Torque Properties of Oscillating, Dry-Lubricated Ball Bearings in Vacuum

摘要

Torque and wear characteristics of ion plated lead, RF sputtered MoS2 and PTFE were compared in ball bearings in vacuum, subjected to oscillation through fixed or randomly varied angles. Ion-plated lead and sputtered MoS2 operate well in oscillated, hard-preloaded, high precision bearings. Both are satisfactory in many limited cycle usages, but for minimum average torque level and minimum torque noise, the sputtered MoS2 is preferable. Transfer films from PTFE composite yield unstable, speed-sensitive torque behavior. Unless the speed is kept low enough the torque/time curve shows a rising torque whose gradient increases with speed.