Ready Plastics

PET (Ertalyte) Applications — Bearings, Wear & Food-Zone Parts

Bearing-grade PET (Ertalyte, PET-P) earns its place in applications where acetal's moisture sensitivity limits service life, where nylon swelling causes bearing seizure in wet environments, or where FDA compliance and dimensional stability must coexist. Its primary domains are precision machined bearings and bushings, sliding wear components, and food-contact parts in processing and packaging equipment.

At a glance:

  • Primary use: bearings, bushings, wear strips, and rollers in wet or food-contact environments
  • Outperforms acetal in moisture-exposed sliding applications
  • FDA 21 CFR 177.1630 — suited for direct food-zone duty
  • Ertalyte TX (PTFE-filled) for dry-running or high-load bearing service
  • Not recommended above 212°F (100°C) continuous — consider PEEK or PPS for higher temps
  • Not a structural or impact-grade material; use where wear and dimensional stability are the primary drivers

Bearings and Bushings

This is Ertalyte's core application. Engineers routinely replace acetal, nylon, and bronze bushings with Ertalyte when:

Wet-Running Conveyor and Processing Bearings

Food and beverage conveyors run in constant wash-down environments. Nylon 6 and 6/6 — common bearing materials — absorb up to 9% moisture at saturation, causing measurable bore growth that loosens the shaft fit and accelerates wear. Ertalyte's 0.26% saturation absorption causes less than 0.05% dimensional change, so machined clearances remain stable through thousands of wash cycles.

Typical Ertalyte bushing sizes in conveyor applications: 0.500"–2.0" bore diameter, wall thickness 0.125"–0.375", length 0.5"–2.0". Both Ertalyte and Ertalyte TX are specified depending on whether the bushing runs lubricated (unfilled Ertalyte adequate) or dry (TX preferred).

Pump and Valve Bushings

Centrifugal and positive-displacement pumps handling dilute acids, fruit juices, or aqueous process streams regularly specify Ertalyte bushings. The material's resistance to dilute organic acids (citric, acetic, phosphoric at food-plant concentrations) and its dimensional stability in the pumped fluid prevent the swelling failures seen with nylon.

For pumping aggressive solvents or temperatures above 100°C, step up to PEEK or PPS (Ryton). Ertalyte is not suitable for chlorinated solvents.

Precision Bearing Replacement for Metal

In applications where bronze or aluminum bronze bushings are specified for corrosion resistance but where weight or galvanic concerns are factors, Ertalyte offers a plastic alternative. Ertalyte bushings for moderate shaft loads (PV up to 3,000 ft·psi/min dry) run well against stainless steel shafts with minimal shaft wear — important in cleanroom or pharmaceutical equipment where metal particles are unacceptable.

For high-PV dry bearing service, Ertalyte TX (PV limit ~10,000 ft·psi/min) extends the envelope significantly.

Wear Strips and Slide Components

Conveyor Wear Strips

Ertalyte wear strips are a standard item on accumulating conveyor systems for glass bottles, cans, and cartons. The strips protect the conveyor frame and guide products along the lane. Compared to UHMW polyethylene (the other common wear strip material), Ertalyte:

  • Maintains tighter thickness tolerances — extruded Ertalyte sheet holds better flatness than UHMW due to higher crystallinity
  • Handles higher loads without cold-flow deformation
  • Resists dilute cleaning agents better than UHMW in alkaline CIP (clean-in-place) cycles

UHMW remains the better choice for very low speed, high-impact applications where Ertalyte's lower impact toughness could cause cracking.

Slide Plates and Guide Rails

Ertalyte sheet machined into slide plates and guide rails for packaging and assembly equipment offers the combination of low friction and dimensional stability. A 0.25"–0.500" Ertalyte slide plate under a stainless steel product carrier produces less stick-slip than HDPE or nylon in the same application — important for indexing and positioning accuracy.

Food-Zone and Food-Contact Components

Manifolds and Valve Bodies

In beverage manifold blocks, Ertalyte delivers tight machined tolerances for port-to-port alignment combined with FDA compliance for the process fluid contact surfaces. CNC-machined manifolds in Ertalyte natural are common in dairy, brewing, and carbonated beverage equipment. The material's resistance to CIP chemicals (alkaline wash, acid rinse) at room temperature is a practical advantage.

Food-Processing Guides and Fixtures

Cutting guides, portioning fixtures, and product contact rails in meat, poultry, and produce processing plants regularly use Ertalyte. The material's USDA acceptance for incidental food contact and its cleanability with standard food-safe sanitizers make it an approved choice. White color (both natural and TX) supports visual contamination inspection — an NSF and HACCP requirement.

Ertalyte's white/off-white color is non-trivially important in FDA food-zone compliance. Blue food-safe UHMW or Ertalyte is sometimes specified instead of white to make fragments visible in product streams — confirm color requirements with your HACCP program before specifying.

Pump Impeller and Seal Components

Low-volume positive-displacement pumps in food-processing lines use Ertalyte components for impeller rings, seal seats, and bushings where the process fluid is the only lubricant. Ertalyte's chemical resistance to the product stream and its FDA status make it a compliant, practical choice.

Rollers and Sheaves

Ertalyte rod turned into rollers and sheaves offers a wear-resistant, low-friction alternative to metal or nylon. Common in:

  • Product guide rollers on conveyor lines where contact with food product must be FDA-compliant
  • Cable and hose sheaves in light-duty material handling where oil contamination from bronze bushings is unacceptable
  • Tensioner rollers in labeling and packaging machinery

Rollers in Ertalyte natural run with low noise against metal tracks. Ertalyte TX rollers are specified where no lubrication is possible and noise reduction matters.

Medical Device Fixtures and Trays

Ertalyte's combination of FDA compliance, low moisture absorption, and machinability makes it suitable for:

  • Sterilization tray inserts — Ertalyte handles ethylene oxide (EtO) and gamma sterilization; autoclave exposure at 121°C is marginal given the 100°C continuous-use rating — verify with the specific gamma dose or EtO cycle parameters
  • Assembly jigs and fixtures — dimensional stability in clean-room ambient humidity keeps Ertalyte fixtures repeatable
  • Packaging inserts for fragile instruments during shipping and storage

Ertalyte does not reach the temperature rating for 134°C autoclave (prion cycle) — specify PEEK or PSU (Udel) for that requirement.

How Ertalyte Compares to Competing Bearing Materials

For a direct Ertalyte vs. acetal evaluation, see PET vs acetal (Delrin). For situations requiring higher temperature or broader chemical resistance, review the PET comparisons overview.

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Frequently asked questions — PET FAQ