Visite nuestro sitio en Español: Confiabilidad.net    RSS | Contact

Articles: Lubrication

Quarterly Profits or Machine Production - Which Comes First?

David F. Piangerelli

Companies invest millions of dollars in revenue producing assets, specifically, machines of all types. These machines, ranging from trucks to wheel loaders, cooling towers to crushers, paper machines, injection molding machines, blowers, mixers, food processing equipment and so on, depend upon proper maintenance protocol with qualified personnel using quality products to insure the longest possible reliability and production.

Simple Steps to Hydraulic System Maintenance

“Are you spending money on hydraulics training and not seeing results?”

By Ricky Smith CMRP

Most companies spend a lot of money training their maintenance personnel to troubleshoot a hydraulic system every year and yet continue to receive the same results. If we focused on preventing system failure then we could spend less time and money on troubleshooting a hydraulic system. We normally accept hydraulic system failure but it is important to remind yourself that hydraulic failure is not the norm. Let’s spend the time and money to eliminate hydraulic failure rather than preparing for failure. I worked for Kendall Company in the 1980’s and we changed our focus from reactive to proactive maintenance on our hydraulic systems and eliminated unscheduled hydraulic failure. Join me as we talk about the right way to perform maintenance on a hydraulic system utilizing the “Maintenance Best Practices”.

 

The Bear(ing) Minimum

Minimum Loads of Spherical Roller Bearings and Some Lubrication Basics

by Charles Kropewnicki

In my experiences as both a Bearing Applications Engineer and a Reliability Engineer there seems to be a common problem with double row “spherical roller bearings” (SRB) operating well below their minimum load ratings.  This is especially prevalent in overhung fan and blower designs utilizing couplings to transfer power. This issue will usually raise its ugly head in the form of elevated temperature on the coupling side pillow block bearing.  In some cases, due to the overhung load distribution, the coupling side bearing will have a load facing upward or even none at all.  The worst case is when the SRB acts as the fixed bearing and takes a thrust load, despite having little or no radial load.

The Effectiveness of a Quality Filtration Program

The goal of every lubrication program should be to ensure that all equipment receives and maintains the proper levels of lubrication such that no equipment fails due to inadequate or improper lubrication. In order for this to happen we must follow the 5R's of lubrication meaning the right lubricant; right condition; right location; right amount; right frequency are followed for each piece of equipment. Whether you are building a lubrication program from scratch or are falling in on an existing one the following four phases must be addressed in order to have an effective lubrication program that will meet your plant reliability goals.

The Effectiveness of Quality Filtration

Focusing on In-Situ Filtration and Filtration of Stored Lubricants

by Paul Dufresne, CLS, CMRP

In the current global economic market companies are trying to find new and innovative ways to reinvent themselves to run more efficiently and increase production while minimizing equipment downtime.  Now more than ever, plant managers, and maintenance and reliability leaders are looking for ways to improve equipment reliability, optimize maintenance and reduce energy consumption.

The Truth Untold Not All Oil Analysis Reports Are Created Equally

By Evan Zabawski

As we see the trend of both on and off-highway heavy-duty diesel engines switching to multigrade oils, it becomes more and more important to check the 40°C viscosity, as well as the 100°C viscosity, in the used oil analysis. While both numbers may be reported on a used oil analysis report, the lab may have chosen to only measure one and merely calculate the other.

The Ultimate in Bearing Maintenance Programs

By Chuck Petersen

Greasing bearings with Ultrasound Detection is very fast becoming the way to go. We can actually tell by Ultrasound Detection when bearings need greased and then when they have enough grease. We listen to the bearing and when it sounds smooth like air escaping then it is properly lubricated. When it sounds like popcorn popping or gravel in a bucket it needs greased. We then have the maintenance man grease the bearing ½ stroke at a time while we listen to the bearing with the Ultraprobe 10000, we can actually hear the grease enter the bearing and the sound quickly goes to the smooth air escaping sound. At that point we stop the greasing.

 

Ultrasound Assisted Lubrication

By Alan Bandes

"As many as 60 to 80 percent of all bearing failures (catastrophic, functional and premature) are lubrication related, whether it's poor lubricant selection, poor application, lubricant contamination or lubricant degradation."
- Mark Barnes, Des-Case Corporation

Understanding Bearing Housing Protection and Reliable Lubricant Application

by Heinz P. Bloch, P.E.and Chris Rehmann

Bearings are precision components; they require clean lubricants in adequate amounts to survive, and even seemingly small amounts of contamination can greatly reduce equipment reliability and uptime. A new generation of bearing protectors is now available that can help maintain lubricant cleanliness, prevent loss of lubricants, and prolong the life of your rotating equipment.

 

Understanding Lubrication Failures

Fail·ure 1 a: An omission of occurrence or performance: A failing to perform a duty or expected action b: A state of inability to perform a normal function

As a consultant in the field of lubrication, I've had discussions with hundreds if not thousands of maintenance professionals about the type and frequencies of the lubrication-related failures they experience. A disturbingly large percentage of the time I am told that they don't really experience many lubrication-related failures. This response always prompts another question: What is a lubrication-related failure? To those who think they have none or few, a lubrication-related failure is usually defined as one that occurs when a machine has no oil in it or someone puts the wrong oil in it. I would suggest that most manufacturers experience many lubrication-related failures and merely misclassify them. In fact, many failures are not even recorded as such because the problems were diagnosed and repaired before the machine ceased to function. In my opinion, any time a machine or component does not achieve maximum service life, a failure has occurred.

Understanding the Reality of Filter Element Ratings

by Mike Boyd

Our company was the first in our industry to utilize hydraulics to any significant degree. We used hydraulics for propulsion, for auxiliary functions and for steering. With the implementation of an innovative technology, we had to learn all about it. Wally was sent to the training schools of each of our component suppliers. He returned our company expert.

Visual Management in Lubrication Management

One of the core components to lean manufacturing is a solid 5S visual management system. It is easier to manage an operation if you can fully understand it, and understanding often comes from being able to "see" what is happening. The 5S visual management system is designed to create a visual workplace - an environment that is self-explaining, self-ordering, and self-improving. The 5S system consists of five elements.

©2012 Reliabilityweb.com