OUT with the old and in with the new.
That phrase has never made more sense than it does now as the future is closer than ever. Old technology is going the way of the Dodo bird and electric cars are promising to take over.
With this new technology, there are going to be some other things that get outdated, too.
Specifically lubrication. It may seem banal, but there need to be some changes to how we lubricate our machines if they use electricity instead of combustion.
What will be different?
Why should the lubrication of a vehicle be any different if it is electric or combustion?
For starters, the gear oils, coolants and greases will be in contact with different forces. Instead of heat generated by the friction of the pistons, for instance, they will be in contact with electric modules, sensors and circuits.
The electromagnetic field will have a much different effect on these lubricants than with friction.
They will have to be much more specialised to last in a new environment. This environment will see copper wires, plastics and different insulation materials to cope with.
There will still be a considerable amount of heat generated in an electric car. Think about how your phone heats up in your hand when you have music playing for a while, for instance.
Different concepts are employed in drawing this heat away from the electric module. One of the barriers to high speeds in electric cars was this heat emission and how to deal with it.
New designs and new challenges
It isn’t just Fuels & Lubricants Supplier companies that will need to adjust. Even body shops are seeing numerous challenges, particularly with the cost of sophisticated repairs increasing in unfamiliar and high tech electric cars.
The gears in the electric car are also going to be much different so that they can reduce the heat and hit the higher speeds needed to become everyday drivers.
To achieve this, engineers have designed drivetrains that require fewer gear steps. To meet this challenge, new lubricants are being developed to cope with the electric modules and the different module materials.
Developers of these next-generation lubricants have their work cut out for them in trying to adapt quickly since electric cars are needed to hit the roads much sooner than anticipated.
What the future holds for electric
Many cities are banning diesel and gas powered cars from their city centers. But, exceptions are being made for electric cars since there is no combustion or exhaust emitted.
In fact, Olso allows electric cars to travel in the bus lanes thus avoiding the driving bans that traditional cars are subjected to.
Projections show that there the demand for electric cars is going to increase very soon and these new technologies will need to be sorted out as soon as possible.
Think of lubricant like the way you would honey bees. Without them everything else breaks down. Let’s hope that these companies figure out a way to make the oils to grease this new future.
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