Rulon is the trade name for a family of PTFE plastics produced by

Saint-Gobain Compagnie de Saint-Gobain S.A. () is a French multinational corporation, founded in 1665 in Paris and headquartered on the outskirts of Paris, at La Défense and in Courbevoie. Originally a mirror manufacturer, it now also produces a variety of ...

Performance Plastics. Rulon plastics are known for their low coefficient of friction, excellent abrasion resistance, wide range of operating temperatures, and chemical inertness. Common applications for Rulon include seals, piston rings, bearings, and electrical insulation.

History

Rulon, not to be confused with Mulon, was produced by Dixon Industries Corporation in 1952. and named after its then President, Robert Rulon-Miller. This first type of Rulon was dubbed "Rulon A" (which was later replaced with type AR). Dixon was then bought by the Furon company. Furon was purchased by Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics.

Properties and types

There are many different types of Rulon produced for specific applications. These include: *Rulon A, obsolete *Rulon AR, maroon, used for seals & stronger than Rulon LR *Rulon LR, maroon, has low

deformation Deformation can refer to: * Deformation (engineering), changes in an object's shape or form due to the application of a force or forces. ** Deformation (physics), such changes considered and analyzed as displacements of continuum bodies. * Defor ...

characteristics *Rulon J,

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

, polymer filled for more abrasion resistance and softer mating surface *Rulon 641,

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

U.S. Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...

compliant *Rulon W2, used in fresh water applications *Rulon 123, FDA compliant with low and consistent friction characteristics *Rulon 488, inorganic filler used for compatibility with most surfaces *Rulon 957,

green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combi ...

speckled, bearing grade with noise dampening characteristics *Rulon XL,

tan Tan or TAN may refer to: Businesses and organisations * Black and Tans, a nickname for British special constables during the Irish War of Independence. By extension "Tans" can now also colloquially refer to English or British people in general, es ...

, low friction; suitable for aluminium; excellent

outgassing Outgassing (sometimes called offgassing, particularly when in reference to indoor air quality) is the release of a gas that was dissolved, trapped, frozen, or absorbed in some material. Outgassing can include sublimation and evaporation (which ...

characteristics for use in vacuums *Rulon F, green, polymer filled with excellent anti-abrasion characteristics *Rulon 142,

aqua Aqua is the Latin word for water. It is used in many words which relate to water, such as aquatic life. In English, it may also refer to: Arts * Aqua (color), a greenish-blue color Business * Aqua (skyscraper), an 82-story residential skysc ...

, low deformation material for used in linear bearings and slides *Rulon 945,

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

, very low deformation characteristics for use in high heat and impact applications *Rulon 1045, gold, highly

elastic Elastic is a word often used to describe or identify certain types of elastomer, elastic used in garments or stretchable fabrics. Elastic may also refer to: Alternative name * Rubber band, ring-shaped band of rubber used to hold objects togeth ...

and moderately deformable for use as bearings, rings and seals *Rulon 1337, tan, FDA compliant with low

coefficient of friction Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and material elements sliding against each other. There are several types of friction: *Dry friction is a force that opposes the relative lateral motion of t ...

and excellent chemical resistance *Rulon 1410, gold, highly elastic *Rulon 1439, white, FDA compliant for use in submerged applications with low wear characteristics Rulon A has a 1000 fold increase in wear resistance as compared to PTFE. However, it machines much like PTFE. It can also be moulded,

extruded Extrusion is a process used to create objects of a fixed cross-sectional profile by pushing material through a die of the desired cross-section. Its two main advantages over other manufacturing processes are its ability to create very complex c ...

, skived, stamped, and hot and cold formed. Below is a table of properties pertaining to Rulon AR, but note that the other types of Rulon have similar properties.

References

{{reflist Plastic brands Fluoropolymers