There’s a lot of Industrial gear oil on the market today. Choosing the right one for your use will prove to be time-consuming, that is why we’ve listed three important things for you to consider.
Finding the Right Lubrication Technology
There are three criteria in choosing your gear oil:
- Viscosity – considered as the lubricant oil’s key component
- Additive Package – determines the category of a lubricant
- Base Oil Type – three different types: mineral, vegetable, and synthetic
But to find the right type of lubricant for you, you need to determine where you will be applying the oil, including the machine’s speed, vibration, temperature, load, particulate matter, and moisture as it plays a key part for your machine to work efficiently and effectively.
Viscosity
Viscosity is defined as the measure of a fluid’s resistance to flow.
The right amount of viscosity should be seen on the machine’s manual, however, this is not always the case. Choosing the viscosity of a lubricant is to determine the desired film thickness connecting the gears at a certain speed and load. Since it is quite difficult to get the load in the selection, speed becomes the determining factor.
ANSI (American National Standards Institute) and AGMA (American Gear Manufacturers Association) standard ANSI/AGMA 9005-E02 is the most common method to determine viscosity. This method assumes the viscosity index, load, and pressure-viscosity coefficient of a lubricant. These are then combined with your gear types, operating temperature, and the speed of your slow gear to get your desired viscosity.
Less viscous oil increases an equipment’s life because it flows easier through a filtration system, where contaminants are removed which reduces the chances of damage. Meanwhile, highly viscous oil generates more heat from friction which could increase energy usage for turning gears.
Base Oils
There are several base oils you can choose from, such as:
Mineral Base Oils
Mineral-based oils, especially High-Quality ones, perform well. This is because mineral base oils have higher pressure-viscosity that makes a great film thickness at a specific operating viscosity, compared to that of traditional synthetic oils.
Synthetic Gears Oil
Synthetic base oils have a higher resistance to oxidation and thermal degradation compared to that of mineral base oils. These types of oils also perform better at low ambient temperatures if it has a high viscosity index and low pour point which makes it suitable for areas that have drastic temperature changes to stop continuous changes. High-quality synthetic gear oils may also offer greater lubricity.
Types of Gear Oil and Additive Packages
Rust and Oxidation Gear Lubricants
R&O Gear lubricants are stable chemicals, demulsible, can prevent corrosion, and prevents the formation of foam. This lubricant is best suited for machines where surfaces are subjected to hydrodynamic or elastohydrodynamic conditions. These are used on operations at high speeds with low and uniform loads, because this does not do well or prevent wearing under boundary lubrication conditions.
Extreme Pressure (EP) Lubricants
Extreme Pressure lubricants, also known as anti-scuff gear lubricants, is noted for its strength or its load-carrying ability because of its capacity to prevent wear under boundary lubrication conditions. Opposite to that of R&O gear lubricants, EP lubricants are used for heavy loads, slow speed, and shock loads.
One common additive for EP lubricants is sulfur phosphorus. This alters the chemistry of the machine’s surface to suppress wearing under boundary lubrication conditions.
Compounded Gear Lubricants
Compounded gear oils contain synthetic fatty acids to amplify its strength and lubrication. These are commonly used for worm gears because of its sliding contact.
Conclusion
There are a lot of things you should consider in choosing the right Oil-Based Lubricants for your machine gears. Always keep in mind the three criteria which are viscosity, additives, and base oil type.
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