Rubber Assembly

Lubricants
What are they?
How to improve your assembly operations,
increase quality and reduce injuries.

201 Connecticut Drive, Burlington, NJ 08016 USA

Ph (609) 386-8770 Fax (609) 386-8438
www.ipcol.com email: mkt@ipcol.com
Presenter Overview
International Products Corporation (IPC),
incorporated in 1923, manufactures specialty
chemicals. IPC has over 30 years
experience making and selling precision
cleaners and formulated lubricants to
industry.

IPC is proud to have been

awarded the Frost & Sullivan Company Headquarters

2012 North American

Automotive Assembly
Lubricant Product Leadership
Award.
All products are manufactured in the U.S.A.
at their New Jersey headquarters and are
available worldwide.

International Products Corporation is an

ISO 9001:2008 Certified Company Distributor Locations

Temporary Rubber Assembly Lubricants

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Today’s Agenda
1. Why use an Assembly Lubricant
2. What an Effective Rubber Lubricant Provides
3. How Assembly Lubricants Work
4. Industries and Applications
5. What to Consider in Choosing a Lubricant
6. Commonly Used Rubber Lubricants
7. Formulated Lubricants
8. Comparison Chart
9. Lubricant Efficiency Chart
10. Lubrication Over Time Chart
11. Lubrication vs. Drying Time Chart
12. Sample Tests
a) Elastomer Compatibility
b) Mineral Oil -vs- P-80
c) Results of Antifreeze Compatibility
13. Closing
14. Questions

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Why Use Rubber
Assembly Lubricants
 Rubber materials are inherently difficult to
install, remove, or otherwise manipulate –
even when wet
o Common Assembly Problems Include
 Rolling O-rings

 Uneven cuts

 Misaligned parts

 Damaged parts

 Sore muscles, worker injury

 Repetitive Stress Injury (RSI)

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A Rubber Lubricant Should:

Reduce Installation Force

• Reduce surface tension
• Slide parts into place easily, providing
a tight fit
Achieve Closer Fits
• Design lower tolerance parts
• Increase torque installation
• Temporary lubrication only ─
resulting in a tight fit
Improve Product Performance
• Reduce or eliminate damage to parts
Increase Production Rates
• Allow for faster, more productive assembly

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Avoid Injuries
• Avoid musculoskeletal, slippage, and
repetitive stress related injuries
• Safe to handle
Reduce Rejects
• Must be compatible with surfaces and
liquids with which it may come in contact
• No shrinking, softening, swelling, crazing or
rusting
• Should dry without residue when properly
applied
Environmentally Friendly, Easy Disposal

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How Assembly Lubricants Work
 Theory:
 Hydrodynamic Lubrication
o Thin film of lubricant rests
between two surfaces
 Separates surfaces

o Lubricant fills in gaps, holes,

etc. of each surface
o Lubricant allows surfaces to
slide across each other

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Industries that benefit from Rubber
Assembly Lubricants
• Agricultural equipment
• Aircraft
• Appliance
• Automotive / Truck
• Construction equipment
• Food & Beverage
• Locomotive
• Marine
• Personal Care Product Packaging
• Pump
• Recreational equipment &
vehicles
• Tool assembly
• Wastewater
• …and many others

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Typical Assemblies
 Belts  Mounts
 Boots  O-rings
 Bumpers  Plugs
 Bushings  Rubber moldings
 Seals
 Diaphragms
 Sleeves
 Fasteners
 Threaded connectors
 Foam grips  Tires
 Gaskets  Rubber washers
 Grommets  Wire harnesses
 Hoses  …And hundreds of other
 Insulators rubber and soft plastic parts

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Products Manufactured with Rubber Lubricants

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Typical Automotive Assembly
Applications
EXHAUST WINDOW
HANGERS

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 Typical Truck Assembly Applications
WEATHER SEALS (DOOR,
WINDOW, CAB) EXHAUST HANGER VIBRATION
ISOLATORS BUSHINGS

LUMBAR
SUPPORT HOSES HEATER
HOSE

TIRE MOUNTING

5th WHEEL &

BUSHINGS SUSPENSION
FUEL TANK BUSHINGS
STRAPS

BRAKE WIRE HARNESS-PULL

LINES
WINDSHIELD WASHER TRANSMISSION AIR INTAKE HOSES
HOSES & PUMPS COOLER LINES

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Items to Consider when Choosing a
Lubricant
• Surface compatibility
 Metals
 Elastomers
 Plastics
• Dry time
• Lubricant conductivity
• Chemical composition concerns

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Types of Commonly Used
Lubricants
• Soap and Water
• Alcohol
• Kerosene
• Silicone
• Petroleum Oil
• Petroleum Jelly
• New, ester based, biodegradable
choices

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Why Use a Specially Formulated
Temporary Rubber Lubricant?
• Consistent Composition
• Low Impurities
• Green Chemistry
• Favorable Compatibility
 Petroleum-based products have a
tendency to swell certain rubbers and
damage plastics
 Soap and water can cause corrosion
and future slippage when wet
 Silicon interferes with coating and
painting

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Formulated Temporary
Rubber Assembly Lubricants
 Why esters?
 Molecular structure is conducive to
lubrication
o Structurally flexible functional groups;
C-O-C bonds can rotate easier than
other functional groups
 Performance over volume ─ a little goes
a long way
 Do not fluoresce
o Improving leak test results

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Formulated Temporary
Rubber Assembly Lubricants
• Innovative Emulsion Technology
 Synthetic esters blended with water
• Why an emulsion?
 Synergy!
 Emulsion has better lubrication than
esters by themselves
 Reduces surface tension of rubber to
allow esters to get into all of the nooks
and crannies of the rubber
 Allows a thin layer of esters to coat the
rubber for hydrodynamic lubrication
 Temporary lubrication – Once water
evaporates, ester film absorbs
into elastomer

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Comparison Chart
ESTER BASED TEMPORARY TRADITIONAL RUBBER
RUBBER ASSEMBLY LUBRICANTS ASSEMBLY LUBRICANTS
Provide lubricity and reduce friction. Provide lubricity and reduce friction.
Continual lubrication, can reactivate in presence
Temporary lubrication, once dry will not
of water ─ resulting in problems with quality and
reactivate, resulting in tight fitting parts.
consistency of finished product.
Will not dry out rubber or corrode metal parts. Can dry out rubber and corrode metal parts.

Any residue is non-conductive. Many additives are conductive.

Non flammable, negligible VOCs. May contain VOCs. May be flammable.

In some cases may be difficult to wash away
Excess lubricant washes away easily.
excess lubricant.
Compatible with elastomers and plastics. May not be compatible with elastomers and
Will not swell rubber. plastics. Can swell rubber.
Treated surfaces can be coated and painted May interfere with downstream coating and
afterwards. painting processes.

Environmentally friendly and non-hazardous. Environmental and health hazards can exist.

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 Efficiency of Lubricants
• Solvents (e.g. alcohol) Provide
Comparison of Lubricants
poor lubrication, are flammable
with high VOCs and are a %% Reduction of Friction
safety risk
Formulated Water and
• Soaps and detergents provide Ester Emulsion
71%

a nominal amount of lubricity Petroleum Oil

Based Lubricant 61%
• Petroleum distillates lubricate, Formulated Surfactant
44%
but are often not compatible Based Lubricant

with surfaces – and are not Soap and Water 31%

temporary Solvents 30%
• Ester technology provides
excellent reduction in friction,
temporary lubrication,
environmental and worker
safety

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Lubrication over time chart

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 Lubrication -vs- Drying Time

REDUCTION OF FRICTION ESTIMATED MINIMUM DRY TIME

P-80 Grip-it P-80 Grip-it 20 Minutes

P-80 RediLube P-80 RediLube 20 Minutes

P-80 THIX (IFC) P-80 THIX (IFC) 2 Hours

P-80 Emulsion (IFC) P-80 THIX 2 Hours

P-80 THIX P-80 Emulsion (IFC) 1 Hour

P-80 Emulsion P-80 Emulsion 1 Hour

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Choose an Experienced
Lubricant Manufacturer
 Tests Available
 Metal Compatibility – ASTM F483
 Elastomer Compatibility – ASTM D471
 Plastic Compatibility – ASTM D543
 Lubrication Tests
 Force Gauges

o In-house tests using control samples and

customer’s assembly components
 Coefficient of Friction

o Several ASTM test methods

 Chemical Compatibility
 Gasoline, power steering fluid, antifreeze, etc.

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Rubber Assembly Lubricant
Elastomer Compatibility-ASTM D471

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Temporary Rubber Assembly Lubricants

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Rubber Assembly Lubricant -vs-
Mineral Oil Photos
Engine Mounts Compatibility (96 hours at 85° C)
Tap Water Formulated Rubber Assembly Lubricant 100 Sus Mineral Oil

Natural Rubber Compatibility (72 hours at 85° C)

Tap Water Formulated Rubber Assembly Lubricant 100 Sus Mineral Oil

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 Rubber Assembly Lubricant and
Antifreeze Metal Compatibility Studies

24 Hour Exposure
% Compatibility via
Digital Image Analysis
(Ambient Lighting)

288 Hour Exposure

% Compatibility via
Digital Image Analysis
(Ambient Lighting)

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 Rubber Assembly Lubricant and
Antifreeze Metal Compatibility Studies

24 Hour Exposure
% Compatibility via
Digital Image Analysis
(Ambient Lighting)

288 Hour Exposure

% Compatibility via
Digital Image Analysis
(Ambient Lighting)

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 Rubber Assembly Lubricant and
Antifreeze Metal Compatibility Studies

24 Hour Exposure
% Compatibility via
Digital Image Analysis
(Ambient Lighting)

288 Hour Exposure

% Compatibility via
Digital Image Analysis
(Ambient Lighting)

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Rubber Assembly Lubricant and
Antifreeze Metal Compatibility Studies

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Summary of Formulated Temporary
Rubber Assembly Lubricants
• Contain no Silicones
• Contain no petroleum distillates
• Have excellent surface compatibility
• Have low metals content
• Will not harm adjacent surfaces ─
glass, wood, metal, etc.
• Are safe to use and dispose of
• Are ergonomically beneficial
• Excess easily removed with soap and
water

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• Are versatile:
 Work with a variety of application
methods ─ manual or automatic, with
bath, brush, sponge, spray or squirt
techniques
 Manage volume applied
 Select proper lubricant based upon
orientation and timing of application ─
(e.g. overhead, out of reach, behind
dashboard)
 Select proper lubricant based upon
porosity of material
 Ready to use ─
no mixing or diluting required

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Technology of International Products
Corporation’s Formulated Lubricants

• Liquid & Thixotropic formulas

• Water-based Products
• Solvent-free Products
• Negligible Volatile Organic Compounds
(VOC)
• Biodegradable Products

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Formulated Lubricants offer
many benefits
• Superior performance
• Excellent compatibility
• Quality assurance
• Consistency
Specialty Manufacturers
• Technical know-how and
experience
• On site laboratory available for
product performance and
compatibility testing

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 Closing
 Why temporary lubricants are ideal for rubber
assembly
 Tight fitting parts; once dry lubrication is gone
 Fewer rejects
 Quality control and testing ensure ingredient
consistency and purity to always meet anticipated
performance
 Safe to use
o Non-toxic
o Handling
o Disposal
 Excellent surface compatibility
 Fewer injuries
 Technical support & data
 NSF Certified H1 formulations for incidental food
contact applications are available

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 Contact us to request
free samples, product information
or a copy of this presentation

International Products Corporation

201 Connecticut Drive
Burlington NJ 08016 USA
Tel. 609-386-8770 Fax. 609-386-8438
Email: mkt@ipcol.com
Website: www.ipcol.com

U.K. Branch
Unit 5 Green Lane Business Park
238 Green Lane - London SE9 3TL U.K.
Tel. 0208 857 5678 Fax. 0208 857 1313
saleseurope@ipcol.com

Thank you!