Home › Blog › Aerospace, Defense & Space › Wear & Structural Interface › Wear material selection
UHMW, PTFE, or Glass-Epoxy Laminate: Selecting Aircraft Anti-Chafe and Wear Materials
Aircraft wear and interface parts hide four different jobs under one vague request: protecting a harness where it chafes, taking repeated sliding motion, carrying a bolted load as a structural spacer, and electrically separating dissimilar metals to break a corrosion couple. The right material for one is often wrong for another.
This guide walks the families on the H-O wear and structural-interface page, from UHMW and PTFE to G-10 and Durostone laminates, Atlas bearing-grade, aramid paper, and cushioned interfaces, matched to the interface each one serves best.
Request a quote for your project →
Anti-chafe, sliding wear, or structural separation: which interface is it?
Wear and interface parts are easy to under-specify because "put something between these two things" hides four different jobs. An anti-chafe pad protects a wire bundle or fluid line where it rubs on structure. A sliding-wear face takes repeated motion between two parts. A structural spacer carries a bolted load while keeping parts apart or aligned. And a galvanic isolation strip electrically separates dissimilar metals to break a corrosion couple.
The right material for one is frequently wrong for another, so the first step is naming the interface. The families below are sorted by the job they serve.
UHMW polyethylene: the anti-chafe and low-friction workhorse
UHMW-PE film and liners and UHMW wear strip by thickness are the default for chafe protection and sliding interfaces: a tough, low-friction, abrasion-resistant polyethylene that protects harnesses and lines and glides where parts move. It is electrically insulating as well, so a UHMW strip often does double duty as a wear face and a dielectric separator.
PTFE: the lowest-friction and highest-temperature slide
Where friction or temperature exceeds what UHMW handles, PTFE takes over. Virgin skived PTFE film gives the lowest coefficient of friction and broad chemical resistance for slick wear faces, while PTFE-coated fiberglass in the 6085 series adds an inorganic glass carrier with a PTFE surface for a higher-temperature, more dimensionally stable rub strip. The coated-fiberglass form is the answer when a plain film would creep or tear.
Atlas bearing-grade: load-bearing low-friction
For wear surfaces that also carry a bearing load, Atlas bearing-grade material combines low friction with compressive strength, machined and cut into bushings, wear pads, and slide faces where a soft film would extrude.
G-10/FR-4 and Durostone laminates: the structural spacer and isolator
When the interface has to carry a bolted structural load while keeping parts apart, a rigid glass-reinforced laminate is the answer. Glass-epoxy laminate, the NP511 FR-4 class, and Durostone laminates provide high compressive strength and dielectric strength per ASTM D149 on the TDS, so one machined spacer both positions the parts and electrically isolates them, the natural choice at a dissimilar-metal joint.
Aramid and Nomex paper: thin dielectric separators
Where the separation has to be thin and conformable rather than rigid, aramid paper in Nomex 410 and 414 high-density grades supplies a flame-resistant dielectric layer that does not melt or drip, useful as a barrier shim or wrap.
Crosslinked PE foam, felt, and cork: cushioned interfaces
When the interface needs to cushion as well as separate, crosslinked polyethylene foam pads and damps, SAE pressed felt glides and quiets at light-duty sliding points, and cork wonder pads grip and damp under heavier mounts.
Wear and Interface Families by Job
| Family | Best interface | Why it is chosen | Data on TDS |
|---|---|---|---|
| UHMW-PE / strip | Anti-chafe / slide | Tough, low-friction, abrasion-resistant; also a dielectric separator | Wear and friction designations |
| Skived PTFE / coated glass | Low-friction / hot slide | Lowest friction; coated-glass form adds temperature and dimensional stability | Friction, temperature per TDS |
| Atlas bearing-grade | Load-bearing slide | Low friction with compressive strength for bushings and wear pads | Bearing and load designations |
| G-10 / Durostone | Structural spacer / isolator | High compressive and dielectric strength; positions and isolates | ASTM D149 dielectric; compressive strength |
| Nomex aramid | Thin dielectric shim | Flame-resistant, conformable separator that does not melt | Dielectric per TDS |
Illustrative and relative only; confirm each grade on its current technical data sheet. Job assignments describe common usage, not compliance or corrosion-protection findings.
How do load and electrical separation narrow the choice?
Two questions reshape the shortlist quickly. First, does the interface carry a structural load? If so, soft films and foams are out and a rigid laminate or bearing-grade material is in, because a load-bearing spacer cannot extrude under bolt preload. Second, does the joint connect dissimilar metals? If so, the part has a dielectric job on top of its mechanical one, and a glass-epoxy laminate or a UHMW strip earns its place by electrically separating the metals while it positions or protects them.
Name the load and the dissimilar-metal question first, and the family usually picks itself.
How H-O Products helps
H-O Products die-cuts, waterjets, machines, and laminates the families above to your drawing in Winsted, Connecticut; we do not produce the films or laminates in-house. We cut UHMW and PTFE anti-chafe and wear strips with adhesive backings, machine G-10 and Durostone spacers to tight tolerances, slit aramid shims, and kit wear-part sets to work orders, all under our ISO 9001:2015 certified quality management system with lot-coded traceability and the maker's TDS on the order.
Frequently asked questions
What material stops a wire harness from chafing on structure?
UHMW polyethylene is the usual answer: a tough, low-friction, abrasion-resistant film or strip that protects the harness where it rubs and, because it is electrically insulating, also separates the bundle from the structure. PTFE film or PTFE-coated fiberglass takes over where friction or temperature is higher. Send the contact geometry and we will convert an anti-chafe strip with the right backing.
What is the difference between G-10 and FR-4 laminate, and which do I need?
Both are glass-reinforced epoxy laminates with high compressive and dielectric strength; FR-4 grades add a flame-retardant classification, while G-10 is the general high-strength grade. For a structural spacer that also isolates dissimilar metals, either provides the load capacity and dielectric strength (reported per ASTM D149 on the TDS); the choice usually comes down to whether a flame rating is required. We machine both, plus Durostone, to tight tolerances.
Can a PTFE or UHMW pad carry a bolted structural load?
Not as a load-bearing spacer; soft films extrude under bolt preload. Where the interface carries structure, a rigid glass-epoxy laminate (G-10, FR-4, Durostone) or an Atlas bearing-grade material holds the load and dimension. Reserve UHMW and PTFE for anti-chafe and sliding-wear faces, and use a laminate or bearing-grade part where a clamped load is present.
When do I use PTFE-coated fiberglass instead of plain PTFE film?
When the rub strip needs higher temperature capability and more dimensional stability than a plain film offers. PTFE-coated fiberglass in the 6085 series puts a PTFE surface on an inorganic glass carrier, so it resists creep and tearing at temperature where a skived film would distort. Plain skived PTFE remains the choice for the lowest friction at moderate temperature.
Can H-O machine and waterjet laminate spacers to tight tolerances?
Yes. We waterjet and machine G-10, FR-4, and Durostone spacers, shims, and isolators to drawing tolerances, and we cut UHMW, PTFE, and aramid parts by die and waterjet, all under our ISO 9001:2015 certified quality management system with lot-coded traceability. Send a drawing or an existing part and we will quote the converted spacer set.
Get a wear or interface material recommendation
Tell us the interface job (anti-chafe, sliding wear, structural spacer, or galvanic isolation), the load, whether dissimilar metals meet at the joint, and the geometry, and we will recommend a family and quote converted parts.
Samples typically ship in 3 to 5 business days for common die-cut configurations on materials we keep on hand; standard production runs about two weeks after drawing approval; expedited service is available. MOQ varies by material and part.
Family-owned in Winsted, Connecticut since 1971 · ISO 9001:2015 certified · OEMs worldwide send us a drawing — and get back their part.
Related reading
GuideGalvanic Corrosion at Dissimilar-Metal and Chafe Interfaces: MIL-STD-889 and How an Isolation Strip Breaks the CoupleRead →
GuideHow to Spec an Aircraft Anti-Chafe or Wear Part: What to Send H-O for a QuoteRead →
ApplicationWear & Structural InterfaceRead →
IndustryAerospace, Defense & Space hubRead →
Request a quote for your anti-chafe & wear interface part
Send H-O your drawing or describe the part—engineering reviews every RFQ and converts samples on your geometry.
Last updated · Reviewed by H-O Products engineering (ISO 9001:2015 certified converter, Winsted, CT).
References
- ASTM D149 (dielectric strength of solid insulating materials); AMS 3662 (UHMW-PE sheet, by designation); MIL-STD-889 (dissimilar metals), cited qualitatively.
- ASTM D3330 (peel adhesion); UL 94 (flammability classes, per grade TDS). Cited by designation; H-O makes no corrosion-protection determinations.
- Manufacturer technical data sheets: UHMW-PE film and wear strip, virgin skived PTFE film, PTFE-coated fiberglass 6085 series, Atlas bearing-grade, G-10 / FR-4 and Durostone laminates, Nomex aramid paper, crosslinked polyethylene foam, SAE pressed felt, cork wonder pads.
This article summarizes anti-chafe, wear, and structural-interface material principles using the families and designations cited on the parent application page. Comparisons are qualitative; mechanical and dielectric values are per each grade's current technical data sheet, and no test results are quoted.
MIL-STD-889 and AMS designations are named for orientation only; H-O makes no galvanic-compatibility, corrosion-protection, or airworthiness determinations. All parts are custom manufactured to order; minimum production run quantities vary by material and part. H-O is a converter, not a raw-material producer.