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© 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


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$


How ABB is organizedFive global divisions

Corporate Research


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


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



• 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)


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


MethodologyTest rig build-up: Integration concepts


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

robot.avi

robot.avi

benchmark.avi

benchmark.avi


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)

?


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

© ABB Group

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