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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.