Floating metal fragments are not good. A minimal amount of metal wear is not serious, but it does affect the valleys of the asperities and over time will significantly change the dimensions of the asperities, like a river will a canyon. Like the river in the canyon, bit by bit, rocks brake loose, so are metal fragments, causing more wear than before. Elimination of this condition by chemical cleaning is needed to help reduce the increased wear. 

 The electron microphotograph has clearly shown Molybdenum Disulfide particles intruding down into the valleys of the asperities, covering the offending sharp crags or summits. This will appear similar to glaciers filling valleys and covering mountain peaks. The SCM measures the distance between the peaks as greater than 30 microns. Super Fine moly particles will completely fill and pack down into the valleys of the asperities, to form a uniform buffering of 0.0005–0.001 coating on the bearing surfaces.

Under the SEM microscope, we can see individual particles of MoS2. They have the appearance of rounded clamshells better known as plates. The plates appear stacked one on top of another. These plates adhere to each other. Molybdenum Disulfide has been described as conglomerate particles composed of associated platelets (small plates). These platelets have a mild attraction for each other. The platelets cleave off from each other rather easily  with lateral (side ways) mechanical pressure. With mechanical pressure, moly platelets will slide and glide over each other in a shingling effect.

    An analogy would be to picture moly particles as a deck of playing cards. If one puts downward pressure on them and then moves the hand to the right or left, the cards (moly platelets) will be spread out in a shingling effect of overlapping cards (platelets).

In addition, the particles of Molybdenum Disulfide are both relatively soft and non-abrasive. The shingling effect and the softness of the elements is specifically why MoS2 is ideal for lubrication uses.

In a working analogy, imagine a sheet metal loading chute on which heavy boxes are moved from one end of the chute to the other. On that chute are decks of playing cards stacked side by side across the width and down the length of the chute. Throw a heavy box on top of the cards and chute, and push the heavy box down and off the chute. This is what would happen. The heavy box easily slides over the tops of the slick playing cards, the cards shingle under the weight of the box, cards slide over one another, but the box moves easily along down the chute. The more energy in the push; the faster the box moves. When we get to the end of the chute, the box goes zooming down and off the chute along with a lot of the cards. Boxes will keep on sliding easily down the chute as long as there are slick playing cards underneath shingling along with the box. When the supply of cards is at last exhausted, we come back to the steel surface of the chute. The box does not slide so easily any more. And so it is with moly, the same thing happens to moly conditioned surfaces, ie, bearings, cams, rings, etc.
 
 

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