Lubrication is a major challenge for manufacturers who deal with extreme working conditions. These conditions may include temperature extremes, low and high shaft speeds, low and high pressures, concentrated process and atmospheric contaminants, etc. Though
In any industrial application, the purpose of lubrication is preventing friction between two rolling surfaces, or between the plain bearing and the shaft. Greases and oils are common types of lubricants used in industrial applications.
Dry film lubricants, which are also referred to as solid lubricants are basically used to reduce friction caused between two or more surfaces. Therefore, they are also referred to as low friction coatings. These solid coatings are used in almost all environments, such as high and low pressures, high and low temperatures, as well as high and low shaft speeds.
Today, manufacturers in various industries like electronics, aerospace, rubber, and automotive are addressing various critical issues like durability, performance at extreme high and low temperatures, etc. They mitigate these issues by employing specialized high performance materials and lubricants. The discussion on high performance materials, as well as lubricating items may take up new dimensions, due to innovative inventions in the recent years. In this post, we will concentrate on dry film lubrications and critical issues addressed by them.
Dry film lubricants, alternatively known as solid film lubricants, are lubricating substances that are used to reduce friction between two sliding surfaces. Some of the popular dry film lubricants are graphite, molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), tungsten disulfide (WS2), and PTFE. They form a tough coating over the part and inhibit corrosion. This post discusses properties, applications, methods of application, and conditions in which these film lubricants are applied.
Dry film lubricants/ solid lubricants are used when conventional oils and/or greases will not provide sufficient lubrication due to extreme operating conditions, i.e. vacuum, extreme temperatures, reduce particulate contamination, infrequent disaasembly, corrosion prevention etc.. Various products made from metal, ceramics and some manmade plastics are coated with dry lubricants for enhanced longevity, efficient use, anti-galling and reduced friction.
Micro Surface Corporation is a leader in the application of dry film lubricants. They are also known as solid film lubricants that are employed between two surfaces for the purpose of reducing wear, lowering friction and preventing corrosion.They are typically utilized in adverse environments where specific hydrocarbon based lubricants such as grease and oil are not effective. These lubricants can also be used for metal wear protection in certain applications.
