business model in non-apparel field that covers from materials to higher level materials to further strengthen the profit structure of Fibers & Textiles, which is one of the Foundation Businesses. Toray will further pursue development of advanced materials by leveraging the power of chemistry and continues to be a corporate group that contributes to realization of a more affluent society.
Details of the newly developed product are as follows:
