INDUSTRIAL
FEATURE
A conveyor chain in a bottling
plant which was identified during
a lubrication survey shows how
poorly maintained that area
was and how badly worn and
misaligned the brushes were.
may be recommended for a gearbox, but in a
real life situation that particular gearbox may
be in a very inaccessible location and leaking
badly. In this instance, if the rotational speed
is quite low would a semi-fluid grease be an
effective solution to this problem and keep
the gearbox operational for longer as the
grease would in effect act as a seal? It’s something worth considering and has been known
to work in similar situations.
It may be the case that the labour employed
to lubricate a plant is sparse or even not very
diligent, therefore consideration should be
given to automating, or centralising many
lubricated points so that these points can
receive an adequate amount of lubricant at
appropriate intervals.
Undertaking this type of strategy will certainly give maintenance management more
peace of mind, but the frequent checking of
proper operation of such equipment should
not be ignored or overlooked. Over-greasing a
bearing can be just as bad as under-greasing, if
there is no way for the grease to escape.
8
As with any area of engineering, there is a
great deal of equipment associated with lubricants and lubrication available on the market,
but how on earth can anybody involved with
maintenance ever get to understand what
might be best for their plant?
It’s an impossible task. Equally, how can
Lubrication in a plant is
often taken for granted,
but it is literally the
life blood of a plant.
Without it that plant
will not function and
the use of inappropriate
lubricants, or lubricating
frequencies, will lead to
increased costs
these same people ever get to grips with
the immense range of lubricants that are
available worldwide, and the advances in
lubricants and lubrication that are happening
all of the time? How can recommendations
for lubricating frequencies ever be adjusted
without the knowledge of what specific, or
different, lubricants can achieve?
How can anyone involved with maintenance ever get to appreciate that an innovative grease that costs 100 times their currently
utilised conventional product, will give them
an annual saving in terms of reduced downtime and maintenance costs twenty times
what they would spend on this lubricant?
Again, it’s impossible.
Lubrication in a plant is often taken for
granted, but it is literally the life blood of a
plant. Without it that plant will not function
and the use of inappropriate lubricants, or
lubricating frequencies, will lead to increased
costs.
There is a simple solution, however. Get
a complete assessment of the lubrication of
Lubezine Magazine | January-March 2012