machinery lubrication

My company recently hosted a Top Performers Meeting to which we invited our top ten lubrication consultants from the previous year to a getaway destination for relaxation, fun, fellowship, good eats and roundtable discussions.

By Raymond J. Dalley

Wear particle analysis, or ferrography, is a technique that is growing everyday. With industrial needs for reliability and higher productivity to compete in the world market, techniques such as wear particle analysis become vital in making diagnostic and specific recommendations regarding potential machine problems.

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.

By: David Piangerelli

Companies seeking ways to gain operational efficiency and increase reliability often turn to technology. Increasing productivity with reducing operating costs has become a mandate for managers. Maintenance plays an important role in increasing equipment reliability through condition monitoring of critical assets, using tools such as oil analysis, vibration analysis, thermography, etc. Each concept or tool must often be sold to the management team, who is looking for a return on the investment.