Industrial lubricants play a critical yet often overlooked role in manufacturing operations. These specialized oils and greases help reduce friction, wear, corrosion, contamination, and heat buildup in machinery. Using the proper lubricant improves efficiency, prevents downtime, extends equipment life, and reduces maintenance costs.
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However, given the wide variety of industrial lubricants available, choosing the right product for each application is essential. This guide provides manufacturers a comprehensive overview of selecting and applying the optimal lubricants.
Industrial lubricants can be formulated from petroleum oils, synthetic fluids, or vegetable-based oils. Within these broad categories are thousands of options with properties engineered for specific uses. Key characteristics like viscosity, viscosity index, pour point, flash point, oxidation stability and additive packages differ greatly across lubricants. Manufacturers must match these properties to operating conditions like speed, load, temperatures, harsh environments, and contamination risks. Using lubricants designed for the application delivers significant performance and reliability benefits.
The most common industrial lubricant categories, each with unique characteristics for different uses, include:
· Hydraulic Fluids – Transmit power in hydraulic equipment. Different viscosity grades offer optimal power transfer and efficiency.
· Gear Oils – Protect gears against wear and pitting. EP additives provide extreme pressure protection under heavy loads.
· Greases – Provide lasting lubrication to rolling element bearings and metal surfaces. Thickeners give greases unique properties.
· Compressor Oils – Withstand high temperatures and pressures inside compressors. Prevent wear and leakage.
· Turbine Oils – Resist oxidation and thermal degradation in turbines. Minimize deposits and provide long service life.
· Metalworking Fluids – Cool and lubricate machining operations. Types include straight soluble, synthetic, and semi-synthetic oils.
With so many options, partnering with a lubricant supplier is invaluable when selecting products. Look for partners that:
· Offer extensive product selection and custom blending
· Help choose optimal lubricants for equipment and operations
· Provide oil analysis, reliability services, and technical expertise
· Have experience developing specialized formulations
· Offer training on lubricant best practices
Be sure potential suppliers have stringent quality control and use the latest lubricant testing methods. Request data on how their formulations meet or exceed industry and OEM specifications. High quality lubricants match exact standards repeatedly for consistent performance.
In addition to choosing the optimal lubricant, proper application methods, maintenance, and contamination control are equally important. Follow equipment manufacturer guidelines for oil and grease change intervals, volumes, and procedures. Training maintenance personnel helps ensure correct techniques. Store lubricants properly in clean, sealed containers away from moisture, dirt, and extreme temperatures.
While high-performance lubricants may cost more up front, the total cost of ownership is significantly lower than using inferior products. Poor lubrication leads to increased wear, frequent breakdowns, replacement part costs, and unnecessary maintenance expenses. By extending equipment life, quality lubricants deliver strong return on investment.
Successfully choosing industrial lubricants starts with thoroughly understanding equipment lubrication needs. Consider factors such as:
Operating temperatures - Lubricants must remain in their suitable viscosity range at minimum and maximum temps. High temps require formulated oils with greater thermal stability and higher viscosity indexes. Low temps call for lighter viscosity grades.
Speeds and loads - Higher speeds and loads increase friction and mechanical stress, requiring lubricants with anti-wear additives and viscosity grades that minimize shear. Oils too thin may leak away from contact points. Too viscous can choke oil flow. Match viscosity to load.
Shock loading - Sudden high impulse loads need EP lubricants to handle extreme pressures. These prevent metal-to-metal contact during momentary overloads.
Environment - Corrosive, wet, or dusty environments require enhanced corrosion protection and demulsifying additives that resist water and contaminants.
Contamination risks - Particulates, water ingress, chemical contact can quickly degrade lubricants. Meet ISO cleanliness standards. Use filtration. Choose lubricants with detergents, dispersants and antioxidants.
Food/pharmaceutical applications - Require non-toxic lubricants meeting FDA and USDA standards to avoid product contamination.
Creating detailed documentation of equipment lubrication needs aids product selection. Include factors such as below.
· Equipment components needing lubrication
· Lubrication points - sumps, circulating systems, grease fittings etc.
· Operating parameters - speed, load, temperatures, cycles
· Desired lubricant performance - wear reduction, rust prevention etc.
· Potential contamination risks
· Maintenance schedules - oil change intervals, re-greasing frequency
This documentation also helps train maintenance staff on proper lubricant selection and application. Keep records to track consumption and know when to replenish lubricant inventory.
Proper lubricant storage and handling prevents contamination and degradation before the lubricant even reaches equipment. Recommended practices include below.
·Use sealed containers and drums to keep out moisture, particulates, and dirt
·Avoid temperature extremes which can alter lubricant properties
·Ensure containers are properly labelled for easy identification
·Follow FIFO (first in, first out) inventory management
·Keep lubricants segregated by type to prevent cross-contamination
·Ensure dispensing equipment and transfer containers are clean
Contamination Control Best Practices
In-service lubricant contamination can cause up to 80% of equipment failures. Controlling contaminants with filters, oil analysis and planned maintenance is key.
· Use desiccant breathers to block moisture from entering reservoirs
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· Fasten latches to prevent contaminant ingress on sumps, filler caps
· Install kidney loop filtration to continually clean circulating oil
· Take frequent oil samples to identify particle counts and fluid condition
· Stick to OEM recommended change intervals
· Proper lubrication is vital to manufacturing productivity. Follow these best practices to maximize uptime, extend equipment life, and optimize operational efficiency through superior lubrication.
In manufacturing, equipment is only as reliable as its lubrication. Selecting the right industrial lubricants from quality suppliers helps maximize uptime, efficiency, and productivity. Combined with proper application and maintenance, optimal lubrication keeps operations running smoothly now and into the future.
As industrial machines become more sophisticated and tech-savvy by the day, manufacturers are changing their tactics.
To improve performance, reduce downtime and meet customer demands, they’re pushing their systems to greater limits than ever before.
This also means that suppliers are getting creative.
To deliver on customer expectations, they’re fine-tuning one oft-overlooked aspect of the assembly line: lubrication.
Industrial lubricants are critical to keeping all parts moving the way they should, but all products are not created equal.
With that in mind, here’s a quick guide to help you choose the right lubricant for your needs.
While it sounds simple, selecting the proper industrial lubricant can be challenging.
Why?
Not only are there dozens of lubricant brands, but each industry also has its own set of regulations and standards that limit the kind you can use.
Before making your selection, it’s helpful to consult with a supplier, first.
These experts can help answer questions you may have about your specific application.
Though there are many ways in which they can differ, all industrial lubricants must meet baseline criteria for performance. At a minimum, they must:
While these are standard characteristics of an industrial lubricant, your needs may require features above and beyond this list.
Your individual operating conditions and manufacturing processes will dictate the functionality you require.
Before you get ahead of yourself the selection process, your industrial lubricant provider should ask you one essential question: Do you want a general-purpose solution or a synthetic one?
If you plan to maintain your equipment’s lubrication regularly, a general-purpose solution will work.
If you want to lubricate the equipment once and have it last a long time without touch-ups, a synthetic version would be preferred.
To understand the difference between the two, let’s slide into the makeup of each.
The term “industrial lubricant” encompasses a range of products, including greases, oils, waxes or pastes. Their primary ingredients include:
A common selection, most general-purpose oils contain mineral oil distillates derived from crude oil, such as petroleum.
When you need an industrial lubrication application that lasts, synthetic solutions get the job done. Two of the most common are polyalphaolefins (PAOs) and synthetic esters.
Developers use other compounds to produce these synthetic lubricants artificially, making them more powerful and longer-lasting than their counterparts.
The result? It isn’t petroleum oil. Rather, synthetic solutions are clearer and more uniform, providing an uptick in:
When your supplier suggests a synthetic lubricant, it’s because your application requires a solution with mechanical and chemical properties superior to mineral oils.
If you plan to go back and re-lubricate as required, a general-purpose version will work if it meets the baseline features listed above.
Choosing to lubricate a machine for life is a step in the right direction.
When you go this route, your supplier should point you toward synthetic lubricants. This is because base lubricant oils are well-equipped to handle long-term wear and tear, because of:
Love synthetic lubricants, but you’re on the fence about the cost? Consider the lifespan of the product.
Both synthetic and specialty lubricants can last up to five years longer than general-purpose ones depending on the quality of the base oil used.
With so many options at your fingertips, the key to choosing the best industrial lubricant is to determine the base oil viscosity you need.
Before they can send you to the right selection, your supplier will ask a series of questions to learn more about your question. These include:
Be thorough and specific in your answers to help make sure the right product travels home with you. During this interview process, it’s common for equipment owners to forget tiny details that can make a big difference.
Resist the urge to let price be your final deciding factor. While synthetic lubricants cost more than general-purpose ones, the return is more than worth the investment, helping your business enjoy:
Before you can choose the right industrial lubricant, you must first find a supplier you trust.
Our team of professionals will assess your situation, understand your application and help you choose the right solution for your needs.
If you’re looking for a new machine grease or oil for your workplace, you’ve come to the right place.
All the products in our legendary TW25B® synthetic lubricant series provide top-of-the-line performance, reliability and durability.
Contact us to discuss your requirements of Lubricating Oils Supplier. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.