I'm designing a watertight pushbutton. It has 2 pieces of machined stainless steel (303). One piece looks like a piston and the other is it's housing with a positive stop. For the seal, I have a neoprene washer with a beveled outside edge (to minimize friction). It is sort of like an o-ring setup, but the pointed edge makes it easier to depress and rebound. I'm using lithium grease as a lubricant and it's working well, but I'm concerned about how long I can expect it to keep lubricating the seal. A tiny bit of grease still tends to seep out of the front of the button after playing with it since yesterday morning (I'd estimate 300-400 cycles). I didn't put much in it to begin with, so I'm not sure if it's just excess or what. Has anyone had experience with a situation similar to this?
It's also doing something that is most likely not going to be acceptable. After letting the button sit for 30 minutes or so, the button takes a significantly higher breakaway force to depress it. Could changing over to a different lube help?
Thanks,
Ferg
It's also doing something that is most likely not going to be acceptable. After letting the button sit for 30 minutes or so, the button takes a significantly higher breakaway force to depress it. Could changing over to a different lube help?
Thanks,
Ferg