Author: micro-admin-commerce

Lube Room Essentials And Best Practices

Lube Room Essentials And Best Practices Storing and dealing with lubricants is a lot like maintaining a restaurant or home kitchen. Inventory management, cleanliness, and safety precautions are all necessary for proper functioning. How lubricants perform and how long they will last depend on the treatment and safety they get from the time they are transported in a delivery truck to their final destination that is a bearing or any mechanical machine component. Effective storage and handling processes increase oil efficiency and reduce the amount used. It prevents leaks, drips, and spills possible from improperly closed container lids. Hence, your storage or lube room is the place where the efficiency and effectiveness of your lubrication system are maintained and sometimes determined as well. The following blog enlists the essentials you need to have in your lube room and the best practices to deal with them.

Essentials To Have In A Lube Room

A well-equipped lube room generally has the following items to efficiently store and handle the available lubricants.
  • Properly designed and built drum storage racks to hold several sizes and types of drums
  • Oil safe pumps
  • Oil safe luster mount
  • Drum faucets and taps
  • Oil cans and grease guns
  • Portable equipment such as carts, filter carts, oil reclaiming systems, and air-powered grease guns
  • A bulk storage tank
  • Maintenance supplies such as grease fittings, spare filters, absorbent materials (help in controlling spills), reservoir screens, wiping rags, and well-maintained lockers for storage of maintenance materials
  • Reclaimers or purification systems to refine used oils, solvent mixing tanks for cleaning purposes, and soluble oil mixing equipment
It won’t be an exaggeration to say that your oil dispensing systems and equipment should be kept clean. Unfortunately, many facility operators and transport individuals pay little to no emphasis to the cleanliness and safety of the lubricants and their dispensing equipment. This slight carelessness costs thousands of dollars to the industrial processes annually because contamination plays an important role in increasing machine downtime and equipment failure. Achieving lubrication excellence is crucial for the smooth operation of industrial equipment. Read More: How Can You Achieve Lubrication Excellence?

Best Practices For A Lube Room

Proper lube room practices and storage processes can save both money and time. Proper and effective lubrication increases the efficiency of the production process and enables the industry to function properly. The following practices can make a lube room effective and efficient in its job of storing and handling industrial lubricants. We can’t emphasize cleanliness enough. All tools used for transferring and installing lubricants should be kept thoroughly clean every time. It is best to wipe and clean every piece of equipment and transferring tool before every use. This includes grease guns, oil cans, dispensing tools, and other equipment. Each container and lubricant holder should be properly labelled and marked. Make sure every lubricant and container is only used for the purpose it was intended for to avoid the mixing of any inadvertent mixing of incompetent oils and lubricants. Properly marked containers will also avoid the installation of the wrong lubricants and oils at the wrong places. Maintenance personnel should be properly trained and equipped. Moreover, only authorized persons should have access to the Industrial lube room. In contrast to the common practices, all the oils should be filtered before adding them to the equipment reservoir or sump. A portable filter cart can be used for this purpose.

About Micro Lube

Micro Lube is a full-service conveyor lubrication Company with international experience and a genuine commitment to professional, affordable, and personalized service to our diverse customers. Our staff has over ten years of “hands-on” experience in storage, conveyor, and chain lubrication which has earned our customers’ confidence in our products and services. Contact us here for more information.

How Does Micro-Lube Deliver The Right Industrial Lubricants?

Getting the right industrial lubricants for your machines is critical for their effective performance and long life. Lubricants make your machine work better and protect it from any kind of rust and corrosion. If you are looking for a reliable lubricant provider, look no further, Micro-Lube is a platform for various industrial lubricants and similar products. We help our customers get the best quality lubricants suitable for their machines at an affordable price. Choosing the right lubricant is necessary to ensure proper functionality and operability of your machine. Different types of lubricants have different uses, and knowing these differences in their usage is important. Knowing this difference will help you avoid using your lubricant in the wrong machinery. Micro-Lube has experienced professionals who help you choose the right lubricant type as per your machinery’s requirements. Furthermore, we help our clients with various other issues related to machinery lubrication. Find out more about how Micro-lube is one of Edmonton’s best hubs for industrial lubricants.

We Have A Complete Range Of Products

An ideal industrial lubricant supplier is one that offers you a complete range of products. You can determine which type of lubricant will best suit your machinery’s requirements from this range. Micro-Lube offers several different types of lubricants, including grease, oil, hydraulic oil filters, dry lubricants, penetrating lubricants, and more. These different lubricants are useful for removing rust, filling up cracks, loosening stuck nuts and bolts, and lubricating linkages, chains, and bearings.

We Give Proper Guidance

Another great benefit of buying your industrial lubricants from Micro-Lube is that we give you complete guidance. Different machines have different lubricating requirements. Our team of experts understand the differences and help you determine which one will be the most suitable lubricant. Therefore, a lubricant supplier offering the right consultancy is helpful in such matters. They can help you find a suitable grade, category, or lubricant type. Micro-Lube has lubrication experts and trained staff who introduce you to various types of lubricants. We tell you precisely which type of lubricant you should get for your machine after analyzing them and learning their operations. This means that you will get the right industrial lubricants every time you shop with us. Our professionals have an in-depth knowledge of every lubricant, its chemical compositions, and its uses.

We Offer Products At Affordable Rates

Everyone wants to get the best products at an affordable rate. You can’t compromise on lubricant quality. Cheap and low quality lubricants ultimately affect the machine’s operations and don’t protect it from friction and rust. Everyone wants to get the best products at an affordable rate. You can’t compromise on lubricant quality. Cheap and low quality lubricants ultimately affect the machine’s operations and don’t protect it from friction and rust.

We Offer Warranty On Our Products

Getting a warranty on industrial lubricants and similar products is necessary. So in case of any problem with your product, you can always return it to the company or exchange it. If the supplier doesn’t offer a warranty on their products, buying from them is not a wise choice. In case of any issue with your product, they won’t take responsibility and won’t exchange or return. Micro-lube offers a warranty on all of its products. First, we make sure that we give you quality products as per your requirements and expiry date. However, if there is an issue with our product, you can always return or exchange it.

More About Us

Micro-Lube is one of the finest hubs for every kind of lubricant, along with various other oil and filtration product ranges. We are a reliable lubricant company in Edmonton, offering lubricants, grease, oil, oil filters, and many other similar products. Micro-lube is your trusted lubricant supplier offering you a wide range of lubricants and other services. We ensure we fulfill your needs and requirements entirely and precisely. Moreover, our professionals are available at your one call to assist you in buying lubricants for your machines. If you want to get in touch with us, contact us here. Related topic: Know about the Basics of Automatic Lubrication System

Developing A Balanced Lubrication Contamination Prevention Program

Developing A Balanced Lubrication Contamination Prevention Program To understand the importance of a perfect lubrication program we first need to understand why machines fail. The simple answer is that they fail because they wear out. Functional machine parts come in contact with each other twice or thrice every machine cycle. The continuous frictional force can damage the machine parts making them non-functional. Lubricants save them from this frictional damage and enable them to perform their function properly for a long time. Hence you need to understand the types of industrial lubrication and their uses to have better machine maintenance and protection. However, what happens when the lubricant you use is not pure and contaminated? In Simple words, your equipment will wear out. Lubrication contamination makes up almost 90% of the mechanical wear of your industrial equipment. Therefore, to avoid sudden breakdowns, and machine downtimes you need to have an efficient contamination control program for your lubricants. The following blog post provides a comprehensive guide on how you can develop a balanced lubrication contamination prevention program.

Common Oil Filtration And Lubricant Contaminants

Poorly maintained and unmonitored machines will usually end up failing due to contaminated lubricants. Particle contamination is the most common type of contamination and leads to almost all lubricant-related machine wear and failure. So, you need to keep your lubricants safe from possible contaminants to get full effectiveness. Knowing the ways your lubricants can become contaminated will help you a lot in developing a balanced contamination prevention system. Some of the common sources of lubricant contamination include;

Debris

There are several ways debris can enter your lubricant. It can be the result of unsafe atmospheric conditions, an improper transfer, or infrequent filter changes.

Air

Poor machine maintenance, design, and improper opening and closing of nozzles can give access to extra air into your lubrication system contaminating it.

Water

Leaks from faulty storage reservoirs, leaking cooling filters or heat exchangers, infiltration from direct water, and vapors from the air can all lead to water being added to your lubricants, making them ineffective.

Varnish

Thermal changes from water contamination and oxidation changes the chemical composition of lubricants causing long-term machine breakdowns.

Lubrication System Contamination Control Solutions

A predictive and proactive approach works best when it comes to developing a lubricant and oil filtration contamination control strategy. This requires you to better understand your machines, their component tolerance, and formulate a plan based on reliability. Some of the measures you can take to avoid lubrication contamination include:

Scheduling Lubrication Changes

Adding a lubrication change program to your work schedule decreases the chances of forgetting to change the lubricant at the required time. However, know that changing the lubricants too often increases the chances of debris introduction in the lubricants. While changing the lubricants infrequently can decrease the functionality and cause damages. So, proper lubricant change can help you avoid the adverse effects of too often or infrequent lubricant changes.

Monitoring

Excessive air in your lubrication system is considered the worst for your equipment. Therefore, the system should be monitored and tested for any signs of foaming in the lubricants to avoid air contamination and particle damage.

Adequate Ventilation

Make sure that the atmosphere in your working area is filtered and well-ventilated. You can install a facility air-filtration system and design the facility so that the ventilation is effective. This will help you avoid debris contamination coming from the atmosphere.

Oil Analysis

Used oil analysis can be used as the very first indication of a looming contamination threat within your lubrication system. The analysis tells you a lot about what is happening in the system and helps you take preventive measures to have better lubrication system health in the long run.

About Us

Micro-lube is a full-service conveyor lubrication company providing quality products to its customers in Edmonton. We are committed to providing genuine, professional, personalized, and affordable services to our customers. Our services and product quality speak for themselves. We ensure to fulfill your needs and requirements entirely and precisely. If you want to get in touch with us, contact us here.

How To Prevent Water Contamination In Your Industrial Lubricants

Industrial lubricants and oils make your machine last longer and improve its function. Therefore, knowing which type of lubricant to choose for your equipment is important as improper lubrication can affect your machine badly. Poorly maintained and mishandled lubrication can be exposed to water contamination and other problems. One of the critical qualities of an effective lubricant is its cleanliness. If the industrial lubricant is contaminated and you keep using it, it can lead to corrosion and part failure in your machines. Moreover, choosing the right industrial lubricant supplier is critical, so you know you are getting quality oils for your machines. Water contamination can cause many issues with your lubricants and machines. If you notice that your lubricant is getting contaminated due to water condensation, it is necessary to take the preventive steps. This blog post highlights the ways which can help you overcome water contamination in your industrial lubricants.

How Can Water Damage Your Machine?

Water ingression is a destructive contaminant in any lubricant. It can wreak havoc on your mechanical systems. The presence of water in the lubricant can cause rust and corrosion inside the machines. It diminishes the fluid’s load-carrying capacity and the ability to keep them separate. This leads to increased friction and abrasion between the surfaces and thus, leads to more wear and tear. Water contamination in the industrial lubricant leads to many corrosive acids such as carboxylic acid. The water vapor formation causes metal pitting, which is known as cavitation. Moreover, water contamination can also lead to metal cracking, making the machine weak and brittle. The vapor formation in the lubricant also causes the proliferation of microorganisms that may cause corrosion, sludge.

How To Prevent Water Contamination In The Oil

Water contamination can be avoided by taking special care and steps. The most basic step to avoiding water contamination is regularly scheduled oil analysis. This way you can find out whether the lubricant is contaminated or not and perform the required treatment timely. Such laboratory inspections and analyses give you better and more accurate results as compared to any other testing method or visual inspection. These analyses may also help you prevent water contamination.

Draining Settled Water

You can reduce free water contamination that is not emulsified or dissolved by the draining settled water method. However, for this method to work, certain technical conditions have to be met.

Vacuum Dehydration

This is another method of removing water contamination from industrial lubricants. It works by applying heat and reducing pressure, allowing the water to boil. This creates vapors at moderate temperatures. This method helps to dissolve the emulsified and free water, which makes it ideal for low-moisture tolerance systems.

Using Absorbent Filter Media

Some absorbent filter media can also help remove emulsified or free water content from your lubricants. Although this method might be effective if you only have to remove a small amount of water contamination, it is not suitable for removing substantial water contamination from the lubricant.

Using Centrifuge

This method uses spinning to remove water content from the oil. This method is suitable for oils with low specific gravity relative to water. Therefore, the greater the difference is between the specific gravity of water and oil, the more effectively it can remove water contamination from the oil.

Educate Your Team

The most basic step towards avoiding water contamination in your industrial lubricants is to educate your team about the proper placement and safety measures of its usage. Help them know which types of contaminants can be in the lubricants and how to analyze the oil’s condition. Ensure that they know when to change the oil and filters to avoid any sort of contamination. Test new lubricants before introducing them to the machines to ensure they are contamination-free. Monitor the machinery performance to predict the machine’s behavior and changes happening.

About Micro-Lube

Get your hands on top-quality industrial lubricants and oil filters at Micro-Lube. We have a complete range of high-grade industrial lubricants designed to meet all the requirements of its clients. Our expert team can help you apply correct lubricants for your machines while making significant cost savings and improving your equipment’s reliability and efficiency. Contact us here for further information.

The Importance Of Timely Draining A Lubricant

The Importance Of Timely Draining A Lubricant The oil in an industrial machine does not wear out which means that the oil does not generally deteriorate. But this being said the oil gradually loses its ability to carry out the basic functions of reducing friction, dissipating heat, and lubricating the parts of the machine. This loss in oil quality that reduces the lubrications’ quality is caused by the self-generated contamination of the various components that are present within the oil. Factors such as the viscosity changes caused by futile oxidation or dilution, oxidation due to overheating, water entry into the system, and the gradual depletion of the additive package play an important role in deteriorating the oil. Apart from these factors, there are other components as well that play a role in oil degradation to a lesser degree such as lean air-fuel ratios, operation of equipment in over-cooled conditions, poor quality fuel, and disconnection or malfunctioning of emission control systems. You can avoid all of this by doing timely oil drains. In this blog post, we will describe the conditions that contribute to oil degradation and the importance of regular oil drains.

Water Contamination

The biggest contributor of oil degradation is water contamination, hence it is your job to make sure that no water enters the system. Any water entry into the turbine or the hydraulic system can cause severe damage, typically in systems that have very low tolerances such as the hydrostatic transmission pump that is used in piston pumps. Water contamination is sometimes caused by condensation due to dramatic changes in temperatures. If the oil in the turbine or hydraulic system starts to appear milky, it is an indication that the water level in the system has increased. This means that you will need to take prompt action to protect the hydraulic and turbine system. Draining the oil is the best option to protect your turbine and hydraulic system. You can also replace the oil or remove the water from the system using a special filtration system that is primarily used for this purpose. If you have a gasoline engine then the combustion of one gallon of gasoline will produce about one gallon of water. If moisture enters the gasoline engine it will cause corrosion, rusting, separation of additives from base oils, and buildup deposits. Similarly, water entering the oil of a diesel engine is also very harmful, typically if you have used poor-quality oil. Low-quality fuel generally has a higher rate of sulfur content so when water combines with sulfur oxides, dangerous acids are formed which will immediately attack the bearings surfaces. Hence to avoid such situations you will need to carry out oil drains to reduce the chances of water contamination.

Additive Depletion

When base oils are blended and formulated using additives, these elements slowly use up the base oils and affect its performance. Due to the extreme pressure and anti-wear, agents get depleted when they are deposited on the metal surfaces. The dispersants and detergents are used up when they come in contact with the contaminated particles present in the oil. The additives are there to protect the system but become depleted when they counteract the acid formation within the oil. So if the oil is not drained and is allowed to remain in service for an extended period of time then the additive package will eventually become depleted or ineffective. Therefore to keep the additives working you will need to drain the old oils and replace them with new ones.

About Micro-Lube

Micro-Lube is one of the most trustworthy industrial lubricant providers in the Edmonton region. We have a complete range of products and offer oil filtration, dispensing, and storage products and solutions. At Micro-Lube, you can find a wide range of lubricants for almost any kind of machine. We help provide you with the best lubricant for your machines and several other products related to filtration, dispensing, chain, conveyor, and more. For more information contact us today.

5 Ways Lubricants Help Keep The Mining Industry Moving

5 Ways Lubricants Help Keep The Mining Industry Moving The mining industry faces three key risks: they are risks of regulation changes, environmental concerns, and operational challenges. The first two of these are extraneous and uncontrollable. However, advancements in lubricant technology and analysis have made operational difficulties less. Using optimized lubricant technologies and analysis can maximize equipment efficiency, reduce environmental impact, cut energy costs, and reduce downtime and maintenance costs. This blog post explains some benefits of using quality mining lubricants in keeping the mining industry running smoothly.

1. Smaller Environmental Footprint

The most significant risk factors in the mining industry are its impact on the environment. These risks include the chances of water contamination due to mining activities and difficulties in moving to a low-carbon economy. Choosing lubricants and fluids with a long fluid life can help reduce the amount of lubricant waste a mine produces. When a lubricant lasts long you need to dispose of it less often. Combining the use of quality lubricants with a robust process can help mitigate the risk of contamination through disposal. New technologies have developed lubricants especially to reduce energy dependency. Swapping your traditional lubricants to energy-efficient mining lubricants can be a step in the right direction.

2. Productivity Optimization

Unplanned and sudden downtimes can decrease business productivity by increasing business interruptions in the mine. Lubricant analysis can help you to reduce this risk by providing a predictive and proactive approach to maintenance. Monitoring the level of oil and other greasing materials in your machinery is like a health check for your operations. Traditionally, manual labeling and processing of the oil samples made the job time-consuming and difficult. However, advancements in technology have made the process less strenuous.

3. Reduce Maintenance

Mineworkers have the highest chances of facing worksite accidents, injuries, and even sometimes death. While it is difficult to control the natural and environmental causes of accidents, you can surely limit the manual or machine-caused safety hazards. Reducing the amount of equipment maintenance and increasing machine life can help to reduce the risk of personal safety and productivity. Heavy-duty mining machines experience extensive wear and tear on metal surfaces due to friction and continuous contact with hard rock surfaces. One way to decrease metal wear and tear is to use boundary lubricants like graphite or molybdenum disulfide. These help reduce the amount of friction between the metal and hard surfaces. Gear and axles can also fall victim to excessive friction. The use of special gear lubricants such as gear mate mining lubricants can help you avoid premature gear failures caused by shocks and friction.

4. Lower Costs

With tax and mining royalties reaching high on the horizon, cost savings are delivered by using quality and correct mining lubricants. These also decrease maintenance costs, and energy consumption which also make a significant difference in mining budgets. Moreover, the optimum use of lubricants saves cost by eradicating unplanned downtimes, machine breakdowns, making a difference in the industry’s bottom line.

5. Improved Safety

Many mining industry hazards and accidents stem from human and machine interaction. Using a lubricant that decreases downtime and machine maintenance, means decreasing the time your employees will spend in hazardous situations. A mining lubricant with long lubrication intervals and a long drain can also increase your worker’s safety by decreasing the number of times they have to carry out these maintenance activities.

About Us

Micro-lube is a full-service conveyor lubrication company. We have international experience and a genuine commitment to serve our wide range of customers from various industries at an affordable rate in a personalized manner. Our staff is well-trained and has a hand on more than ten years of experience in the conveyor and chain lubrication industry. We have a wide range of reliable products including filtration systems, mining lubricants, chain & conveyors, manufacturing machinery maintenance products, and more. Visit our website or contact us now to get the best and reliable conveyor and lubrication products and services.

How To Manage Unintended Consequences During An Oil Change

How To Manage Unintended Consequences During An Oil Change Oil changes play an important part in keeping your machines in good working condition. But sometimes during oil change, technicians face unintended consequences. They see problems that never occurred before, you need knowledge and skills to tackle such problems. For instance, after a full-fledged successful lubrication program when you rinse the fluid with a new fluid fill you may see the new fluid become dark soon after the flush. For many, this can be an eye-opener and may come as a shock. Everyone knows the importance of oil cleanliness but many technicians are unaware of how to deal with such problems. You may think that this was due to the new debris within the system or may assume that the new oil was cleaning the system. Whatever the issue was you will have to quickly narrow it down as the new fluid can ruin the whole system. In this blog, we will explain the unintended consequences of oil changes.

New Problems

As this is a new problem for you, just like many other technicians, you may be confused. After experiencing such a problem the first thing you should do is change the filter in order to filter the dark fluid. Changing the filter might clean up the fluid after the chemical flush but keep in mind that it can become a problem of its own. If the filter is not working then you will need to send the pressure elements for analysis in order to find out the composition of the debris. Once you have done a filter analysis you will be able to figure out which elements were the cause of the problem. After detecting the elements you will now need to plan the next step in order to tackle the new problem. Moreover, there is a chance that not all the materials that were detected were the cause of the problem, maybe only a few reacted with the new fluid. So you will have to find out which material reacted against the new fluid.

Electrostatic Filtration

If changing the final filter did not work the next thing you should do is try electrostatic filtration. It has been seen that many industries have used electrostatic filtration and have seen excellent results. But this process is not cost effective and you will need to spend some extra money. Before you start electrostatic filtration it is important that you consider the fluid’s water content. As electrostatic filtration will not work effectively when the water levels are more than 500 ppm. So if the water level is high in the fluid then this process will not give effective results. But if the water level is in the range then you can carry out the electrostatic filtration process. Once you have decided to do electrostatic filtration you will have to decide which type of filtration you need to do. There are two types of electrostatic filtration that are used for industrial lubricants. One is known as a collector type and the other BCA (balanced charge agglomeration). BCA is usually tried on the second unit. As it consists of a mixing chamber and a pre-filter that starts the agglomeration process by charging the particles. In this method, the big agglomerated particles are filtered out in the final filter. You can also use the collector type of electrostatic filtration. The collector’s method takes a few months to show results. If after months you see the oil change color and notice a decrease in the weight of the patch, the electrostatic filtration has worked.

About Micro-Lube

Micro-Lube is one of the most trustworthy industrial lubricant providers in the Edmonton region. We have a complete range of products and offer oil filtration, dispensing, and storage products and solutions. At Micro-Lube, you can find a wide range of lubricants for almost any kind of machine. We help provide you with the best lubricant for your machines and several other products related to filtration, dispensing, chain, conveyor, and more. For more information visit our website or contact us today.

How Can You Achieve Lubrication Excellence?

  Lubricating your machines and other equipment is necessary to make them function properly. A high-quality industrial lubricant not only improves the functionality of the machine but also makes it last longer. Achieving lubrication excellence is necessary, so you know you are using the right product with the right method. When we talk about excellence in the lubrication method, it means knowing the right methods and developing a sound lubrication program for your facility or equipment. This helps improve the service and lifetime of a machine. Forming industrial lubricant excellence also requires you to know your machines well and their requirements. This will help design an effective lubrication plan to achieve lubrication excellence. This blog post mentions some tips that might help you with achieving lubrication excellence.

Don’t Overgrease

Overgreasing might have the same negative effects as that of under greasing. There is no use in over greasing your machines and using excessive amounts of lubricants. Greasing is a way of filtering contaminants from the bearings. If you overuse your lubricant, it can affect the function of the machine.

Key Points For Not Overgreasing

If you are greasing a bearing, it is important to know its geometry and dimensions. There is a misconception to apply more grease to purge out the contaminants, which is not true. The right way to achieve lubrication excellence is to apply a fraction of the calculated quantity at shorter intervals. The technician or the machine operator must know how much grease to add at the right time and calibrate the automatic lubrication system accordingly.

Testing New Deliveries

It is a wise choice to test the quality of new lubricant deliveries, especially when equipment reliability is your prime concern. A little deviation from your original lubricant to opt for a new one can have a devastating impact on your machine. This is because there can be variations in the chemical and physical properties of a lubricant. Moreover, your Industrial lubricant supplier can also help you select the right lubricant for your machine.

Opt For The Condition-based Oil Changing Method

You might sometimes think that your machine needs an oil change, but actually, it doesn’t. Many organizations change their oil based on intervals. These intervals include considerations, such as the calendar, operating hours (meter), fuel consumed, miles/kilometers driven, or production/work performed. A condition-based oil changing strategy is useful to reduce oil consumption and save costs. The most important pre-step for a condition-based oil change is oil analysis. The analysis of the oil’s condition can tell you whether it is time to change oil or not.

Educate Your Team

The maintenance team is responsible for maintaining the machines and ensuring their proper lubrication. If the maintenance team is not well-informed about the necessary practices and the right lubrication methods, their wrong methods of lubrication can negatively impact the machines. Lubricating and achieving excellence in it is an extensive procedure that demands dedication and relevant knowledge. Therefore, it is necessary to educate your maintenance team so lubrication standards can be achieved and they can enhance their competencies.

Interpret Oil Analysis Reports

Oil analysis is an important part of condition-based oil changing. Many teams and plant personnel who receive oil analysis reports do not understand how to interpret them. Oil analysis is a report with a summary section with recommendations written in layman’s terms. They might not be precisely tailored according to the condition of the machine. The oil maintenance team must know all the facts and important information about the machine to interpret the oil analysis report. This is necessary to achieve lubrication excellence.

Avoid Lubrication Starvation

Lubrication starvation must be avoided at all costs. Shortage of lubricants can put a strain on the machine and make it hard for it to function properly. There must be some kind of alarm system installed that alerts you once the lubricant levels have gone down beyond a certain point. Your machines are dependent on lubricants, and they need an adequate and sustained supply of the right lubricant to keep operating at an optimum level.

About Micro Lube

Micro Lube is a full-service conveyor lubrication Company with international experience and a genuine commitment to professional, affordable, and personalized service to our diverse customers. Our staff has over ten years of “hands-on” experience in conveyor and chain lubrication which has earned our customers’ confidence in our products and services. Contact us here for more information.

Why Are Industrial Filtration Systems Important For Manufacturing?

  Industrial filtration systems are important in many fields and industries including manufacturing facilities. From food processing to power generation to pharmaceuticals industries, each industry uses specialized equipment. The equipment including its vacuum pumps, blowers, gen-sets, etc must be protected to ensure maximum uptime and long machinery lifetime and effectiveness. Many industrial processes require cleanliness and filtration not just to protect the equipment and machinery but to also protect the work environment.

What Is The Purpose Of Filtration?

The most common uses of industrial filtration include:
  • Protecting equipment from contacting and ingesting harmful contaminants.
  • Isolating and separating undesirable products from the air stream.
  • Protecting personal and work environments
  • Removing contaminants for purifying air and gas streams.
This blog explains some of the main purposes of using industrial filtration systems along with machinery and equipment filtration systems.

Protecting Equipment From Ingesting Contaminants

Contaminants that are released during the manufacturing process are highly damaging to the equipment. The main purpose of an industrial filtration system is to contain these contaminants for proper disposal. In pharmaceutical and other chemical industries, the manufacturing process can emit dangerous chemicals and by-product vapors, and aerosols which could lead to vacuum pump failure and in some cases induce a combustion event. Therefore, it is important to have an industrial filtration system in place that removes these harmful byproducts and can keep the machines running and upright. In this case, a vapor condensing trap would be used to make sure the vapors are condensed and removed effectively.

Removing Contaminants From The Air And Gas Stream

Industrial filtration is crucial in manufacturing applications including additive manufacturing, pneumatic conveying, and landfill gas collection. It helps to keep the gas and air free from contaminants during the production process, and also helps in ensuring the purity of the products formed in the process. Gas and air filtration must be thorough to ensure that all harmful and undesirable products are removed from the environment. If manufactured products contain slight impurities they will become unusable causing financial losses. Hence, filtration is an important part of any industry. Often times airborne contaminants and dust particle ingestion can cause the rejection of entire batches. To save this from happening industries use an inlet air filtration or a combination of an inlet air filter and a silencer, to protect the protection blower and keep the air and gas stream optimized and clean.

Isolating And Separating Undesirable Products From The Air Stream

Several manufacturing processes involve the efficient separation of solids, liquids, and vapors. This is accomplished effectively by using filtration and separation systems to separate the product from the air or gas stream under vacuum conditions. These specialty and hydraulic filtration systems are used to separate the specific liquids, solids, and vapors from the air stream carried over the manufacturing process. This is often key to the manufacturing process. For instance, the essential oil extraction process must separate specific chemicals under the vacuum to create a usable product.

Common Industrial Air Filtration Applications

Some other common industrial air filtration system applications include:
  • Hydraulic tank breathers
  • Medical, pharmaceutical, and dental vacuum air systems.
  • Elimination of oil mist from the discharge or exhaust of vacuum pumps
  • Industrial processes that involve the use of vacuum pumps and blowers; wastewater treatment, pneumatic conveying, CNC routing, chemical vapor deposition, and steel ragging, etc.
  • Crankcase ventilation; protect the surrounding environment by trapping the oil mist vapors produced by engines and gen-sets.
  • Filtration systems are used to eliminate oil mist from different parts of rotating equipment like turbines, compressors, lube oil systems, gearboxes, and coupling guards.

About Us

Micro-lube is your one-stop shop for all high-quality and reliable industrial filtration, greasing, lubrication, storage, and oil dispensing products. Visit our website to get your desired products, if you can’t find the product you’re looking for in our inventory email or contact us.

Types Of Lubricants And Their Uses

Lubricants have a wide range of uses in industrial machinery. They are useful for reducing the interference between the machine’s parts and help them work without any resistance due to friction. However, not all lubricants are the same or can be used for every type of machine. They all serve a specific purpose so it’s important that you understand the different types of industrial lubricants and their uses. It might seem like an easy breezy task, however, it is imperative that you have a profound knowledge of the different types of lubricants and their uses. This will prevent you from using the wrong lubricant or damaging the machine. Each type of lubricant has a specific application which is why knowing what a certain lubricant is made for is important for the health of the machine. This blog post highlights the different types of industrial lubricants commonly used in machinery and their purposes. Related topic: Know about the Basics of Automatic Lubrication System

Grease

Grease is a thick lubricant that is made by combining mineral oil and thickener. Lithium-based soaps are the most common thickeners, but there can be additional particles combined with the lubricants such as molybdenum disulfide, graphite, etc. At times, it also uses additional lubricants, like PTFE (Teflon). Since grease is much thicker than other types of lubricants, it adheres better to the surface. It also mixes well with other oil-based lubricants adding stickiness and allowing the lubricants to collect on the surface. Greases come in different thickness levels and work as a barrier to protect the surfaces from contaminants. The main uses of grease are:
  • They are ideal for lubricating linkages, chains, and bearings.
  • They are suitable if you want your lubricant to stick to the surface for a long time.
  • You want to seal out particles of dust from your machine.
However, grease is not suitable for parts which are fast-moving as grease can slow it down. Such thick grease will affect the mechanism, and thus, your machinery won’t function well.

Penetrating lubricants

Such types of lubricants are used for the protection of numerous stuck-bolt combatants. They cannot be used as long-lasting lubrication, and their only use is for infiltrating tiny cracks, adding lubrication, and breaking up rust. They are very thin and are often used to remove chewing gum from a surface or to loosen stuck nuts or bolts covered in rust or years of debris.

Oil

Oils are thin lubricants that are made of long polymer chains with some extra additives. Some antioxidants will keep the oil away from oxidation while some corrosion inhibitors are responsible for stopping the corrosion. It can be useful in long chains as it develops a slippery barrier between them. Such lubricants have a high boiling point, and a low freezing point, and have high resistance to oxidation and wear. Oil is a great lubricant when you don’t have to use grease and is ideal for lubricating small elements without disturbing anything else.

Dry Lubricants

The last type of lubricant is a dry lubricant that comes under the category of solid lubricants. They are a great alternative to oil and grease. They also help to protect those materials that attract dust and dirt. There are specific types of lubricants present in dry lubricants, such as silicon, molybdenum, graphite, PTFE. These tiny particles make dry lubricants super slippery. Dry lubricants are ideal for use on threaded rods, locks, hinges, or tiny parts that can’t be gunked up with grease. Moreover, they are also suitable for surfaces that have to be exposed to extremely high heat or pressure.

Get All Types Of Lubricants From Micro-Lube

Getting the right kind of lubricant is necessary to make your machines work fine for a long period. Micro-Lube is one of the finest hubs for every kind of lubricant along with various other oil and filtration product ranges. We are your trusted industrial lubricants supplier offering you a wide range of lubricants and other services. We ensure we fulfill your needs and requirements entirely and precisely. If you want to get in touch with us, contact us here.

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