You might think that taking care of your lubricant is as simple as adding the right amount when it is needed, but you would be wrong. Ensuring that your lubricant stays in good condition is much more complex that you may have ever imaged.
That is not to say that it is difficult to get a grip of your lubricant practices – in fact it is fairly simple, if you know what you should be doing and you do it consistently.
Estimates show that roughly 60-90 percent of all bearing failures are in some way related to lubrication issue, so it is obvious that implementing good lubricant practices is vital to the successful running of a plant. Sadly, there are still a lot of technicians who get in wrong, using time-based lubrication practices, in which they grease equipment like clockwork, alone. This is a process that is doomed to failure, lower profits and lots of downtime.
What’s the answer?
Luckily, there is a very simple solution to this problem, which if used will greatly improve lubrication practices – ultrasound technology.
Ultrasound technology, when used alongside the lubrication practices you should already be implementing, including cleaning old lube and replacing it with new product, and time-based, preventative maintenance, you can get the best picture of what’s happening inside your machine, and you can keep your lubrication in tip-top condition.
How ultrasonic equipment works
Ultrasonic equipment works by detecting structure and airborne ultrasound that it would not usually be possible for a human to hear. It then transposes these into signals that technicians can listen to via the use of headphones. Most systems also enable techs to view ultrasound as decibel levels on a display panel.
Some ultrasonic instruments can also show the sounds on and spectral analysis screen, which enables trained techs to interpret the condition of a bearing in order to calculate if they need lubrication, and if so, how much.
The obvious advantage of this is that it enables technicians to build up a much more accurate picture of what is going on inside their machinery, so that they can really tailor their lubrication processes for their current circumstances and do the best possible job.
Not only that, but ultrasonic equipment is actually very affordable and easy to use, so you do not have to invest a lot of money to benefit from the technology. You could save a great deal of cash by having the best possible lubricant practices in place.
