Bearing lubrication is essential to the longevity of the equipment’s lifespan. Proper lubrication will assist in reducing bearing failures and keep the production equipment producing revenue. There are many factors that contribute to inadequate lubrication, today we will focus on just two.
Lubrication serves three purposes:
- Separating the mating surfaces to reduce friction
- Transfer of heat
- Corrosion resistance
Over filling and under filling are the two most common issues our staff discover on site. It is common to find a machine bearing dripping and oozing grease throughout the factory. A bearing oozing grease is prone to rapid failure. This is a clear sign of over filling or over lubricating a bearing. Over filling a bearing is as detrimental as starving or under filling a bearing. Over filling a bearing can cause excessive heat buildup in the bearing by limiting the roller bearings/ ball bearing rotational capacity or preventing the heat from dissipating correctly. Excessive grease will oxidize over time. Oxidized grease tends to darken, become hard, thus trapping heat inside the bearing. Wipe the excess and oxidized grease away from the bearing surface to allow proper heat dissipation from the bearing. When inspecting a bearing failure, over filling will often create a flat spot on the roller bearing or the ball bearings; therefore, creating the excessive heat and wear that leads to the premature failure.
Under filling a bearing with lubrication works in much the same way. Excess heat is generated by steel on steel contact. This results in excessive wear, possibly deformation of one or more of the mating surfaces. It is not uncommon to find metal debris located near the area or within the bearing itself.
There are three primary ways to lubricate bearings on equipment. The first, and certainly most common, is the act of manually lubricating bearings. The staff travels from machine to machine lubricating each point as directed by the manufacturer’s direction. The second, is a lubrication system wherein, each bearing’s lubrication point is brought to a central lubrication system that commonly lubricates all points simultaneously. The third, and rapidly becoming my favorite, is a solid lubricant. Square 1 Design & Manufacture Inc. has been testing a Microporous Polymeric Lubricant (MPL) for the last two years with zero bearing failures. This microporous polymer allows lubricant to flow through the pores adding and reabsorbing the lubricant to the bearing surfaces as needed. Thus eliminating the need to manually grease bearings throughout the factory. Many applications inside the factory allow for the addition of MPLs. We are certain, we are among the first to bring another solution to the truss and panel market. We look forward to offering MPL bearings on additional lines of new equipment in the near future. To learn more contact us at 866-647-7771.