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Lubricants and

Lub '. '.


u mcanon 0--f
Plastics Gears
CI:iHord E. Adams
IConsultant
Charlotte. N'C

Surface measurement of any metal gear as in metal gears. When relati ve sliding take
tooth contact surface will indicate some degree place at the mating point of contact, heat
of peaks and valleys. When gears are placed in builds up at a localized point and material is
mesh. irregular contact surfaces are brought removed due to the shear stress. These factors
together in the typical combination of rolling eontribnte to:
and sliding motion. The surface peaks, or l. New, expo ed surface irregularities;
asperities, of one tooth randomly contact the 2. Free debris particles and erosion;
asperities of the mating toots .. Under the right 3. Increa ed energy requirements to main-
conditions, the asperities form momentary tain constant speed;
welds that are broken off as the gear loath 4. Increased friction and wear;
action continues. Increased friction and higher 5. Increased heat generation;
temperatures, plus wear debris introduced into 6. Erratic, sluggish system response; and
the system are the result. of this action. 7. Accelerated tooth contact surface change
The basic function of a lubricant is to pro- reflected in output load fluctuations or motion
vide an oil film that will eparate two mating trail fer problem .
surfaces that move relative to one another, In Significant lubrication differences and sim-
metal gearing, it is imperative that an ade- ilarities are found between lubrication of metal
quate lubricant and lubrication system be pro- and plastics gears. Applications, material and
vided to prevent contact of surface asperities. design situations range ill plastics gearing
Once failure of the lubricant or lubrication from the extreme of plastics gearing with no
system is initiated, ultimate failure of the lubrication and unfilled material to gears oper-
gearing is likely. ating immersed in water, oil. or chemical
Plastics Reactions bath .. Present-day usage consists of maoy
In plastics gearing. both molded and cut combinations of lube/no-lube. filled/unfilled
plastics gears have the peak-and-valley surface materials and like/unlike materials. The ideal
contour, This is th c re ult of manufacturing, low-cost gearing system is that requiring no
inherent machining equipment inaccuracies lubrication and unfilled. materials.
and allowable tolerances. Some studies indi- [0 a gear set that is designed, manufactured.
cate that under the right conditions, momen- assembled and operated correctly ,the use of a
tary welding can occur ill plastics gears. A lubricant is recommended during the run-in
compres ive stress is present as a set of gear period. Continued lubrication serves primarily
teeth come into contact. The stress moves from to help reduce friction and assi t in heat dis i,-
the initial point of contact along the tooth pro- pation at the tooth contact surfaces, since even
file until th - teeth are 110 longer in contact The tbe best. quality standard gears cannot avoid
compression causes the same subsurface stress some degree of sliding contact during opera-
tion, Other uses of a lubricant inthe applica- used varies from a few hundredths of a percent
tion are flushing wear particles, dirt, and mois- to 30% or more (Ref. 1). It is usually the
ture, providing corrosion protection to adjoin- chemical action of the additives that is respon-
ing parts and lubrication of those parts. As in sible for the failure of plastics materials when
all plastics gearing applications, gears should in contact for a period of time, under stress
be tested to determine design suitability. The conditions, subjected to adverse temperatures
lubricant and lubrication method! should be or in contact with combinations of other sys-
tested at the same time using the identical sys- tem materials.
tems of the intended application at the required Chemical compatibility data will usually
service conditions. indicate exposure time and temperatures. The
Coefficients of friction, temperatures. stress question confronting the design engineer isjhe
levels and wear factors of mating materials are applicability of the data for his or her applica-
an indication of the necessity for use of a tion. Operating stress levels are usually never
lubricant, A low coefficient of friction indi- the same as the stress Ievel. of the test sample.
cates that relatively small. amounts of input The same is true for the temperature and the
energy are necessary to overcome sliding con- time of exposure. For th:is reason, some materi-
tact conditions. SmaU wear factors for unit al suppliers provide data generated at wide
load win provide longer wear life. When coef- ranges of temperatures for extremely long peri-
ficient of friction and wear data are not avail- ods of time. Regardless. gear life tests should
able, sub titute materials may be considered. always be run unless significant experience
This is particularly advisable in plastics gear- with a particular lubricant dictates otherwise.
ing because much data have been generated Plastks Stress Level
for the commonly used and most successful The fact that lubricant attack is influenced
gearing materials. by stress level. is sometimes overlooked. Often
It is important to remember that lubricants samples submitted for chemical compatibility
are chemicals .. Plastics are susceptible to testing wiIU be at a specific stress level due to
chemical attack. so a major consideration is normal sample preparation procedures. When
the type .of lubricant. selected for a particular a gear is produced either by molding or cut-
application, This selection process is aided by ting, stresses are set up in the parts. These
tables provided by plastics material suppliers residual stresses may Of may not be relieved
and texts containing results of chemical com- with subsequent manufacturing processes ..
patibility tests. Test samples of candidate plas- Nevertheless, operating stresses are alsopres-
tics materials are immersed in the chemical of ent during running of the gears in their appli-
interest at a certain temperature for a period of cation. The problem is that the reaction of the
time, Test samples are then weighed, and that gear materialsto the residual or operating
weight compared with pre-test weights. stress levels and operating temperatures may
Chemical attack of the plastic material. has produce significant lubricant and material
occurred if the sample weight has been incompatibilities. Fortunately, experience has
reduced or if crazing of the material is evident shown that some lubricaats work better with
If the test sample weight is increased, the indi- certain materials used in gears of common
cation is that absorption has occurred. sizes. with typical loads, and limited to reason-
Remeasurement of the test sample can some- able temperature levels. The result. is that
times indicate the severity of the fluid absorp- many materia] suppliers and gear houses are
tion. In gearing, moisture or chemical absorp- aware of the lubricarn/plastics gear compatibil-
tion can be as severe a problem as chemical ity concern and can be of assistance in provid-
attack, because small clearances for backlash ing recommendations. However, since stress
lCIiffordllE" Adams
is a consultant specializ-
can easily be eliminated and wear initiated, levels and applications can be substantially ing in plastics and fine-
pitch gearing. gear
Discussion of chemical attack on plastics is different, the recommendation is to test the
design and analysis and
nolan indictment of the lubricant Practically gears with the intended lubricant in actual situ- mechanical components
all types of lubricating oil contain at least one ations. Where testing is impossible or imprac- used in power transmis-
sion. He has over 35
additive. and some oils contain several differ- tical. all available experience and!reported data years' experience in
ent types of additives. The amount of additive should be consulted and analyzed. design and engineering.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1993 43,


Plastics gear lubrication is accomplished Loads tested were heavy and operation was
using the following methods or in combina- low-speed.
tions of the various methods: Chemical equipment and chemical handling
I. Dry with no external or internal lubricant; equipment can be sources of contamination by
2. Initial application of external lubricant, oils and grea es. Lubricants can contaminate
usually grea e; area such a office equipment. where paper
3. Initial application. replenished at random form , bills and account ledger materials mu t
or fixed intervals; pas through data proces ing machines. Care i
4. Cominuous coverage by liquid bath; necessary so that creep. plash-out, dripping or
5. Fillers such as carbon. graphite or molyb- bleed do. not become a problem.
denum disulfide; What to Look FOIi in a Plastics Lublii.cant
6. Gear filled with ilicone or similar lubri- hem of importance are as fonows:
cant; and I. Correct viscosity. Minimum oil film
7. Gears both filled with lubricants and thicknes , continual recreation of a lubricated
externally lubricated. surface, formation of a protective film. good
Other ConsidelGatioDs distribution with minimum squeeze-out,
A problem often encountered is adherence 2. Adequate temperature mnge. Fluid film
of the lubricant to the tooth-contacting sur- at Iow-temperature extreme, sufficient cover-
faces. Squeeze-out and throw-off by centrifu- age and lubricating capability at bigh tempera-
gal action has plagued gear user and is a con- ture extreme. minimum fluid breakdown at
tinual problem in many applications. Some high temperamre.
innovative hOllsing designs have provided 3. Chemical stability .. Minimum oxidation
deflectors that channel the oil or grease back under heat buildup may provide additinsal
into the gear contact area. Selection of an protection.
adhering type lubricant may resolve the prob- 4. Good lubricity. Minimum friction that
lem in some applications. Nonspreading and aids in control of operating temperature rise
nonmigrating lubricants or oil creep barrier may have additiveprotection.
films may also be po sible if carefully selected Lubrtcant and Plastics
for particular problem . Compatibmt.y (Ref. 2)
There are times when lubricants may be Materials not usually a problem are nylon,
con idered to be contaminants, This may be phenolic, diaUyl, phthalate. terephthalate poly-
particularly true where the lubricant is used on esters, polytetrafluoroethyleae, polyethylene
food handling equipment. Inadvertent contact and polypropylene.
with the food nece itates the use of certain Material thai. can be a problem are poly-
types, uch as the silicones. styrene. polyvinyl chloride, ABS resins,
Aceta] (polyforma\dehyde) is not vulnerable polycarbonate, polysulfone, and polypheny-
to solvation (attack by lubricant components) lene oxides .
or crazing. However, it is qune sensitive to
buildup of acidic constituents. The most popu-
References
lar gearing marerials, acetal and nylon, are sus- 1. Wills. 1. G. Lubrication Fundamentals. Marcel Dekker.
ceptible to chemical auack at temperatures Inc., New York, 19110.
above 150F and in trong acids and strong 2. Nye Lubeletter .. William F. Nye, Inc . New Bedford,
MA.1977.
alka.li ,particularly at full trength (Refs. 3,4).
3. DuPont Delrin Acerot Resin Design Handbook. E. I,
The mo I versatile synthetic lubricant fami- DuPonl DeNemours and Co . Wilminglon. DE. 198t
lies are the i1iconesand hydrocarbons, where 4. Duron: Zytel Nylon Resin Design Handboo Bulletin
E-44971, E. I. DuPalll. DeNemours and Co., Wilmington.
operating temperature ranges of -65F to
DE.
+250 F are not uncommon.
Q

S. Chen, J. and Juarbe, F. "Tests of MoS2-Pilied NYlon


Chen and Juarbe (Ref. 5) discuss lubricants Gears Provide Design Data .." Power Transmission Design,
and MoSrfilled nylon gears. Gear oils with an Penton/We, Cleveland. OH. 1978.
EP additive in the viscous range of 200-300cs
Acknowledgement: From Plastics Gearing: Selection and
at 40C are suitable for nylon. This isequiva- Applicanon by Clifford E. Adams, 1986. Marcel Dekker,
lent to the AGMA mild "P lubricant #4EP .. Inc .. New York. NY. Reprinted with pcrmis ion.

44, GEAR TECHNOLOGY

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