金厲3Dプリンタを利用した潤滑油循環システムを有する新規トライボ表面の創製

摘要

In mechanical parts, it is important to keep an oil on the sliding surface for preventing oil starvation not to cause seizure and finally machine failure. In such a background, a novel tribo-system with a 3D capillary structure has been proposed. The 3D capillary structure can collect excessive lubricants from sliding surface and supply it into sliding interfaces again by utilizing a capillary phenomenon. The specimens with 3D capillary structure was manufactured by a metal 3D printer because of its complex micro-structure. In this study, the effectiveness of the 3D capillary structure for the oil supplying function and improving tribological properties were investigated. Especially, the specimens with 3D capillary structure used in this study were fabricated using bronze and stainless powders to confirm the effects of material types on the tribological properties. Sliding tests were conducted on a bronze-non-textured specimen and bronze- and stainless specimens with the 3D capillary structure. Moreover, the sliding interface was monitored by a photographic camera during a sliding test to confirm the oil supplying function. Our experimental results showed that the specimens with the 3D capillary structure had the oil supplying function, and the bronze-specimens with the 3D capillary structure exhibited the lowest friction followed by the stainless specimen with the 3D capillary structure and the bronze-non-textured specimen. All our results show that the bronze fabricated tribo-system with the 3D capillary structure is a promising system for achieving low friction and wear properties under lubricated conditions.