What you need to know about industrial lubricants

By: Armando Landavazo

Brief history of industrial lubrication

Before the industrial revolution, animal fat was used to moisturize leather and other types of artifacts that required permanent contact with each other.

Years later, lime mixed with animal or vegetable fats was used to develop lubricating products with greater efficiency.

Around the year 1700 the first greases made from mineral oils were created, which were improved and used as lubricants in the wagons of the mines and in the industrial machines of the time.

In the twentieth century a technological revolution occurs thanks to the lubrication needs associated with the gradual developments of the period. The first revolution in lubrication came with the steam engine, internal combustion engines, motor vehicles.

Petroleum-derived lubricants were very popular almost the entire twentieth century until a second revolution in the history of lubricants was achieved with the development of synthetic and semi-synthetic oils.

Lubricants have been able to be synthesized from different compounds derived from chemical mixtures with inert compounds of petroleum or other elements that, due to their molecular composition, strengthen lubrication processes.

What is industrial lubrication?

Lubrication is the process for the correct operation of most current machinery, mainly industrial machinery.

Without industrial lubricants or oils, machines would not function properly and would be damaged by wear. Which would end their useful life and stop working.

It is a maintenance job that reduces friction and, as a result, prevents resistance between two parts that are in motion. That is why a fluid is introduced that creates a film, its goal is to separate the contact surfaces.

With this exercise it is possible to perform different functions:

• Reduce friction
• Minimize wear on the parts involved
• Decrease the temperature generated by friction
• Components are protected from corrosion and contamination

What types of lubricants exist?

It is important to emphasize that there are different types of industrial lubricants, depending on their condition:

• Liquids: industrial oil
• Semi-solids: greases and gels
• Solids: graphite, Teflon

In addition to the condition, we must know the nature of the base:

• Mineral bases: they are the most used and are acquired through mixtures of hydrocarbons on which various refinements have been made.
• Synthetic bases: they are achieved by chemical reaction of synthetic hydrocarbons and esters.
• Semi-synthetic bases: they are obtained by mixing the two mentioned above

What is the lubrication process?

Once we have defined the state and nature of the lubricant, it is time to define which process is the one we will use, then we share some of them:

Lubricant agents

Small tanks, the lubricant is placed through which the lubricant is delivered to the moving parts manually. 

Oil bath

It resides in a casting box where the mechanism to be lubricated goes partially submerged in oil. The parts, when rotating, collect the lubricant and transmit them to other elements.

Oil pump

It consists of a tank where the oil and the mechanism to be lubricated are located. The lubricant that flows between the mechanisms falls to the bottom of the tank and, through a system of pump and ducts, is recirculated reaching the parts again under lubrication.

Oil splash lubrication

It consists of a bucket that, when turning, collects lubricant from a tray at each turn and introduces it into the mechanism that requires lubrication.

Oil cloud

The lubricant is sprayed on the equipment to be lubricated by a system that applies the Venturi principle.

How do I know which lubricant to use and how often?

It always depends on the mechanism to be lubricated and the operating conditions, some factors that we must consider are the following:

• Temperature
• Speed
• Pressure or environmental conditions

Regularly, the manufacturers of the machines themselves are the ones who suggest the lubricant or industrial oil to be used, they also indicate the maintenance schedule, both for the change of the lubricant and for the lubrication operations.

Synthetic lubricants, the star of industrial lubrication today

The current interest in synthetic lubricants has been growing day by day, due in large part to environmental regulations, which emphasize biodegradability, non-toxicity, environmental safety, and the possibility of recycling.

In addition, equipment manufacturers demand lubricants with longer service life, lower volatility, and greater energy efficiency. In some cases, these lubricants must operate under a more rigorous pressure and temperature regime, which is why FUCHS Lubricants within its wide range of lubricants, has specialized in developing formulated products that can offer:

• Utility under a wide range of temperatures
• Excellent stability
• Long service life
• Unique performance features
• Environmentally friendly

So, you already know more about this important product for companies today.

Do not know which one to use or have more doubts?

We invite you to contact us, a FUCHS advisor will gladly guide you throughout the process to choose the best lubricant for your company.