Dynamic Behaviour of Plain Slideways

Abstract

The friction characteristics resulting from the motion of one surface over another form a very important facet of the behaviour of many physical systems. This statement is particularly valid when considering the behaviour of machine tool slideways. Most slideway elements consist of two plain surfaces whose friction characteristic is modified by the addition of a lubricant. In many cases the complete slideway consists of many mating surfaces and the choice of slideway material, slideway machining and lubricant is often influenced by the long term problem of wear. The aim of this paper is to present results of experiments on a test rig designed to be representative of machine tool slideway conditions; the experiments were wholly concerned with the behaviour of the bearing under dynamic conditions. The major emphasis is on results obtained with a polar additive lubricant which appears to exclude the possibility of ‘stick-slip’ oscillations. A parallel series of tests are reported where a normal hydraulic oil was used as lubricant. The use of this second lubricant allowed some study of the ‘stick-slip’ process. The dynamic friction characteristics, cyclic friction characteristics and damping capacity of several slideway surface combinations have been obtained and are discussed in the context of earlier work in the field and the role of slideways in machine tool behaviour.