Abstract:Carbon brushes with a resin binder were prepared according to an industrial process and the effects of the molding pressure, grains size and cure temperature on the properties of brush samples were discussed. The results show that the bulk density, bending strength and Rockwell hardness increase, while resistivity decreases with increasing molding pressure. Cure temperature has much more influence on the properties of brushes than molding pressure and grains size. Isothermal differential scanning calorimetry(DSC) was used to estimate the degree of cure of resin binder and a novel method of using the true density to measure the degree of cure of resin binder was presented and discussed briefly. Based on optimal process parameters carbon brushes were manufactured, durability tests for brushes were carried out on an alternate current motor and scanning electron microscope(SEM) was adopted to observe the morphology of worn surface of brushes. The results show that a luster oxide film can be formed on the surface of brushes and their service life reaches 380 h.

Key words: carbon brushes; properties; cure process; thermosetting resin