subject: Blending Industrial Lubricants For Specific Purposes [print this page] . But, as far as we know, they haven't tried base stocks, friction modifiers and seal swell agents yet. Blending industrial lubricants for specific purposes still remains a speciality of the leading industrial lubricant manufacturers
Blending lies at the heart of modern lubricants
Carefully designed blending lies at the heart of today's high performance industrial lubricants. As leading lubricant companies will attest, blending holds the key to excellence in lubricants for applications as diverse as vehicle gear oils, NEAT cutting fluids and mould release oils. However, unlike the YouTube showmanship that turns mobile phones to dust, it takes more than brute force to create modern lubricants, greases and cutting fluids. Here's why.
So much more to lubricants than just 'engine oil'
There's much more to lubricants than just oil. What works well in low pressure, low temperature environments may not be effective under extreme pressures and temperatures. Similarly, designing and blending engine oil to work in pumped systems, or where its intrinsic properties must keep it attached to a surface, requires completely different combinations of base oils, additives and blending processes.
Additives are blended with base oils
Most industrial lubricants contain carefully specified additives to enhance their performance - additives such as these:
Anti-wear and EP agents Detergents (vital in many industrial lubricants) Dispersants Extreme pressure additives for cutting fluids Friction modifiers Pour-point depressants Engine oil viscosity modifiers Seal swell agents Anti-foaming agents Antioxidants (such as zinc dithiophosphate) Metal deactivators
Whether they're one per cent or 25 per cent of the final lubricant, additives like these give industrial lubricants their unique characteristics - for long service life and reliable operation of valuable plant and equipment under diverse use regimes.
Compared with the sophistication of lubricant manufacture, blending a smart phone or hockey puck is revealed as little more than an impressive demonstration of raw blending power. In the automotive oils and lubricants business, the impressive power of blending comes with much greater finesse, precision and decades of expertise.
Millions invested in the formulation of different blends
With industrial lubricants' blends demanding more than just guesswork and a powerful blender, major manufacturers invest millions designing and improving their lubricant blends. It's the key to gaining commercial edge - and surviving in the competitive lubricants marketplace.
And as new industrial and engine oil applications evolve, the lubricant technologists at organisations such as Shell, BP and exol constantly ask whether a new combination of ingredients will blend successfully. The answer, as we know from the trouble-free operation of everything from slideways to oil injection compressors, is a resounding 'yes'.
The key to performance you can trust
For millions of users of engine oil and industrial lubricants, the manufacturers have already done the hard work. No matter what your lubricant requirement is, years of expertise, refined blending skills and a proven manufacturer are the keys to lubrication performance that you can trust.
