I would have thought that a polished surface would have been preferable...The o-ring is nitrile rubber setting in a v-groove. The face of the contact wheel has been sandblasted to give it a uniform rough surface.
Will the O-rings polish the disc over time? The PU rubber cords (not sure if that is the right word), to create small drive belts have slightly rough texture, they can be welded with a hot knife.I would have thought that a polished surface would have been preferable...
as a rough surface should lead to rapid O-ring wear and slippage due to the drop in pressure, imo.
Most (all) drive disks I’ve seen are smooth. Not textured. Snow blowers, rail doodle bugs, etc.Hi ZEPHYRIN. The elastomer of the O-ring needs to be one that has good fatigue resistance as it is constantly deforming and relaxing at the contact point. A rougher surface that "grips" will probably last longer than a surface with some slip. The slippage puts shear stress on the surface, and the elastomer consequently shreds material as a result, thus creating a more rapid failure? The gripping surface suffers for random fine higher pressure points, so compressive fatigue takes place, which does not shed material until the fatigue life is exceeded, when rapid deterioration occurs. Will it last longer? So who can guess which will fail first? - I think the shear forces on a smooth O-ring, wearing the O-ring cause a quicker failure, but it really is anyone's guess, as to actual surface roughness, slippage in the smooth surface condition, Wear, tear, and fatigue of unknown O-ring materials pressures and transmitted torques. What starts out as the better option may or may not be the better option for a long life.
I really don't know which is better!
K2
My snowblower is at least 15 years old, and I got it used, it has a smooth surface and the contact wheel have negligible wear, personally, I'd be more concerned with wear from a sandblasted surface though I doubt it will affect Brian's model either way he does it.Hi ZEPHYRIN. The elastomer of the O-ring needs to be one that has good fatigue resistance as it is constantly deforming and relaxing at the contact point. A rougher surface that "grips" will probably last longer than a surface with some slip. The slippage puts shear stress on the surface, and the elastomer consequently shreds material as a result, thus creating a more rapid failure? The gripping surface suffers for random fine higher pressure points, so compressive fatigue takes place, which does not shed material until the fatigue life is exceeded, when rapid deterioration occurs. Will it last longer? So who can guess which will fail first? - I think the shear forces on a smooth O-ring, wearing the O-ring cause a quicker failure, but it really is anyone's guess, as to actual surface roughness, slippage in the smooth surface condition, Wear, tear, and fatigue of unknown O-ring materials pressures and transmitted torques. What starts out as the better option may or may not be the better option for a long life.
I really don't know which is better!
K2