A ball-on-disc instrument for measuring the frictional properties of lubricated and unlubricated contacts under a wide range of rolling and sliding conditions.

The MTM is our most versatile instrument with a wide range of applications such as improving fuel economy and engine efficiency, developing new formulations for railway greases, reducing the wear of artificial joints and perfecting the mouth feel of food and the skin feel of cosmetics.

Optimising the friction and wear properties of a system can significantly improve performance and reduce operating costs. Testing lubricants and materials under realistic contact conditions is imperative to understanding where improvements can be made. The unique ball-on-disc set up enables an unrivalled number of conditions to be simulated. All three regimes (boundary, mixed and EHL) can be replicated, producing stribeck curves. The test temperature, load and specimen material and geometry can be chosen to further investigate components performance under realistic conditions.

The above features combined with the unique capability of measuring antiwear film build up throughout the test, has propelled the MTM to the position of an industry standard instrument amongst OEM’s, lubricant manufacturers and additive suppliers.

· Independently driven specimens enabling a wide range of contact conditions to be replicated across all three lubrication regimes

· Unique configuration eliminates induced spin in the contact improving accuracy of results

· Extensive range of available specimen geometries and materials further expands the application range

· Combined with the SLIM, the MTM can automatically measure anti-wear film build up throughout the test analysing the performance of additive packages

· Compact and fully automated, the MTM requires minimal lab space and user intervention

· Simple test setup and calibration procedure help users to produce fast, repeatable results and reduce training time

· Over 500 technical papers covering all aspects of tribology enabling knowledge sharing between researchers across the fields and geometries