Up Time Magazine - December 2008/January 2009 - (Page 28) lubrication upload Building A Lubrication Program By Using the Five Rights, You Won’t Go Wrong by Ray Thibault, CLS, OMA I & II T his article will examine the use of the five rights of lubrication - which are Right Type, Right Quality, Right Amount, Right Place and Right Time - all of which are important in the development of a highly effective lubrication program. Many companies fail to realize the importance of lubrication and the application of these five basic concepts to achieve world class machinery reliability. Each will be examined in detail, along with a summary of best practices, including procedures in the selection of the optimal lubricant supplier. Typical grease is about 85% oil. It is the oil which does the lubricating in grease. The NLGI classifies greases according to consistency with the following grades increasing in hardness: 000, 00, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. The most common NLGI grade is #2. At high speeds #3 may be used and at low temperatures and in centralized systems a 0 or 1 is used. Most large equipment is oil lubricated and selection of the right type is critical to reliability. Two major factors in selection of an oil based lubricant are the correct viscosity and additives in the formulation. For a more complete discussion of viscosity please refer to Basic Principles of Viscosity and Proper Selection Techniques published in Lubrication & Fluid Power (LFP). For a more complete discussion of additive types, please refer to All Lubricants are not Created Equally (Basic Concepts in Formulation of Finished Lubricants) which was published in LFP in 2006. Right Type As a first step in the lubrication of equipment, refer to the OEM manual. The OEM should be contacted if there are any questions. With old equipment the OEM manual may be outdated and better lubricants may be available. When in doubt, utilize your lubricant supplier along with the OEM. Two major classes of lubricants are oil and grease. The selection of the type is based on the application. Greases are used extensively in the lubrication of small bearings. As a rule of thumb use oil where possible because it can be cooled and filtered but this is not possible for many applications where grease is the better choice. The following are applications for grease: • To decrease drippage and splattering, as the grease acts as an additional seal to reduce leakage • To reach hard to get to lubrication points where OEM’s will recommend the correct ISO viscosity grade lubrication frequency is important and when oil for their equipment based on the operating temperacirculation is impractical ture. Table 1 classifies kinematic oil viscosity in centi• To seal in the lubricant and assist in sealing out stokes for industrial lubricants based on the ISO grade contaminants such as water, dirt and damaging which is the midpoint of a viscosity range +/- 10%. corrosives • To protect metal surfaces from rust & corrosion Mid Point Limits, KV 40˚ C Mid Point Limits, KV 40˚ C • To lubricate machines with ISO VG ISO VG KV 40˚ C, KV 40˚ C, intermittent operation Min. Max. Min. Max. mm2s-1 mm2s-1 • To suspend solid additives such ISO VG 2 2.2 1.98 2.4 ISO VG 100 100 90 110 as moly or graphite ISO VG 3 3.2 2.88 3.52 ISO VG 150 150 135 165 • To lubricate sealed-for-life ISO VG 5 4.6 4.14 5.06 ISO VG 220 220 198 242 applications • When extreme or special operatISO VG 7 6.8 6.12 7.48 ISO VG 320 320 288 352 ing conditions exist ISO VG 10 10 9 11 ISO VG 460 460 414 506 • When machine parts are badly ISO VG 15 15 13.5 16.5 ISO VG 680 680 612 748 worn ISO VG 22 22 19.8 24.2 ISO VG 1000 1000 900 1100 • When noise reduction is ISO VG 32 32 28.8 35.2 ISO VG 1500 1500 1350 1650 important ISO VG 46 46 41.4 50.6 ISO VG 2200 2200 1980 2420 Greases are composed mainly of oil dispersed in a thickener with additives. Table 1 - Kinematic Oil Viscosity in Centistokes 28 december/january 2009
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