Good practices for oil filling in industrial machinery

The absence or excess of lubrication are common causes of failures in the industrial machinery. For this reason, the tribological planning of each industry, independently of its size, must schedule checking and topping up level of the machines that make it up, a decisive task for preventing breakdowns that requires exhaustive programming and checking. Thus, checking and filling the lubricating oil are part of the day to day maintenance routines.

To tackle this work properly, there is a series of aspects and recommendations to bear in mind that involve every one of the items involved in the process from the tools to be used to the choice of the actual oil itself.

General recommendations for correct lubricant filling

Among the tips for the correct lubrication level, there are some general ones that should not be overlooked. However obvious they may seem to be, their omission is a common cause of breakdowns and, as a consequence, of production stoppages with the financial damage that that involves.

Follow the manufacturer’s instructions

The first recommendations for correct lubrication are provided by the manufacturer, who knows the expected consumption of oil by the machine and its needs for refilling whether scheduled or occasional, as well as the type of oil that should be used for correct operation. The instructions provided by the manufacturer are the primary source of information for good tribological maintenance of the machine, though they do not exempt the user from the task of checking the level since the consumption forecasts may not be met exactly.

The scheduled review of the levels will provide more precise information about the behaviour of the machine in operation. In this regard, it is important that the user should know the conditions for measuring the level and carrying out the refilling. The usual recommendation from manufacturers is to do the refill with the machine out of operation, but with the oil at operating temperature. The oil can vary in viscosity and volume depending on the temperature, so the refilling should take place in the conditions closest to the working conditions of the lubricant.

Cleanness and maintenance of the level indicators

The level indicators are the best allies of the operatives to keep track of the quantity of oil in each machine, so the cleaning and maintenance of these items is of paramount importance for obtaining correct data.

However, in some cases the manufacturer’s preset meters often end up showing some deterioration or lack of visibility from the darkening of the glass. The opacity of the reader may originate in the interior of the machine, from the contact of the glass with dirty oil, or outside, in the case of environments with contamination from dust or vapours.

To prevent false readings, especially in critical machinery, other sensors can be added that complement those of the manufacturer. It is especially useful to have 3D ones, windows that, unlike other systems, are not installed at machine level but extend above the structure and allow the level to be read from different angles. As well as being instruments of greater visual precision for measuring the level, that are not so much affected by the contamination or the darkening of the oil.

Practical recommendations for oil filling in industrial machinery

In levelling the oil in a machine, there are many elements that have to be considered individually for the process to be done correctly. Each of the factors involved, from the oil itself to the tools that are used, must be in the right condition to prevent breakdowns in the machines.

Prior filtering and monitoring of the new oil

New oil is not clean oil. Accepting and foreseeing this maxim, which is surprising at first sight, can save a lot of problems in the plant. The fact is that the production processes of the lubricant ensure a certain level of cleanness that may not be sufficient for industrial application.

The cleaning code required for the lubricating oil depends in the final use that is made of it. So, the same oil may be too dirty for a particular process and perfectly valid for a different one.

In any case, it is necessary to check the contamination of the new fluid before introducing it into the system, because an oil that is too dirty for one particular piece of machinery can generate chain failure. One way of preventing this is to submit the new oil to a prior filtering process, with the aim of eliminating the contamination at its origin.

In order to be certain that the resulting fluid meets the required parameters of cleanness for each machine, it is recommended to install sensors to monitor the state of the oil after the filtering system. The count of particles present in the oil shown by the on-line monitoring makes it possible to know at all times what is the cleanness code of the oil that is to be introduced in the system and, additionally, to detect possible problems in the filtering system.

Use of the right tools for distribution of new lubricant

The choice and correct maintenance of the tools for the application of new lubricant is fundamental for the filling to be done correctly. In this regard, the use of specific tools, such as oil guns, will provide greater precision to the process. These tools adjust parameters such as the velocity and the quantity of oil to be inserted, so that investing in this equipment can save time and minimise the possibilities of the most common, mistakes of the manual processes.

The devices for level lubrication must meet optimal conditions of cleanness in order not to contaminate the oil to be introduced in the system. The lubrication fluid can be altered by various types of contamination, such as that caused by dust or other environmental particles or by cross-contamination with other lubricants.

The storage of the oil in optimal conditions acquires special importance to prevent the first type of contamination, while having a different distribution tool for each type of oil helps to prevent cross-contamination, that is to say, caused by the contact of oils with different physical and chemical characteristics.

Colour code to identify each machine with its own lubricant

The lubrication jobs do not see to be very complex, but a small error in their execution can lad to a high cost because of their effects. The human factor is one of the most recurrent causes of failures that occur during filling processes, so that each plant must have the right tools and protocols to minimise this possibility.

The automatic tools for distribution of the oil are useful for the prevention of spillages and overflows, one of the most common lubrication errors that can lead to breakdowns in the machinery.

Another very common error in filling is mistaking the type of lubricant. As mentioned previously, it is recommendable to have a distribution device for each type of lubricant to prevent cross-contamination. However, having a larger number of elements can increase the possibility of an operative making a mistake in choosing the correct lubricant for each machine, which can also result in breakdowns. For that reason, it is particularly advisable to keep the protocols and the identification systems properly.

One that is very easy to apply is labelling system with colour coding that is assigned both to the machines and to the systems for distribution of the new oil. At a glance, the operative can relate each machine to the lubricant that corresponds to it, reducing the possibilities of making mistakes.