Lubrication technology, also known as tribology, is the science and engineering of interacting surfaces in relative motion. It includes the study and application of the principles of friction, lubrication and wear - the unification of the lubricant and the environment.
Twenty-five percent of the world's generated energy is lost due to friction. This amount of loss would be enough to cover Europe's energy consumption. This is why scientists and experts had started getting involved with frictional losses and developed the METABOND metal surface finishing product line in the early nineties, which was able to reduce frictional losses up to 60% and also complied with the most stringent environmental regulations too. The Metabond was designed in Germany.
Immediately after its release in 1991, it won the Grand Prize at the Frankfurt Auto Exhibition. A Ferrari treated with Metabond has reached a record speed of 351 km/h, although the initial maximum design speed was 291 km/h.
The lubricant's duty inside a machine is to separate interacting surfaces, providing liquid friction. Mixed friction occurs when the oil film disappears due to extreme loads from between the two surfaces. This means that in some places, the two surfaces interact and rub against each other, which entails in pieces of metal being torn off and mixed into the lubricant. Filters will handle these bits and pieces of metal for a certain amount of time; however, it is impossible to completely filter them, therefore they will continue to wear the inside of the motor like emery. Oil also acts as a coolant when the surfaces get heated up from the constant movement during mixed friction. This is when the lubricant gets damaged (due to thermal decomposition); it loses its lubricating qualities, because the substances that help reduce friction inside the oil get burnt when it touches these hot surfaces.
In the 1950s and 60s, lubrication engineers were experimenting with substances that bonded with the metal surfaces and formed a separate protective layer, which didn't let the two metals touch and wear against each other, not even when the oil film was gone. These first-generation friction reducing agents were usually Teflon-based products and were initially used for military purposes. The only downside they had was that this non-factory added protective layer detached after some time. These detached pieces can cause serious damage in today's state-of-the-art precision motors. Of course, this doesn't mean that a factory added separate material (Teflon, chrome, etc.) doesn't work well; it means that the post-treatment doesn't always work as expected. Applying these substances requires expertise and appropriately worn machinery. Because of the surface growth, it is not recommended to use these in new vehicles. However, contrary to these, METABOND does all the metal surface finishing without the unwanted increase of the surface; therefore, it can also be used in new machinery too.
The goal of the research in the 70s was to advance and improve the lubricants. It was clear, after the first tries, that manufacturing better quality lubricants had far better results than the first-generation friction reducing substances had. The maximum load could be increased with the use of different kinds of additives; therefore, the oil film wasn't separated and squeezed from between the two surfaces, so the mixed friction issue was solved, which was responsible for wear.
Motor oils have far more complex qualities than simply lubricating and protecting machinery against wear. Pumpability, high and low temperature stability, resistance against oxidation, preventing sludge formation and sedimentation, compatibility with seals, protection against corrosion, preventing foaming, good heat conduction and miscibility with other oils are all 'must have' qualities for today's motor oils. The only way we can achieve these qualities is if we add different kinds of additives to the base oils. Modern motor oils consist of base oils and the added additives.
Although most of the car owners know that you cannot simply put any kind of oil into a motor, sometimes even the trained experts are unsure in choosing the right product for an engine. Oil's important quality is pumpability, since it is the oil pump's duty to deliver the oil to the inside of the motor as fast as possible during cold starts. German experts placed a transparent plexiglass valve cover on the motor and measured how long it took for the right amount of oil to get from the carter to the cylinders after the start of the engine. When medium quality oils were used, the elapsed time was about
10-17 seconds, while for race grade oils, it only took 6-10 seconds for the oil to reach the cylinders. During this period of time, the top of the engine runs without lubrication, and if the metal isn't treated with a metal surface finishing agent, then damage will occur. In another test, they used two cars of the same type and drove them on a test pad for 1,000 km per day. One of the cars drove the entire 1,000 km distance in one go and the other one was stopped at every 100 kilometer mark. The second car was only restarted after the motor had cooled down. After 100 days of testing them, both went 100,000 km and the results were surprising. The first car only had a 10% wear rate compared to the second car's 40% wear rate. If we treat the interacting metal surfaces in our car with METABOND, then the wear index will not surpass the 10% mark.
The main characteristic of Metabond's new generation products is that it approaches the issue of friction from a whole different aspect. METABOND does not form an increased size alien layer, it does a kind of surface finish on the interacting metal surfaces, which provides ideal conditions for the oil. This means that with the use of METABOND, a friction reduction up to 60% can be achieved, which has other benefits too. Better performance of the motor will also entail less consumed energy. In an industrial environment, unwanted vibrations and noise levels can be reduced. The biggest problem in our present and future is environmental pollution, which can be vastly reduced by using METABOND. On one hand, the amount of leftover oil can be reduced by 50%, since due to the ideal conditions of the lubricants they lose their lubricating qualities a lot later. In combustion engines, the smoother surfaces make the fitting more precise, therefore less oil leaks into the combustion chamber, which results in reduced toxic gases found in the exhaust fumes. Their use does not require any special skill; just simply add METABOND to the motor oil, preferably at oil changes.
The latest generation METABOND friction and wear-reducing products combine metal surface finishing agents and nano-sized ceramics, which provide advanced lubrication even when there is a lack of oil in the engine. This means that we can expect triple lifetime from all METABOND-treated machinery. In order for industrial users to benefit from the wonderful effects of reduced friction, we created a whole product line of METABOND advanced lubrication products.