Performance of plastic gear made of carbon fiber reinforced polyether-ether-ketone

A carbon fiber (CF) reinforced poly-ether-ether-ketone (PEEK) gear was prep ared by injection molding, and its gear performance was evaluated, It was f ound that the wear process of the CF reinforced PEEK gear significantly var ied depending on the test conditions, such as the kind of the partner gear combined and whether a lubricant exists on the engagement region or not. It was assumed that the existence of transfer film at the engagement region, the affinity between PEEK and CF, the compression modulus as well as surfac e hardness of the partner gear, and the characteristics of CF play a role o f differentiation in the wear depth. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rig hts reserved.