Dampening Grease?

[moribundman]

I can find a syringe kit that contains Fluorocarbon Gel 868 damping grease in five viscosities, but it's $90.

Would copper grease work? It must be safe to use on metal and plastic (ABS and polystyrene), and it must not gas out anything that might get deposited on optical elements.

It's for my enlarger's focusing mechanism.

 

[Tempest]

http://machinedesign.com/article/more-than-a-lubricant-0823
Learned something today. Never heard of these until this post.

Maybe some DuPont Teflon Bike Grease? You can find it on the web for ~$25 (don't want to post a link and get

).

Here is a write up on it:
http://www.sandsmachine.com/pace.html

Maybe some Krytox as well?

I found a single tube of the Nye at Micro tools for ~$20.

 

[moribundman]

I actually have that DuPont bike grease, but I don't know if any component will vaporize and leave something behind on the optics. I can't take that risk.

If I knew what kind of grease doesn't gas out, I could maybe use that grease and simply add tackifier, which I do have also. But maybe tackifier gasses out?

I overlooked that Nye was selling single tubes for $20. I guess I'll go with that. Thanks for the hint!

Lubricant, Grease, Nyogel - 2oz Tube
A heavy damping grease with extreme tackiness for use as a heavy focusing mount (helical) lubricant

 

[Tempest]

Quote:
Thanks for the hint!

Just trying to help out a fellow Bitoger.

How do you like the DuPont grease? I'm thinking about getting some.

 

[moribundman]

The DuPont Teflon grease seems to be holding up well. I wonder why it's been discontinued.

 

[Tempest]

What part of the bike are you using it on?

 

[moribundman]

I use it the headset and in the crank bearings of an older bike.

The bike I mostly use has sealed cartridge bearings, so there isn't any grease needed besides a light lube (Slick Honey) for the suspension fork stanchions. Well, the shaft drive requires grease, but I use Red Line in there.

 

[Canawler]

Originally Posted By: moribundman

Lubricant, Grease, Nyogel - 2oz Tube
A heavy damping grease with extreme tackiness for use as a heavy focusing mount (helical) lubricant


That's interesting. One of the sterilizer brands I work on specs Nyogel for use as a dielectric grease.

 

[moribundman]

Your service autoclaves? Where do they require grease?

 

[Canawler]

Originally Posted By: moribundman
Your service autoclaves? Where do they require grease?


Well, the Nyogel, as mentioned, is called for as a dielectric grease in several wiring harness connectors that have corrosion problems.

Amsco (Steris) autoclaves used to use a radial arm door that requires lubrication at several points. The central door post has a large brass screw assy that uses a sealed ball bearing in the rear with a tapered roller bearing in the front. We usually like to clean and regrease these every year or two depending on use. Some of them even come with a grease fitting.

I often use a dry lube spray when installing a new door gasket on units with press in seals to avoid the gasket sticking to the head ring and pulling out of the groove.

I've also started using a powdered graphite lube on some tight fitting door gaskets on Castle sterilizers to assure they retract correctly after completing their cycles.

And last but not least, some old Castle washer-sterilizers use a long (maybe 2.5ft.) threaded rod with a brass block to raise and lower the doors. The block supports its load through a Torrington bearing. We clean and lube the bearing, rod, and door tracks every 6 to 9 months.

 

[moribundman]

That's about all I ever needed to know about servicing autoclaves.

Originally Posted By: moribundman
Your service autoclaves? Where do they require grease?


Bad mori!

 

[jsharp]

Originally Posted By: moribundman
I can find a syringe kit that contains Fluorocarbon Gel 868 damping grease in five viscosities, but it's $90.

Would copper grease work? It must be safe to use on metal and plastic (ABS and polystyrene), and it must not gas out anything that might get deposited on optical elements.

It's for my enlarger's focusing mechanism.


Geez. Ever feel like you're one of the last guys left in the world that still uses an enlarger? I certainly do...

 

[moribundman]

Not at all. Many people prefer conventional prints.

 

[jsharp]

Originally Posted By: moribundman
Not at all. Many people prefer conventional prints.


I know a few, myself included. But I also know a larger number of people that have completely gotten away from it.

Nice to meet one more that's still doing it.

 

[swalve]

Lexmark printers specify one of the Nyegels for certain parts of the gear train specifically for the dampening. I believe it has a high amount of clay-type stuff in it. It's not abrasive enough to cause any damage, but makes it nice and thick.

In one model, it's used on a clutch/cam/solenoid assembly for picking the paper. The cam has a detent, and the clutch lets it spin free until the solenoid lifts a stopper out of the detent. The cam spins once and picks up one piece of paper, and then drops back into the detent. There's a foam rubber dampening pad that silences the operation of the solenoid. Good news, the printers run great. Bad news, if the printer was assembled sloppily and the grease got onto one of the solenoids, it would eat the rubber dampening pad and make it stick, causing the printer to keep feeding paper until it errors out. Spent hours trying to figure that one out.

 

[GMGuy]

Quote:
It's for my enlarger's focusing mechanism.


Any long term camera repair shops in the area? A place you shop regularily for supplies and equipment? Some tripods also use a damping grease to control motion of the head. A shop could even be a potential source for a free dollop of the stuff. (I got a small tub of the stuff with a tripod head repair kit once (studio camera pod) more than I would ever need. Did eventually use it overhauling the other units)).

Alex.