SOME FACTORS INFLUENCING THE LIFE AND PERFORMANCE RELIABILITY OF HIGH- PRECISION POTENTIOMETERS
Abstract
The study was conducted on a number of linear precision potentiometers of the type used in Navy computer systems which had been subjected to life testing by a Navy contractor. One manufacturer had used oil as the contact-arm and winding lubricant; the other three used greases. Most of the wear was concentrated on contact arms and was most severe where oil had been used as the lubricant. Potentiometers made with precious-metal windings exhibited the least wear. Both oil and grease, usually in very small amounts, had been used for lubricating the potentiometer ball bearings. About half the bearings were rough in operation, and two had become locked because of wear and fretting corrosion products. Size of the contact-arm-wear scars showed no simple correlation with change in total resistance or torque required to operate the potentiometers. Where wear scars were large, increasing wear coincided with increase in departure from linearity. Though noise levels of all potentiometers rose during the life tests, those with contact arms having the greatest wear at the conclusion of the tests tended to produce the least noise. The use of low- volatility lubricants in conjunction with a nonwettable fluorochemical barrier to prevent creeping of the oil from vital areas is recommended.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 12, 1965
- Accession Number
- AD0616893
Entities
People
- J. B. Romans
- V. G. Fitzsimmons
Organizations
- United States Naval Research Laboratory