Power Transmission
With pressure to increase productivity, the emphasis on care and maintenance of electric motors is rising. Umut Urkun reports.
Keeping electric motors online
A
n electric motor is a vital piece of equipment in today’s modern manufacturing
processes – it can be found in practically every type of operation across a range of industries from iron and steel through to pulp and paper.
Part of that maintenance involves choosing the right grease. In electric motors, more than 90 per cent of bearing failures are due to over-greasing which causes seals to burst, allowing the grease to bypass the bearing and go straight into the motor windings. Another frequent cause of electric motor failure is misalignment.
There are many methods to use to align the
components, but what is most important is to align to tight tolerances. By choosing the right grease, companies may significantly reduce their annual operating costs, improve bearing performance, increase protection for long electric motor life and increase their overall productivity.
Selecting the right grease Grease is a semi-solid lubricant composed of a base oil, thickener and additives, and is frequently used as an
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electric motor bearing lubricant because of its ease of application and specific characteristics.
Not only can it reduce friction and prevent everyday wear and tear, but the right grease can protect against corrosion and acts as a seal to keep out dust, dirt, waste and other atmospheric contaminants.
Selecting the correct viscosity of grease for an application is the most important factor influencing electric motor bearing lubrication. Once the appropriate viscosity and type of grease have been selected, ensuring the correct level of lubricant release is the next challenge towards trouble-free grease lubrication.
Any factor that affects a grease’s ability to provide lubricating oil to an application in a controlled manner will negatively impact the grease’s ability to provide effective lubrication. This, in turn, can lead to lubrication failure which can be costly.
In service, a grease can be affected by number of factors including excessive mechanical shear, low and high temperatures, thermal-oxidative degradation of thickener and lubricating oil, as well as water ingress and other contaminations that can inhibit the ability to provide optimum lubrication and peak performance.
When selecting a grease to protect electric motor bearings, operators
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