Industry, research, and end users discuss tribology, PFAS-free alternatives, testing methodologies, and the design of reliable components.
Innovation Day 2026: Technical Exchange Returns to Center Stage
What performance must next-generation self-lubricating compounds guarantee? And how can a potential PTFE alternative be evaluated without considering only friction and wear?
These are some of the questions at the heart of LATI Innovation Day 2026, which on September 23 and 24 brought together technicians, engineers, researchers, and industrial users from various European countries in Varese.
With the return of this format, LATI sought to create a technical space dedicated to direct exchange among those who develop materials, those who process them, those who design components, and those who must evaluate their performance under real application conditions.
The event combined scientific contributions, industrial case studies, regulatory insights, and discussion sessions among participants, concluding with a visit to the LATI plant in Gornate Olona.
| “Resuming the Innovation Day means creating an opportunity for collaborative work among those who develop materials, those who handle regulatory aspects, component designers, and those who verify performance. Industrial transformations require new solutions, but also a greater ability to share information and expertise. Direct exchange with customers, researchers, and partners helps us orient development toward real application needs, following an Open Innovation approach that involves the entire value chain.” Alessio Portentoso, Group Sales Director at LATI |
As emphasized during the opening session, the objective is to strengthen an Open Innovation approach in which material development and application requirements can evolve through continuous exchange along the entire value chain.
PTFE Alternatives: Tribological Performance Is Not Enough
One of the central themes of Innovation Day was the development of self-lubricating compounds as alternatives to formulations containing PTFE.
In his presentation “Self-lubricating compounds looking toward the future,” Luca Posca, Group Technical Assistance & Marketing Director at LATI, presented the experimental work conducted on the LATILUB E families, based on UHMWPE additives, and LATILUB P, developed through alternative polymeric solutions.
However, replacing a solid lubricant such as PTFE cannot be approached by analyzing only the coefficient of friction.
The compound’s behavior must be evaluated by simultaneously considering:
- friction;
- wear;
- mechanical properties;
- thermal stability;
- processability;
- operating temperature;
- materials of contact surfaces;
- required component service life.
The experimental activities presented during the event include pin-on-disc and reciprocating motion tests, with reference to ASTM G99 and ASTM G133 methods, used to analyze tribological behavior under different sliding conditions.
The results show that specific formulations can achieve, under the test conditions considered, tribological performance comparable to PTFE-containing references. However, this result does not automatically guarantee the same response at high temperatures or under severe thermomechanical stresses.
| “PTFE replacement cannot be evaluated through the coefficient of friction alone. Wear, temperature, mechanical stresses, contact surfaces, and required service life must be considered together. Alternatives are offering interesting results, but there is no universal solution. Our work consists of identifying the most suitable combination of matrix and additives and verifying it under conditions representative of the application.” Luca Posca, Group Technical Assistance & Marketing Director at LATI |
It is precisely this application-oriented vision that guides the development of LATILUB compounds: not seeking a universal replacement, but identifying the combination of matrix, additives, and reinforcements best suited to actual operating conditions.
PFAS: From Regulation to Qualification of Alternatives
The transition toward PTFE alternatives is part of a broader context characterized by the European debate on PFAS.
During Innovation Day, Davide Lotti, Product Sustainability and Analysis Manager at LATI, addressed the industrial implications of the European regulatory pathway with the presentation “EU PFAS Regulations: Challenges and Opportunities for Industry.”
One of the highlighted aspects concerns the need to distinguish between regulatory proposals still under evaluation and obligations already formally defined.
For companies, preparing for possible change means starting today to gather technical evidence, analyze alternatives, and build effective dialogue among suppliers, compounders, and end users.
Replacing a functional substance is not simply a matter of changing formulation. It requires qualification activities that verify whether the new material maintains the performance required by the component throughout its entire service life.
From Material Characterization to Component Performance
Innovation Day deliberately broadened the discussion beyond the compound, focusing attention on the actual behavior of the component.
Damijan Zorko, CEO of RD Motion, explored the design of plastic gears, relating material selection, temperature, fatigue, and wear with analytical methods and experimental validation.
Eymard Houara Komba, Tribology Scientific Expert at FORVIA, illustrated a tribological characterization methodology applied to steel-polymer interfaces in automotive seats. The approach combines tribological testing, surface analysis, and study of damage mechanisms to support more reliable material selection, including potential PFAS-free solutions.
The contribution of Sonia Serroukh, Materials & Recycling Project Manager at CT IPC, brought the perspective of collective research, with particular attention to understanding PFAS uses in the plastics industry and defining transition strategies for the value chain.
The common message is clear: data obtained on the material must always be interpreted in relation to the geometry, operating conditions, and function of the component.
Collaboration Between Customer and Compounder: From Application Requirement to Material
A further central element of Innovation Day was the relationship between material development and industrial collaboration.
Michela Marchiorato, Purchasing Manager at Cebi Micromotors Switzerland SA, presented the case “Innovation Through Partnership: Turning Material Challenges into Opportunities,” dedicated to the collaboration between CEBI and LATI in the development and validation of an alternative plastic material.
The case highlighted how the development of new formulations depends on the exchange between complementary competencies: on one side, knowledge of the material and formulation; on the other, the customer’s experience with the component, process, and operating conditions.
It is precisely this interaction that enables transforming an application requirement into a structured pathway of material selection, testing, validation, and industrialization.
Research and Industry Together for the Self-Lubricating Compounds of the Future
The academic contribution was entrusted to Professor Stefano Turri, Full Professor of Materials Science and Technology at Politecnico di Milano, with a presentation dedicated to PTFE alternatives in self-lubricating thermoplastic compounds.
The exchange among universities, research centers, industrial users, and materials specialists made it possible to address the topic from different perspectives, connecting formulation, characterization, process, component, and operating conditions.
The Q sessions, direct exchange with speakers, and the visit to the LATI plant in Gornate Olona completed the program, connecting materials research, application development, and industrial production.
Open Innovation: The Meaning of LATI Innovation Day
Innovation Day was not created to present a single technology or a new product family.
Its value lies in creating a forum where application challenges, experimental results, regulatory changes, and new industrial requirements can be discussed together.
For LATI, this mode of collaboration is an integral part of the innovation process.
Understanding how the material actually behaves, which parameters determine component service life, and which alternatives can meet future regulatory requirements enables orienting research toward concretely applicable solutions.
With the return of Innovation Day, LATI therefore renews a pathway of exchange among those who study, develop, process, and use technical polymers, with a precise objective: ensuring that formulation innovation is reflected in the actual performance of the component.
FAQ
What Are Self-Lubricating Compounds?
Self-lubricating compounds are technical polymers formulated with additives and reinforcements capable of reducing friction and wear in parts subject to relative motion, limiting or eliminating the need for external lubricants.
Is It Possible to Replace PTFE in Self-Lubricating Compounds?
Specific alternative formulations can achieve tribological performance comparable to PTFE-containing materials under certain conditions. However, validation must also consider temperature, mechanical properties, wear, and component service life.
How Are the Tribological Performance of a Compound Evaluated?
Methodologies used include pin-on-disc and reciprocating motion tests, such as those referenced in ASTM G99 and ASTM G133 standards, integrated with wear analysis, surface analysis, and study of application conditions.
What Are LATILUB E and LATILUB P?
LATILUB E identifies self-lubricating formulations based on UHMWPE additives, while LATILUB P uses alternative polymeric solutions developed as part of LATI’s research on PTFE alternatives.
Why Is Collaboration with the End User Important in Compound Development?
Because material performance must be verified under actual operating conditions. Exchange with the customer enables integrating component requirements, production process, temperature, loads, and expected service life into the formulation development from the outset.
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