Nye Lubeletter - September 2003
New Connector Grease Slashes Insertion Force, Meets USCAR Standard
UniFlor™ 8917 “knows” how connectors are supposed to perform. A newly commercialized SmartGrease™ for connector contacts, UniFlor 8917 easily meets insertion force and resistance requirements of SAE/USCAR-2, Revision 3, The Performance Standard for Automotive Electrical Connection Systems. In the fiercely competitive automotive world, stringent connector design requirements — long life, optimal electrical performance, protection against oxidation and fretting corrosion, and low insertion force — are coupled with the mandate to reduce costs. UniFlor 8917 helps meet this objective.
ABB Promotes “Nye Inside”
ABB South Africa, a R2 billion manufacturer of electric power technologies, selected Nye’s Rheolube®368AX-1 for a worm gear in its new 2,500-amp circuit breaker. Corruflex, Nye’s agent in South Africa, had to earn the business. ABB engineers reported that with a competitor’s grease, gears showed wear scars after 1,000 cycles, which is the device’s warranty. With Rheolube 368AX-1, a synthetic hydrocarbon grease designed for highly loaded gears, there were no wear scars after 1,200 cycles.
Grease Replaces Brushes in Patented Alternator
Prestolite Electric recently patented an improved brushless alternator whose unique design relies on an electrically conductive grease from Nye. The alternator offers important commercial advantages. Consumers will get the long-life associated with brushless alternators and the output characteristics of a brush-type alternator, which includes good output at low rpms. It also requires less space than conventional brushless alternators with the same output, and is more economical and lighter in weight.
Get Smart About Grease
It is important to check material compatibility when selecting a lubricant. Case in point: an EPDM O-ring for an icemaker. A polyglycol oil was specified as an assembly aid, but workers incorrectly used a polyalphaolefin (PAO) grease. The PAO-lubricated O-ring (left) swelled nearly 25%, while the polyglycollubricated O-ring (middle) and the control O-ring (right) remained virtually the same size after accelerated life testing. Material and lubricant manufacturers can provide compatibility data. For critical applications, however, documentation should not replace testing at expected high and low operating temperatures.
