Revelation or revolution?
April 1st 2007

By using Teflon particles in lubrication mediums, Interflon, a Dutch specialist lubrication company, is able to reduce vibration in hand tools. This, in turn, reduces the potential for hand arm vibration syndrome, as Paul Ward of Interflon explains

Since the advent of air powered tools, vibration has always been a problem, perhaps never more so today with health and safety initiatives in the workplace at an all time high.

About five million workers are exposed to hand-arm vibration in the workplace. Two million of these are exposed to levels of vibration where there are clear risks of developing disease. Hand-arm vibration comes from the used of handheld power tools and is the cause of significant ill health (painful and disabling disorders of the blood vessels, nerves, joints and muscles of the hands and arms).

Vibration signal In the manufacturing industry, various operating parameters can be measured, such as pressure, temperature, load capacity and so on. However, of all such measurable parameters, it is the vibration signal which provides the greatest amount of information. The vibration signal not only supplies data on the seriousness of a problem, but points to its probable cause. In simple terms, we can say that vibration is a response to certain forms of excitement. In this context, excitement itself generally refers to the application of physical forces. Whatever the reason, the onset of anomalous vibrations in an engine or tool that has been in regular use for some time undoubtedly acts as an alarm. It is therefore necessary to plan the repair in good time, locate the causes and eliminate them so that the engine or tool can be returned to a standard (acceptable) vibratory condition.

When the intensity of a vibration exceeds the set limit, remedial action on the tool should be scheduled in good time to prevent unforeseen events, extra costs and long shutdowns from occurring as a result of damage from excessive vibration. Any means of a significant reduction in vibration would be widely and greatly received.

Chemist Dr Horsmans founded Interflon in 1985. His inclusion of Teflon particles into lubrication mediums has proved so effective that DuPont has granted the company a licence to use the Teflon logo on all its products.

What makes Interflon different is the way in which the Teflon particles are reduced to <0.02 microns and then polarised to encourage adhesion to a given surface. These particles, once in place, give a surface coating which has a friction coefficient of just 0.02 to 0.06, which can be likened to wet ice on wet ice. It also provides a physical barrier which acts as a shock absorber, thus increasing efficiency, reliability and longevity while, perhaps most importantly, reducing vibration and exhaust (atomised) emissions.

Tried and tested The Interflon product has been tried and tested by independent companies. The following extract is from a report by the air tool manufacturer Desoutter Italia, just one of the companies to approve the use of Interflon products.

No machine exists in perfect equilibrium (perfect = 0).

Hence the structure of every machine is in a state of imbalance, i.e. when the machine moves, its constituent points of mass are not uniformly in equilibrium. They emit a typical signal for this component. The equipment used collects and measures this signal.

Vibration can be measured in terms of: movement – mm speed – mm/s acceleration – m/s2

Tests were carried out on Desoutter pneumatic tools using Interflon's pneumatic oil Fin Lube PN (angled power screwdrivers).

Test 1: Measurement of speed of vibrations in pneumatic tools were taken using the A30 Expert model of the SPM meter: Before Interflon: average values 1 - 0.8mm/sec After Interflon: average values 0.6 - 0.4mm/sec Vibrations reduced by 50%.

Test 2: Measurement of number of revolutions of pneumatic tools were taken using TAC 10 model of SPM tachometer: Number of revolutions of pneumatic tools increased by 20%.

Extracts from other tests carried out by the Norgren Group (manufacturer of compressed air equipment and pneumatics) also concluded that there were major benefits. They read: "Interflon supplies a new lubricant that has important advantages over the traditional oils used in our lubricators." "No corrosion of seals and internal components observed. This is a positive result and extremely important." "Up to 90% less product used over traditional air lubricants."