Discover the Modular Traction Tribometer (MTT) – Your All-in-One Solution for Advanced Friction and Wear Testing
The Modular Traction Tribometer (MTT) is a state-of-the-art ball-on-disc instrument designed to deliver precise insights into friction and wear behavior for both lubricated and unlubricated rolling-sliding contacts. The fully automated ball-on-disc system, with independently driven rotors, replicates rolling–sliding conditions with slip ratios from 0 to 100%, simulating bearings, gears, rail-wheel contacts, and other rolling operations. Automated protocols enable rapid characterization of lubricant traction and Stribeck behavior, while a spill-resistant lube cup and grease scoop ensure consistent lubrication at high speeds. The detailed anatomy of MTT is shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Modular traction tribometer anatomy
Engineered for versatility, MTT offers:
Advanced Motion Control: dual independent drives with programmable speed profiles enable variable rolling-sliding motion from 0–100% slip to accurately replicate real-world conditions
Flexible Testing Parameters: fully configurable speed, load, temperature, materials and geometries to investigate component performance under boundary, mixed and EHL lubrication regimes.
Lubricant Module: a unique anti-spill cup for oils and a rolling scoop for grease minimizes lubricant starvation at high speeds and ensures that the lubricant gets entrained into the contact for reliable friction characterization
High-Precision Measurement: multi-axis force sensor that accurately captures both normal and tangential forces
Modularity: expandable options including surface 3D imaging, Microforce sensor, fretting, linear reciprocation, electrial contact resistance and electrification for applications across automotive, e-mobility, biomedical, railway, and even personal care industries
Built with an open, modular architecture, the MTT supports additional capabilities, including electrical contact resistance for film thickness measurement, grease tackiness modules, 2D/3D surface imaging to quantify wear and tribofilm formation, and a reciprocating drive for static and dynamic friction analysis. This combination effectively turns the MTT into a compact mini-test lab for comprehensive lubricant evaluation. (Figure 2)
Figure 2. Gif showing interchangeability between Traction and Imaging Modules
Main features of MTT
Automation: Traction and Stribeck profiles can be obtained by entering a combination of only two parameters i.e., entrainment velocity and slide to roll ratio (Figure 3) thereby enabling rapid lubricant analysis.
Figure 3. In-built traction and Stribeck friction protocols
Robotic platform: automated X-Y linear drives enable stage positioning making it possible to conduct multiple tests on a single disc. The same drives can be programmed for conducting fretting and linear reciprocation tests. Programmable load profiles can be executed with automated Z-drive.
Flexibility: Ball of different sizes and materials can be used to generate different contact stress. Ex: 20 mm 100Cr6 steel ball on steel disc gives 1.3GPa, 10mm 100Cr6 ball on steel disc gives 2 GPa at 100N load.
Versatility: Additional modules such as Microforce sensor for loads down to 20 mN, lubricant adhesion module, fretting module for stroke down to 50 µm and other sensing and environment modules such as ECR,humidity, tribocorrosion and electrified module can be integrated on theplatform.
Surface imaging: A wide range of 2D optical and 3D non-contact profilometry for surface characterization can be adapted with this system.
Figure 4. 3D profilometry analysis of the disc wear track
Access detailed technical specifications of MTT here and contact our team (hello@paltro.com) to schedule a demonstration
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