POT bearing was developed in 1959 as an alternative to heavy steel sliding bearings. It consists of a circular non-reinforced rubber-pad fully enclosed in a steel pot.
(a) The rubber is prevented from bulging by the pot walls and it acts similar to a fluid under high pressure.
(b) Rotational movement permitted by shear deformation of an elastomeric pad.
(c) Translational movement restraint by completely encasing the elastomeric pad in a POT.
(d) No compressive deflection of elastomer, as it is encased.
PTFE is a linear chain polymer of great molecular strength, known for its
chemical inertness and low coefficient of friction. PTFE is not oxidised easily, it is
resistant to all common solvents and remains stable at extremes of atmospheric temperatures.
In POT-PTFE bearing, two most important synthetic materials i.e. Elastomer & PTFE are utilized. Elastomer
has an excellent property of providing translation and rotation without any moving parts. In POT-PTFE bearing,
the latter part is utilized by completely encasing the elastomer pad in steel casing or POT. PTFE has an
excellent property of having very low coefficient of friction and in the free end, a sliding component is
added on top of POT, comprising stainless steel and PTFE for translation. The rotation, therefore, is
provided by elastomer due to differential compression and translation by steel and PTFE.