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End users and OEMs frequently specify
"lubed-for-life" mounted bearings, thinking the lubed-for-life bearings will deliver the same life — without lubrication — as bearings that
currently require periodic lubrication. The truth is it depends on many factors, and only a detailed review of the application and testing will provide a more accurate answer.
In this century’s complex, ever-
changing world of manufacturing,
such capabilities as hardware and software expertise, effective location and distribution, business savvy and
yes, even luck, are some of the
cardinal requirements for running
a successful business.
in the performance and life of
a rolling element bearing. Less
than 10 percent of bearings reach their theoretical L10 life, and poor lubrication can be attributed to 80 percent of those that fall short. Ideally, a lubricant forms a film layer between moving components in a bearing, separating moving parts, minimizing friction and
preventing wear between balls or rollers, raceways and retainers. Lubricants also protect metal surfaces from corrosion and moisture, dissipate heat and can even prevent the ingress of contaminants.
Lubrication management should be standard operating procedure at any manufacturing facility.
Vital to both operational and maintenance personnel,
a strong, coherent and specific lubrication program will have
lasting results in machine efficiency and maintenance. Of course, even those with the best intentions can’t always keep up with the challenges presented day-to-day on the manufacturing
floor. Thankfully, PTE is here to help with eight steps to selecting, storing, analyzing and managing your lubrication requirements.
A thermo-mechanical model of a splash lubricated one-stage gear unit is presented. This system corresponds to a first step towards the design of a hybrid vehicle gearbox that can operate up to 40,000 rpm on its primary shaft. The numerical model is based on the thermal network method and takes into account power losses due to teeth friction, rolling-elements bearings and oil churning. Some calculations underline that oil churning causes a high amount of power loss. A simple method to reduce this source of power losses is presented, and its influence on the gear unit efficiency and its thermal capacity is computed.
In 1991, Needelman and Zaretsky presented a set of empirically
derived equations for bearing fatigue life (adjustment) factors (LFs) as a function of oil filter ratings.
Machine and equipment manufacturers
today are feeling more pressure
than ever to reduce costs without sacrificing
machine performance — a balancing
act difficult to achieve. OEMs often overlook a simple solution that can have a positive, long-term impact
on profitability for themselves and
their customers, i.e. — the elimination of bearing lubricant.
It seems preposterous in the whimsical, wireless world of today, but in 1977 cinema’s greatest visioneers came together and decided the pinnacle of robotic technology in the future would be a motorized trash can.