Good lubrication is key to long bearing life, whether the environment is clean or contaminated, wet or dry. In good conditions, re-lubrication may be less frequent but, whatever the lubrication schedule, it is central to maintaining bearing performance. This can be time-consuming and expensive, both to maintain – and if things go wrong.
This paper will demonstrate that a single application of Enviropeel can reduce lubrication requirements by as much as 99% in the most challenging environments, with significant maintenance cost savings and greatly reduced downtime in all conditions.
Background
Most bearings require continual maintenance and re-lubrication, but the process can be complex – and manual processes may often not be as good as they should be. Although lubrication processes are often automated, most re-lubrication is undertaken manually and a recent study found that 80 percent of maintenance workers surveyed scored less than 50 percent when it came to the basic technical skills needed to properly complete their work.
Yet proper lubrication essential, especially in contaminated environments. According to SKF, 34% of all failures are due to poor lubrication – with a further 20% caused by contamination. Other studies show lubrication issues account for 40 to 50 percent of machine failures and MIT estimates that approximately $240 billion is lost annually in the US due to downtime and repairs to equipment damaged by poor lubrication.
Bearings must also be protected from contaminants. According to the McNally Institute, a leading cause of bearing failure is the contamination of lubrication by moisture and solid particles. According to their report, as little as 0.002 percent water in the lubrication system increases the probability of failure by 48 percent – six percent water can reduce the lifetime by 83 percent. Any form of particle present in lubrication becomes abrasive, further reducing bearing lifetimes.
What if you can eliminate these contaminating factors?
If you reduce the need for re-lubrication, prevent contamination and stop the ingress of water and particles, you have eliminated nearly all the causes of bearing failure. Many solutions have been offered to resolve these issues, but bearings continue to fail – despite the fact that the average plant can spend $60,000 annually on lubrication maintenance – not taking into account the environmental impact and cost of disposal of used lubricants.
The effect of Enviropeel
The chart in Fig.2 shows typical re-lubrication intervals for an unprotected bearing with a 3” shaft, turning at 300 rpm. Depending on the conditions, the interval varies between 278 days and 2 days.
For bearings protected with Enviropeel, no matter how contaminated or wet the environment may be, all lubrication intervals can be treated as though the conditions are clean and dry. A saving of up to 140 lubrication cycles for every bearing.
How is this possible?
Enviropeel is unique in its ability to isolate bearings from their environment. The secret lies in the nature of the material and the manner in which is applied.
The material contains slow-release inhibiting oils which, when applied, coat all the surfaces within the application. For static components these oils provide great corrosion protection – but for rotary equipment the effect is revolutionary!
Fig. 3 shows a typical installation with the bearing housing encapsulated and the coating applied along the shaft. Coating the shaft prevents ingress of particles and moisture protecting the bearing lubrication from the effects of its environment.
Tests carried out for BHP in Australia show that the encapsulation does not affect bearing temperature and experience around the world shows that Enviropeel encapsulation dramatically improves bearing life.
Recent tests in the US by GAF, who have had remarkable reductions in bearing failures since adopting Enviropeel, showed that bearings which had to be greased every 4 hours prior to using Enviropeel were now only being greased every 4 weeks. This means that they have reduced the number of greasing operations on these bearings by over 99%! The picture on the right shows an array of bearing protected with Enviropeel at a GAF plant.
The experience of GAF is repeated wherever Enviropeel is used, with an average increase in bearing life of 500 percent and many examples of over 1000 percent.
Conclusion
In a clean, dry environment, a typical conveyor bearing might last 10 years without a great deal of attention. However, in the mining industry and in many manufacturing processes where conditions are more challenging, maintaining lubrication standards is critical. Users’ experience with Enviropeel shows that it offers an exceptional opportunity to significantly reduce lubrication and other maintenance requirements and, at the same time, preserve bearing infrastructure for many times their previous lifespans.
