© ABB Group October 8, 2015 | Slide 1
ABB challenges on tribology related technologyTribology Days 2015 @ Nynäs/Sweden
Shanghua Li, Anna Andersson, Åke Öberg, Su Zhao, and Per O. LindholmABB – Corporate Research, Västerås, Sweden
Outline
ABB at a glance
Why is tribology of interest to ABB?
Tribological challenges in our products – some examples
Sealing systems
General robotic sealing technology
Food grade sealing technology
Sealing heavy-duty gear box
HV breaker gears
Drive train worm gears
What about the future?
Examples of some ”new” research areas
Tribology lab
© ABB Group October 8, 2015 | Slide 2
A global leader in power and automation technologiesLeading market positions in main businesses
~145,000employees
Present
in
countries+100
Formed
in
1988merger of Swiss (BBC, 1891)
and Swedish (ASEA, 1883)
engineering companies
In revenue
(2013)
billion42$
© ABB Group October 8, 2015 | Slide 2
How ABB is organizedFive global divisions
Corporate Research
© ABB Group October 8, 2015 | Slide 5
Power and automation are all around usYou will find ABB technology…
crossing oceans and on the sea bed,
orbiting the earth and working beneath it,
on the trains we ride and in the facilities that
process our water,
in the fields that grow our crops and packing
the food we eat,
in the plants that generate our power and in our
homes, offices and factories
© ABB Group October 8, 2015 | Slide 6
Why is tribology of interest to ABB?
Reduction of wear is in many products key to ensure reliable, long and safe operation
Friction is the main consumer of drive energy in several ABB products (e.g. HV switch gears) and limits e.g. actuation speeds and voltage range
Energy efficiency in industrial gears and other transmission/drive chain elements is more and more often becoming a key selling argument to our customers
Particles generated in HV products can drastically reduce dielectric withstand capability. Voltage rage can be increased by reducing particle generation
Dry, self-lubricating solutions is a game-changer in most power-train applications
Food, beverage and drugs (F&B) handling is a new ABB focus area. Lack of functional and approved F&B lubrication in machinery and robotics is currently a hindrance for expansion
Industrial gearboxes
Robots
Breakers
ABB tribology challenge examples
• Sealing systemsGeneral robotic sealing technology
Food grade sealing technology
Sealing heavy-duty gear box
• HV breaker gears
• Drive train worm gears
General robotic sealing technology
Rotary shaft lip seal
Challenges:
Robotic motion/application, intermittent, bi-directional,
change direction very frequently
Test equipment
Test methodology
Many parameters involved
IntroductionRobotic applications of the lip seal
Application specifications:
Rotation: Bi-directional and intermittent
Angle of rotation: Any
Circumferential speed: 0 to 8 m/s
Acceleration: 0 to 900,000°/s²
Time between two movements: Any
Temperature range: Operation: +0°C to +80°C
Pressure range: 0 to 0.3 bar (0 to 0.03 MPa)
© ABB Group October 8, 2015 | Slide 10
Test rig specifications:
1, The test rig based on ISO 6194-4 for testing rotary shaft lip-type seals.
2, Use complete in-house actuating system including ABB robotic control unit and
driving unit (motor and gear box).
3, For the mechanical part of the test rig, the general requirement including:
shaft max speed, seal size range, temperature, pressure, interface between
mechanical part and our drive unit, solution to use our own robotic shafts,
4, For the detection/sensoring system, we need:a, Detection of initial leakage
b, Detection of temperature on the seal lip
MethodologyTest rig build-up: Specifications
© ABB Group October 8, 2015 | Slide 11
MethodologyTest rig build-up: Integration concepts
© ABB Group October 8, 2015 | Slide 12
Test conditions:
Seal: Problematic NBR seal, 95X128.56X8
mm
Oil: Mineral oil
Grease: Mineral grease
In-hourse robotic test program
Test results:
9 tests in total (1 month limit for each test)
2 leakage (9 & 16 days) + 1 wetting (28 days)
Leakage happened on different machines
Similar to the leakage situation of one robot
used in the test lab:
Validation
Benchmark tests
Food grade sealing technology
Challenges:
Difficulty in sealing food grade lubricants
Material option on seals against poor food grade
lubricants
Material compatibility and aging with food grade lubricants
Mainly with robotic applications (consider robotic motion)
?
Sealing heavy-duty gear box
Challenges:
Customers increase load of gear box
Seal for life, no maintenance
Many particles generated due to wear
Poor lubrication due to design of gear box or customer
use
Long bench test duration, test facility
HV breaker tribology
System description
Metal guiding rods in polymeric bushings
Metal-to-metal sliding contacts
Rotating gear joints with polymeric bushings
Sliding electric contact systems
Challenges
Friction in HV breaker gears consumes a
dominant part of drive energy and limits
breaking speeds
Wear particles reduce dielectric withstand
capability
Possibilities
Increased in-depth knowledge to enable
“good” materials pairing for different
tribocontacts
Improved voltage ratings
Improved quality and control
2012 © ABB Slide 15
Particle contaminated surfaces
Arcing contacts
Gear slider (rail)
Guiding and bushing
Rotating joints
Worm gear tribology
Sliding wear
Surface fatigue
Cracking PittingGeneration
of wear particles
Particles degrading sealings
LeakageReplace-ment of gearbox
Failure scenario
© ABB Group
Overview
Lip
Future ABB research interests on tribology
Demands(Food, Cosmetics, Pharmaindustry)
General: No Contamination allowed by the Robot, Oil, Grease, Particle
Packed Food/Beverage: non toxic Materials highly recommended
Unpacked/open Food/Beverage: toxic Materials above the products not
allowed, Wet Cleaning not necessary, Required for machines in Bakery,
Sweets, Fruits, vegetables
Cosmetics: Cleaning by damp sheet, smooth surface
Meet, Dairy product: antiseptic(Number of germs will be controlled by an
Institute regular)
-> regular wet cleaning(washdown) cleaning agents, Water is rinsing down,
Holes have to be visible, no cavities, non corroding Materials
-> Contamination of the robot by Food is probabable and possible
Pharma, Medicine, Solar: Cleanroomcertifikat measured during operation
necessary
-> Cleaning by damp sheet, smooth surface(alcohol) -> smooth surface
-> No pollution possible
-> Contamination with pharmaceuticals (human safety).
Food grade lubrication for robotic gear boxes
Challenges:
State-of-the-art food grade lubrication
Lubrication properties of food grade lubricants
Test methodology
Test facility (gear bench test, robot test, etc.)
Gear option/selection, compact gear box, spur gears or
HD drive gear box, etc.
Dry lubrication in mechanical systems
Mechanical systems in many ABB products that are characterized
by high loads and sliding speeds in short operation intervals.
Typical example is breakers where machine elements such as
motors, bearings and gears are involved. Dry solution can:
Eliminates oil leaks in future designs
Simplifies design, manufacturing, operation and service
Decreases volume and weight
Potentially cut costs
Enables better environmental foot-print
”…but do industrial solutions for dry lubrication exist today or in the near future?”
“ABB should have better mechanical systems than
all other competitors” (The Vision of the Mechanics
Research area manager)
Strong growth in BU interest for support on friction,
wear, lubrication and leakage -related issues
Competence built-up at Corporate Research on
friction, wear and lubrication
Several tribology test set-ups developed during
recent years, spread out in all SECRC buildings
Interest for new investments (test equipment and
analysis equipment) in new focus areas, e.g.
lubrication screening and evaluation
Increased interest for testing in extreme, product-
like environments and settings (e.g. high speeds,
high forces, high temperatures, high pressures)
A new Tribology Lab at the Swedish Research Center to be ready fall 2015
Background and motivation
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