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IEICE Transactions on Electronics 2005 E88-C(8):1675-1681; doi:10.1093/ietele/e88-c.8.1675
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Copyright © 2005 The Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers

Special Section on Recent Development of Electro-Mechanical Devices-Selected Papers from International Session on Electro-Mechanical Devices 2004 (IS-EMD2004) -- Papers -- Automotive Application

Development of the Lead-Free Carbon Brush Material for Starters

Ryoichi HONBO1, Koichiro SAWA2, Youichi MURAKAMI1, Hiroyuki WAKABAYASHI1, Naruhiko INAYOSHI1, Kyoji INUKAI1, Takeshi SHIMOYAMA1 and Naoki MORITA3

1 The authors are with DENSO CORPORATION, Kariya-shi, 448-8661 Japan. E-mail: ryoichi_honbo{at}denso.co.jp, 2 The author is with the Department of System Design Engineering, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, Yokohama-shi, 223-8522 Japan., 3 The author is with TRIS Inc., Matsusaka-shi, 515-0204 Japan.

Carbon brushes for starters are used under severe conditions of high electric current density, high contact pressure and high sliding velocity. Lead has traditionally been added to carbon brushes to improve their performance and durability. Because lead is an environmentally hazardous substance, after January 2005 the EU will prohibit adding lead to carbon brushes for electric motors installed in vehicles. The purpose of our current study is to develop materials of lead-free carbon brushes for starters. Analyzing the effects of adding lead has shown that lead inhibits the brush resistance from increasing under high temperatures, or a combination of both high temperature and high humidity. This is because corrosion of lead precedes that of copper, which is one of the materials comprising the brush, and this prevents the copper from corroding. Moreover, lead functions as a solid lubricant and reduces brush wear. We developed the lead-free brush material, by adding soft metallic substances that corrode prior to copper and are also oxidation-resistant, as well as possessing low hardness and solid lubricant properties. The developed lead-free brush surpasses the conventional lead-added brush in durability and permanence.

Key Words: carbon brush, lead free, starter, wear, corrosion

Manuscript received December 8, 2004. Manuscript revised February 28, 2005.


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