These are some examples of technical assistance provided to customers which is usually unavailable from most "parts" suppliers. An engineer called about a fixed axis motor he had designed. He had sized the gerotor and built up a prototype motor, but was not able to get the motor up to its rated speed of 2500 rpm. We reviewed a cross section of the motor assembly, and after some discussion and analysis we started to focus on the viscous losses within the pump. Using a computer model with the clearances and oil viscosity for his application, we calculated the viscous losses for the gerotor and the bearings. A combination of low oil temperature and large diameter bearings caused the viscous drag to be larger than the theoretical output of the motor at 2500 rpm, so that explained why the motor never reached rated speed. Since the other parameters could not change, we adjusted the gerotor size to compensate for these losses, and his motor met its required speed. On a new design for an automatic transmission pump, the customer was stumped by the rapid decrease in performance at higher temperatures. The pump body was cast iron, with an aluminum cover, so the pump axial clearance should not have been affected by temperature, since the gerotor coefficient of thermal expansion matched that of cast iron. A design review and brainstorm revealed a potential problem – the cover plate was piloted into the pump housing for location. The difference in thermal expansion would give an interference fit at higher temperatures. A quick test by heating the pump assembly in an oven proved this to be correct- once the cover grew enough to interfere with the housing pilot, it started to bow outwards away from the gerotor, increasing the axial clearance. An adjustment in this location fit fixed the performance problem. Some field failures in some mobile transmission pump field tests had our customer stumped. The pumps had locked up at startup, causing drive failures. The OD of the gerotor showed evidence of high heat, but the outer turned freely in the housing upon disassembly. Along with other questions, we asked what the ambient temperature had been at startup for those pumps that failed. When they checked into it they found that all the failure had occurred when the ambient temperature was below 30 °F. We explained about thermal transient heating at startup, and recommended a slight increase in OD clearance to compensate. The adjusted their pump pocket size and the problem disappeared. A supplier of engines to a major racing series was given the mandate to maximize the power output of those engines. In addition to the obvious modifications which add power, he looked for ways to improve the performance of accessories which consume power.

One candidate for improvement was the oil pump. Due to the fact that the pump is of the gerotor type, the engine builder came to Nichols Portland for help.

After a thorough review of the application, Nichols' Product Engineers found several significant opportunities for improvement. A report, which included specific and detailed recommendations, was provided to the engine builder.

In keeping with Nichols' holistic approach to engineering oiling systems, the initial focus was on the actual requirements of the heavily-modified engine. Calculations performed by Nichols' engineers suggested that the pump that the engine builder had selected had excess capacity and would consume nearly twice as much power as was necessary. Further, the oil would be significantly hotter and more aerated than it should be.

As a result of the work that was done by Nichols' engineers and relatively simple changes that were implemented by the engine builder, the output of the engines increased and reliability was improved.