subject: Lubrication oil in Gearboxes [print this page] Gearbox is a very important part in many different industries. They can be applied in various places to meet specific requirements. Many industrial machines use gearboxes to alter or vary the standard speeds of electric motors. But what can make them run smoothly and maintain good performance? The answer is the lubrication oil.
As we all know that lubrication is very important to the mechanical parts such as gearboxes. And the lubrication oil to the gearbox just as water to the fish. It is the lifeblood of gearbox. If the oil level in a gearbox gets too low or loses its ability to lubricate, the gearbox will eventually fail.
If the gearbox fails to work, there may be much potential cost of failure. For a failed gearbox on a specific mechanical drive at the plant, you can do an analysis of the cost of the repair, lost production opportunity and lost labor costs. For example, at one automotive facility, the failure of the gearbox or any other transfers that move vehicles through assembly may stop the whole line which will lead to large costs. It is also the same to the other machines. A failed gearbox costs more in lost production in addition to repair or replacement costs.
According to above, we can understand that the lubrication oil is indeed important to gearboxes. Traditionally, preventive maintenance for gearboxes has consisted of regularly checking their oil levels and replenishing lost oil. Oil analysis, usually performed by an outside laboratory, reveals whether the oil in a gearbox has lost its ability to lubricate. Besides, it will detect any metal particles in the oil. In order to check whether the gearboxes are in a good status, you should scan them from many different aspects except for the lubrication oil. You should learn the load on each piece of equipment. One thing you should do is that checking each gearbox when it is running at a 40 % or more of its usual mechanical load.
Additionally, there are also many other elements that should be considered. For example, you must be aware that if there is excessive heat generated in mechanical drive components, it is not merely due to the friction. That is to say, except for the inadequate lubrication, there are still many other sources such as the faulty bearings, misalignment, imbalance, and misuse, etc.
