Purpose
– The paper aims to address the formulation of zirconium and oxalicum additive-based lubricants for use in slide ways to meet the demands of high positioning exactness based on reduction in stick–slip and coefficient of friction over a wide speed range and compares the same with commercially available lubricant.
Design/methodology/approach
– An investigation into the frictional properties and stick-slip behavior of lubricating oil is carried out using linear reciprocating tribometer and correlated with ultraviolet spectroscopic analysis.
Findings
– It is observed that these transition metal additive compounds support in increasing the flexibility of the molecular chains leading to improved lubricity.
Originality/value
– The lubricant additives considered for the current study are based on transition metals zirconium and oxalicum. It is observed that these additive compounds support in increasing the flexibility of the molecular chains, leading to improved lubricity.
