Lubrication Equipment

Lubrication Equipment

As essential components of industrial applications such as manufacturing, assembly and processing, lubrication equipment is used to apply controlled or metered amounts of lubricant to certain areas of equipment in need. Lubrication equipment, such as a chain oilers, air lubricators and grease pumps, are useful in a wide range of industries including: packaging, for the lubrication of packaging machinery and equipment; pulp and paper, for the lubrication of printing equipment; food and beverage, to lubricate processing and packaging equipment; mining, for the lubrication of stationary and mobile mining equipment; and automotive, for the lubrication of power transmission and other parts. In addition, many lubrication equipment manufacturers are capable of providing custom lubrication equipment to suit lubrication requirements outside of the norm. Some examples of machine parts requiring lubrication include chains, cables, gears, pumps, large blowers and fans, turbines and industrial centrifuges.

The most important components of many types of lubrication equipment are the lubricant reservoir, pump and filter. Also known as a lube reservoir or at times, simply a reservoir, the lubricant reservoir is the area in which the lubricant is stored after coming back from the area of lubrication, while the pump is used to move the lubricant through the system and into areas that need to be lubricated. Lastly, the filter is used to ensure that the lubricant stays clean and free from contaminants such as dirt particles in order to ensure that the lubrication process is not disrupted. Filters often have instrumentation that provides readings of the flow rate, temperature and level of the lubricant. Both manual and automatic lubrication equipment is available. Automatic lubrication equipment is commonly part of a permanent or centralized lubrication system. These systems are usually a part of the machines they lubricate but require separate maintenance for themselves. Automatic systems are especially useful because they reduce downtime and labor cost since they do not require operators. Manual lubrication equipment can refer to lubrication equipment that is fully operated by people or only partially. When using manual lubrication equipment instead of automatic, there is often a greater chance of missing an area or supplying too much lubrication to another.