Apem, a French supplier of custom switch gears, was developing a new series of automotive door lock actuator switches. It needed a material that displayed good stiffness and wear properties for the lever of the switch. For the spring loaded pin that runs against the cam, Apem required a material that combined low wear and low noise generation. The solution? LNP supplied Apem with Lubricomp RFL, an internally lubricated glass-fiber-reinforced nylon 6/6 compound for the lever. "Adding the glass fiber reinforcment dramatically increased the strength and stiffness, while the internal lubrication ensured low wear around the pivot,"says Jamie Tebay, Lubricomp product marketing manager.

For the pin, LNP supplied a combination of materials—Lubricomp RFL and Lubricomp WL, a PTFE-lubricated PBT compound. Says Tebay, "PTFE has the lowest coefficient of friction of any known internal lubricant. It significantly reduces friction and wear rate and allows completely grease-free switch operation."

For the switch housing, which needed to be moulded within narrow flatness tolerances, LNP supplied Thermocomp WF-MG, a glass-fiber/glass-bead-reinforced PBT compound. "Mixed glass reinforcements such as these combine different ratios of reinforcements and fillers in order to control shrinkage in moulded parts,"says Tebay. "Mixed glass grades can diminish warpage without significantly sacrificing properties."