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Friction and Deformation Behaviors of ~60-μm Stainless Steel Micro-balls for Application in Small Precision Devices

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Abstract

The friction and deformation behaviors of ~60-μm-diameter stainless steel micro-balls were assessed under various rolling conditions against Si specimens. In the friction tests, the micro-balls were placed between a stationary flat silicon specimen on the top and a flat or grooved silicon specimen at the bottom that was made to move in a reciprocating motion. Rectangular- and V-shaped grooves were fabricated on the silicon specimen by a photolithographic process, and the effect of groove shape on the frictional behavior of the micro-balls was investigated. Friction coefficient of 0.01 could be successfully achieved when proper rolling was attained. It was found that the number of micro-balls was not a critical factor as long as more than three balls were placed between the two flat Si specimens. Furthermore, rectangular-shaped groove resulted in lower friction than V-shaped groove. This was due to severe deformation of the micro-ball which led to increase in the contact area when the V-shaped groove was used. The results of this work were expected to aid in the development of miniature bearings for applications in small precision systems.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIP; No. 2010-0018289).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. 2nd Seoul Team, Defense Agency for Technology and Quality, 37 Hoegi-ro, Seoul, Korea

    Dae-San Oh

  2. Department of Precision Mechanical Engineering, Kyungpook National University, 2559 Kyungsangdae-ro, Sangju, Korea

    Hyun-Joon Kim

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Yonsei University, 50 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, Korea

    Jae-Kang Kim & Dae-Eun Kim

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  1. Dae-San Oh
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  2. Hyun-Joon Kim
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  4. Dae-Eun Kim
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Correspondence to Dae-Eun Kim.

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Oh, DS., Kim, HJ., Kim, JK. et al. Friction and Deformation Behaviors of ~60-μm Stainless Steel Micro-balls for Application in Small Precision Devices. Tribol Lett 59, 47 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11249-015-0573-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11249-015-0573-7

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