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Boost performance, reliability and design freedom in one package.
3M™ Friction Shims make it possible.
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By spec’ing 3M™ Friction Shims into your chassis and powertrain designs, you can enhance the coefficient of static friction by up to 5× for improved performance and reliability at peak loads – all while expanding design flexibility.
3M combines world-class expertise in technical ceramics with a century of experience in the automotive industry. 3M™ Friction Shims are ultra-thin, compact, reproducible, extensively tested in house and highly customizable to your precise design requirements.
Download: 3M™ Friction Shims for automotive applications (PDF, 311 KB)
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300 million 3M™ Friction Shims in use in vehicles worldwide.
Strengthen and streamline your automotive design
Friction enhancement for chassis and axle designs
A vehicle is only as strong as its foundation. Control movement in bolted connections and manage high force loads by incorporating 3M™ Friction Shims into your chassis and axle designs. Various grades work on multiple dissimilar mating surfaces to help strengthen joints and bear the weight of large and sophisticated components. By helping stabilize the chassis, they also help mitigate NVH for enhanced passenger comfort and experience.
Additional resources for 3M™ Friction Shims
Friction enhancement for EV chassis-mounting applications
As EV batteries grow larger and more sophisticated, automotive engineers need chassis-mounting solutions that can handle stress without adding weight. 3M™ Friction Shims enable bolted connections to withstand up to 5× more shear force, helping bear the weight of heavy battery packs. They work with dissimilar mating surfaces such as aluminum, e-coated, painted and composite-material surfaces. They even help downsize components by allowing the use of smaller and lighter bolts and fasteners.
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By helping strengthen and secure chassis joints, 3M™ Friction Shims allow for new configurations such as skateboard chassis.
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They reinforce bolt-on battery mounting systems with no redesign required.
Friction enhancement for eMotor applications
Maximize torque transfer in ePowertrain applications. Harness the full power of your eMotor. 3M™ Friction Shims can enhance friction coefficients in torsional joints by up to 5×, helping ePowertrains handle the high torque of powerful electrified engines.
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By reducing the number and size of certain components, 3M™ Friction Shims can help smaller engines maintain or increase power density, making the best use of small packaging spaces.
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They can be spec’d into your ePowertrain designs or dropped in as a quick-fix solution.
Friction enhancement for classical and advanced ICE powertrains
Boost power in ICE and hybrid vehicles. 3M™ Friction Shims offer up to a 5× increase in torque transfer, enabling more powerful and efficient ICE engine designs. By reducing the number and size of certain components, they can help smaller engines maintain or even increase power density.
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3M™ Friction Shims expand design freedom to enable new and unique designs such as pancake motors.
- Gearbox
- Pancake electric motor
- 3M™ Friction Shims
- Internal combustion engine
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By increasing torque transfer, they help increase power output with no costly redesign required.
- Torsional Vibration Damper
- Sprocket
- 3M™ Friction Shims
Benefits at a glance. By spec’ing in 3M™ Friction Shims, you can:
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Secure critical joints
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Maximize the coefficient of static friction in bolted connections. Preserve and strengthen joints in e-coated chassis, battery mounts, suspensions and other areas. Manage shear forces from large and heavy EV batteries. Boost torque transfer to help powertrains handle the high torque of powerful electrified engines.
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Optimize design
- Handle higher force loads without changing parts or component sizes. Strengthen connections with dissimilar mating surfaces such as aluminum, e-coated (cathodic-dip-coated), painted and composite-material surfaces. Standardize designs across different model types. Unlock new designs such as skateboard platforms (in EV chassis) and pancake motors (in eMotor applications).
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Manage weight
- Downsize components by using smaller bolts and fasteners to achieve the same or better results. Increase power density in small engines and make optimal use of small packaging spaces. Reduce weight and extend battery range in electric and hybrid vehicles.
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Manage NVH
- Secure and stabilize the chassis by dampening micromovements in bolted joints. Enhance passenger comfort and experience.
Boost grip capacity and downsize bolts with 3M™ Friction Shims
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The following study illustrates the modeled force (kN) at slippage exhibited by various bolts in an automotive chassis. The slippage point is defined as a displacement of 0.02 mm or greater.
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Smaller bolts with no design change
Comparing the smaller M10 bolt to the larger M12 bolt, using the larger bolt produced a minor 1.4× increase in force at slippage. In contrast, adding a 3M™ Friction Shim to the smaller bolt produced a 4.9× increase over the same bolt with no shim. It enabled the bolt to withstand a substantially greater force load with no design changes required.
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Design with smaller connections
3M™ Friction Shims can help small bolts withstand equal or greater force loads as larger bolts. The M8 bolt with shim exhibited a force at slippage of 19.8 kN, greater than the 12.0 kN exhibited by the far larger M14 bolt with no shim.
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Frequently Asked (FAQ) Questions for 3M™ Friction Shims
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What are friction shims and how do they work?
3M™ Friction Shims consist of a nickel-coated steel substrate partially embedded with diamond particles. When placed between two mating surfaces in a bolted connection and applied with pressure, the diamonds “bite” into each surface to create a microform fit. This allows for a coefficient of static friction up to 5× greater than in a conventional bolted connection.
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What coefficient of static friction can be achieved?
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The coefficient of static friction is a system property. It is influenced by many parameters within the complete tribological system including mating materials, surface treatments, roughness, flatness, environmental conditions and more. Based on our testing, the coefficient of static friction can be increased by up to a factor of 5 by adding a 3M™ Friction Shim to a joint.
The following graph displays test results of different materials with and without 3M™ Friction Shims.
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What mating materials do they work with?
3M™ Friction Shims work with all commonly used metals: aluminum, carbon steel, stainless steel, cast iron, titanium, magnesium and more. They also work with many pairings of these metals. We have also developed special grades of shims ideal for e-coated steel.
They work with a variety of nonmetal mating materials including glass fibers and carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics.
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How can they help standardize my designs?
3M™ Friction Shims help designs withstand higher loads and shear forces without the need to change parts or component sizes. In automotive applications, for example, this enables standardized designs across different model types. Additionally, you can increase power density in small engines by reducing the number, size and weight of components and making optimal use of small packaging spaces.
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Pre-attachment solutions for 3M™ Friction Shims
2D shims with tabs
Tabs on the inner or outer diameter of the shim fit into grooves on the mating parts. If your components have the required grooves, this is the lowest-cost attachment option.3D clip shims
Clips on the inner or outer diameter of the shim enable attachment where tabs are not an option. 3D clip shims are ideal for chassis applications.
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Drop-in friction enhancement for quick fixes
We’ve all been there: testing produces unanticipated failure rates and your prized design hangs in the balance. With 3M™ Friction Shims, you can strengthen and stabilize critical joints with no costly redesigns required. Ultra-thin 3M shims fit within most existing engineering tolerances for quick, seamless friction enhancement. We’ll help you expect the unexpected.
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Don’t take our word for it. Request a sample and test 3M™ Friction Shims in various sizes and grades. Our expert engineers will help find the perfect fit for your application.
