S162014 Improving the Performance of Pin-on-Disk Type Friction Tester for Nanometer-Thick Lubricant Films

Abstract

We developed a pin-on-disk type friction tester that can be operated at light loads and hence enables measurements of nanometer-thick lubricant films with less disturbance to the lubricant microstructure. At high sliding speeds, however, friction was not reliably measured due to unstable vibration of the sliding pin. To solve this problem, we designed and fabricated a new type sliding pin suspension that effectively suppresses vibration by reducing the moment of friction. We confirmed that the new type suspension ensures stable contact sliding at a minimum load of 0.2 mN and a maximum speed of 210 mm/s.