Soap Dispenser

• Parts Containing Fluoroguard^® Work Smoother and Longer

A soap dispenser molded by Inopak, Ltd. incorporates an RTP 600 Series ABS masterbatch containing Fluoroguard®. The lubricating additive extends dispenser life cycles by as much as four-times. “Dispensers were wearing through the button assemblies after only one month of usage,” explained Inopak, Ltd. engineer John Polite.

The dispensers experience extreme usage conditions. Located in high traffic areas such as movie theaters, casinos, and hospital emergency rooms, they typically consume three pouches of soap per day, which equates to about 80,000 button actuations per month.

The problem area on the dispenser was the button assembly’s shaft. “We needed to reduce the shaft wear, which resulted from contact with the mounting brackets inside the front cover,” commented Polite. To improve dispenser performance, Inopak modified their design to improve the Load over Density of the button assembly, thus creating more surface area over which to distribute it. They also began utilizing a Fluoroguard® masterbatch from RTP Company to improve wear resistance and reduce friction between the moving parts.

RTP Company offers compounds containing Fluoroguard®, perfluoropolyether synthetic oil, which significantly improve wear resistance and reduce the coefficient of friction in moving components. Effective at loading levels of just 0.1% to 1.0%, Fluoroguard® has little to no effect on physical properties (such as specific gravity). It also eliminates “plate-out” problems associated with PTFE, thus reducing material and processing costs. Compounds containing Fluoroguard® are available from RTP Company as either compounds or concentrated masterbatch formulations.

Adding the RTP Company developed masterbatch containing Fluoroguard® at the injection molding machine was the solution Inopak needed. “We have experienced no problems,” noted Polite. “Incorporating the Fluoroguard® masterbatch into our dispenser buttons has gone very smoothly.” By choosing a masterbatch solution instead of a custom compound, Inopak was able to selectively improve the wear resistance in just the moving parts, not the entire dispenserÑa very cost-effective approach.

Dispensers molded with the Fluoroguard® masterbatch are now lasting about 320,000 actuations (or four times longer) than dispensers without Fluoroguard®. This added longevity goes straight to the bottom line for Inopak since their primary business is to sell more soaps and lotions, not to replace worn-out dispensers.

For more information on RTP Company compounds containing Fluoroguard® or other wear resistant products, contact us at (507) 454-6900, (800) 433-4787 or visit www.rtpcompany.com/products/wear.

Inopak, Ltd. located in Ringwood, NJ, is a manufacturer of a broad line of natural lotion soaps, hand creams, and dispensers. They provide custom formulations and packaging from bath gels to hand creams. Visit their website at www.inopak.com.

Fluoroguard® is a registered trademark of DuPont