Nye Lubeletter - April 2005

Electrical Contact Grease Fills Industry Gap 

Under development for 18 months, RheoTemp™ 761G is a new “high-temp” synthetic hydrocarbon grease that fills both a price and performance gap in lubricants for separable electrical connectors. RheoTemp 761G performs at temperatures up to 175°C, a regime once confined to significantly more expensive silicone and fluorinated lubricants. The newly developed grease prevents wear, environmental corrosion, fretting and resists water washout as well as NyoGel® 760G — a polyalphaolefin (PAO) connector grease developed by Nye in 1990. In addition, RheoTemp 761G significantly reduces insertion force when compared to NyoGel 760G. This reduction helps ensure a secure connection and lessens the likelihood of repetitive stress injuries among assembly workers.

Additive Study aims for More Robust Synthetic Lubricants 

A new antioxidant shows promise in extending the life of diester-based lubricants. In studies conducted at Nye, a diester oil fortified with a traditional phenolic-aminic antioxidant package was compared to a diester formulation in which the phenolic antioxidant was replaced with an equal amount of the new antioxidant. Testing showed that the oil with the new antioxidant remained functional for nearly two and a half times longer than the traditional formulation. The antioxidant testing is part of a broader study in Nye’s R&D department to identify new additives designed to extend the life of synthetic lubricants.