Case Study: Seat Reclining Mechanism
Challenge
Wear protection is just one function of grease. Lubricants can also be used to create a barrier that protects components from corrosive elements. A leading supplier in automotive seating components experienced difficulties with their recliner key mechanism. During testing, the chemical bath used for e-coating got inside the mechanism and removed the existing lubricant. This caused operating issues, particularly unwanted noise.
The Tier supplier needed a grease that would act as a seal when applied to the recliner key mechanism so that it could undergo welding, aggressive chemical cleaning, and the autophoretic coating process. The grease also needed to be compatible with plastics as the design included plastic side shield covers.
Solution
Nye suggested that the customer use Uniflor™ 8172 within their reclining mechanism. Uniflor™ 8172 is a PTFE thickened, light viscosity, completely fluorinated grease. The grease was selected for its a wide temperature range (-45 to 225°C) which can withstand bake temperatures during the e-coating process. This grease is also resistant to aggressive chemicals and has excellent plastic compatibility.
| Product | Chemistry | Temp Range (°C) |
Application Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| UNIFLOR 8172 | PFPE/PTFE | -45 to 225 | A medium viscosity, completely fluorinated grease possessing very wide temperature capability, excellent plastic and elastomer compatibility and resistance to aggressive chemicals. |
Results
The customer completed in-house testing of Uniflor™ 8172 against several other greases. None of the other greases met the customer’s temperature and plastic compatibility requirements so the Tier supplier ultimately selected Uniflor™ 8172 to replace the existing lubricant within their reclining key mechanism. Uniflor™ 8172 successfully protects the mechanism and reduces the noise within the component. The customer remains satisfied with the product.
Brian Gira- Regional Engineering Manager (Automotive Interiors)
Brian is the newest addition to Nye’s automotive team where he will be assisting automotive tier suppliers and OEM’s in finding lubrication solutions for their interior components. Brian has over 20 years of experience as a sales engineer providing automotive companies with interior component solutions. Brian holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Materials Science Engineering from the University of Michigan.
Click here to connect with Brian on LinkedIn.
