Bearings and Lubrication Failure

Bearings are precision machine components that are found in different kinds of applications. These machine components are usually very reliable even under the toughest operating conditions. Bearings have a substantial service life under normal operating conditions. The service life of the bearings are usually based on a period of time or number of rotations. Bearing failures of machines can greatly affect operations. The downtime and repairs can result to a lot of lost money. The cause of a bearing failure must be correctly identified. This is important to prevent future failures which can further increase the operation expense and negatively affecting productivity.

A premature bearing failure is usually caused by an issue that could have been avoided. The cause of failure can be determined by performing a visual examination of the bearing construction. Once the cause of failure has been identified, a solution can be enacted that will prevent the same problem from happening in the future.

Bearings rely on a lubricant to function properly. An industrial grease is used cover the rolling and sliding contact surfaces to prevent direct metal-to-metal contact. This facilitates smoother movement, prevents wear damage, and excessive heat generation.

One of the leading causes of bearing failures has to do with lubrication. A bearing failure can happen due to using the wrong kinds of lubricant, under greasing and over greasing, and contamination of grease by water or other kinds of lubricant.

The grease must have the viscosity suitable for the speed and the load that the bearing is exposed to. Industrial grease must be properly stored to prevent contamination. Lube technicians must be properly trained and able to perform calculations that will help them determine the exact amount of grease that is applied on the bearings. 

Threadlocker and Messy Drips

One of the challenges in bonding applications is keeping the adhesive to stay within bonding point or area. A little mistake and the adhesive can cause serious problem. A threadlocker applied on a cap used to seal bearings can drip into the bearing components and prevent it from rotating. So the question is how do you stop messy drips?

The most obvious solution is to apply only the right amount so that there is no or very little excess that can be squeezed out when the bonding surfaces are pressed to each other. However, things can get a bit tricky when dealing with threaded surfaces.

The gap between the internal and external threads have to be filled with the threadlocker. In order for it to be properly filled in, applying in excess becomes the normal procedure which brings us back to the previous problem. Moreover, you can't really be certain if the excess threadlocker had spilled inside or not since there is no way to see in.

There are new threadlocking products designed to address this problem. These new products come in gel form which is effective in filling gaps while preventing drips. The excess product that is squeezed out when closing the threaded fasteners like screw caps will stay in its place instead of going everywhere. With these types of threadlockers, you don't have to worry about not moving the assembled components while waiting for it to cure completely.  You can save yourself from the trouble and cost of failed assembly due to messy drips.