Wear-Resistant Materials: Extending Component Life in High-Abrasion Applications

Wear components fail. That’s their job—they sacrifice themselves to protect more expensive parts. But how quickly they fail determines maintenance costs, downtime, and total cost of ownership. The right material choice can extend replacement intervals from weeks to years.

This guide covers material selection for common wear applications: sliding surfaces, bushings, liners, and guides.

Types of Wear

Before selecting materials, understand which wear mechanism dominates your application:

Adhesive Wear (Sliding Contact)

Two surfaces sliding against each other under load. Material transfers between surfaces at contact points. Common in bushings, bearings, slides, and guides.

Material strategy: Low friction coefficient, compatible material pairing, lubrication

Abrasive Wear (Particle Erosion)

Hard particles cutting or gouging a softer surface. Sand, aggregate, ore, and abrasive slurries cause abrasive wear.

Material strategy: High hardness, or sacrificial soft material that embeds particles

Erosive Wear (Fluid Impact)

High-velocity fluids or particle-laden streams impacting surfaces. Pipe elbows, pump housings, and conveyor chutes experience erosion.

Material strategy: Hardness, resilience, or geometry changes to reduce impact angle

Impact Wear

Repeated impact loading causing surface fatigue and material loss. Hammers, breaker bars, and impact zones.

Material strategy: Toughness and fatigue resistance over pure hardness

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Plastics for Wear Applications

UHMW Polyethylene

UHMW (Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene) dominates low-friction wear applications. Its extremely long polymer chains provide outstanding abrasion resistance at low cost.

Key properties:

• Coefficient of friction: 0.10-0.20
• Self-lubricating (no grease required)
• Excellent abrasion resistance (ASTM D1044: 15-20 mg loss)
• FDA compliant grades available
• Operating temperature: -200°F to 180°F

Best applications:

• Conveyor guides and wear strips
• Chute and hopper liners
• Chain guides
• Dock bumpers and fenders
• Star wheels and timing screws
• Food processing components

Limitations:

• Low maximum temperature (180°F)
• Cannot be bonded easily (mechanical fastening required)
• Creeps under sustained high loads
• Poor against sharp, hard abrasives (better against rounded particles)

Acetal (Delrin)

Acetal offers higher strength and stiffness than UHMW with good wear properties. It’s often specified for more precise wear components.

Key properties:

• Coefficient of friction: 0.20-0.35
• Higher strength than UHMW (10,000 psi tensile)
• Excellent dimensional stability
• Good fatigue resistance
• Operating temperature: -40°F to 180°F

Best applications:

• Precision bushings and bearings
• Gears and sprockets
• Cams and rollers
• Conveyor components requiring dimensional precision
• Food processing equipment

Limitations:

• Lower abrasion resistance than UHMW
• Higher friction than UHMW or nylon
• Attacked by strong acids

Nylon (Polyamide)

Nylon combines good wear resistance with higher load capacity than UHMW. Oil-filled and MoS2-filled grades enhance lubricity.

Key properties:

• Coefficient of friction: 0.15-0.40 (varies with fill)
• Higher strength and stiffness than UHMW
• Good fatigue resistance
• Can be lubricated for enhanced performance
• Operating temperature: -40°F to 200°F

Best applications:

• Bushings and bearings under moderate loads
• Sprockets and gears
• Wear pads and guides
• Rollers and wheels
• Sheaves and pulleys

Limitations:

• Absorbs moisture (swells, dimensions change)
• Lower abrasion resistance than UHMW
• Higher friction than UHMW

PTFE and PTFE-Filled Materials

PTFE (Teflon) offers the lowest friction of any solid material but poor wear resistance alone. Filled grades (glass, carbon, bronze) dramatically improve wear performance while retaining low friction.

Key properties:

• Coefficient of friction: 0.04-0.10 (lowest available)
• Excellent chemical resistance
• Wide temperature range (-400°F to 500°F)
• Filled grades: 10-100x better wear than unfilled

Best applications:

• High-temperature bearings and seals
• Chemical processing equipment
• Non-lubricated sliding surfaces
• Piston rings and seals
• Backup rings and guide bands

Limitations:

• Poor wear resistance (unfilled grades)
• High cost
• Cold flows under load (creep)

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Metals for Wear Applications

Bronze Alloys

Bronze bearings have served rotating machinery for centuries. Various bronze alloys address different wear conditions:

SAE 660 (Bearing Bronze) The standard bearing bronze. Good wear properties with adequate strength. Requires lubrication.

• Applications: General-purpose bushings, thrust washers
• Best for: Moderate loads, speeds up to 750 fpm

SAE 863 (Oil-Impregnated Bronze) Sintered bronze impregnated with oil. Self-lubricating for maintenance-free operation.

• Applications: Light-duty bushings, low-speed bearings
• Best for: Low loads, inaccessible lubrication points

Aluminum Bronze (C95400) Higher strength and corrosion resistance than tin bronzes.

• Applications: Heavy-duty bearings, marine equipment
• Best for: High loads, corrosive environments

Manganese Bronze (C86300) Highest strength bronze. For severe loads and impact.

• Applications: Heavy machinery bushings, gears
• Best for: Maximum load capacity

Tool Steels

Hardened tool steels provide maximum wear resistance for severe abrasive environments:

D2 Tool Steel High-carbon, high-chromium die steel. Air-hardening to 58-62 HRC.

• Wear resistance: Excellent
• Toughness: Moderate
• Applications: Dies, punches, wear plates, industrial knives

A2 Tool Steel Air-hardening with better toughness than D2.

• Wear resistance: Good
• Toughness: Better than D2
• Applications: Punches, forming tools, wear components requiring impact resistance

O1 Tool Steel Oil-hardening, good all-around properties.

• Wear resistance: Good
• Toughness: Good
• Applications: General tooling, wear parts

Wear-Resistant Steels

AR400/AR450/AR500 Abrasion-resistant plate steels. The number indicates approximate Brinell hardness.

• Applications: Chute liners, dump truck bodies, mining equipment
• Selection: Higher number = harder = more wear resistant but more brittle

Hardox (and similar) Premium wear-resistant steels with controlled chemistry and processing.

• Applications: Severe abrasion environments, mining, earthmoving

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Selection by Application

Conveyor Systems

Component	First Choice	Alternative
Wear strips/guides	UHMW	Acetal
Chain guides	UHMW	Nylon
Star wheels	UHMW (food)	Acetal
Idler bushings	Oil-impregnated bronze	UHMW
Drive sprocket bushings	Bronze	Nylon

Material Handling

Application	Moderate Abrasion	Severe Abrasion
Chute liners	UHMW	AR400/AR500
Hopper liners	UHMW	AR400
Truck bed liners	UHMW	AR400
Screens	AR400	Hardox

Rotating Equipment

Component	Light Duty	Heavy Duty
Bushings	Oil-impregnated bronze	SAE 660 bronze
Thrust washers	Acetal	Bronze
Wear rings	PTFE-filled	Bronze
Sleeve bearings	UHMW	Bronze

Hydraulic/Pneumatic

Component	Recommendation
Piston wear bands	PTFE + bronze fill
Guide rings	PTFE + glass fill
Backup rings	Acetal, PTFE
Rod bushings	Bronze, filled PTFE

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Design Considerations

Material Pairing

Some material combinations work well; others cause accelerated wear:

Good pairings:

• UHMW against steel
• Bronze against hardened steel
• Acetal against steel
• PTFE against almost anything

Avoid:

• Aluminum against aluminum (galls)
• Stainless against stainless (galls without lubrication)
• Similar hardness metals without lubrication

Surface Finish

Harder isn’t always better. Counter-surfaces should be:

• Hard enough to resist abrasion from the wear component
• Smooth enough to minimize abrasive wear on the wear component

For plastic wear components, counter-surface finish of Ra 16-32 µin is typically optimal.

Lubrication

Self-lubricating materials (UHMW, oil-filled bronze) reduce maintenance but may not match lubricated systems for:

• Maximum load capacity
• Minimum friction
• Maximum life

Where lubrication is practical, consider it.

Replacement Strategy

Design wear components for easy replacement:

• Standard sizes where possible
• Accessible mounting
• Clear wear indicators or inspection points
• Inventory of replacement parts

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Total Cost Analysis

The cheapest material isn’t always the lowest cost. Consider:

Material cost (per piece) Installation labor (per change) Downtime cost (per hour of lost production) Change frequency (changes per year)

Example comparison:

Factor	UHMW	AR400
Material cost	$200	$800
Life (months)	3	12
Changes per year	4	1
Change labor	$150	$400
Annual material	$800	$800
Annual labor	$600	$400
Annual total	$1,400	$1,200

In this example, the more expensive AR400 costs less annually due to longer life. Every application is different—run the numbers.

Working With NextGen Components

We stock wear materials across the spectrum: UHMW, acetal, nylon, PTFE, and bearing bronzes. Our team can help analyze your wear application and recommend materials that balance performance and cost.

Dealing with a wear problem? Send us your application details and we’ll suggest solutions.